TOW #5 "Love is a Mix Tape" (IRB-1st half)

                Rob Sheffield loves music. In Love is a Mix Tape he tells a partial story of his life through songs he loves and hates. Specifically music that was around at the time of mix tapes. Before playlists, before CDs, there were tapes. He also goes through a few reasons to make and/or receive mix tapes. He talks about choosing the right music for the right occasions the same way an English teacher would speak of using the right words at the right time. He wants people to understand that music, as a thing to share, is a great way to make or break connections with others. Music is also a very good way of telling a story, or explaining things you might not be able to put into words all the time. Music can make someone feel what the artist wants him or her to like its own brand of pathos. If used correctly, the story that comes along with it will make more sense as well. Sheffield definitely uses this to his advantage. He should, as he has enough experience with it being a Rolling Stone editor and a music geek. In the end it is clear music has played, and will continue to play a big part in the life of Rob Sheffield and many more.

TOW #4 "In a Planet-or-Not Debate" (article)

                On National Geographic’s website, Nadia Drake elaborates upon the ongoing controversy of whether or not Pluto is a planet. She unearths information about the ancient Greek as well as the thoughts of modern scientists. It is obvious that Drake did her research on the topic at hand. Pathos is not present in the article as much as ethos and logos. The large amount of logic used is greatly effective and needed since the topic is a science-based debate. In the text, Drake mentions an audience in Cambridge, Massachusetts came to an agreement that Pluto was in fact a planet. The audience included teachers, the public, and scientists. This appeals to logos because there is a diverse group of backgrounds that made that decision. In addition, that the only time Pluto was decided not a planet was when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted on it. They declared it a dwarf planet, which is not even a planet at all. This is probably the strongest pathos shown. It makes the audience think, “Well, is everyone else thinks it is but the IAU, why are we only listening to them?” Most likely because the IAU has the automatic credibility the public lacks. Drake makes sure to portray both ends of the spectrum. Noting that in the end, it all comes down to what the definition of planet is at the time. The definition always changes, Drake mentions back when the sun fit the definition and Earth did not. The logos is definitely the strongest part of the article.

TOW #3 "Unpaid Tobacco Spokesperson Response" (visual advertisement)

                The truth® campaign is not just another anti-smoking organization. They advertise facts about big tobacco companies, and the problems that can come with tobacco consumption. We only have to make a choice about what to do with that information.  In this specific ad, they are responding to backlash they may have gotten for a previous one. In the original ad, they showed images of celebrities smoking stating that these images bring free advertisement for big tobacco companies. In the response ad, they clarify the fact that they are not against these celebrities. Truth® simply wants people who are active on social media to think before posting smoking selfies. Since they use images of influential people smoking, it increases their logos and/or pathos because people will recognize them. Celebrities like Robert Pattinson, Rihanna, and the like are bound to get a reaction. Truth® provides objective information for the people to come to a subjective conclusion. Their main target: Millennials. They think that young people who are most active on social media to be able to change the world. The slogan they use currently is “Finish it,” meaning they believe us 1980-2000 babies could be the generation to end smoking, depending on how we digest the information they publicize. I think their ads are more effective than ordinary anti-smoking campaigns because they are not trying to force an opinion on us. They give us a choice. We feel empowered knowing that we are the ones making a difference based on our choices. Us Millennials do not want to be lectured about all the horrible things tobacco does to the human body. Especially from generations who have done nothing about the issue anyhow. We are stubborn teenagers and young adults who think we know all. Give us choices and we will think. Some may brush it off, but I think most will make the right decision.

TOW #2 IRB Introduction

                For my first Independent Reading Book this school year, I chose to read Love is a Mix Tape written by Rolling Stone editor Rob Sheffield. He reflects on his time with a woman named Renée, and how music brought together their two, very different, personas. From the point I am at in the novel, I cannot be certain if Renée left Sheffield, or left the world. What I do know is that either way, she left their mix tapes with him. This is the real reason I was drawn to this book. The music. I am not someone who is interested in reading stories about love and happy memories like that. However, I can get interested it if it comes with a great soundtrack. I had noticed when skimming along the pages that I not only recognized quite a few of the songs and artists Sheffield mentions, but I actually enjoy listening most of them myself. Songs by David Bowie, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana come up often. I always can appreciate a music taste so near my own, along with the new songs that are just now gracing my ears even though some have been around longer than I have. So when I say new, I mean new to me. I think the use of the songs brings more feeling to the memoir as well as connecting with the readers on a musical—and emotional level. Any 90s alternative music fan would understand.

TOW #1 "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

                Paul Roberts has successfully explained what not to do in How to Say Nothing in 500 Words when writing an essay. Especially to avoid said essay returning with a glaring “D” at the top. Yet most of the text was spent doing just that; telling us what not to do. There were boatloads of examples of the wrong way to go about producing a promising paper. Granted, Roberts wanted to be thorough, sixteen examples of clichés were not necessary. A published linguist should know that when it comes getting the point across, simplicity is efficiency. If he intended to help students write a better thesis, it may have been more useful if the reader was given ways to spruce up a paper rather than being told what drags it down. For someone who may have been accustomed to using the “obvious content” and “pat expressions”, they cannot casually flip a switch and know what to do when what is wrong is all they have been told. The few samples Roberts includes that elaborate on what to do are much more effective. The use of descriptive words in the terrible tale of Alfred Simkins, gives a great idea of what can be done to better one’s writing. Unfortunately, most other positive ideas are vague in instruction. Maybe it is the way it is being worded. Maybe Roberts expects students to know these “do’s” and “do not’s” already. If someone does not, they may feel slightly left out or unintelligent when seeking aid from this text. The concepts mentioned are too hit-or-miss to help a student that is only hearing them for the first time. Either they understand it and fix it, or they are even more lost than before. One cannot become the most creative being overnight simply from reading an essay in which the author tells them what not to write.

Response to: Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All by William Manchester

William Manchester reflects on his own knowledge and experience in war. Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All is told from his point of view and is written in first person. Even though Manchester mentions other battles, the essay focuses mainly on the relationship between the United States and Japan. His diction is used so that people with only a basic understanding of war can understand and connect to what he is saying. He even states that most Americans have no idea what war is actually like, and do not know what they are celebrating on veteran holidays. “Very rarely are they honoring what actually happened, because only a handful know,” (Manchester 15) even those that wear a uniform. Those who do know have seen that battle is not as glamorous as everyone may think. The scars it leaves are deep and can last forever. The author has experienced this first hand. Manchester tells of a time after the battle that he met with a man who was almost his enemy at some point. Both of them thought it would be fine, but ended up leaving almost immediately upon seeing each other. Old feelings die hard, but that does not mean that respect is lost. The essay also includes a multitude of facts and statistics that boost the logos. Also, since numbers are something everyone can understand and feel, the pathos is influenced as well. Manchester effectively uses his own experience to build up his credibility. All in all, the rhetoric of the essay is sufficient.

Map of Okinawa, Japan.

http://www.welt-atlas.de/map_of_okinawa_6-865

Response to: The Devil Baby at Hull-House by Jane Addams

                In The Devil Baby at Hull-House, Jane Addams recounts stories from people who had interest in meeting the infant. She noticed a pattern with them. Each person had experienced some sort of hardship that had some relation to tragedy, sin or crime. No matter what they believed or did not believe, people were drawn to it. Addams herself stayed at the Hull-House and heard everything from theories to experiences of others. All kinds of people were talking about it. Religious or not, a baby born with horns, hooves, and a tail is not ordinary. Though, Addams does not elaborate on any medical or scientific reasoning. Her purpose was more to illuminate the connection she found with why people came to the Hull-House and demanded to see the Devil Baby. Including other peoples’ anecdotes builds upon the logic of the passage, as well as appealing to the reader’s emotions. Hearing about a woman who had lost all of her children except two, only to have both killed in one accident is a tragic tale. The ethos is questionable since about all of what is known about the Devil Baby was passed along by word of mouth. The author does make this clear as well. She shares multiple versions of how people say the infant came to be. Addams does succeed in clarifying the link between peoples’ pasts and their desire to see this cursed child. The use of relevant stories and a suitable reference to another author’s work assist the reader in understanding her perspective on what is interesting about the Devil Baby—besides the obvious. Though the pathos and logos were exceptional, the ethos could have been better in some aspects. Yes, it was all being told from the author’s own experience, but the other peoples’ stories did not reach us on a first or second hand incident. For them, one would just need to trust in another individual’s words.

Image of the "Devil Baby"

http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/DEVILBABY.htm