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.