Summer 2012 Free Write

I cannot wait until summer gets here! I am so ready for a break from school.  I feel that this school year has been jam packed with so much stuff.  Softball, school work, and working kept me quite busy, but it definitely made the school year go by fast. 

This summer I am planning to work a lot to save up money for when I go to OSF in the fall of 2013.  Also, I am taking three online classes, but this will definitely be lightening the load from what I am doing now during the school year.  I do not plan to play softball this summer, so this will give me plenty of free time.  I feel that this summer will be stress-free and more laid back than any other summer yet.  I will just get to enjoy my free time, which it never seems like I get to experience. 

One trip that I plan to go on is Kentucky Lake with my boyfriend and his family.  They usually go sometime in July and spend about a week there.  They stay in cabins and spend their days laying out in the sun, swimming, and fishing.  This trip sounds so relaxing and it will be much needed.  I really just want to have a great time.  I want to be able to take a break from all responsibilities for a while and just have fun with friends.  This summer will be full of joy, excitement, and great experience.

How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed Its Fans (Text Response)

The article “How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed Its Fans” is a believable argument.  First off the author of the article is a credible writer for this type of piece.  The article was written by Brent Staples who is an editorial writer that specializes in politics and culture.  He has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Chicago and has widely published essays. 

The audience of this article is people who like to listen to Hip-Hop music and like the industry.  The tone throughout the article is educational.  The author does not use slang words.  He uses proper grammar and evidence to support his main points.  The vibe of the paper has a negative attitude towards the issue.  He keeps the audience drawn into the paper by using rhetorical questions and interesting examples of such issues that continue to happen.  He has a clear thesis statement and uses many claims and evidence to back it up. 

The author proves his point of view by using claims of facts throughout the article.  He uses events that had happened and includes the dates of the year.  The author includes famous rappers names that the audience would be able to identify.  Also, he uses claims of value to judge how the industry will end up.  He predicts the future of other rap stars and how the downward spiral will continue.  He uses inferences to draw a prediction of his conclusion at the end of the article.

Joe's Crab Shack Date

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to Joe’s Crab Shack to eat dinner.  I was very excited to go out because we have not been on a date in a while.  At Joe’s we ordered the sampler as our appetizer which included calamari, crab dip, and balls of fire.  My boyfriend ordered the Fisherman’s Plate which included fish and chips, more calamari, and more balls of fire.  I ordered the Cajun salmon which had shrimp, and crawfish Cajun sauce on top of my salmon and included dirty rice on the side.  We had just enough time to finish off our appetizer when I meal arrived.  The service was great and the very quick.  I usually do not order spicy food, but I’m so glad that I decided to try something new and different.  Dinner was excellent.  It was the best thing that I had ever ordered from Joes. 

After we ate at Joe’s Crab Shack, we walked along the riverfront.  It was such a nice night to do that, because the temperature was just right and there were not a whole lot of people there.  At one point we decided to stop and sit.  We sat there and just stared out into the water.  The breeze along with the warm night made sitting there so soothing.   We walked the trail for a while and decided to turn around, because it was starting to get dark.  The night was totally great and could not have been any better.

Text Response: Gay Rights in California

This article is believable because it was written by Kevin Drum.  Kevin is a journalist that graduated California State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.  He may not be quite educated on the topics of gay rights in California, but we can assume since he is an educated journalist that writes to the public, he probably does research on his topics before writing about them.  Also, he is a well-known blogger and journalist. 

The author seems to convince his audience with his side of view quite well.  He uses claims of fact to back up his argument.  He uses statistical numbers about the votes and predicts how the votes will end up in a couple of years.  Another claim that the author uses is claim of judgment.  The author uses his opinion about the bill passing in a couple of years.  The author uses a positive or optimistic attitude to persuade his audience that there is hope in the future for the passage of gay rights.  He emphasizes on small details to show his audience that it was close and there is no doubt in his mind that it will pass.

The thesis in his argument is definitely working.  He explains his point quick and precise in the small text that he wrote.  He states his points right away and does not elaborate on the topic.  This works very well with the type of writing that the author is using.  He uses a hopeful attitude to win his audiences attention and maybe even persuade them that the best will come.

Free Write: Arizona Trip

The ICC softball team is traveling to Arizona on Friday and I am really excited to play in the warm weather.  We leave ICC at 9:30 and head to St. Louis by bus to the airport.  We will arrive in Arizona Friday night.  We immediately will check into the hotel and order pizza before going to bed to wake up early to play our first game in the phoenix heat.  I am totally ready to travel to Arizona to play.  I just hate that the schedule of our time is so strict.  We play two games every day that we are there except for one day.  On our day off we are waking up early to go mountain climbing as a team.  Then we get a couple of hours of free time.  We can either stay at the hotel to swim and hang out or go shopping with some of the other girls.  Then later that night, we are going to a steakhouse.  The girls are all dressing up for the occasion.  It will be weird to see everyone dressed up instead of in the usual practice clothes or uniforms.  This trip will be exciting and will be a learning experience for everyone. 

Next year, we will travel to Arizona again.  This time we will stay longer and have more time to experience the new state.  On this visit we will be going to the Grand Canyon.  I am not really looking forward to this part of the experience, because I am really afraid of heights.  Everyone says that it is not as bad as it sounds.  There are railings around all of the edges and I’ve heard that the beauty of the canyon is worth it. 

I am so glad that I decided to play softball, because I get to experience all of this great and unique things together with a wonderful team.

Text Response: A Little Civility, Please

The article “A Little Civility, Please” is a believable article because it was written by Mark Davis, a graduate from Maryland that has been writing for the Dallas Morning News since 2004.  Davis would be aware of controversial issue because the issues would arise in the news that he writes for Dallas.  Also, he uses a lot of claims in his article.  It seems that he uses claims of fact, policy, and judgment.  The claims of fact that he uses are the examples of the Supreme Court cases.  He uses his opinion in the article to support the child’s issues that he wants to argue.  Lastly, he uses claims of policy by stating that the child should be able to have any controversial issue he wants.

The thesis of this article is should schools be able to have rights that would seem to violate the First Amendment rights.  The question if so, in what areas and if not, why not?  The audience of this particular article is adults and parents concerned with the schools rights for or against children.

The strategy that the author uses is examples and stories of other instances.  He uses a more relaxed style of writing and has a negative attitude towards the issue.  His style of writing was catchy and very interesting.  I enjoyed this style of writing better than a traditional style because, it was more interesting and intriguing.  This type of writing relates to readers better and is easier to fully understand.

Left Behind, Way Behind (Text Response Week 3)

The article “Left Behind, Way Behind” is a believable argument.  First of all, the author of the article is Bob Herbert.  He is a columnist for The New York Times that writes on issues such as politics, urban issues, and social trends.  He is a credible source of the information because he has knowledge about the countries educational issues.  The author’s tone towards the article is negative towards the educational issue.  He uses strategies during his writing.  He starts off his paper by saying “First the bad news.”  He wants his audience (parents and school goers) to believe that this is the only bad part about our educational system, but the very next paragraph he hits the audience with “Now the worse news.”  The author states his point of view about the problem at the beginning of the paper and uses facts and statistics to back up those views.  The claims that the author is using is claims of fact.  He uses examples and statistics in the examples to show America’s educational system at its finest.  The percentages show that the school faculties are not doing their jobs of teaching young children and making them successful in life.  Another strategy that he uses is a comparison.  He compares snoop dogg and Paris Hilton as children’s role models.  He shows his audience the startling facts of the affect others have on children.  His strategy is to convince his audience the importance of school for children.  The author ends his article with ways to help the problem.  This type of support gives great evidence towards the thesis that the problem can be reversed with simple steps.