Reasoning and Persuasion

As a member of the discourse community of writers, I am constantly composing numerous papers and essays every week. I create the majority of these written assignments for academic purposes for my three English courses. I also love to write as a hobby because it makes me feel calm to be able to physically get the thoughts in my head down on paper. However, since I am constantly writing, the concepts of reasoning and persuasion are no strangers to me! I think that these two writing strategies are very important to students. The persuasion essay is vital because it allows a writer to create a context in which it is safe to present his or her ideas to the audience in a straightforward manner. Chapter 15 of Laib's novel, "Rhetoric and Style" describes the helpful methods one can use to be more persuasive when writing. Certain tips are, "To make your style more persuasive, you might use the following strategies: rely on examples and use narratives"(pg 301). These two strategies are the most familiar to me, and I will utilize them both in the upcoming research paper I am creating for English 207. In this paper I plan to persuade my audience that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law is not working. I plan to argue that it is doing more harm in our public schools than good, and my aim is to prove this by citing examples from journal entries, newspapers, and novels. I also plan to use narratives (written accounts) of teachers who oppose the the law and relate these personal stories involving NCLB to my essay.
The text also states, "Reasoning attempts to represent the author's point of view-and to convince the audience to agree with it"(pg 307). I agree with this quote, because as a scholar and future teacher, I have used my reasoning skills multiple times. These skills are vital in the professional world if one wants his/her perspective on an issue to be taken seriously. Since I will want my audience to pay attention to my understanding of the negative impacts of NCLB, I will use reasoning skills by, as the text states, taking my subject (NCLB) apart and showing the pieces to the audience. I will attempt to show my audience that the Law has not succeeded in joining the youth of the nation in a bond of education. NCLB is simply making the realm of education a demanding profession and burdening school administrators with the pressures of standardized testing.
In the larger scheme of my essay, persuasion and reasoning tactics will be the main facets to my paper that will assist my audience to see the NCLB from my point of view. These two methods are truly effective in the world of essays and I will use them for the rest of my career.

The Issue of Text and Identity (Facebook.com)

The society that we are living in today places a very high value on an individual’s identity. The term itself means a great deal more than simply the physical characteristics of a person, but rather an ‘identity’ in the broad sense captures how an individual communicates and expresses who they are to the rest of the world. For me, I imagine all of the components of an identity as specific and unique traits of every single person, and these identities should be guarded and not slathered openly to millions of eyes on the Internet. This is where Nancy Hass’ article ‘In Your Facebook. Com’ comes into play. Hass writes about how Facebook has become a phenomenon across the realm of college life. I can admit from personal experience that every single one of my college and high school aged friends have Facebook, but unlike some others, I do not have a Facebook “addiction”. Hass explains that some students are obsessed with the Facebook status of others and check the site “everyday, up to six times a day”. This factual information bothers me, because in reality young adults are allowed to view the personal information that other students have put on the web, and this can lead to dangerous situations such as online stalking and sexual predators. I am aware that Facebook has taken security measures for all of its users, but safety only goes so far. Computer hackers have the skills to hack into any site they choose, and what if that site contains very personal information such as where you live, how old you are, and what hobbies you have. I believe the Internet can be a good place full of helpful information, but at the same time it can be a dangerous place if users, such as Facebook members, refuse to resist putting their private identities online. Facebook should be strictly a social network, not a public place to post your private life for all to see just as Hass states, Facebook is “changing the nature of public and private identity”.

What Is An Effective Website?

As a college student living in the twenty-first century, I have had my fair share of experiences dealing with various internet websites. The age that we are living in is an age of highly developed technological advancements. As I have traveled through the stages of my academic career thus far, I have watched the realm of the World Wide Web expand and improve. Since I often utilize the internet several times a day to find research or information, I have formed certain criteria that I believe formulates an effective website. The section titled “Plan a Web Site” in The Penguin Handbook offered me some extremely helpful examples and insightful ideas when I organized my personal website criteria. First of all, I think that there are four integral elements that must be included in every “good” website. The first element is that a website needs is to express a strong purpose to the reader. The website must stick to the type of site that it is, for example if a website’s purpose is to inform, than accurate information should be found there. Secondly, a website should have information that is easy to find. Organization of the web design layout allows for “information on the site to be located without difficulty” (Faigley, 246). Thirdly, I also think that the visible structure of content and links should remain consistent and well organized throughout the entire website. Faigley states, “The format of navigation tools should be consistent […] Colors used for navigation should also remain consistent” (250). Last, but certainly not least, the text on the website should be easily readable to the viewer; text should not be too big or too small. All of these elements combined will create an effective, professional website.A good site should also, always speak out to a specific and appropriate audience. The audience is a key aspect-a website must appeal to the target audience and allow them to easily find what they are searching for, whether it is information, pictures or other facts.

Response to Analyzing Images and Texts

I truly enjoyed exploring the depths of my imagination to discover the layout and design of my ad. The visual appeal of my ad was the most vital element of the entire advertisement, because when people glance at an ad in a store or in a magazine, the first thing that captures their attention is the appearance of the ad. How an ad looks reveals a great deal about the ad quality and purpose. This advertisement project gave me the opportunity to discover the art of creating and applying visual images and texts to an ad in a professional manner. Reading the section in Faigley titled “Analyze Images and Other Kinds of Visual Texts” really helped me, and pushed me to ponder the deeper meaning of the word “text”. As I was reading this section, I realized that the most poignant point that Faigley states is, “Anything can be read as a text, then nearly everything is a text” (pg 129). I wholeheartedly agree with Failgey’s previous statement that text can be found in everything. The chapter explained that the grills of an SUV and a minivan can be viewed as sending a particular image to the viewer. Consumers always view a product before purchasing it, in order to be sure that it is the type of product they need. In my own add, I am aware that words are not the only element that convey and express meaning. I could have cut the worded texts in my ad, and left only the name of the eatery and the photos on the ad. I am confident that the consumers would still understand my message. Photographs are a powerful form of text, because if a consumer looked ay my ad and saw the delicate, delicious cupcake and warm cookies they would know that my eatery sells delicious, sugary treats. There is so much information that can be pulled from a single image. That is the reason why some ad companies choose not to include word text at all!