Attack of the English Teacher

Class Blog Review 2
by Cristina Aguirre

Attack of the English Teacher, a blog from our English 121 class, is a blog that talks about the different assignments that are given to the class by our teacher. They do chapter reading responses, review other class blogs and any other assignments.

They have a good voice, they know what they are talking about. Something that I liked was that at the beginning of each post they have a clear statement about what that post will be. Which could be a good thing because they can catch the reader’s attention into reading their blog.

The structure of the blog is very good. Everything is organized, and posts are easy to find the visuals in this blog are interesting and go according to what the blog post is talking about. I liked the bookshelf background, it goes with most of the post which are about reading and English

In each blog they seem to know what they are talking about. They have good examples that support the main idea about the blog post. They have good examples and information.

Image

 

I chose this image from their post because it was interesting that they used this when they were writing about exemplification essays. The image goes well along with what the post is talking about.

Evaluating an Internet Source #2

Image

This is clearly a scholarly article both, the formatting and the language used indicate to me that the author is a credible source. Within the article the objective is clearly stated and then backed up with a clear methodology. We also found the article informative and useful.

When we compared the two articles we found the second one to provide much greater detail. With data to back up the statements made. Though, this detail did make the article very specific, making less useful for any subject that is not directly related to it. Such as, the first article stated that if you did not bathe then you would smell (Neer). This is a brood statement that can be easily related to by most people. Were the knowledge that only 37.1% of India’s rural youth bath daily (Singh, Gupta) would not ring home with many people in the US.

-Austin

-Stephanie

Reference

Dongre A  R, Deshmukh P R, Boratne A V, Thaware P, Garg B S, An approach to hygiene education among rural Indian school going children. OJHAS Vol. 6, Issue 4: (2007 Oct-Dec)

Works Cited

Neer, Katherine.  "What if I never took a bath?"  25 February 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. 09 October 2014.

Singh, Akanksha, and Parmatma Prasad Gupta. "An Analysis Of Knowledge & Practices On Personal Hygiene Of Adolescents District - Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh." International Journal Of Multidisciplinary Approach & Studies 1.4 (2014): 65-72. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

Image

Prospectus

Austin Hennigan

Professor Jennifer Zukowaki

ENG 121-118

12 October 2014

1. Is higher education a commodity and should it be? I am not sure which side I am on yet, we will see were the research will take me.

2. With the rising cost of higher education students are having to incur more debit than any time in the past. This is partly do to a reduction of funding of public colleges by the states forcing them to make up more of their budget with student tuition. This is reacted the point where the tuition fees, which were once highly subsided are sometimes now paying more than a students' education. Along with the rise of for profit schools, this has led to the increase of education is being treated like a commodity. Which conflicts with the more traditional view that higher education's goal to not only train but expand the horizons of students. Is this a good or bad thing for colleges, students and the county at large? Will it lead to more effective schools that can uses resources more efficiently? Or, create institutions with only teach to the profit margin.

3. Well I do know that education is being treated more like a commodity than it has been in the past and that many people are consented about this trend. I don't know to what degree that this has happened or what real world effects this has had.

4. When did this trend start?

What is a commodity?

What is the purpose of college education

If higher education is a commodity can it be sold, traded, returned, etc?

What long term effects could this have on the US education system?

Will this change responsibilities of colleges?

5. President of Front Range Community College - Andy Dorsey

Economics Professor Front Range Community College - Glenn Locke

Education Professor Front Range Community College - Alison F Thielke

6. Fennell, Marylouise, Dr., and Scott D. Miller, Dr., eds. Responding to the Commoditization of Higher Education 2012-2013 (2012-13): n. pag. 2012-2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Kishtainy, Niall. The Economics Book. New York: DK Pub., 2012. Print.

Bienefeld, Stefan. "Higher Education Is a Human Right- Not a Commodity!" Thesis. ESIB the National Unions of Students in Europe, 2003. Higher Education Is a Human Right- Not a Commodity! European Higher Education Area LIBRARY. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Blog Review # 2: Attack of the English Teacher

Review of Attack of the English Teacher

                
After evaluating the blog, Attack of the English Teacher - Evaluating Internet Sources Part 1, we gave it an 8/10 rating because it fell into our Quality Criteria list in certain ways, and they had good blog post structures. Our Quality criteria list is as follows: Voice, Expertise, Clarity and Organization, Aesthetically Pleasing, User Friendly, and Original.

               
In voice, they knew what they were talking about. One of the many good things they did was clearly stating their thesis within the first sentence of their blog post.  The thesis talks about a computer company, IGN,  that writes reviews and sells video game products.  This was a very helpful way for them to tell us exactly what they were with enough supporting examples.

                 
In expertise, they seemed to know the information and facts they wished to present, and had enough examples to support its thesis.

                
In clarity and organization, their blog has a clear set up that makes it very easy to navigate. The bar on the side with blog posts clearly organized by month and year which makes it accessible for all.
The visuals of this blog make it not only easy to use but give me a sense of intention and the voice of the author. The background of books on shelves, also gives a clear idea of what the blog is, full of- reading, and English related criterion.

The Visual Component is of two video game consoles that is part of IGN company. It seemed relevant to the post.

Image

-Austin
-Jasmine
-Stephanie
Image

Blog Review #2: All class blogs

Image

Attack of the English Teacher

            This blog is simple and straight forward with good clear information. (8/10)

Unconventionalenglish

            We found this blog to be a mix of good and bad, it is very original but hard to use. (6/10)

Give Me a Minute

Give Me a Minute had a good voice to it but lacked in the technical area. (7/10)

Drunk Writer Talk

            This blog also had a good voice and very original, but the formatting made it almost unreadable. (6/10)

First Blog Ever

Was clear and well organized making easy to use, though it was a little sparse. (7/10)

- Austin

- Jasmine

- Stephanie

 Image

Evaluating an Internet Source

Austin Hennigan & Stephanie Schraeder

Professor Jen Zuko

English 121

09 October 2014

Evaluating Internet Resource

Image

We chose to evaluate an internet post called “What if I never took a bath?” by Katherine Neer.  The post is part of the website “How things Work.”  The article is an informative piece about bathing. This post includes both text and images giving it a professional look. The image, a woman washing herself, clearly represents the main subject. When we look at the URL and the presence of advertising we would judge this website to be fairly accurate, though the body of the post does lack in-depth information.

The facts presented in the post cite links to other articles within how stuff works domain, creating a reciprocal citation record.  In spite of this, the information provided does conform to standard opinion on the subject. There for, we would consider the information valid but may not be good for an academic source. It does include eye catching facts such as, “An average person can sweat something like 1 to 3 liters per hour depending on the surrounding climate” (Neer).

Works Cited

Neer, Katherine.  "What if I never took a bath?"  25 February 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. 09 October 2014.

Image

“insert unrelated quantity here.”

You are wrong because “insert unrelated quantity here.” Most people would read this last sentence and think to them self’s that that is silly no one would really fall for something so silly. How could you show something to right or wrong with an unrelated statement? Well I have bad news for you it is done all the time and people fall for it. Take for example how many people have had to resign from their job because of a personal scandal, one that had no bearing on their ability to do a good job. Yet they were run though with the words such as you can’t do job because you were bad at being a parent, father, wife, etc… This mud racking is one of the most common examples of the logical fallacy “ad hominem” which is Latin for “to the man.” Or for all the non-Latin scholars this refers to an attack on someone about a subject which has no relation to the one at hand. If you are still having problems with this it is political campaign session right now and this is a favorite of attack ads. Just wait for one to come on the radio or TV and then pick its logic apart. I can almost guarantee that this fallacy will come up. Just be careful, the people who write the ads are quite good at it and it is not always so clear

Image

A way to avoid this is to talk about the issue at hand. That may sound hard, but there are a few questions to ask yourself when making an argument against someone or someone else’s ideas. First, ask yourself “What is my opponent arguing about? What are their main points and facts?” Then ask if what you want to say next is related to your opponent’s argument, or just your opponent. If your argument has nothing to do with your opponent’s arguments, and is designed to turn the audience against them, it is probably an ad hominem and should not be used. 

- Austin

- Jasmine

Image 

Your Argument Is Invalid

Image

I have been in many arguments and by my count I have won all of them. Everyone else involved in these arguments might give a slightly different view point, where I do not have quite as good record. As I got a little older, I was able to reflect on these arguments I lost in my late teens and early twenties, and found something very interesting. Being right does not mean that you will win. This was something that I just did not understand. How could I be right, even being able to prove it, and still lose? I was not until years later that I figured out that the situation were using solely logic to win is as rare as hens teeth. Most people will not be persuaded by logic alone, it can make them angry and unreasonable. I if logic worked, I do not think that much of the strife we find in the world today would exist. It is at this point that Chapter 13 comes in and saves us with one world “persuasion.” This was the what I was missing when I was younger. Well that and a valid argument, but that is beside the point. Persuasion is an essential part of any argument you need to wrap the argument in persuasion to make it palatable. Something that I think that the comic “Argument Beyond Pro and Con,” that we were given as additional reading, demonstrates well. With only zero-sum arguments the chance of winning is greatly reduced, because someone else has to lose. Which is not something that anyone will willing do. Instead, creating the “argument/persuasion sandwich” as shown in the comic. You blend the all the tools need for a winning position. Which if done well, can be quite light on the logic part and do better than an argument full of absolute proof. Tools which I could have used with in was younger. 

- Austin

Image

Reading Response Ch. 13 & Argument Beyond Pro and Con

Reading Response: Chapter 13 and Argument Beyond Pro and Con

Ch. 13 emphasizes on Persuasion vs. Argumentation.  Whether it is encouraging a person to feel the same way as another or to coerce a person into understanding a viable statement, it is important to have the appropriate backup.  After reading the chapter, I was able to understand the difference between both and how one can relate to another.

Persuasion is a way to guide a person into doing or believing something.  It is based on emotions and personal ideas or feelings about something.    It can be used when arguing a point, along with presenting appropriate evidence, to allure the reader into believing and following the statement.

Argumentation is used to convince readers in a logical and effective analysis to agree with the main idea.  It is backed up by evidence and supported with proper information.  Both argumentative and persuasive writing are used to persuade.

In the comic Argument Beyond Pro and Con we see examples of both, argument and persuasion.  It was a great way to represent the authors idea behind argumentative writing. The comics represented several real life situations, couples arguing, friends convincing friends.  Being able to see the visuals helped paint a clean picture of why it is important to back up information with proper research and evidence, as many of the comics displayed.

Providing personal experiences and observations can help the reader identify with the author, and perhaps offer a better point of view.  At times the truth may not always be convincing to a person, yet being able to relate and create a relationship might captivate a reader through his emotions and morals.

At times, I feel I have been caught under somebody else's persuasion regardless of facts.  Other times, the information I got was of most importance when making a decision.  When an author is trying to connect with a reader I think that both are as much influence when making any decision.

Image: N.d. Http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/11/balanced-arguments-are-more-persuasive.php. Web.