Sentence variety

1. The reality show follows the lives of Bruce and Kris Jenner’s combined family. Most of the episodes focus on the three oldest daughters, Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé Kardashian. 

The reality show, Keeping up with the Kardashian, follows the lives of Bruce and Kris Jenner’s combined family, mostly focusing on the three oldest daughters, Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé Kardashian. 

1. Bruce Jenner was famous for breaking the world record and winning a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics. His sons from a previous marriage, Brandon and Brody, have also appeared on their own reality shows. 

Bruce Jenner, famous for breaking the world record and winning a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics, has also seen his sons from a previous marriage, Brandon and Brody, appear on their own reality shows.

1. The Kardashians’ father, the late attorney Robert Kardashian, was famous for representing O. J. Simpson. His daughters gained recognition as American socialites. 

Additionally, the Kardashians’ father, the late attorney Robert Kardashian, was famous for representing O. J. Simpson, while his daughters gained recognition as American socialites.

 

1. Kim came into the national spotlight in 2007 after a sex- tape scandal and resulting Playboy appearance. The Kardashian fame grew into a profitable reality series. 

Kim came into the national spotlight in 2007 after a sex- tape scandal and resulting Playboy appearance, which lead to the Kardashians’ fame growing into a profitable reality series.

1. The show depicts the daily routine of the Kardashians. Spin- off shows feature Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé’s attempts to build their line of fashion boutiques.The show depicts the daily routine of the Kardashians; their Spin- off shows feature Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé’s attempts to build their line of fashion boutiques. 
   1. The Kardashians’ behavior at first seemed outrageous. They are a loving family. The Kardashians’ behavior at first seemed outrageous, but they are a loving family. 
   2. The Kardashians squabble like typical siblings. Kris, the mother, holds the family together. 

   The Kardashians squabble like typical siblings, but Kris, the mother, holds the family together. 

   1. Kim’s $ 10 million wedding to pro basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 was seen by an estimated 10.5 million viewers. The marriage lasted only 72 days.

   Although Kim’s wedding to pro basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 was seen by an estimated 10.5 million viewers and cost $10 dollars, the marriage lasted only 72 hours. 

   
   
   

 

Freewriting:

I want to take the time to find a good article for this essay. I really want it to be about a topic I care about and can write about at length on. I can’t think of any topics to look at right now, but I do always get ideas scrolling through the op-ed sections of news sites. I like looking at CNN and NPR, so maybe I’ll just scroll through there and find a topic to write on. I know we are supposed to be talking about what kind of rhetorical strategies we think we want to use, but why would I do that? I haven’t even picked out an article, or even a topic yet. I don’t know what else to say other than I don’t feel comfortable just throwing out random ideas until I’ve at least picked an article, that just doesn’t seem completely right to me. I only really get ideas when I am set on what I’m writing on and I pick a direction to go from there, what I’m doing changes based on what I’m working on. I’m not really one to have a set plan or throw out random ideas when I don’t even know what I’ll be writing on. I didn’t even know this assignment existed until right now either, and I frequently look at canvas.

Anyways, I’m going to structure it by:

Introduction: article title, author, short summary, necessary context, and opinion shared by author

Body: how the author conveys this opinion, how it the article works, and maybe what could be changed, or does it connect with the audience.

Conclusion: restate everything I said and reinforce the meaning of the article.

Group work on the blog: Ruiqi Liu, Carly Senteno, Vincent Fernandez

Part I: Hard evidence or constructed arguments?

Discuss whether the following statements are examples of hard evidence or constructed arguments. Not all cases are clear-cut.

1. Drunk drivers are involved in more than 50 percent of traffic deaths.

Hard evidence

Because it contains data and statistics.

1. DNA tests of skin found under the victim’s fingernails suggest that the defendant was responsible for the assault.

Hard evidence

Witnesses

1. A psychologist testified that teenage violence could not be blamed on video games.

Constructed argument, even though it is an expert testifying this, there isn’t sufficient evidence other than one psychologist’s argument. 

1. The crowds at President Trump’s inauguration were the largest on record.

Constructed argument, it is a statement that doesn’t really have any reason as to why it should be believed as true. 

1. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Constructed argument, because it is a statement with no reasoning or data given to back it up.

1. Air bags ought to be removed from vehicles because they can kill young children and small-framed adults. (Based on the activities in Lunsford, p. 63)

Hard evidence, because it is a statement that has reasoning and has a source cited.

 

 

chatai.com

https://www.tripsavvy.com/traditional-foods-in-zacatecas-mexico-1651817

Zacatecas is a state in Mexico known for its rich and flavorful cuisine. The cuisine of Zacatecas is characterized by its use of a variety of local ingredients such as dried chiles, beans, squash, and maize. Traditional Zacatecan dishes include queso flameado (melted cheese with chiles and onions), enchiladas zacatecanas (tortillas filled with cheese, beans, and chiles), tacos al pastor (tacos filled with pork and pineapple), and tamales (maize-based dumplings filled with vegetables, cheese, and/or meat). Zacatecas is also known for its sweet breads, such as the famous conchas and cuernos, as well as its creamy flans and other desserts.

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas#Culture,_festivals,_and_traditions

Traditional favorite foods include gorditas and panecillos, both made from corn and can be sweet or savory, depending on the filling. Wheat breads include panochas and semitas. Condoches are gorditas made with fresh corn cooked in corn husks. Gorditas de cuajada are representative of food on ranches. Meat is most typically prepared as part of a stew to which vegetables such as corn, chickpeas, squash, rice and more are added. One well-known meat preparation is asado de boda, which is pork in a sauce made with mild red chili peppers. Traditional beverages include pulque, aguamiel, aguardiente and mezcal as well as a purely local beverage called colonche, made by fermenting a cactus fruit.^[12]

 

Rhetorical Analysis:

Both sources included different foods, but both of the responses were detailed. They both offered different details: The AI response about what flavors are used in the region and Wikipedia offering information about traditional dishes.

 

 

Academic Research Writing: Library Work

In the article “Ethnic diversity, social identity, and social withdrawal:Investigating Putnam’s constrict thesis”, Wickes et al discuss the social behavior between different ethnic groups. In the first paragraph, the authors introduce the idea “that ethnic diversity creates social distance, which in turn compromises social connectedness and trust(Putnam 2007 & Wickes et al 2021)”. The authors go on to elaborate on how ethnic identities create barriers in communities and make people have reservations about interacting with people with different ethnic identities.

References:

Wickes, R. Hipp, J. Laughland- Booy, J. 2022. Sociological Quarterly. 63(3). eScholarship, University of California

 

 

Group Members: Kiran Manghnani, Zijie Guo, and Carly Senteno

In the article “What women see when they look at Gabby Petito” by Holly Thomas, the author makes social commentary on the case of Gabby Petito, a young white woman whose disappearance and death grabbed nationwide media attention. This article serves the purpose of letting the audience know that women of all colors go missing and deserve media attention too. 

Thomas begins by sharing the basics of Gabby Petito’s disappearance and how it has been a top story in the media. She then goes on to include the findings of “A 2018 United Nations Study on homicide”; she found that “58% were killed by intimate partners or family members”. By including these statistics and others of the same nature, Thomas transitions into recognizing all women—especially minority groups—who face violence and death in their own home. The author brings to light that Gabby Petito’s disappearance raises the reminder to audiences that white women are not the only women who go missing or face domestic violence. Thomas continues on to recognize how white women are percieved so highly in the media, while women who don’t fit that description are not. 

Overall, the article is effective in its rhetorical appeal, particularly in its use of pathos to connect with readers. The author is successful in tapping into the emotional response that many women have had to the case, and in making a persuasive argument about the larger issues it raises. The author shows logos by giving statistical examples to show how common the problem is, raising awareness of the issue and doubling those statistics to show the media’s bias towards covering certain cases over others. A statistic comparing the rate at which black women are murdered compared to white women was used by the author to prove the point that crimes against a white women are more likely to be publicized and brought into the light of the media than cases involving women of color. These statistics are strong and compelling, they grab the reader’s attention emotionally, as well as show to be trustworthy and prove her conclusion to be logical. 

The article could be strengthened by more concrete evidence or statistics to support its claims about women’s experiences and perspectives and the cases which are under-represented in the media and the potential reasoning behind example cases in order to further her point on media bias. Additionally, the author could have provided more analysis of the ways in which the media’s coverage of the case may have contributed to the public’s reactions and attitudes.

These formats are used for different subjects and have different ways to write in text citations and a works cited. To start the in text citations are done differently: MLA citations require a lot less details, while APA does. APA asks for a last name, year, and page number for a quotation, while MLA only requires a last name and page number. In APA, the year of publication is always included in citations in the text. When doing a comparison of the works cited in these two different formats, there are only slight differences. APA italicizes the titles of the works, while MLA underlines them. APA also abbreviates the first name of authors while MLA does not. The dates of publication are also in different spots

Lintao Xue, Lola, Carly

Group work on the blog:

Please work in pairs on the following APA citations and References by first creating a brief in-text citation (only for the first one) and then by creating a References list for all of them:

1. What Do International Students Think and Feel? Adapting to U. S. College Life and Culture by Jerry G. Gebhard. Page 23. 2010. University of Michigan Press, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Gebhard, 2010, p.23)

Gebhard, J. G. (2010). What do international students think and feel? Adapting to U.S. college life and culture. University of Michigan Press, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 23.

 (Original text from the book: Reaching out to faculty and peers for academic and cultural support and regular participation at social events become key factors to help international students mitigate culture shock in U.S. colleges and universities.)

1. Mar, H. June 30, 2011. Interview by telephone. Chinese experience as an international student. Boise, Idaho.  
2. Mack, T. (1997, May). Culture shock. Forbes,188– 90.
3. Simpson J. C. (2006, May 8). Chronicler of culture shock. Time, 156. 
4. Wright, R.(2005, March). Going to teach in prisons: Culture shock. Journal of Correctional Education, (56), (issue 1), 19–38.

 

Reading Response:

Reading Lola’s discussion response, I found that we had many similar ideas. We both wrote that more often than not people argue to win rather than to inform and that it is very unproductive. In her response, she went into the author’s explanation of safetyism, which is something that I wish I included because it creates a better understanding of what problems we face in our very political society. In her paragraph on the article “The Confederate Monuments We Shouldn’t Tear Down”, we both similarly noted that the deceased should be left undisturbed, no matter their political affiliation. In Lola’s response, she wrote about how these monuments serve as a reminder of what not to repeat, which is something I really liked about her response.

Rhetorical Analysis:

Lola, Sammi, and Carly

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latino-cartoonist-lalo-alcaraz-mission-defeat-trump-november-n1241878

This political cartoon is depicting the New York Times as a blowdryer, blowing off Donald Trump’s toupee with the words “TAX FRAUD” underneath where the toupee would be.

This cartoon is making commentary on the tax fraud that was easily exposed, we knew that he was guilty of something that was money related. The illustrator of the panel said he wanted to “include a commentary on the controversy around the president’s taxes…” (Guadalupe) according to the article that included this drawing titled Latina Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz.. The cartoon is quite simple, but it makes a statement that it was so insecurely hidden, that it only took a blow dryer to reveal its concealment.

 

Narrative reflections:

In Amanda Clark’s literacy narrative, she speaks about her experience speaking French on a study abroad program in France and her experience tutoring students at her university. She tells her audience about how she realized how difficult it is to speak French on the spot. She shares her realization that her French was very limited because she needed time to prepare. After her experience in France, literacy meant something different to her when tutoring students whose first language was not English. She realized when learning a new language, the literacy of those people are often looked down upon. This could be helpful for my narrative because it made me realize I could connect experiences in my life and what I learned from them.

In an anonymous literacy narrative, a mother describes how raising her children to master multiple literacies. While the mother was well versed in teaching her daughter how to read and connect with literature at a young age, the husband was well versed in teaching their daughters mathematics and computers. Together both parents were able to give their children a strong foundation for their education and instill a love of learning into them. They both began to educate their children in their respective subjects around age one. This lead to both of their children being able to be ahead of their classmates in elementary school. I learned from this digital narrative that a more conversational style—like this speaker had—makes the audience more engaged.

Reading Response:

By reading Lilah’s response I found that we had these things in common:

• Ethos is built with 3 characteristics
• Ethos is important to an audience

We did not share these thoughts:

• The characteristics of ethos— I said it was the motive, credibility, and authority to speak on a given topic. She wrote that it was honesty, sincerity, and likability that made a speaker qualified to speak on a given topic.

There are no personal connections that she wrote about, but she did convey the experiences of Judy Gold from her essay “Yes, I’m a Podcaster”.

 

Group activity: Kara Cam, Carly Senteno, Zijie Gu

Emma Raducanu- 

Credibility: She is a professional tennis player from the United Kingdom. She became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam singles title  

 

Credibility to endorse: 

• Wilson tennis balls
• Nike (athletic wear/ shoes)

 

Not endorse:

• Fast food
• Alcohol

 

Ariana Grande-

Credibility: She is an award winning singer, songwriter, and actress. She has won a Grammy award, 3 Billboard music awards, and 5 MTV Video Music awards. Her music is highly successful, reaching top charts all over the world. 

 

Credibility to endorse:

• Microphone
• Makeup 
• Perfume 

 

Not endorse:

• Sports 
• Nike

 

Ellen DeGeneres-

Credibility: Ellen American comedian, actress, and television host; she also places a strong emphasis on authenticity and individuality, both in her comedy and in her personal life. She has spoken openly about her struggles with coming out as a lesbian, and has used her experiences to advocate for greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in society.

 

Credibility to endorse:

• vocal advocate
• Comedy clubs 
• Streaming services 

 

Not endorse: 

• Blogger, as a public figure.
• Sports brands 

 

Tom Brady-

Credibility: Professional NFL football player for 23 seasons and has the most superbowl rings out of any player in the league. In 2015, he was found to have knowledge of the Patriots deflating footballs used during games and was suspended from the first four games of the 2016 season as a result. 

 

Credibility to endorse:

• Football brands 
• Football gloves 
• Sports clothing 
• Sportswear brands

 

Not endorse:

• Footballs(scandal)
• Fast food

 

Reading Response:

I read Emma’s post and agree with her stance on this prompt. I really enjoyed the quotes she brought into her response from the article, it strengthened her argument significantly. The personal anecdote that she brought in also added a personal touch as well as a real life example of what Nguyen was discussing in the article. The personal experience from her family provided a unique perspective that added a lot of meaning to her response. In my response and her own, we both touched on how the US government and large corporations exploited asian workers and used them as a stepping stone for their capitalist goals. A difference between our responses is that I felt it lacked a few more details on capitalism than it should’ve.In her analysis of the second article, Emma’s response was very informative and encapsulated the article well. She included plenty of quotes from the article, which helped her response be very well rounded.

Examples:

 

Ethos-

• “As a marine scientist and nature adventurer” Rumaitha Al Busaidi she has seen how desperate the environment is for change 
• “like, for instance, those working on Project Drawdown, who focus on greenhouse gas emissions. They calculated that educating and empowering women and girls is one of the single most important things that we can do to confront carbon pollution.” She is trying to back up her reasoning for combating climate change by educating women on protecting themselves by using data from major climate change scientists
• Al Busaidi founded WomeX in order to combat climate change and “[educate] more women” by leadership training and negotiation skills. 

 

Pathos-

• “Women are also the ones most at risk when it comes to impacts of climate catastrophes like cyclones” She is trying to explain how no matter what event occurs, women are more likely to get hurt because they have more people to tend to. This evokes pity because it feels like they are kind of stuck when a disaster comes since they’re expected to serve others.
• “…but will our grandchildren call this planet home in 2050 or 2100 if our trajectory continues?”
  • With this rhetorical question, she is able to evoke a sense of pity from the audience because while this generation might get through their lifetimes fine, it alludes to a daunting future where our descendants are living in a dystopian planet which we once called home.
    • “I’ve witnessed firsthand how climate change impacts the world we live in. These climate catastrophes have almost taken my life. Like when I was nearly buried alive during an avalanche or swept away by a cyclone.”
    • She gives examples of how she’s seen the effects of climate change firsthand and that climate change is happening everywhere in the world we call home, yet there is no call to action because the future does not affect these people personally.

Logos-

• “In fact, UN figures indicate that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women” Women are majorly affected by climate change since they aren’t educated enough on protecting themselves and they are left to care for the elderly and children. 
• “Women made up about 40 percent of the global workforce” in 2020 and even less in the gulf countries of the middle east, even though “women make up nearly half of the gulf”. Educating and including women could significantly grow the region and its workforce. 

 

Carly Senteno & Vincent Fernandez

1) The chickens on campus play a famous role for our school, they make us unique.            

Type CS 

The chickens on campus play a famous role for our school, and they make us unique.  

2) What if the chickens laid eggs and hid them somewhere they would get left behind.      Type: R

 What if the chickens laid eggs and hid them somewhere? They would get left behind.

3) The chickens bring laughter to our students, without them we’d be an ordinary school.               

Type: CS

 The chickens bring laughter to our students. Without them, we’d be an ordinary school.   

4) I remember, after my first class I was leading out to the bookstore unfortunately, I stepped on the chickens’ dump.    

Type: CS

 I remember, after my first class I was leading out to the bookstore. Unfortunately, I stepped on the chickens’ dump.    

5) Right now, there are many chickens living freely on campus, but many professors don’t want chickens.  

Type R

Right now, there are many chickens living freely on campus. But, many professors don’t want chickens.  

6) Chickens should not be allowed to live freely on the campus because they cause stinky odors make noise and no one wants to clean after.        

Type R

 Chickens should not be allowed to live freely on the campus because they cause stinky odors, make noise, and no one wants to clean after them.    

7) Anytime students want to lie down on the lawn they need a place that looks clean and has fresh air therefore they can not take a nap or study.

Type R

 Anytime a student wants to lie down on the lawn, they need a place that looks clean and has fresh air; therefore they can’t take a nap or study.      

 

8)  But I strongly disagree with that opinion, chickens should not be allowed on campus at all.    

  Type C

 

9) During the time students are in the lab if the chickens make a lot of noise the students won’t focus on doing their job.  

Type: R

During the time students are in the lab, if the chickens make a lot of noise, the students won’t focus on doing their job.  

 

10) In conclusion, if the chickens live freely on campus because students let them live free then these students should clean the chickens’ mess.   

Type: R

In conclusion, if the chickens live freely on campus because students let them live free, then these students should clean the chickens’ mess.