Author's Note Portfolio 3

Overall I feel pretty good about this portfolio. My original article came from the Houston Chronicle and was about the controversy with Officer Powell's handling of pulling over Ryan Moats. Powell is a Dallas Police Officer and the story discussed how the in-dashboard camera shed new light on the situation. I wrote about how the in-dash cams should be required as they are beneficial to all innocent parties. My OpEd and humorous arguments are to appear in the Houston Chronicle. Some back ground information that is helpful for my humorous argument was recently in Bellaire (part of Houston) a police officer pulled a young boy over for having a stolen vehicle (the vehicle was not stolen, it belonged to him) and they shot him in his front yard. Anyone in Houston would know about this story because it has been big news recently. This is important to understanding my humorous piece. I feel good about the changes I made to my oped after receiving feed back from the teacher and my group. My letter to the editor I feel is my weakest piece as I felt most uncomfortable with this one and was unable to really get into it. Over all I think my portfolio is good.

Author's Note: Humorous Argument

This is my second draft of my humorous argument. I still need to make the changes I discussed in my workshop group, but I got some good advice. My humorous argument is in the form of a cartoon. I am hoping that people will understand, however they would have to have background/previous knowledge to get it. This is why the venue I chose would be the Houston Chronicle since they would have heard about the incident with the Bellaire Police Department. I want to know if my cartoon makes sense or if I should reword the text on it. Also I'm not sure it is clear that the first half is a close up of the TV the police are watching in the second half. I would like to know whether or not this is clear and ways I can change/improve it to make it clear.

Humor Argument

My humor argument is a cartoon. Because my article was found in the Houston Chronicle, that is where my humorous argument is going to appear. My topic is dashboard cameras in police cars/police corruption. Recently in Bellaire, Texas there was a situation where a police officer shot a boy in front of his house in front of his parents after they pulled him over saying his car was stolen when it was not. This was a big deal in Houston and almost everyone heard/was talking about this. In my cartoon I'm going to show a tv with the news on it about the situation with Moats and the officer and show Houston police watching it. The news is going to have a caption that says "Officer Powell may lose his job with Dallas Police Department" and then show the Houston police officer saying, "if he gets fired, maybe he could work for Bellaire Police Department." This is funny because it is related to Houston and because it is talking about how Dallas is not the only department with problems. It is also funny because it is making a joke about how different departments tolerate different things. Its kind of a satire because it is looking at the Moats situation from a different perspective, looking at it compared to what happened in Bellaire recently.

humorous example

http://www.offthemark.com/cops/cops05.htm
My example is a cartoon with a police pulling over a person and saying they had been chasing him for awhile. This is similar to my topic because the police man is really mad he had to follow Moats into the hospital parking lot before Moats pulled over. The person in the car says its because his daughter needed to sleep, which is funny because that isn't a very reasonable excuse, but someone with a small child might understand how that would seem serious at the time. Moats, on the other hand, had an excuse that should have been given more consideration/sympathy from the officer, since he was on his way to the hospital to visit a dying relative.

op ed authors note

This is my first draft. I am happy because I found a lot of the things from the prewriting that I wanted to researched, like how many cars had the dash cams and how much each one cost. I am worried because I feel like my op ed is still very similar to the letter to the editor, which means I did one of them wrong, or maybe I did both of them wrong. I want to know whether I did this correctly, as far as the structure, making an argument (that cars should have the dash cams) and whether my examples support my argument well enough.

Op-Ed Prewriting

Unit Three Op-Ed Workshop
4/6/09

• Read several op-eds from your chosen venue. What are the general tone and assumed audience in this venue? What is interesting or unique about these pieces?
The Fort Worth Star Telegram writes not just for Fort Worth, but it contains stories related to Arlington, Dallas, and other places surrounding the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is assumed that the audience is concerned with not just Fort Worth, but all the areas nearby. The venue also writes about things related to Texas as a whole, and includes key issues for the United States. I think it is interesting how the newspaper talks about a large geographical area, despite the fact that it is labeled to be the newspaper of Fort Worth. There is the Dallas Morning News, but the Fort Worth Star Telegram still chooses to address issues in the surrounding areas, since they are all kind of related and because many people probably commute to the nearby areas for work.
• Decide one specific, identifiable issue or question for your focus. It needs to be related to your overall topic for this unit, but try to target a specific aspect of that topic. Describe your choice of specific topic.
I want to focus on how beneficial it would be to put dashboard cameras in all police cars. I think it protects all innocent parties, keeps law authority accountable for their actions, and can help prevent corruption while promoting justice.
• Choose a specific course of action or approach to be taken to addressing that issue or question. Don’t just say that a policy or situation is bad. Tell your readers what should be done about it.
I think that the city of Fort Worth should require all police cars to have dashboard cameras. This would most likely require some sort of bill to be passed and probably some tax money to make it possible. I would encourage people to support the bill, which would essentially be taking a step to make their city better.
• Determine what rhetorical appeals will be most effective for your audience (ethos, pathos, logos, style). Discuss what appeals you will use.
For logos I could talk about how the cameras in the past had proved helpful in he-said-she-said situations that otherwise would have been determined in a more biased manner. I would also talk about how much they cost, and how practical they are. I could discuss specific cases or examples of when they had made a difference, always helping the innocent party, which sometimes was the police officer and sometimes was the accused. I could talk about whether they are legally legitimate in court as evidence. I could use pathos by talking about how anyone living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area could, hypothetically, be pulled over, and could, hypothetically, be accused unfairly. I would ask the audience to consider what would happen in a situation that was the officer’s word against their own, who was more likely to receive the benefit of the doubt? If all cars had dash-cams, officers would be required to do the right thing all the time, because the cameras would hold them accountable for their actions.
• Write about what will best support your points for the rhetorical situation (facts, hard evidence, personal experience, anecdotes, referring to other authorities, etc.).
I think facts and specific examples with best support my points. I think if I can use examples to show the need for concern, it will make my argument make sense. I also think that if I can find specific examples of how practical and beneficial the cameras would be, it will help strengthen my argument. I am going to rely mostly on facts and examples to support my points for the rhetorical situation.
• Is there any research that you need to do?
I still need to find a could more examples of when dash-cams in the Dallas/Fort Worth area helped determine the outcome of a dispute that otherwise might have turned out differently. I also need to research what specific actions would need to take place to make this happened. I would need to find out how much it would cost to put more dash-cams in police cars and I would need to find out what actions people could take (like if the needed to write to some government officials, etc. )

Letter to the editor

In the article “Police dash-cams can clear cops, catch wrong-doing” the use of cameras in police cars proves to benefit all innocent parties. I agree that the cameras can help both the police officers and those being questioned, as they document events without bias. This is important because law enforcement officers are often seen as having unlimited power. When a situation ends in “he-said-she-said,” more often than not, the officer will be given the benefit of the doubt. The use of dash-cameras, however, show exactly what happened and can provide some insight on which party is actually in the wrong, whether it is the officer or the person being questioned. Recently in Bellaire, Texas (a small city in the Houston area) a boy was shot in his front yard by an officer who wrongly accused his vehicle of being stolen. I grew up very close to where this took place and constantly drive in the Bellaire area, so this really concerns me. I think it is important for all police cars to have dash-cams because it holds the officers accountable for their actions. If the Bellaire officer had known he was being recorded, perhaps he would have acted in a more respectful manner.

Author's note: I'm not sure whether or not I did this right. I don't really understand the assignment, and I think because I agree with the stuff in the article, it made it harder for me to write this.

letter to the editor prewriting

Letter to the editor prewriting 3/30/09

Summarize article: Dash cameras in Dallas police cars provide information on situations without bias.

Complete Rhetorical Analysis chart for original article (identify weaknesses)
Purpose: To tell about how the dash cams can help determine who is right and wrong without assuming.
Author: The author is using a specific example of when the dash cams were used to show that sometimes they can work for the police officers and sometimes they work against them.
Audience: The author is targeting anyone who drives in the Dallas area, as well as anyone that might feel as though they were treated unfairly. It is also directed towards law enforcement since it can work to prove they did the right thing, but it can also be evidence when they do something wrong.
The author uses examples to show how the cameras can be good and bad for authors specifically. In the past, the cameras have shown the police did the right thing when they were wrongly accused of harassing someone. The cameras have also provided proof in the past when officers did the wrong thing.

What appeals work best for target audience? I think that the logos (facts/specific examples) work best for the target audience. There is also the use of pathos since they talk about how Ryan Moats’ dying mother-in-law was inside the hospital while he was being ticketed and lectured. Moats and his wife asked to be able to go into the hospital to be with their family while she was dying and the officer pulled his gun on them. This definitely works with the pathos of the audience since anyone in that situation would want to be allowed to go be with their family.

Strengths and weaknesses: Strengths would be that they authors plays on the emotions of the audience, connecting a feeling of sympathy with them. Another strength would be that the authors sites more than one incident where the cameras have proved useful. One weakness of the article is it does not talk about any legal wrong doing of the officer. They talk about how what he did was insensitive, but there is nothing legally wrong.

I think that dash cams should be used and should be considered good evidence because earlier this year, a boy from my neighborhood was shot by a police officer. Without the proof of the camera, police can do whatever they want and then it is their word against someone else’s. This gives police an extraordinary amount of power and can lead to corruption.
I support the use of dash cams because they are not bias and they show exactly what went on. I believe the argument could be better if it discussed whether or not the videos are considered legit evidence in court and whether or not what Powell did was illegal, or if it was simply insensitive.
When I read this article it made me think about how important a dash cam can be. I have always felt like police can say or do whatever they want since they are given a lot of authority in society, meaning situations that end in “he-said-she-said” often result in the officer getting the benefit of the doubt .

Editorial Topic Choice

I have decided to use a story from the Houston Chronicle (chron.com) about dash cameras in police cars. The article is talking about a specific case where the cameras were important, which took place in Dallas. This is important to me because I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and so any news related to the areas' law enforcement is related to me. I thought this was interesting because I have always kind of assumed police could do whatever they wanted since it is their word against someone else's. Police are seen as authority figures and are respected, therefore a "he-said-she-said" situation usually ends on the side of the police. With these cameras, however, once the police turn on their lights, the camera starts recording. This is important for cases where the police use physical force since it records what actually happened, so later it can be determined whether or not it is justified.

Unit 3: Topic

Topic: The topic I'm interested in is the new change to Texas' top 10 percent college admission rule. The top 10 percent college admission rule said that any student in Texas that graduates in the top 10 percent of their high school class is automatically granted admissions to state's colleges and universities. The Texas senate recently voted to change this rule.
How it impacts community: This is important to students in Texas because there are a lot of students that rely on their class rank to get them into a certain school. The top 10 percent rule has also been around for awhile, so for the students that worked to achieve this ranking are expecting the rule to still apply for them.
How it affects you personally: Since I am already in college this doesn't really affect me personally other than the impact it might have on people I know who are trying to get into college.

Portfolio Two Author's Note

This is my final draft of the paper. I feel like after all the peer reviews and workshop group responses I finally feel comfortable with my paper. I made the most changes to my paper between the last two drafts and think that it is in good shape. I feel like my over all argument is communicated pretty clearly and that my sources all work together to support that argument. I am a little concerned about the parenthetical citations because I am not sure if I did them all correctly. I did my best to cite things and give credit to my sources because I do not want any of my paper to be seen as plagiarized. Other than that, I feel like it flows pretty well and I think I did a good job summarizing and analyzing the sources. As for the portfolio, I'm pretty sure I did all the work and have included everything I need. I am a little worried that during the peer workshop groups I might have forgotten to sign my name after editing some papers... Hopefully my attendance record and the people whose papers I reviewed will give me credit for this if I did forget. I liked this unit because it was challenging but it gave me a new way of looking at how to make an argument.

Rhetorical Case Paper 3/23/09

The focus of my paper and my ideas about my topic have changed a lot throughout its development. I am an advertising and public relations major so I was interested in the influence of endorsements by both publications and public figures. I assumed that endorsements have some influence but I was unsure the extent of it. My research and analysis of sources has lead me to believe that an endorsement of any kind can have a huge impact for several reasons. One reason is that the public trusts certain sources to be reliable and trustworthy, such as a well known newspaper. People see it as the publication's responsibility to report the truth and accurate facts. People also tend to idolize many celebrities, which makes them more likely to listen to a celebrity's opinion on something. All of these ideas and perceptions of the media give it power to influence the publics ideas and decisions. This is why the media is able to influence people's opinions and votes in an election. The media does not necessarily have to portray one candidate as better than another to change people's opinions, they can just choose to cover one candidate and not another and have an effect.

Unit 2 Authors note Draft 1

I feel like writing this paper went pretty well. I had a little trouble getting started, but I ended up feeling okay about it. I think I communicated my points in the paper, but I'm never sure if someone else reading it will understand. I also would like comments or suggestions on how to make my points clearer and how I could improve the organization. I also think the conclusion could be better, so I would like suggestions on how to improve that. Any other comments or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Unit two body sections

During preparation of my body sections I discovered that I wasn't sure how to put my rhetorical analysis of sources. I am not really sure how we were supposed to do it, so I just used the information from my sources as evidence to make arguments while trying to connect to the other sources. I figured out there are a lot more connections between my sources than I thought, and I have found a lot of interesting information. I also discovered that my paper is starting to go in a different direction than I had originally thought. I wanted to argue at first that the media influenced the election. Now Im arguing more about the importance of endorsements.

In class prewriting Rhetorical Analysis Paper

What connects sources?
All of my sources are related to the media’s influence on the presidential election. Specifically, all sources are talking about how the endorsement of candidates by publications and celebrities affects/influences voters. All my sources provide statistics. All my sources imply a connection between media endorsement and the success or failure of a candidate.
Media’s endorsement of candidates is directly related to the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.

Order of sources/organization of sources
-The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Politics: Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary
-Newspaper endorsements in the United States presidential election, 2008
-Students find out Oprah endorsement earned Obama votes
-Oprah becomes test of what an endorsement means
(may or may not use the following:)
-Howard Stern’s interview with Harlem voters
-ZOGBY Poll Results
-Wilson Poll Results
- I can use “The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Politics” source as a main source because it covers a lot of different angles and has a lot of information. I think from that, I can use my other sources to address more specifically some of the areas brought up in the main article. For example, “Students find out Oprah endorsement earned Obama votes” is an article in response to my main source. The source “Newspaper endorsements in the US presidential election, 2008” shows the statistics of endorsements for each candidate.
-I think this order will work for my topic because all of my sources are related, but they each focus on specific issues. I think if I introduce my topic, give the information from my main/general source, then move on to my other sources that are related to specific parts, I will be able to make my argument most affectively.

How do you plan to transition between sources?
I plan to begin with my main source, introducing my controlling idea and the different areas involved. I will move from this to the next source by emphasizing the importance of media endorsements to presidential elections explained in source 2. I will move from source 2 to 3&4 by demonstrating how powerful Oprah is as an endorser and how this relates specifically to the 2008 presidential election.

Perspective Change Based on Research

After researching my topic, I have developed more of an opinion on it. I started out with the idea that, yes, absolutely, media influences our opinions, attitudes, and decisions. As my topic narrowed, my ideas also changed. I was sure media influenced the presidential elections, but I wasn't exactly sure how and in what ways. After further research, my perspective began to change a little bit. I think I have a good idea some of the ways that the media's coverage and celebrity endorsements influence elections. The statistics I have found suggests that candidates that had more magazine and newspaper endorsements also received more votes. As far as celebrity endorsements, I have found that they can be very influential. Oprah, for example, has a TV show, a radio talk show, a magazine, weekly newsletter and other ways to reach her audience. She reaches millions of people everyday. In the past, Oprah has suggested a book that has only sold a few hundred thousand copies and after her endorsement, the book has ended up on the best sellers list. Oprah also backed Obama in the presidential election which affected millions of voters. I think that through my research I have become more convinced that celebrity endorsements and media coverage/portrayal of candidates directly affects their success or failure. I also think that there is a lot of evidence to suggest that this was the case in the most recent election, and it can be argued that today, becoming president has more to do with who supports you than the issues you stand for. 

2/25 Unit Two In-class blog

I am concerned about whether or not my sources are actually primary. I am also concerned about whether or not I have been able to locate the best possible sources for my paper. I feel like I have had a little bit of trouble finding things that are specific to my topic and are primary. I think I need to do more research to be honest.
My number one source would be the Howard Stern interview with voters in Harlem. This is a primary source because it is an interview and peoples direct quotes on the subject. I chose this topic because it demonstrates how the voters are uneducated on the issues at hand and that they have been influenced to vote for Obama by the media, without really knowing what he stands for. The source is a YouTube video of Howard Stern asking voters in Harlem who they are voting for and why. He asks them about the policies they agree/disagree with and none of them know what they are talking about. I think this uses ethos and logos because it is showing they are not really knowledgable on the subject at hand and they do not have the facts straight.
Another source that is primary is the statistics and information I got from an article in the Houston Chronicle. This is primary because they are statistics and facts. I chose this because it backs up my point by proving this election had a ton of media coverage and the voter turnout was really high. The source is talking about the high voter turnout and its relation to the media coverage and how the media influenced uneducated voters. I think this uses logos because I am most taking from it the hard facts of numbers.
Another source would be an article about the media coverage of elections creating a bias among voters. This is primary because it has quotes from specific people and is related to my subject because they are analyzing how the media influenced the election. I think this uses logos because of the facts and pathos because people are emotionally tied to things like politics.

Researching for sources

Researching for sources was a little harder than I thought it would be. I found a lot of information from google, but not things I would consider "primary" sources. I found the search engine that worked the best for me was Academic Search Complete. I also figured out after looking for awhile that I am a little unclear on what a primary source would be. I found articles that fit my topic and would work, but I was not sure they are primary. I have continued to look for articles on New York times and the Houston Chronicle websites for information. I think it is hard to find articles on medias influence because specific media sources do not want to comment on how they influence people. The researching process for me was a little difficult because it was sort of hard to find things that are specifically related to me topic and also a primary source.

Unit 2 Topic

I think my topic for the next paper is going to deal with media's influence in society. This topic is important to me because I am an advertising/public relations major and so the impact media has on society is interesting to me. I also think there are a lot of different ways I could go with this topic and ways I can narrow it. I could look into how different types of media has different influences/effects. I could discuss what form of media is most influential. I could discuss the how media influences opinions and how it influences decisions. There are a lot of specific examples I could explore, like the affect of celebrity promotion of an item on its success/acceptance. Another direction would be the media's influence on the outcome of the presidential election. I am interested to find out whether the way the media presents something determines how the viewer forms their opinion on it. I know this is very broad right now, but I am thinking of a lot of different directions I could take this topic. 

Workshop responses

I got a lot of good feed back on my rough draft. The people in my group were both very encouraging and gave my both encouragement and criticism. I learned that the key points of my essay seem to be getting across pretty well. The suggestions I got were to add more detail/description in places and to maybe add a little more analysis to some places. 

I really liked the workshop and can agree that some places I do need more details. I also am encouraged by my group's comments on my organization, because before the workshop I was not sure if that was working very well. I know I will need to go back through each section and add more detail, description and analysis before my essay is complete. 

Author's Note: Public Space Analysis

This is the first draft of my paper. I am a little worried about this because I know it  is not long enough and there is a lot going on. I think I wrote down a lot of the things I was thinking about, but did not narrow it down to the most important  points to expand on. Today I think I need suggestions on what to cut out and what to focus/expand on. Also any comments/suggestions on the organization/flow of ideas. 

Space in the community

Fuzzy's is an important part of the community for a few reasons. Because there are not a lot of locations, it makes it seem like a unique place for the community. Also, there are some TCU things there that tie it to the university. There are also the late hours, which make it a student friendly restaurant. It is one of the only late night options that is not fast food. Also the fact that they serve alcohol makes it a student friendly hang out. Fuzzy's is good for the community too because it is close to campus and a place where students can walk and hang out there. There is also out door seating, which make it a nice place to go. There are a lot of reasons Fuzzy's is good for the community. 

Observation Notes

Space- They physical space is the restaurant. When you walk in there is a line to the counter where you order your food. The menu above the counter is a giant magnetic board with the options and prices listed. There are pictures and beer advertisements hanging on the walls and ceiling. There is a lot of yellow and red. There are booths and tables with chairs. There are high top tables. There are tvs. There is a place where they cook the food and where people pick up their orders.

Actor- There are people that take the orders and people that prepare the food. There are also people that clean up the tables. There are also customers. There are people that work there and people coming to get food.

Activity- There are people ordering food and people taking the order. There are people preparing food, and people picking up their food. There are people eating and there are people cleaning up.

There are trays, plates, bowls, cups, food, tables, chairs, stools, napkins, bottles of sauce and salt/pepper shakers. People are trying to each food. They also have conversations and enjoy the atmosphere. People seem happy, laid back, not too formal.

 

There was a wide range of people going to eat there, not just students. There was a long line forming. All the tables were full. I saw lots of people picking up to-go orders. People dressed pretty casual. There were people that looked like students but also a lot of people that didn’t look like students.

 

At night there are mostly TCU students there. There are a lot of people drinking and there late. There are groups of people sitting and people come in to join them. There are a lot of people that do not have food, just beer or a drink. There are people coming in to pick up to-go orders. 

Arguments of Fact

The menu is one argument of fact at Fuzzy's. Since the price list is not outrageous, it seems like the argument they are making is that it is a pretty reasonable place. Also, the price list might argue that it is not super fancy, because it is affordable for most people to go eat there. Another argument of fact would be their operating hours. Because it is open from 10:30 in the morning until midnight most days, this makes the argument that there is a group of customers that come at night. Also, the hours on the weekend are even later, until like 2 or 3 in the morning, so this is an argument that on the weekends people come late at night to eat there. This makes the argument that they welcome the late night group of people and probably a lot of students take advantage of this.

Observation Experiences

I planned on going to observe my space three times this weekend, but since I found out on Friday that I have the flu, I wasn't able to do my observations exactly how I planned it. I ended up going to pick up take out on Saturday afternoon just to look around and make some mental notes, and then I went again Sunday around lunch time to take more formal notes. I was surprised on Sunday to see that there were a lot of people that didn't look like TCU students. I really thought that the "regular" crowd there was students. I also noticed a lot of TCU stuff incorporated in their decorations.

Public Space

The public space I plan to analyze is Fuzzy's Taco Shop. I chose Fuzzy's because it is close to campus and because I know people from TCU go there a lot. I also chose Fuzzy's because it is not a huge chain, there are only a few locations, which make it unique and "local". I plan to go on Thursday around lunch time, Friday or Saturday afternoon/night, and possibly again Sunday morning. This way I can see the different types of crowds on different days and at different times. I have only been to Fuzzy's a few times, but I still have some ideas about it. For example, I think it is popular hang out by TCU students. I think it is a pretty laid back atmosphere. I expect to discover why students like to go there (the food? the drinks? the atmosphere? the convenience?) I also expect to discover how specifically this location tries to identify with the community it serves. I also expect to discover what arguments Fuzzy's is trying to make. 

My favorite places...

There are a lot of places around the community of TCU that I would consider unique or some of my favorite places. For example, I think that Fuzzy's Tacos would be one of my favorite places because it is a local hang out that is recognized by almost everyone at TCU. A lot of people go hang out there and it is really close to campus, also it is not a chain (that I know of) so I think this is a good place in the TCU community. Also that aardvark is some place unique to the TCU community. It is the local music venue and because I really like going to concerts, this is especially one of my favorites. I think this would be a good example of some place that is within the TCU community and unique. The stockyards would be another local attraction. This is some place that is unique to the TCU/Fort Worth area that I think is cool because of the history and attractions. This is some place that is cool and that you can't see any where else in the world. I think that with all the old buildings and brick roads, this is a really cool part of the TCU/Fort Worth community. 

Rhetorical Appeal

For my example of a rhetorical appeal, I chose to use a commercial for the fast food restaurant Sonic (link at the bottom of this blog). This commercial pathos and logos. Because the commercial give you factual information, like the name of the product it is promoting and what exactly that product is (double meat, double cheese, etc.) it is using logos. This commercial is using pathos because it incorporates humor. By making people laugh, it appeals to their emotions and creates positive feelings towards the product and/or company selling it. I think this commercial does a good job using logos by incorporating the information in their conversation. The pathos is obvious through their humor. I also think the people in the commercial seem like normal people I could probably relate to, this could be considered ethos, since the guys seem likable and they don't seem like they have bad motives for promoting the product. 

Here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMVcvCOD7OM

Chapter 1

While reading chapter one, there were a lot of ideas that were new to me. One major thing that was new and surprising was the book's definition of an argument. I had always thought of an argument as two sides with different opinions trying to determine which is correct. The book, however, defines an argument very specifically, and even lists several different kinds of arguments. I know that not all arguments are exactly the same, but I have always thought there was only one kind of argument. I learned that there are a lot of different kinds of arguments. There are invitational arguments, Rogerian arguments, arguments to inform, convince, explore, make decisions, meditate/pray, arguments about the future, the past and the present, arguments of fact, and those of definition, and evaluation. All of these specific classifications of arguments are very new to me. Another thing I found interesting while reading chapter one is the book's distinction between argument and persuasion. I had always thought they meant the same thing. According to the book, however, one argues to discover truth and persuades to take action when the truth is already know. Another idea that is new to me from chapter one is that idea that an argument is not a negative thing. In my mind, an argument means you are trying to determine who is the winner and who is the loser/ who is right and who is wrong. I have always thought of an argument as a negative thing because when I think of an argument, it means the parties involved are not getting along. However, a Rogerian argument is when people work together to reach a compromise. 

Another thing I found interesting from chapter one is the relationship between the writer and the readers, and how the intended audience can influence the arguments the author makes. I knew that facts, ethics and emotions were involved in arguments, but I had not thought about them as under the titles of "pathos" "ethos" and "logos."In some ways I still do not completely accept the idea that EVERYTHING is an argument. I am having some trouble understanding and agreeing with that idea. I do not see how everything could be an argument. For example, the book says that street signs are an argument to inform, however I think they are just serving their purpose, and informing. I don't see how that is an argument. 

First Post: About Me

My name is Elizabeth (Ellie) Spencer and I am from Houston, Texas. This is my second year at TCU and I am currently a communication major.
I am taking this class because it is required, however I expect to learn a lot from this course. I expect to learn how to make more clear and persuasive arguments in my writing, as well as improving my writing in general. Most of the writing I do is text messaging. I also write a lot of e-mails, facebook posts, and messsages on post-it notes (mainly for my roommates). I like writing. I have always enjoyed writing because it is a way to express your thoughts or feelings. I see it as an opportunity to convey my opinion or viewpoint on anything at any time.
I belong to several different communities. The most obvious would be the university, but also I am a member of my residence hall, each one of my classes could be considered a community in which I am a member, I am on the TCU cheerleading squad and would consider that a community. I am from Houston (specifically West University). All of these things impact my identity in different ways. I go to TCU, which is part of who I am, and has changed who I am through the people I have met here. Also, being part of the cheerleading squad is a huge part of who I am since it takes up a great deal of my time and has determined the people I spend the majority of my time with.
I think that by choosing colors that are similar to those on the example page, I am making a safe choice, which could be an argument that I am not a huge risk taker. I think that by answering the questions and fulfilling the requirements in the same order as they were presented on the assignment page could be an argument that I am organized. I think that these arguments make me as an author seem to the point.
I have read and agree to the terms addressed in the syllabus. :)
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