I am thinking to do a rhetorical analysis about either some new news related to the recent economic situation in Japan or some article talking about the new Japanese government policy to reduce carbon emissions to “Zero”. Both would be interesting and have so many contents to include within the essay, but I am more curious about the topic related to the policy towards greenhouse gas. I can discuss what should be happening now and in the future and how Japanese people think about carbon dioxide destroying our planet from many perspectives. Then I look into the structure/ format of the article to analyze how it effectively provides us the information.

An article about the policy :

1. discuss what has been thought in the text and relate to some of my thoughts
2. analyze the text

• analyze the context
• analyze the structure and organization
• how the author uses examples to effectively demonstrate the idea

3. conclusion

1. Drunk drivers are involved in more than 50 percent of traffic deaths. (Hard evidence; there is a data)
2. DNA tests of skin found under the victim’s fingernails suggest that the defendant was responsible for the assault. (Hard evidence/ constructed argument; there is a piece of evidence/ fact but seems like a statement at the same time)
3. A psychologist testified that teenage violence could not be blamed on video games. (Constructed argument; Even though it contains a bit of evidence, it kind of looks like a summary of what the psychologist did)
4. The crowds at President Trump’s inauguration were the largest on record. (Hard evidence; this fact is from the record)
5. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (Constructed argument; this is a statement)
6. Airbags ought to be removed from vehicles because they can kill young children and small-framed adults. (Hard evidence; the reason shown is like common sense)

My peer, Victoria stated in her response that after reading the text, she realized the first step we need to take in order to write an agreement is to consider our beliefs based on distinct facts. The use of a story of writing by Kellyanne Conway is a great example of demonstrating the skills that the author discussed in the previous passage. Moving on to the next part of her response to the APA sample essay, she shared her realization of learning new knowledge through the text as well as the passion for using skills she learned.

Combine each sentence pair into a single sentence using either a coordinating conjunction or a conjunctive adverb. Then copy the combined sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. Pets are not allowed in Mr. Taylor’s building, but he owns several cats and a parrot.
2. New legislation prevents drivers from sending or reading text messages while driving; however,  many people continue to use their phones illegally.
3. The coroner concluded that the young man had taken a lethal concoction of drugs, yet by the time his relatives found him, nothing could be done.
4. Amphibians are vertebrates that live on land and in the water; instead, flatworms are invertebrates that live only in water.
5. Ashley carefully fed and watered her tomato plants all summer, so the tomatoes grew juicy and ripe.
6. When he lost his car key, Simon attempted to open the door with a wire hanger, a credit card, and a paper clip; then, he called the manufacturer for advice.

Combine each sentence pair into a single sentence using a subordinating conjunction and then copy the combined sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. Jake is going to Mexico because there are beautiful beaches in Mexico.
2. A snowstorm disrupted traffic all over the east coast, so that there will be long delivery delays this week.
3. Since my neighbor had his television volume turned up too high, I banged on his door and asked him to keep the noise down.
4. Jessica prepared the potato salad and the sautéed vegetables while Ashley marinated the chicken.
5. After Romeo poisons himself, Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead and stabs herself with a dagger.

By Liting, Kodai

A wise old gentleman retired and bought a home near a Middle School. He mostly spent his summers in his cottage. Then the school year begins, and his peace and quiet came to a sudden halt.
On the first day of school, three boys came down. The alley beating merrily on every trash they see, and the same thing happened the next day, and the noise started driving the wise old man crazy—time for action.
The next afternoon he stoped the drummers as they banged their way down the street. He said, “You kids are a lot of fun! I love hearing your drumming because it is so cheerful, and it reminds me of what I use to do at your age. Will you do me a favor?”
The boys looked at him suspiciously. “What?” they ask. “I’ll give you a dollar if you promise to come around every single day and keep beating on those trash cans,” said the man.
The boys were thrilled. Every day they pounded on trash cans and collected a dollar.
After about a week, the wise old man stopped the boys again, and this time he looked a little bit sad. “I still love you’re drumming,” he said to the boys. However, I was afraid of spending a dollar a day, and it was hard on me. I was on a fixed income. From now on, I was only going to be able to pay you 50 sense to beat on the cans.
The boys weren’t too happy, but they decided to accept 50 cents a day, and they continued beating on all the trash cans. After another week, the clever old man stopped the boys again. “I’ve got more bad news,” he said. “My Social Security check hasn’t come yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents a day. Is that all right?”
“Are you kidding?” said one of the boys. “We’re not going to waste our time beating on those trash cans for only a lousy quarter! We quit!”
The wise old man smiled and enjoyed his peace and quiet.

In the reading response to chapter 6 yesterday by Yanpu, I found that we kind of share similar thoughts that we focused on. He commented statements and proofs are necessary when writing arguments. The points by writers must be following evidence and having a well-organized structure to make everything reliable. I do agree with that idea, and I also wrote something close in my reading response as well; saying arguments should be supported by relevant evidence. On the other hand, our comments on the second part of the response which discuss Hauter’s analysis of Kristof’s essay are different from each others’. While I reviewed as whole writing, the structure or format, he pointed out a specific example that Hauter uses.

The academic writing, The Gender Construct in the Use of Rhetorical Appeals, Hedges, and Boosters in ESL Writing: A Discourse Analysis by Bernardita G. Bacang, Richard M. Rillo, and Ericson O. Alieto, discusses the differences within ELS writer’s arguments between each gender in terms of rhetorical appeals. Through the writing, the differences are being exposed which claims to appear in the use of logos, pathos, and ethos. They stated, “The study found that male ESL learners prevalently use logical appeal […] while the female learners use emotional appeal” (p211). This line is very powerful and concrete for us as an audience and somehow provides a sense of common knowledge that male think problem more logically while female goes by emotions as it says. This might not be a fact for everyone but interesting to consider when analyzing writings based on this information.

Reference:

Bacang, B. G., Rillo, R. M., & Alieto, E. O. (2019). The Gender Construct in the Use of Rhetorical      Appeals, Hedges and Boosters in ESL Writing: A Discourse Analysis. Asian EFL Journal Research Articles., 25, 210–224. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED600782.pdf

Visual Argument

This image is about equal justice. There are two people with different colors standing by holding a flag saying “EQUAL JUSTICE,” and two police officers are asking the black guy whether he has permission to do this movement or not. In addition, those police officers are both white we zoom into their faces, their facial expressions showing a sense of madness. Throughout the image, the painter is trying to argue about the difference between each race in terms of their equality. 

The action of the police in this political cartoon refers to some current events or phenomenon concerning racial inequality, like the Freud incident happened last summer, in which people of color are treated differently or violently by the police or government officials. The artist of the cartoon utilizes irony as the two figures holding the “Equal Justice” sign are in fact being treated equally by the police at the moment, which is an immediate sarcastic response to the sign that they are holding.

We think this cartoon is very effective and conveys the message. The viewer needs to think for himself what is going on in the picture and understand the message behind it. The message is conveyed in a sophisticated way and makes the viewer feel uncomfortable towards the Latin man. The fact that the Latin man and the white man hold together a sign calling for equality, but the police only address the Latin man reinforces the message.

Noga, Zoe, and Kodai