Reflection 4.2

The narrative arguement was by far the hardest assignment we had to do in academic writing. I found it very difficult to create a solid arguement out of the story i was telling. Narration and arguing are two concepts that are not easily intertwined when writing. Overall, I learned a lot this semester about writing. Mainly about arguements. I did not realize how many different kinds of arguements there are. Rogerian, rebuttle, narrative, etc. At this point I am tired of arguing and glad to be done for the semester.

Essay 4.2

The Perfect Season

It was 6:00 A.M. when my dad shook me awake. “Our ride’s are gonna be here soon, get ready,” he said. I rolled about of bed in a half dazed state of mind, not even realizing how important this morning was. I quickly rinsed off in the shower and threw on the clothes I had l laid out the night before, ready to embark on one of the most epic adventures I would be a part of till this day. I went down stairs where all of our bags were packed and ready for departure. My mom then gave my dad, brother, and I big hugs, then off we went to a place I had never been before.

Our destination was Tucson, Arizona where we were to compete in a series of playoffs for a chance to be the national champions of the American Youth Football league for our weight class. Our weight class being the one with no weight restrictions; so you can imagine there was some pretty big kids. Competing to be a national champion is a 13 year olds dream and it was my reality.

I remember walking into that hotel for the first time; it was one of the coolest buildings I had ever been in. There were cactuses all around the lobby and a huge gift shop in the back. It was all dessert/western themed too. Right as we pressed the elevator button out come a whole mass of football guys laughing and pushing each other around, I knew right away that this was going to be a great time.

To me this adventure was more than just another sport story; yeah I have a lot of them. It brought a bunch of 8^th graders into an unknown world. We had no idea of the outcome. Even though our team went undefeated, we thought it was more of a joke that we were actually going to compete against teams from around the country. Only a handful of teams get to do this. Unfortunately that’s not just because of a team’s skill. In the article “Report: Cuts to youth sports contribute to obesity, violence” written by Emma Brown, featured in the Washington Post (2009), Professor Greenwood from Polytechnic State University states that “Youth sports is in serious decline in this country” (Brown Par. 2). I am lucky my town is wealthy enough to be able to afford keeping youth sport teams, such as football. It would be a shame if a program like this were cut. Kids would miss out on experiences like this one. I could not even imagine how I would be if I didn’t have that experience. I may not even be playing college football today had I not been a part of the championship team. This is a serious problem; funding for youth sports, especially in inner city, areas is in a decline. In the same article, Emma Brown points out that “$2 billion in cuts to school based sports and physical education programs are contributing to a range of major problems afflicting the nation’s youth” (Brown Par. 1). This huge budget cut may very well be a factor that hinders kids/adolescents chance to make something better out of themselves.

Participating in youth sports has many benefits. These benefits are not just physical. Young athletes can learn a plethora of great attributes that will carry on with them for the rest of their lives. As Alexandra Momyer says in the article “The Mental Health Of Youth Sports On Kids”, “Participating in sports can be a valuable and cherished experience. Youth sports can provide long-lasting friendships and mental benefits that carry over to adulthood. Your child will have self-satisfaction from feeling needed, and it will build self-esteem, confidence and self-discipline” (Momyer par.3). There is so much to gain from being involved in sports as a kid/adolescent. This why it is so important that youth sport budgets get enough funding for studnets to be able to participate in them. Professor Greenwood reasons that “We can’t afford that potential negative impact. If a kid doesn’t have somewhere to go, something to occupy their time, unfortunately what they do more often than not is end up in trouble.” If youth sports are cut, children are at a higher risk of becoming obese, having academic problems, and getting in trouble. 

                Not to sound corny, but I never would have thought hard work and determination could have gotten me so far. It also definitely got me out of trouble. While other kids in my grade were experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and getting into trouble, I was doing something special. But this was a loooong season. We pretty much played all the way up till Christmas. All the way from scorching August conditioning, to crisp autumn, to frigid, bone numbing winter. In the end of it all it was worthwhile. Out of all the sports and the years I’ve played them I have never seen a stronger bond between players and coaches. This was to say that the team was combined of the two middle schools in our town. At the beginning of the year the Scott’s Ridge kids didn’t care too much for the East Ridge kids and vice versa. We always bickered at each other about who had the better athletes, the hotter girls, and the nicer school. By the end of the season it was like there was no boundary between us anymore.

                Sport Programs are needed not only keep children fit and healthy but also keep them out of trouble. According to the article “Study: America is officially the fattest developed country in the world” written by Meredith Melnick (2010) from Time Magazine’s Healthland “One-third of Americans are obese and another third are overweight. The rate of childhood obesity is at 20% and the rate of adolescent obesity is at 18%” (Melnick par.3). With the help of youth sport and physical education programs we can help decrease this number.  I know personally I had never been so physically fit in my life and I never felt like I had more of a purpose till then. And I know you don’t have to make it to the National Playoffs to feel the same. With more sport and phys ed. programs around there will be a higher chance for kids to stay healthy, and I think we all know American needs that. “The U.S. is the heaviest out the 33 economically advantaged countries, including Japan, Australia, and England” (Melnick par. 4). Really, who wants to be known as the fattest country in the world?

                I can honestly say we were the fit team out there. Running around for so long can really do a lot for a person’s body. But this not only in football, participating on pretty much any other sport team can get you in great shape. While the other teams were swimming in their hotel pools, we were going over plays on a scraggily, dusty elementary school field… if you really want to call it a field. Our coach would always point out that he knew we were the only team practicing, and he didn’t care about the other teams. He would say that every minute we were out there busting our asses we were getting that much better than everyone out there. Well I guess he was right in that logic. We had to be sharp for that first game. Our coach wanted nothing more than to win, I could see the determination when he spoke to us. He was not going to give up easy, especially not with the talent he had that year.

After a couple days of fooling around in that giant hotel and constant team meetings the day of the first playoff finally arrived. “Wow,” I thought, “this is really it.” The team we would be facing was from Bakersville, California. Let me repeat that, California! That is a long ways away from little Connecticut. “These kids are going to destroy us”, I thought. Well by the chance of a flip of a coin we decidedly chose to receive the ball first. “Bang”, I see that ball fly in the air, everyone’s eyes fixated on it, like a meteor falling to Earth. “Wham” right in our returner’s hand, then next thing you know he’s flying up the sideline and into the end zone. Everyone’s jaw dropped… did we just score on the opening kickoff?... yes we did! That game happened so quick I didn’t even think it was real; I thought I was day dreaming. The ending score of that game was 49-7. For those of you not familiar with the football scoring system 49 points is a damn high score. That night the whole team and whoever was accompanying them went out to celebrate at a real fancy restaurant.

Later that week came the second game. This time it was long Beach, California. This one flew by more quickly than the first game. I actually thought Bakersville was more of a challenge than this team, maybe we it had just been our confidence level spiking upward. Before I knew I was on the sideline watching the second and third string players get their time, having a blast as usual. It seemed like throughout the season I barely even got to play half the game we beat the other teams so bad. The final score was 45-0, which in sport terms is a blowout! After this game we all really held our heads up high and a confidence went through me like nothing I had ever felt before.

                The bonding had only just begun late night trips to IHOP for milkshakes and Shlotsky’s Deli for lunch only made the week more fun. Playing 500 and kill the carrier in the pool helped out too. But before I knew it that final game came, the championship game.  Now we were playing a team from Chicago. Walking into that Arizona University Stadium was like something straight out of a movie. It was the biggest stadium I had ever been in. I couldn’t believe how much seating there was. It was truly a mind-boggling experience. I remember practicing on the field next to the stadium for what seemed like hours. I must have peed 4 times I was so nervous. Low and behold we walked into the stadium to start, said a quick prayer together, and then off we were.

The coin was tossed and we were forced to defend first. I never liked being on defense first. I prefer the offense starting off and scoring on the first drive. So this way I have less pressure on me to stop the opposing team from gaining ground. Being a starter is never easy, especially when you are going against offensive linemen who look like grown men. And the fact that this was the National Championship game didn't help either. My heart was beating out of my chest; I couldn't even see the line of scrimmage in front of me. All I hear is "down, set"... the offensive tackles dark eyes were glaring at me, I could sense it, “I'm gonna screw everything up or get hurt”, I kept thinking to myself.."HIT!” The lineman's hands shoot at me me like two pistols ready to blow my brains out.  Then my instincts kicked in, everything I had practiced for so long fired out of me like hot lava, and I drove that lineman's big body so far I actually took myself out of the play. Luckily there were a group of linebackers behind me to clean up the tackle behind me. Then I jumped on the pile and suddenly the butterflies went away. When I stood up I felt like a different person, adrenaline had kicked in like never before and I was ready to tear this team apart.

This was really the only game I felt like we might lose after the first three minutes. We made jokes that because we killed teams so early on that the bad kids got to play more than the good ones. This was until now. I remember vividly that timer moving second after second. I wanted to puke, throw my helmet off and cry I was so nervous. But I knew how important this game was, how much the coaches and players depended on me. They were my new best friends, pretty much all members of my family. We had a respect for our coaches and teammates unlike any other. In the end we won 22-14, our closest game ever. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I completely agree with this statement. The memories of this experience as well as many other sport experiences will always be values and cherished in my life. I know I will always remember the guys on that team in the best light.

Is there really anything better than winning a National Championship? especially when you gave up so much of your free time and energy. The way I see it the harder you work the more valuable and special that final product is. This is why I feel more kids should join sport teams. You get in great shape and build confidence and friendships that cannot be matched.  These experiences are ones that I believe no child should be left without. No town or city should be limited to the amount of sport and physical education program they can participate in.

Momyer, Alexandra. “The Mental Effects Of Youth Sports On Kids”. December 18, 2010. Lance Armstrong Foundation. April 21, 2011.

Brown, Emma. “Report: Cuts to youth sports contribute to obesity, violence”. November 23, 2009. The Washington Post. May 8, 2011.

Melnick, Meredith. “Study: American is officially the fattest developed country in the world”. September 23, 2010. Time Healthland. May 8, 2011.

Reflection 4.1

After getting my paper workshopped I learned quite a few things. First of all I had gotten a lot of complements on my narration of the story. I agree that I did a good job with this part of the assignment. But as I was told and I agree with I need to add more arguement into the story and maybe even cut back on the narrative part. As discussed during class I realize I really need to incorporate my sources better. I know I kind of just threw them in just for the sake of having sources. But this was partially because I could not find a good message to get across fromt the story. But now I have a better idea of how to work with te story I am writtinga about to make it more of an arguement.

Narrative Arguement: 1st Draft

The Perfect Season

It was 6:00 A.M. when my dad shook me awake. “Our ride’s are gonna be here soon, get ready,” he said, already dressed himself. I rolled about of bed in a half dazed state of mind, not even realizing how important this morning was. I quickly rinsed off in the shower and threw on the clothes I had l laid out the night before, ready to embark on one of the most epic adventures I will be a part of till this day. I went down stairs where all of our bags were packed and ready for departure. My mom then gave my dad, brother, and I big hugs, then off we went to a place I had never been before.

Our destination was Tucson, Arizona where we were to compete in a series of playoffs for a chance to be the national champions of the American Youth Football league for our weight class. Our weight class being the biggest one with no weight restrictions; so you can imagine there was some pretty big kids.

I remember walking into that hotel for the first time; it was one of the coolest buildings I had ever been in. There were cactuses all around the lobby and a huge gift shop in the back. It was all dessert/western themed too. Right as we pressed the elevator button out come a whole mass of football guys laughing and pushing each other around, I knew right away that this was going to be a great time. Unfortunately the one thing that was really digging at me was the fact that the airport lost our luggage, including all of my pads. But that is a whole other story to be told. Needless to say we got it back the next day or so.

To me this adventure was more than just another sport story; yeah I have a lot of them. It brought a bunch of 8^th graders into an unknown world. We had no idea of the outcome. Even though our team went undefeated, we thought it was more of a joke that we were actually going to compete against teams from around the country. Who would have ever thought that a primarily white school from Connecticut would have made it this far, not me that’s for sure.

                Not to sound corny, but I never would have thought hard work and determination could have gotten me so far. But that was a loooong season. We pretty much played all the way up till Christmas. All the way from scorching August conditioning, to crisp autumn, to frigid, bone numbing winter. In the end of it all it was worthwhile. Out of all the sports and the years I’ve played them I have never seen a stronger bond between players and coaches. This was to say that the team was combined of the two middle schools in our town. An Article called “Importance of Youth Involvement In Sports” explains this, “Life skill gains through social interaction can be tremendous. Social interaction in team sports teaches youth to: 1) Associate with their peers; 2) Solve conflict; and 3) Communicate effectively with their peers.” At the beginning of the year the Scott’s Ridge kids didn’t care too much for the East Ridge kids and vice versa. We always bickered at each other about who had the better athletes, the hotter girls, and the nicer school. By the end of the season it was like there was no boundary between us anymore.

                Adults tend to underestimate the importance of having their children participate in team sports. According the article from Livestrong.com called “The Benefits Of Youth Sports”, “Children reap many benefits from playing sports, including self-discipline, self-confidence, a healthier body, and stronger relationships with peers and adults” (Breeze par. 1). “As young athletes develop their bodies, their minds develop simultaneously” (Breeze par. 1). I absolutely consent with both of these statements, not only was I the best shape of my life, I never felt like I had more of a purpose till then. And I know you don’t have to make it to the National Playoffs to feel the same. There is nothing like a team working towards one goal together not matter what the sport is. The combination between the physical pain and mental toughness is something that cannot be matched in other extracurricular activates. Pushing each other through difficult times both mentally and physically is something that most youth can only experience in team sports. Obviously not everyone is going to go out and win a national championship. But don’t think it’s impossible, anything is possible. Talent is not just good enough, everyone has to work together to achieve the big prize.

                We were the only team out practicing during that hot, dry Arizona week. Man we wanted to kill our coach for making us practice. While the other teams were swimming in their hotel pools, we were going over plays on a scraggily, dusty elementary school field… if you really want to call it a field. Our coach would always point out that he knew we were the only team practicing, and he didn’t give a shit about the other teams. He would say that every minute we were out there busting our asses we were getting that much better than everyone out there. Well I guess he was right in that logic. We had to be sharp for that first game. Our coach wanted nothing more than to win, I could see the determination when he spoke to us. He was not going to give up easy, especially not with the talent he had that year.

After a couple days of fooling around in that giant hotel and constant team meetings the day of the first playoff finally arrived. “Wow”, I thought, “this is really it”. The team we would be facing was from Bakersville, California. Let me repeat that, California! That is a long ways away from little Connecticut. “These kids are going to destroy us”, I thought. Well by the chance of a flip of a coin we decidedly chose to receive the ball first. “Bang”, I see that ball fly in the air, everyone’s eyes fixated on it, like a meteor falling to Earth. “Wham” right in our returner’s hand, then next thing you know he’s flying up the sideline and into the end zone. Everyone’s jaw dropped… did we just score on the opening kickoff?... yes we did! That game happened so quick I didn’t even think it was real, I thought I was day dreaming. The ending score of that game was 49-7. For those of you not familiar with the football scoring system 49 points is a damn high score. That night the whole team and whoever was accompanying them went out to celebrate at a real fancy restaurant.

A couple days later the second game came around. This time it was long Beach, California. This one flew by even quicker than the first game. I actually thought Bakersville was more of a challenge than this team, maybe we it had just been our confidence level spiking upward. Before I knew I was on the sideline watching the second and third string players get their time, having a blast as usual. It seemed like throughout the season I barely even got to play half the game we beat the other teams so bad. The final score was 45-0, which in sport terms is a blowout! After this game we all really held our heads up high and a confidence went through me like nothing I had ever felt before.

                The bonding had only just begun late night trips to IHOP for milkshakes and Shlotsky’s Deli for lunch only made the week more fun. Playing 500 and kill the carrier in the pool helped out too. But before I knew it that final game came, the championship game. Walking into that Arizona University Stadium was like something straight out of a movie. It was the biggest stadium I had ever been in. I couldn’t believe how much seating there was. It was truly a mind-boggling experience. I remember practicing on the field next to the stadium for what seemed like hours. I must have peed 4 times I was so nervous. Low and behold we walked into the stadium to start, said a quick prayer together, and then off we were.

The coin was tossed and we were forced to defend first. I never liked being on defense first. I prefer the offense starting off and scoring on the first drive. So this way I have less pressure on me to stop the opposing team from gaining ground. Being a starter is never easy, especially when you are going against offensive linemen who look like grown men. And the fact that this was the National Championship game didn't help either. My heart was beating out of my chest; I couldn't even see the line of scrimmage in front of me. All I hear is "down, set"... the offensive tackles dark eyes were glaring at me, I could sense it, “I'm gonna screw everything up or get hurt”, I kept thinking to myself.."HIT!” The lineman's hands shoot at me me like two pistols ready to blow my brains out.  Then my instincts kicked in, everything I had practiced for so long fired out of me like hot lava, and I drove that lineman's big ass so far I actually took myself out of the play. Luckily there were a group of linebackers behind me to clean up the tackle behind me. Then I jumped on the pile and suddenly the butterflies went away. When I stood up I felt like a different person, adrenaline had kicked in like never before and I was ready to tear this team apart.

This was really the only game I felt like we might lose after the first three minutes. We made jokes that because we killed teams so early on that the bad kids got to play more than the good ones. This was until now. I remember vividly that timer moving second after second. I wanted to puke, throw my helmet off and cry I was so nervous. But I knew how important this game was, how much the coaches and players depended on me. They were my new best friends, pretty much all members of my family. We had a respect for our coaches and teammates unlike any other. In the end we won 22-14, our closest game ever. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. As said in the article “The Mental Health Of Youth Sports On Kids” written by Alexandra Momyer, “Participating in sports can be a valuable and cherished experience. Youth sports can provide long-lasting friendships and mental benefits that carry over to adulthood. Your child will have self-satisfaction from feeling needed, and it will build self-esteem, confidence and self-discipline” (Momyer par.3). I completely agree with this statement. The memories of this experience as well as many other sport experiences will always be values and cherished in my life. I know I will always remember the guys on that team in the best light.

Is there really anything better than winning a National Championship?, especially when you gave up so much of your free time and energy. The way I see it the harder you work the more valuable and special that final product is. This is why I feel more kids should join sport teams. These experiences are ones that I believe no child should be left without.

Alexandra Momyer. “The Mental Effects Of Youth Sports On Kids”. 12/18/10. Lance Armstrong Foundation. http://www.livestrong.com/article/337356-the-mental-effects-of-youth-sports-on-kids. 4/20/11.

Eileen Breeze. “The Benefits Of Youth Sports”. 3/23/10. Lance Armstrong Foundation. http://www.livestrong.com/article/83842-benefits-youth-sports. 4/20/11.

Payne, Caroline. Fogarty, Kate. “Importance Of Youth Involvement In Sports”. 2009. Unviersity of Florida IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1001. 4/21/11.

Reflection 3.2

I have found my topic and began to start writing it out. I took some time to really think out what the messages the story I am telling is portraying. These messages include teamwork, bonding, be confident in yourself, never short side your abilities. I am not sure how easy it will be to find sources on these topics but at least it a start for something to look for. I will take a few attempt for me to incorporate the messages into the story properly. It is easy to just ramble on about a story with no specific details.

Rogerian Arguement: Final Draft

Should The Drinking Age Be Changed?

The drinking age is a concern that affects many American citizens starting from teens up to adults. It is a topic that can perk up many ears and that many people have a say in. It is not fair that an 18 year old can risk their lives serving in the military, vote for the next president, purchase weapons, buy cigarettes, and legally be called an adult without having the freedom of an occasional beer. I realize the concern that Americans have with lowering the drinking age, and it is certainly a matter that cannot be taken lightly.  But I feel that as you read on you will see the matter in a different light and hopefully reconsider your opinion, if you do not already feel the same.  

Up until 1970 the drinking age in most states was 21. Partly contributed to of a substantial amount of protesting by young adults, the right to vote was lowered as well as the drinking age to 18 in an increasing number of states. According Hon. Karen Arnold-Burger’s article “The Top Five Reasons We Should Keep The Drinking Age At 21”, between 1970 and 1976 21 states had lowered the drinking age to 18. Another 8 had dropped it to 19 or 20. This changed quickly because of an increased amount of alcohol-related fatalities among teens and young adults. Because of this predicament the drinking age was raised again by 24 out of the 29 states that had lowered it. By 1984 only three states allowed 18 year olds to drink legally. This was a problematic situation because of the number of accidents caused by teens and young adults trying to cross over to the states with lowered drinking ages. Eventually in 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was enacted by Congress and the legal drinking age officially became 21(Arnold-Burger par. 3).

To start off I fully understand that the drinking age was raised from 21 to 18 in the 1970’s to reduce fatal car crashes. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, increasing the minimum drinking age to 21 is credited with having saved 18,220 lives on the nation’s highways between 1975 and 1998.  Other studies have found that it is responsible for a 19% net decrease in fatal crashes involving young drivers, and is currently responsible for saving approximately 1,000 young lives each year (Arnold-Burger par. 4). But this has not at all stopped underage drinking. In reality it has made it worse. The article “Why Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion based on facts.” written by Professor Ruth C. Engs at Indiana University presents logical and statistical information on the topic. Engs states, “The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc” (Engs par. 7) With the increase in age for alcohol purchase and consumption legality brings other problems. These problems include those brought on by irresponsible heavy drinking by college age students.

Statistically from “1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%” (Engs par. 6). It is clear that fatal car crashes caused by intoxicated minors may not just be because of the increase in drinking age. On top of this an abundance of strong facts and percentages proves that the rise in drinking has only increased problems before sought to be eliminated.

A discussion of this argument was presented on 60 Minutes by CBS News. The dilemma was brought up by former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, John McCardell with the help of Mark Beckner, the chief of police in Boulder, Colorado. Beckner states, "This law has been an abysmal failure," McCardell told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl. "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings. Like basements, fraternity houses and locked dorm rooms, where kids go to hide from the law and from adults, including parents, who might teach them some moderation” (The Debate par. 7). It is sad to see what the drinking community has come to. Maybe if the drinking age is lowered better results will come for America’s college students and teens that chose to participate in casual drinking.

Without the ease of acquiring alcohol, young adults feel the need to buy expensive fake IDs. With possession of these IDs these have possibly innocent, young adults have the potential of getting felony charges. As said by Chief of Police Mark Beckner, “The overall advantage is we're not trying to enforce a law that's unenforceable. The abuse of alcohol and the over-consumption of alcohol and DUI driving. Those are the areas we've gotta focus our efforts. Not on chasing kids around trying to give 'em a ticket for having a cup of beer in their hand” (The Debate par. 19). Teens and College students feel the need to get as drunk as possible before going out on weekends. In McCardell’s opinion, “The law has created a dangerous culture of irresponsible and reckless behavior, unsupervised binge and extreme drinking… kids trying to perfect the art of getting drunk as fast as possible by playing drinking games. And pre-loading, downing as much of the forbidden fruit as possible before going out in order to avoid getting caught by the police” (The Debate par. 8) To me this just seems backwards. I realize that the police force and laws are set up to avoid reckless behavior and potentially dangerous events from occurring. But in fact opposite is happening because of such strict laws against minors drinking.

Many teens and young adults have the desire to rebel against the law. Drinking illegally seems cool to them and can actually push them more to binge drink. It is true that drinking at younger age does have its downside, such as decline in athletic performance, academics, health, and overall wellbeing. With this said if these youngsters are not able to drink in controlled environments they will have to learn for themselves. How will they be able to manage these downsides if they are not comfortably drinking around better role models? I am sure most everyone from adults to teens can attest to that one time the just drank way too much. Some of these people may even have stories of trips to the emergency room. The lack of adult authority over binge drinking can only be a negative. If these young adults and teens were able to drink in bars and around and school functioned events, bartenders and other adults would be able to cut them off so they learn moderation. They would also not have to feel the need to drink in underground, unsupervised environments where they may act in both irresponsible and life-threatening behaviors. To add on to this, many underage drinkers drive intoxicated in order to hide it from their parents. If the drinking age were lowered these minors would feel less pressure in telling their parents that they are drunk, and have a better chance of getting a safe ride home.

“The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs” (Engs par. 1). Similar attempts to alter drinking laws have historically failed. This was seen in the 1920’s with the national prohibition and the 1850’s with state prohibition. Underground drinking had become a huge ordeal causing otherwise innocent citizens to be arrested for having a casual drink. Crime had increased in these times and they had to be appealed because of it. I feel a similar situation is being presented in this argument. By lowering the drinking age such illegal, underground drinking will be brought to a minimum, and young adults and teens will learn to drink in a reasonable moderation.

The United States is one of the only developed countries who have a drinking age higher than the age of 18. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia all have drinking ages at 18 or lower. Michaela Ails who wrote an article in The Daily Collegian has a say on this, “Even our neighbors to the north, Canada, have a drinking age of 18 proving that this is not a regional phenomenon (Ails par. 1). As mentioned before I understand that the drinking age was raised in order to lower automobile fatalities and that American driving standards are much different than those of other countries.

To make a compromise that will allow Americans feel more comfortable about lowering the drinking age, certain standards can be arranged. Teens must complete a 40 hour course on the effects of alcohol on the human body and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. They will not be able to purchase or consume alcohol until they get a special license that shows they have completed this course. Also an attempt to set up safe ride programs across America will be put underway. These programs desired outcome will be to make sure teens and young adults are not driving intoxicated. Safe Ride programs can be set up in towns where of age teens and adults can volunteer to drive intoxicated people to a safe destination. Members of the town, realistically high school students, will attend a meeting where the program is explained. They will then be put into groups of their choice, so you may be with your friends if you want, and have designated nights set up throughout the year to be a safe ride. If enough people join, the members may only have to participate a few times a year. I feel if more programs like this are set up around America, there will be a dramatic decrease in drunk driving. I also believe that teens and parents will be very willing to participate in this knowing that when the time comes they can safely be brought home without risking their lives.

                To conclude I hope all readers now have a better sense of where I am coming from in my discussion of lowering the drinking age to the age of 18. I do hope all will better consider the idea and with much optimism will make it a reality. Thank you, your time is very valuable to me in getting this message across.

“The Debate On Lowering The drinking Age”. CBS News. Feb. 22, 2009. March 28, 2011.

Engs, Ruth C. “Why Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion based on facts.”Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University. March, 20, 1998. March 29, 2011.

Ails, Michaela. “Lowering Drinking Age to 18 Would Benefit Young Adults”. The Daily Collegian. Feb. 2, 2009. March 30, 2011.

Hon. Arnold-Burger, Karen. “The Top Five Reasons We Should Keep The Drinking Age At 21”. August 26, 2008. April 17, 2011.

Prewriting 4.2

The coin was tossed and were forced to defend first. I never liked being on defense first. I prefer the offense starting off and scoring on the first drive. So this way I have less pressure on me to stop the opposing team from gaining ground. Being a starter is never easy, especially when you are going against offensive lineman who look like grown men. And the fact that this was the National Championship game didn't help. My hear was beating out of my chest, I couldn't even see the line of scrimmage in front of me. All I hear is "down, set"... the offensive tackles dark eyes were glaring at me, I could sense it, I'm gonna fuck everything up or break my hands I kept thinking to myself.."HIT! The lineman's hands shoot at me me like two pistols ready to blow my brains out.  Then my instincts kicked in, everything I had practiced for so long fired out of me like hot lava, and I drove that lineman's big ass so far I actually took myself out of the play. luckily there were a group of linebackers behind me to clean up behind me. Then I jumped on the pile and suddenly the butterflies went away.

Prewriting for Essay 4

The topic I am thinking of writing about is my 8th grade football team. We had gone the whole season undefeated and won the National Championship. This is one the biggest accomplishments I have ever been through and I am thinking it always will be. I think it tells a good story of how hard work and determination can actually bring you somewhere. The whole team had no idea we would have made it that far. Realistically we thought we were going to get crushed in the first round of the playoffs. We never really put into prospective how much harder we worked than the other teams and how talented we really were. Overall another message this story tells is to never doubt or short-side yourself because anything can happen.

Reflection 3.1

After going back and forth on a bunch of topics to write my argument on I think I decided on the best one. Lowering the drinking age is a very popular topic that has a lot of resources to choose from. I was able to find exactly what I was looking for to help me get my points across. I am not sure how strongly my argument came of as being Rogerian style. I found it a little difficult to have that soft, compromising tone to my essay. This is partly because I am naturally an aggressive writer.

Rogerian Arguement: Rough Draft

Let’s Lower It: An Argument on Lowering the Drinking Age

The drinking age is a concern that affects many American citizens starting from teens up to adults. It is a topic that can perk up many ears and that many people have a say in. It is not fair that an 18 year old can risk their lives serving in the military, vote for the next president, purchase weapons, buy cigarettes, and legally be called an adult without having the freedom of an occasional beer. I realize the concern that Americans have with lowering the drinking age, but I feel that as you read on by our own means I believe that your views will change. With that said, I feel that the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 and here’s why.

To start off I fully understand that the drinking age was raised from 21 to 18 in the mid 1980’s to reduce fatal car crashes. But this has not at all stopped underage drinking. In fact it has made it worse. The article “Why Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion based on facts.” written by Professor Ruth C. Engs at Indiana University presents logical and statistical information on the topic. Engs states, “The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments, etc” (Engs par. 7) With the increase in age for alcohol purchase and consumption legality brings other problems. These problems include those brought on by irresponsible heavy drinking by college age students. Statistically from “1982 until 1987 about 46% of students reported "vomiting after drinking." This jumped to over 50% after the law change. Significant increase were also found for other variables: "cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9% to almost 12%; "missing class because of hangover" went from 26% to 28%; "getting lower grade because of drinking" rose from 5% to 7%; and "been in a fight after drinking" increased from 12% to 17%” (Engs par. 6). It is clear that fatal car crashes caused by intoxicated minors may not just be because of the increase in drinking age. On top of this an abundance of strong facts and percentages proves that the rise in drinking has only increased problems before sought to be eliminated.

A discussion of this argument was presented on 60 Minutes by CBS News. The dilemma was brought up by former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, John McCardell  with the help of Mark Beckner, the chief of police in Boulder, Colorado. Beckner states, "This law has been an abysmal failure," McCardell told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl. "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings. Like basements, fraternity houses and locked dorm rooms, where kids go to hide from the law and from adults, including parents, who might teach them some moderation” (CBS par. 7). It is sad to see what the drinking community has come to. Maybe if the drinking age is lowered better results will come for America’s college students and teens that chose to participate in casual drinking.

Without the ease of acquiring alcohol, young adults feel the need to buy expensive fake IDs. With possession of these IDs these have possibly innocent, young adults have the potential of getting felony charges. “The overall advantage is we're not trying to enforce a law that's unenforceable. The abuse of alcohol and the over-consumption of alcohol and DUI driving. Those are the areas we've gotta focus our efforts. Not on chasing kids around trying to give 'em a ticket for having a cup of beer in their hand” (CBS par. 19). Teens and College students feel the need to get as drunk as possible before going out on weekends. “The law has created a dangerous culture of irresponsible and reckless behavior, unsupervised binge and extreme drinking… kids trying to perfect the art of getting drunk as fast as possible by playing drinking games. And pre-loading, downing as much of the forbidden fruit as possible before going out in order to avoid getting caught by the police” (CBS par. 8) To me this just seems backwards. I realize that the police force and laws are set up to avoid reckless behavior and potentially dangerous events from occurring. But in fact opposite is happening because of such strict laws against minors drinking.

Many teens and young adults have the desire to rebel against the law. Drinking illegally seems cool to them and can actually push them more to binge drink. It is true that drinking at younger age does have its downside, such as decline in athletic performance, academics, health, and overall wellbeing. With this said if these youngsters are not able to drink in controlled environments they will have to learn for themselves. How will they be able to manage these downsides if they are not comfortably drinking around better role models? I am sure most everyone from adults to teens can attest to that one time the just drank way too much. Some of these people may even have stories of trips to the emergency room. The lack of adult authority over binge drinking can only be a negative. If these young adults and teens were able to drink in bars and around and school functioned events, bartenders and other adults would be able to cut them off so they learn moderation. They would also not have to feel the need to drink in underground, unsupervised environments where they may act in both irresponsible and life-threatening behaviors. To add on to this, many underage drinkers drive intoxicated in order to hide it from their parents. If the drinking age were lowered these minors would feel less pressure in telling their parents that they are drunk, and have a better chance of getting a safe ride home.

“The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs” (Engs par. 1). Similar attempts to alter drinking laws have historically failed. This was seen in the 1920’s with the national prohibition and the 1850’s with state prohibition. Underground drinking had become a huge ordeal causing otherwise innocent citizens to be arrested for having a casual drink. Crime had increased in these times and they had to be appealed because of it. I feel a similar situation is being presented in this argument. By lowering the drinking age such illegal, underground drinking will be brought to a minimum, and young adults and teens will learn to drink in a reasonable moderation.

The United States is one of the only developed countries who have a drinking age higher than the age of 18. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia all have drinking ages at 18 or lower. Michaela Ails who wrote an article in The Daily Collegian has a say on this, “Even our neighbors to the north, Canada, have a drinking age of 18 proving that this is not a regional phenomenon (Ails  par. 1). As mentioned before I understand that the drinking age was raised in order to lower automobile fatalities and that American driving standards are much different than those of other countries.
                To conclude I hope all readers now have a better sense of where I am coming from in my discussion of lowering the drinking age to the age of 18. I do hope all well better consider the idea and with much optimism will make it a reality. Thank you, your time is very valuable to me in getting this message across.

Works Cited:

“The Debate On Lowering The drinking Age”. CBS News. Feb. 22, 2009. March 28, 2011.

Engs, Ruth C. “Why Drinking Age Should Be Lowered: An Opinion based on facts.”Applied Health Sciences, Indiana University. March, 20, 1998. March 29, 2011.

Ails, Michaela. “Lowering Drinking Age to 18 Would Benefit Young Adults”. The Daily Collegian. Feb. 2, 2009. March 30, 2011.

Reflection 2.2

After reading over my first draft and getting feedback I decided to take a somewhat different approach to my paper. I completely took out a couple paragraphs and added new ones. I took out these paragraphs because they were about my own personal views and I could not fully support their claims. Even though I think they did a good job getting my point across, I just could not get proper evidence. Instead I talked about a scholarly article that was very easy to back up. Although, the article was extremely difficult to find; in the end it was very useful.

Prewriting Essay 3

I am interested in writing my essay on some time of issue that involves college students, preferably athletes. being an athlete myself, this is always a topic that interests me and I may have some personal thoughts on the issue.

Essay 2.2: The Tiger Mother's Predator

Dan Sheldon

Professor Henderson

Academic Writing 1

March, 20, 2011

The Tiger Mother’s Predator

The article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua, featured in the Wall Street Journal on January 8, 2011, is a controversial piece that may have readers both outraged and intrigued. Chua explains her view on how her parenting style is more effective than any other style used by different parents. Even though her children seem to be excelling in school, her abusiveness and lack of freedom render her ways questionable.  

The idea that Chinese Mothers are Superior is one that is lacking full support. Although statistically Chinese students do have a high success rate, when do the parents stop and ask what their children feel about the whole ordeal? What other hobbies or interests do they wish to follow that the parents are not assigning them? How can you measure the parenting style and success rate of all "Chinese Mothers? Can you take into account the success rate/ happiness of the children of "western parents" when compared to those of "Chinese mothers"? As mentioned in Chua’s editorial, "In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said that stressing academic success is not good for the children, by contrast roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way” (Chua par. 2) It is clear that Chinese parents have a very different view than that of the so-called “Western parents”.  For Chinese mothers getting straight A's is not something to strive for it is simply how it must be. This is compared to a common Western parent praising their child for getting a B on a paper. There is nothing wrong with wanting your children to get A’s. I feel that “Chinese Mothers” have the right incentive by pushing their kids to have high academic achievements. But to the excess of that which has been described in this article, I feel is wrong.  I think it is to a point of abusiveness and their children will unfortunately not be able to experience all life has to offer. They may develop social problems because of it.

A study was conducted by Xinyin Chen of the University of Western Canada, and Qi Dong and Hong Zhou of Beijing Normal University. Their article was featured in the International Journal of Behavioral Development, copyright 1997. The study was done to show social abilities amongst peers due in contrast to both authoritarian and authoritative style parenting. The study was done by having teacher measure school related social competence and problems for each child. The child-rearing practices were provided by the parents of the children. Along with this the children’s academic records were provided by the school. “It was found that authoritarian parenting was associated positively with aggression and negatively with peer acceptance, sociability-competence, distinguished studentship and school academic achievement. In contrast, parental authoritative style was associated positively with indices of social and school adjustment and negatively with adjustment problems” (Xinyin). Social competence plays a big role in most work settings. If these participants are not able to function properly with other students, how will they be able to work effectively with others in future occupations? Book smarts can only take you so far.

If the children are not able to experience social settings and extracurricular activities in their childhood, other than violin, I believe they will grow up to be dull, socially awkward individuals. In the article “Our Readers Roar: What Makes a Good Parent”, Alistair Nichols brings up a point similar to mine. They state “All that rote learning and drilling isn't conducive to developing creative thinking abilities; and avoidance of sleepovers, school plays, sports, etc. doesn't make them very team-oriented—a real drawback in the modern world.… I think there has to be a middle way. Unfortunately, this article doesn't promote a balanced approach” (Our Readers Roar par. 2). Not permitting your children to participate in such social settings cannot possibly be the best way to go about, especially when looking at the long run effect.

Although as mentioned in the article, “what Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you are good at it…. Once a child starts to excel at something…. She gets praise, admiration, and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not fun activity fun” (Chua par.5). Maybe the child has a desire to partake in something that they may be truly good at and thoroughly enjoy. Well if the parents do not allow them to participate in this, how will they ever know? They may be missing out on something that could make them successful and happy in years to come.  Maybe the child has superior hand-eye-coordination and may excel in a sport like baseball. By not allowing this child to experience the sport they will never know his true potential. They will also have no understanding of what it is like to compete on a team and work as a group to complete a goal. They will miss out on the experience of building a strong friend base in which they will learn the feats of a social setting. I personally have gained the strongest friendships through sports and have learned what it means to work towards one goal as a team. If I did not experience this I would not be the same person nor have the same moral values. Unfortunately the children who are not allowed to participate in such activities will never gain the understanding of these powerful experiences.

According to “Essentials of Life-Span Development” by John W. SantRock, copyright 2008, “Authoritarian parents are restrictive, punitive parents who exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange” (Santrock 175). This style strongly matches that of the “Chinese Mother”. It further explains that the children are “often unhappy, fearful, and anxious about themselves with others; they also fail to initiate activity, and have weak communication skills” (Santrock 175). The children of the parents will seemingly have weak communication skills and overall not be happy. Are straight A’s really worth the lack of your child’s happiness and overall well-being? I would like to think not, but everyone has their own opinion as well as view on the subject.

To conclude, the statement of Chinese Mothers being superior is not one that can be backed up to the point of no argument. Chua may think that her methods are perfect, but many beg to differ. Overall parents with the authoritarian style parenting should really take another look at how their children are physiologically developing; changes may need to be made.

Works Cited:

Santrock, John W., Essentials of Life-Span Development, 1221 Avenue of the Americans, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2008, United States

Chua, Amy, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, 2011, The Wall Street journal, February, 2, 2011

“Our Readers Roar: What Makes A Good Parent”, 2011, The Wall Street Journal , February 28, 2011

Chen, Xinyin, Dong, Qi, Zhou, Hong. “Authoritative and Authoritarian Parenting Practices and Social and School Performance in Chinese Children”. International Journal of Behavioral Development November 1997 vol. 21 no. 4 855-873. http://jbd.sagepub.com/content/21/4/855.short. 3/19/2011.

Reflection 2.1

I found the research process easier than I thought it would be at the start. I thought that finding my own sources was going to be a big hassle. But, the fact that other arguing articles were linked right on the web page of the original article it made finding other sources and point of views quite simple. Also I had taken a psychology course in the fall and had plentiful information on effecting parenting styles. I also had the textbook we used readily accessible.

Essay 2.1: the tiger mother's predator

The Tiger Mother’s predator

The article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua is a controversial piece that may have readers both outraged and intrigued. Chua explains her view on how her parenting style is more effective than any other style used by different parents. Even though her children seem to be excelling in school, her abusiveness and lack of freedom render her ways questionable.  

The idea that Chinese Mothers are Superior is one that is lacking full support. Although Statistically Chinese students do have a high success rate, when do the parents stop and ask what their children feel about the whole ordeal? What other hobbies or interests do they wish to follow that the parents are not assigning them? How can you measure the parenting style and success rate of all "Chinese Mothers? Can you take into account the success rate/ happiness of the children of "western parents" when compared to those of "Chinese mothers"? "In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said that stressing academic success is not good for the children, by contrast roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way." It is clear that Chinese parents have a very different view than that of the so-called “Western parents”.  For Chinese mothers getting straight A's is not something to strive for it is simply how it must be. This is compared to a common Western parent praising their child for getting a B on a paper.

While on the topic of parenting styles I would like to share my personal views on the subject. My parents were always very open to allow me to follow whatever academic and extracurricular paths I so wished. Over my 18, nearly 19 years of existence I have experienced many different venues of hobbies. My parents only directed me towards paths I may be interested in; they did not by any means dictate my life. I feel this made me a very diverse and creative person. I can say the same for both my brother and sister. None of the three of us followed the same paths. My sister became an accounting major, my brother a business major, and myself a health and physical education major. Both my brother and I play on the football team as well. We are all very successful in school and seem to be living our lives as happily and freely as we possibly can.

The only thing I can say on a personal note after reading this article is that I wish my parents had pushed me a little more to achieve higher grades. It is not that they didn’t care it is just a matter of them saying “try your best and you’ll get what you get”. Well for someone who does not have as high of an interest in academics as opposed to extracurricular activities such as sports, I did not strive for the best in the classroom. An average 3.0 was just fine for me. And as long as this got me into a good college, my parents were happy too. I feel that “Chinese Mothers” have the right incentive by pushing their kids to have high academic achievements. But to the excess of that which has been described in this article, I feel is wrong. I think it is to a point of abusiveness and their children will unfortunately not be able to experience all life has to offer.

If the children are not able to experience social settings and extracurricular activities in their childhood, other than violin, I believe they will grow up to be dull, socially awkward individuals. In the article “Our Readers Roar: What Makes a Good Parent”, Alistair Nichols brings up a point similar to mine. They state “All that rote learning and drilling isn't conducive to developing creative thinking abilities; and avoidance of sleepovers, school plays, sports, etc. doesn't make them very team-oriented—a real drawback in the modern world.… I think there has to be a middle way. Unfortunately, this article doesn't promote a balanced approach” (Our Readers Roar par. 2).

Although as mentioned in the article, “what Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you are good at it…. Once a child starts to excel at something…. She gets praise, admiration, and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not fun activity fun” (Chua par.5). Maybe the child has a desire to partake in something that they may be truly good at and thoroughly enjoy. Well if the parents do not allow them to participate in this, how will they ever know? They may be missing out on something that could make them successful and happy in years to come.  Maybe the child has superior hand-eye-coordination and may excel in a sport like baseball. By not allowing this kid to experience the sport they will never know his true potential. They will also have no understanding of what it is like to compete on a team and work as a group to complete a goal. They will miss out on the experience of building a strong friend base in which they will learn the feats of a social setting. I personally have gained the strongest friendships through sports and have learned what it means to work towards one goal as a team. If I did not experience this I would not be the same person nor have the same moral values. Unfortunately the children who are not allowed to participate in such activities will never gain the understanding of these powerful experiences.

According to “Essentials of Life-Span Development” by John W. SantRock, copyright 2008, “Authoritarian parents are restrictive, punitive parents who exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange” (Santrock 175). This style strongly matches that of the “Chinese Mother”. It further explains that the children are “often unhappy, fearful, and anxious about themselves with others; they also fail to initiate activity, and have weak communication skills” (Santrock 175). The children of the parents will seemingly have weak communication skills and overall not be happy. Are Straight A’s really worth the lack of your child’s happiness and overall wellbeing? I would like to think not, but everyone has their own opinion as well as view on the subject.

To conclude the statement of Chinese Mothers being superior is not one that can be backed up to the point of no argument. She may think that her methods are perfect, but many beg to differ.

Works Cited

Santrock, John W., Essentials of Life-Span Development, 1221 Avenue of the Americans, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2008, United States

Chua, Amy, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, 2011, The Wall Street journal, February, 2, 2011

“Our Readers Roar: What Makes A Good Parent”, 2011, The Wall Street Journal , February 28, 2011

Documentation Quiz

What kind of documentation system are we using to cite our sources?
In This system there are two parts, one is in text? For a web source list the info the you have to include?
1) MLA format
2) parenthetical citations
3) author and/or editors name, name of the databases, , or title of the project, book, or article. Any version numbers available. Date of version revision, publisher info. Date you accessed, Web  (no URL)

Prewriting essay 2

The idea that Chinese Mothers are Superior is one that is lacking full support. Although Statistically Chinese students do have a high success rate, when do the parents stop and ask what their children feel about the whole ordeal? What other hobbies or interests do they wish to follow that the parents are not assigning them? How can you measure the parenting style and success rate of all "Chinese Mothers? Can you take into account the success rate/ happiness of the children of "western parents" when compared to those of "Chinese mothers"?
"In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said that stressing academic success is not good for the children, by contrast roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way."
It is clear that Chinese and Western mothers view their children's academic success quite differently for the most part. For Chinese mothers getting straight A's is not something to strive for it is simply how it must be. This is compared to a common Western parent praising their child for getting a B on a paper.

Reflection 1.2

I have learned a great deal about writing since I have been in this class. One thing mainly that I have improved the greatest on is analyzing other pieces of writing. This has been done through the notes we have taken being applied to the articles we have been told to read and analize. Something I wish to work on in my next draft is putting all pieces of the assignment the 1st draft. This is instead of having to go back to the assignment and checking if I have gotten all pieces incorporated into my 2nd draft. By then it is too late and I have no more chances to get my draft revised again.

Essay 1.2: A Missing Bullet: A Rhetorical Analysis of “Government should create stricter gun laws”

Dan Sheldon

Professor Henderson

Academic Writing 1

February 18, 2011

A Missing Bullet: A Rhetorical Analysis of “Government should create stricter gun laws”

The article “Government Should Create Stricter Gun Laws” written by Megan Weintraut is a thought provoking piece that discusses the major controversy of having stricter gun laws in the United States.  It appeared in the Ithacan, Ithaca College’s newspaper on January 26, 2011. Weintraut clearly has a passionate interest in the subject. She adamantly discusses her view on the gun laws, which is directed toward anyone who is willing to read the well written article. Overall Weintraut has, for the most part, done an effective job at getting her claim across. However her lack of credibility toward discussing the subject does bring a relative weakness into the potency of her article. 

Weintraut discusses her own opinion on gun laws in a credible and scientific way. She uses numbers and percents to layout the basis of the article. Through these numbers and statistics she states the facts that are necessary to get her points across to the average reader. An example of this is when she states “in 2006 alone, firearms were involved in 68 percent of murders, and more than 90 percent of today’s gang-related homicides involved guns” (par. 3). The logic she uses makes it virtually impossible to argue the opposing side. She argues a point that most Americans can follow and understand. She writes in a way that makes it appear as if there is no other side and it is obvious that her point is correct. Using the numbers and percentages makes it seem as if everything she is saying is strictly fact. It is because of the facts that she implements that make it so clear that gun laws need a change. This is why the author has used the element of LOGOS (reasoning) effectively.

Weintraut is a very persuasive writer; however her lack of personal experience and education of the matter hinder her qualifications as to the topic that she chose to write about. Weintraut is a Senior Mathematics major at Ithaca College. This is clearly not a powerful credibility to discuss the controversy of gun laws in America. Although throughout the article she does state specific national crises and sources that are credible and can appeal to the general public that has an interest in such matters. Examples of these national crises that are mentioned are the Columbine High school, Virginia Tech, and Arizona shootings (par. 5). Even though most of her sources are credible she does use certain sources such as Chris Rock (par. 7), a well known comedian to further explain her point. It is obvious that although Chris rock may be funny he is not a reliable source to the matter of stricter gun laws. In no way can his quote be backed up by any facts or statistical information. So it is evident that the author may not be the most qualified candidate to discuss the government’s restriction of gun law. Being a mathematician major has absolutely no vigor in the credibility towards the matter of restricting gun laws. On top of this her lack of personal experience in the matter does not help to influence her credibility to gun laws. Overall the author indirectly presents herself as being a very weak source of credibility (ETHOS) for the topic she writes about. In these ways the missing element of ETHOS is a key portion to the credibility of her article.

Weintraut does an excellent job of reaching the common people through emotional understanding. The matter of stricter gun laws is a very controversial topic which reaches the heart of many Americans. By stating specific national disasters such as the most recent Arizona shooting (par. 5) she touches the hearts of people around the country. It is also an easy topic to talk about since many parents in the United States feel that their children’s safety can be threatened by gun use. Weintraut also discusses the ways in which today’s youth are being effected from the exposure of violence in the media. As stated by the author “The popular video game Grand Theft Auto rewards players for murdering law enforcement. Through such an overdose of irresponsible violence in the media, Today’s youth are becoming desensitized to the dangers of guns” (par. 4). Weintraut effectively presents the point that violent media is greatly impacting the minds of youth today. In this sense, Weintraut has done a sufficient job in incorporating PATHOS (emotion) into her article.

Throughout the article the author uses reliable resources such as The American journal of public health that the readers feel reassured that the article is indeed true and that gun laws need to be changed. It also through quoting the famous comedian Chris Rock, readers are able to feel a closer, more personal connection to the topic. The quote she used being “everybody is talking about gun control… I think we need some bullet control!.. If a bullet costs $5,000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders” (par. 7). Even though the thought of Chris Rock saying this may bring some chuckles, her usage of the quote is relevant to the topic. In this way as well what has been said above the author uses PATHOS (emotion) into the article.

                To conclude the author Megan Weintraut makes some hearty, good points that will leave her readers with a different view on the government’s restriction of gun laws. Seemingly she has gotten her point across as was the whole initiative of the article. Her use of LOGOS, ETHOS, and PATHOS for the most part can be used to back her view up.

Works Cited:
The Ithacan, Ithaca College Writing lab, 2011,http://theithacan.org/8438,  February 6, 2011