AOW #7- More Questions About Mammograms

This editorial discusses the use of mammography as being less beneficial in America today. Out of the 39 million women who undergo annual mammograms, only 230,000 of these women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from the screenings. This piece came from the New York Times online magazine, which is a well renowned newspaper, having been publishing articles since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes- the most awards any organization has achieved. The context of this piece is causal because the economic crisis that is occurring today has brought about many issues with the way our country is spending its money. Mammography is a very costly procedure and many women are wondering if this screening is doing more harm than good. This audience of this article is women above the age of 40 who annually undergo mammography screenings. The purpose of this piece is to convince the audience that the 5 billion dollars spent on mammogram screenings should be used for other purposes because mammograms are doing more harm than good. The author achieves his purpose through rhetorical devices such as logos when he uses statistics and facts to prove his argument, as well as ethos through his specific medical diction when he discusses mammograms.

"More Questions About Mammograms." The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/opinion/more-questions-about-mammograms.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>.

AOW #6- Obama: Iraq war will be over by year's end; troops coming home

This article discusses President Barack Obama's decision to pull all of the American troops out of Iraq by December 31st. During his 2008 campaign, President Obama promised to end the war during his years of presidency. Now, after almost nine years, America is finally leaving Iraq on a positive note knowing that the country is in a good place to move in a more hopeful direction. President Obama and President Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq discussed this motive for leaving Iraq, and both were on the same page with how Iraq is going to progress as a nation. This article came from CNN.com, a world leader of all websites giving the most accurate, around-the-clock news all over the globe. The context of this piece is casual, for it was caused by the ending of the Iraqi war after nine years of fighting. The audience for whom this piece was written is the American citizens and the families of soldiers who have not seen their loved ones for very long. The purpose of this piece was to inform the public that after nine years of fighting, the Iraqi war is finally ending and all of the American troops will be out of this country by December 31st. The author accomplished his purpose through numerous rhetorical devices that allowed the audience to understand why President Obama made this decision, when the troops are coming home, and how this was decided. Some of these rhetorical devices include logos because of the statistics that were added in the piece to support the reasons behind the ending of the Iraqi war, as well as the quotes that came from credible people such as security advisors, President Barack Obama, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta of America. In addition, the use of pathos helped the author accomplish his purpose because he used emotions to draw the reader in by saying how after nine years families will be reunited for the holidays which is a sentimental time of year.

"Obama: Iraq war will be over by year's end; troops coming home - CNN.com."CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 21 Oct. 2011. CNN. 22 Oct. 2011 <http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/21/world/meast/iraq-us-troops/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn>.

AOW #5- Old Spice Commercial

This commercial displays an attractive man in a towel who has just gotten out of the shower after using Old Spice body wash. The man is describing a scenario engaging the women watching the commercial to look at their husband and persuading their significant other to buy the product so that he will look like the man in the commercial. The source of the advertisement is Old Spice Body Wash, Deodorants, and Man Fresheners, a well-established brand that has been around since 1937 by the Shulton Company. The context of this piece is health and hygiene for deodorants and body wash help to keep men smelling fresh and clean. The purpose of this commercial is to sell Old Spice to men by convincing them that if they use this product, it will define them as men. Also, by using this product, the scent will attract women by drawing them into the cleanliness of the men. The audience of this piece is directed towards the mens' significant others because the advertisement is directly talking to them by persuading the women that if the men in their lives use Old Spice, then they will be much more attractive. The Old Spice brand accomplished its purpose in this commercial through numerous rhetorical devices. A few of these strategies include the appeals. The commercial uses pathos to draw the emotions of the audience through the beauty of the male, as well as stating that you are not a man if you do not use Old Spice. Also, the voice of the commercial is deep and manly, depicting manliness and manhood. Finally, engaging the audience through the entire scenario draws the women in because the man is directly speaking to them in the commercial.

Unit 1- Assignment and Essential Question Reflection

What makes an effective argument?

Creating an effective argument requires a multitude of steps in order to successfully persuade an audience to agree with the rhetor. In order for the rhetor to effectively support, refute, or qualify a claim, they must first gather a plethora of information for their argument. This may be through looking at past work, brainstorming, or free-writing, as well as asking others and experts on the specific topic. This content is known as Logos, which is one of Aristotle's Appeals that he suggests a rhetor use to offer a clear, central idea to the reader. In addition, the rhetor must know who their intended audience is. This appeal is known as ethos. Ethos immediately establishes credibility to show the audience that they are believable and have only the readers' best interests at mind. Finally, in order to create a moving argument, a rhetor uses pathos, the final Appeal Aristotle suggests. When a speaker uses pathos, he/she is connecting to the audience at a deeper level by drawing in their emotions and interests. This is done through personal stories and figurative language. Aristotle's three Appeals form a strong, well-developed argument that engage the rhetor and audience to connect in the process of meaning and coming to an understanding.

Out of all of the helpful activities this class achieved in order to help us students understand the major topics discussed in Unit 1, I found that Kundera's Claim activity helped me the most. This paper helped me to understand the scoring of the AP English exam and I was able to differentiate sophisticated analyses from simplistic ones. In addition, working with a partner helped me to collaborate ideas and see what claim my partner was able to draw from this passage, and how similar his/her thinking was to mine. Finally, filling out the outline on the specific claim I decided on from the passage benefitted me for I was able to effectively organize my thoughts and visualize each aspect of a successful argument. This activity assisted me on the in-class essay we had to write a few weeks ago for I was able to successfully organize my thoughts and to include each aspect such as the support, refutation, and thesis statement in my paper.

AOW #4- Parents of a Certain Age

This article discusses the rise of the ages of mothers 45 and older conceiving children. The number of children born to older women has doubled since 1997, and is still growing today. The author of this article, Lisa Miller, is a senior editor at Newsweek and the winner of numerous journalism awards such as the 2010 Wilbur Award for Outstanding Magazine Column. The context of this piece is causal because the occasion was caused by an increase in the ages of mothers undergoing birth between 1997 and today. The audience is directed towards older women who went through the process of conceiving at a late age and can connect to the women whom Lisa Miller discusses. The purpose of this piece was written to convince readers that being at an older age and pregnant is not a terrible act. Women conceiving children later give them the opportunity to become economically stable and are able to provide better lives for their kids. The author accomplishes her purpose through personal stories that allows the reader to connect with these women and to show a different side to the stereotype that older mothers cannot bear/raise children properly. A few rhetorical elements Miller includes in this article are logos when she uses statistics to prove her claim, and the use of pathos through the emotional stories of the mothers who experienced giving birth at a late age.

Miller, Lisa. "Is There Anything Wrong With Being Over 50 and Pregnant? -- New York Magazine." New York Magazine -- NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife, Shopping, Politics, Movies. 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://nymag.com/news/features/mothers-over-50-2011-10/>.

IR Blog #1

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell delves into the story of success by the rich and wise. Malcolm Gladwell writes for The New Yorker, a well established magazine that has been in business since 1925. He has written four books, each of which have been best sellers: What the Dog Saw, Blink, The Tipping Point, and, of course, Outliers. Gladwell has been awarded one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine for his success.

Outliers is broken up into 2 parts: Opportunity and Legacy. The introduction discusses a phenomenon of a small town in Pennsylvania where extended families living under one roof have a life span longer than that of the town next to it who does not have multi generations under one roof. This example of stress reduction is an outlier's hidden cause of a rare occurrence. The next chapter discusses why hockey players born earlier in the year have an advantage over others born later in the year. The naturally older hockey players appeared to be stronger and played much better than those born in the later months. Finally, chapter 3 discusses the 10,000 hour rule where it is proven that people who practice something repetitively for 10 years will become famous and achieve high status. This was shown through Mozart and the Beatles who both studied music for 10 years and eventually became the most elite musicians in their time.

The context of this novel is spacial because it discusses circumstances that occurred in the past that are recognized as extraordinary phenomenas. The purpose is to convey information on a different perspective of how success is formed by the world that surrounds the successors. Gladwell accomplished this purpose because he discusses how intelligence is not just innate, but also is affected by the factors surrounding these people. The audience of Outliers is the people who are interested in the cause of human potential and how it can be perceived in many different ways.

The rhetorical elements used in pages 3-68 of this novel are ethos (using statistics and birth dates to support a claim), logos (developing ideas with thorough detail and supporting claims with proof), and imagery by using sensory experiences to describe events.