TOW #18 - Argument Against Homework

In “The growing argument against homework,” David McGinn, a journalist for The Globe and Mail, writes about why young students should not have to do homework. He explains that homework does not have many benefits, but it does cause frustration and exhaustion, leading to a lack of interest in learning.

I agree with the author’s argument, however I think that he could have applied the argument to high schoolers as well; he also used other methods of argumentation than appeals to logos.

The main argument focuses on a New York elementary school’s ban on homework. He agrees with the ban, but his argument surrounds the idea of a homework ban on elementary school students. However, I think that homework has even worse of an effect on high school students, including a lack of sleep and extreme stress. I think that his argument should also apply to older students to reach a wider audience and have more of an impact on his audience. I also think that elementary school students are not as impacted by a lot of homework because they typically have more freetime than high schoolers.

He explains that parents are upset with a New York school’s recent ban on homework, but argues with statistics that it is good for the students to have a break from homework. I agree with his argument, but I think that if he incorporated more pathos into his argument he could have parents understand that homework can be emotionally draining in addition to not helping the student’s education.

Ultimately, I agree with David McGinn, however I think that there are a couple of improvements that he could make to his argument to catch a principal’s attention and force a change in education systems.

IRB Intro Post #3

Killing the Rising Sun is a book that reveals the details behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb. I decided to read this book as my IRB because my dad recommended it and I have a strong interest in history and World War II.

TOW #17 - Snapchat

In the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Mims published an article called, “Why Snapchat Is the New TV.” In his article, he argues, surprisingly, that Snapchat is the new TV. His argument is supported by the ideas that Snapchat is a way to spread information quickly, it’s used as a leisurely activity, and has millions of users everyday. Although all of that information is true, I do not agree that it will replace TV.

Snapchat is a way to quickly spread information, however most people do not go to Snapchat as their main source of news. They tend to stick with the news on the TV or online websites like CNN. The news on Snapchat does not provide as much information as TV or online sources. Snapchat is also mainly used for contacting friends, not finding out what is happening around the world.

Mims also argues that Snapchat is a leisurely activity, like watching TV. However, dissimilar to watching TV, in my experience as an avid Snapchat user, most users spend about 5 minutes on Snapchat at a time. I would not sit on my couch for hours watching stories or contacting friends, but it’s a lot easier to spend hours watching movies or TV shows.

Finally, Mims uses the argument that Snapchat has a very wide audience so it is similar to TV. However, Snapchat mainly has teenagers who watch stories or read its news, and older adults tend to stray from Snapchat. However, almost every age feels comfortable using a TV. The TV has a much broader audience and larger audience as it reaches people through multiple companies, Netflix, Hulu, and many other ways to spread information.

Christopher Mims creates a strong argument for why Snapchat is the New TV, however I disagree with his argument. I do think that his message, that Snapchat is important and rapidly increasing its audience, is well supported through his argument.

TOW #16 - The Glass Castle

The second half of The Glass Castle describes Jeannette Walls’ life during middle school and beyond. She moves to New York City with her sister after she graduates. She sees her parents on occasion until her sister gets arrested for stabbing her mom. Her dad dies from a heart attack, and the book ends describing Thanksgiving dinner 5 years after her father’s death.

Jeannette Walls is a credible author, as her instant ethos was established through the story being about her life. The Glass Castle may be written for people who are struggling with their familial lives. The text was written after seeing her (homeless) mom in New York City, reminding her of her childhood.

Walls uses many rhetorical devices. Some of the ones that she uses includes symbolism and irony. Walls uses symbolism with her boyfriend and her family. Her first husband is, “a man who was exactly the opposite” of her dad (268). She later divorces her husband and marries someone who was “more right” for her. This divorce shows that she doesn’t need someone who is exactly the opposite of her dad, because there were some good aspects of her dad that she loved. Just as in every family there are good aspects that are loved. Walls uses irony with her mother’s land. For Walls’ entire life, her parents were poor. They moved around and barely survived. However, Walls later finds out that her mom owned about $1 million in land. The irony is that her mother had all of this money, but was unwilling to use it because getting the money would mean selling the land. If she sold the land, she would be giving up a familial tradition. However, if she used the money, she would be helping her family.

I think that the author wants to show that there is balance between “turbulence and order” (288). She loved her parents even though they were extremely free to the point of being dangerous, because her family found a balance between freedom and danger. She believes that her family, no matter how crazy, was good. She loves her family, and no matter what could not abandon them. Her purpose may be to try to reach out to other families and remind them that familial love is unbreakable. I think that she did accomplish her purpose because she uses her own life to explain how much she loved her family, even though she had a lot of reason to resent her parents.

TOW #15 - Or Drink And.

Ever since we were little students have been hearing about the negative effects of drinking and driving. Many programs are utilized to prevent alcohol-induced accidents. These programs tend to use a scare tactic, which shows the terrifying aspects of one bad decision, and hopes to scare people from performing such actions. Research suggests that shock tactics do work, but they need to be targeted and followed by strong enforcement of driving laws. This advertisement is a perfect example of the scare tactic that advertisers use.

This text was created by Abramet to prevent drunk driving. Abramet published the text, which is the Brazilian Association of Traffic Medicine. The text was composed for any kind of driver, hoping to remind them to not get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs. The text was written because there are many drug and alcohol related car accidents.

The text uses symbolism and tone to create a powerful image. The can symbolizes a car after the driver has been drinking. The can is crushed symbolizing it is empty, which means that the drinker was drinking. The car is also crushed to show that when one drinks and drives, they have a high chance of getting into an accident.

The text also uses tone in their picture. The colors are all dark and negative, which goes along with a gloomy tone. If the text had bright colors, the message would not be as powerful. But by having dark colors, the text effectively shows how drinking and driving is a bad decision that will not end well.

The author created this text to attempt to stop drivers from driving under the influence. The author uses a scare tactic to show the negative impacts that drinking and driving have. The caption is “You can drink and drive. Or drink and.” The incomplete sentence suggests that the driver would not drink and drive, but drink and crash and not be able to finish his drive.  I think this picture is extremely powerful in showing the effects of drinking and driving. It has a powerful and uses a scare tactic well to remind drivers to only drive sober.

TOW #14 - TrumpCare

There has been a lot of speculation over the successfulness of the new president elect’s presidency for the next four years. With a new president elect there comes a big promise of a revised health care plan for America. The text was written, in the Wall Street Journal, for Americans who are concerned with the president elect’s plan for our health care. The Wall Street Journal is an extremely credible journal as the editors stress having as little bias as possible. However this particular article is an opinion article, which seems to have liberal bias. This was written this week, as many texts are being published on the new president elect as his inauguration day gets closer.

The author uses sarcasm to show in an entertaining way the effects of Trump’s healthcare plan. He said that, “Mr. Trump campaigned on repeal but also left TrumpCare open to negotiation and, well, interpretation (‘something terrific’).” By including the “something terrific” quote, he is saying that having an open health care plan will backfire, and is not something terrific, but something that can harm many Americans.

Appealing to logos helps create a strong argument because it gives a lot of basis to back up one’s argument. The author says, “given the law’s large and ongoing failures on almost every measure: premium trends, enrollment, limited doctor and hospital networks, insurer participation. Affordability, choice and competition are due for another tumble next year under the status quo.” By including all of these different measures that need to be factored into health care, he uses facts to show the importance of the next few months.

The author also uses rhetorical questions. He says, “Does the President-elect have any better ideas on legislative strategy, or is he merely going to toss around the sayings of Chairman Donald from Trump Tower?” By asking this question, he shows that he doubts that Trump actually has an idea of what he is doing, but he will simply toss some sayings around to seem like he does.

Ultimately, this article shows the fear that many Americans have with Trump’s ability to follow through with his promises. He creates a case for the importance of having a proper health care plan and how it needs to be taken very seriously as it could create “creating chaos in our entire economy.” I think the author strongly established his purpose as he effectively used sarcasm, appeals to logos, and rhetorical questions to show the importance of Donald Trump’s health care plan. He ended his text with, “If [Republicans] muff this one, they’ll deserve to be run out of town,” showing how disastrous he feels the TrumpCare plan could be if it fails.

TOW #13 - Media Screening on Presidential Candidates

With the recent election of Donald Trump, there is a wide range of political cartoons on the subject of his presidential campaign. Many people are very pro-Trump, and believe that the media portrays him more negatively than he actually is. However, many people also dislike Trump and believe that the media accurately portrays him as a monster. In the Indianapolis Star, they published a political cartoon that captures their interpretation of the media’s views on Trump and Clinton.

The text, created by Gary Varvel, is showing how the media is attacking Trump, but barely touching Hillary’s topics. Gary Varvel is a cartoonist for the Indianapolis Star. The audience is those who read the Indianapolis Star. The majority of those in Indiana voted for Donald Trump. That shows that the majority of the audience is pro-Trump, or at least anti-Hillary. The text was written during the election.

The visual text uses symbolism. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are obviously not in an actual airport together, but the airport security is symbolizing the way that the media researches the candidates. The visual text also juxtaposes Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It has Donald Trump stripped down and going through a serious screening process by the media. This is what many Donald Trump fans feels happened to Trump because they feel that he was unfairly judged by the media. However, Clinton is freely walking in a prison uniform, suggesting that she is a criminal who the media is not attacking. The media is believed to have not focused on Hillary’s criminal actions, but instead focused on the, what Trump-supporters believed were, minuscule actions of Donald Trump.

I think that the author wanted to show what he felt was the unfair screening process that the candidates went through. He wants to show how he feels Trump was poorly portrayed through the media, but Hillary Clinton could do whatever she wanted without the media making it seem negative. I think that he did accomplish his purpose because he does show his opinions on the screening process of the two presidential candidates.