RJ Response 3

Discovering the Truth: The operation of Ethos in Anti-Smoking Advertising, by Rebecca Feldman

      I already knew before I read this that advertisements heavily use literary and persuasive elements to sway the audience in some way. I confirmed my knowledge after reading this rhetorical analysis. Personally, I ignore ads in any form, whether they are trying to get me to smoke and drink or not to. In fact, advertisement is one of the only things I hate about a free-market economy. The best advertisement that I've found is researching something that you are going to buy before you buy it. By cross-referencing different sellers and reading reviews submitted by owners,  I believe an average person can make the most informed decision based on their needs. Advertisement was never involved in this process.

9/28/10

RJ Response 2.2

Oops! I'll Do It Again. And Again. And Again ... , by James Bowman

      It's a great argument whether or not we students should be able to take a placement exam as many times as possible, and take the best grade. Personally, I believe that we SHOULD be able to, for many reasons. First, historically, human kind has never just had one chance to do something great. It's a quote that Thomas Edison created 99 ways how not to make a light bulb and only 1 way to make it right. Looking at a broader scale of things, evolution generally works this way, too: a species is a sum of all of its accomplishments. To bring this back down to specifics, I personally took the SAT three different times. I took the SAT before I took the recommended math courses, and after I took those classes. Of course, the latter test had better scores, getting me higher scholarships. I believe that this is perfectly fair.

9/19/2010

RJ Response 2.1

Words of My Mouth, by Joe Mackall

      This memoir really said something to me. As a kid, I got a tingling feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I did something that I knew I wasn't supposed to do. It felt good. We kids would then do those things so much that it becomes a second-nature thing, something we say without thinking. We never really fully understand the meaning and connotation behind the words we say, because they are new to us. Mackall was just a regular kid trying to be one of the cool guys saying things that everyone else was saying, but it obviously did not get him much glory in the end.

9/19/2010

The Good Immigrant Student

      I was able to connect with some of what Nguyen presented. It was in middle school that I myself had a hard time dealing with other kids. I felt a lot more self-conscious at that time then I do now. Before, I could not speak very well do to a very strong stutter. It was so bad that many of my teachers began to not call on on me because I could not be understood. I had realised then that the world would not wait for those whose abilities did not meet the standards of others. I eventually took a special education class that specifically focused and worked with children who could not speak normally. I took that class for two years before I had learned all of the tricks to speaking normally, with confidence. My speech teacher praised me as 'the most improved'. Instead of being shy and timid, I answered questions with confidence, and even made new friends. I was able to reflect with Nguyen's desire to disappear, to not be called on, and to not have to speak in front of the class. Speech is still something that I am working on today. This specific reading has made me able to remember the past experiences that I had previously tucked into the back of my mind to never be called up again. I believe that in recalling these things, I can continue to strive to become better.