Why Write reading review

So the reading was super long and I did it early in the morning before class and I was really tired ha.  I honestly don’t remember a lot of it because it was thirty pages and reading that much at once just makes me forget what I read ha.  Anyways though there were some cool pointers I guess.  I really didn’t like that last section thingy where it had an example of a research paper.  I honestly don’t like reading research papers, I mean on occasion if it’s something that really interests me I might enjoy it just a little bit, but I honestly am not a facts and info kind of person.  But it was also cool how it talked about the importance of logic, which I think is so true in this kind of paper we are going to be writing, because all the topics provoke this personal opinion inside of us, but we can just use our feelings to persuade others.  The evidence and facts are probably more important.   I thought the peanut butter and jelly analogy was pretty cool.  The bread that represents the foundation of a sandwich, or the thesis statement is the most important thing in the whole paper or sandwich.  I liked how they said if we use fallacies our paper will be like a piece of bread with holes in it, or in other words untrustworthy.  Then on top of that we need to have the logic and the ethos which is the peanut butter and jelly.   Helpful reading but just way way long.

Research Topic!

So the topic I chose to do for my research paper is gay marriage and whether or not it should be legalized.  So the position I will be taking is that gay marriage should not be legalized.  I have a feeling this is going to be a harder topic than I thought at first because my beliefs on this matter stem from my religious beliefs which can be hard to use as a strong persuasive point sometimes.  Hopefully I’ll be able to learn more about the whole matter though while I am researching and there will be other things I can discuss.  After doing some of the research on procon.org I am already more interested in the topic.  There is so much interesting criteria involved in this hot topic.  I honestly had no idea that anything more than religion and personal beliefs really went into it.  Surprisingly enough there are tons of different arguable points other than just that of religion.  There are comments on government documents and personal rights, as well as comments on how much money it will cost and make for our country.  It’s interesting because when I think of this topic, I immediately just think of my own opinion and the reasoning behind it is simply that marriage between a man and woman is a commandment.  That is the main reason why I believe the things I do, and now I will have to argue my point in many different ways not just that one.   This is definitely going to be harder than I thought. 

BLOG #10

So finishing the analysis paper feels AMAZING!! It wasn't the hardest most boring paper I've ever done, but it definitely is not my favorite kind of paper to write either.  I really enjoy papers that are more about free writing like the personal narrative.  Those are definitely more my type.  I am just happy to have the analysis paper done.

Home...

So the longer I am here at BYU the more I feel like it’s my home.  I mean of course driving back to good old Cheyenne, Wyoming will always be where I grew up and it will always have a place in my heart, but I honestly feel like BYU is more of my home now.  Part of it is definitely because I only live at home for maybe two months out of the year and plus all my siblings are gone so how lame is that? Everyone lives in different places and it’s so lame cause we don’t get to see each other nearly enough…anyway all I know is that I am super lucky to be here and have the opportunity for an education at a university like this.  I seriously love my life! 

When Nice Ain’t So Nice…

Genre – persuasive

Purpose – to convince others of the wrongness of niceness

Central message – being nice is a danger to our virtue and person

World view and assumptions – all Mormons try hard to be and teach niceness

Use of Tools and evidence – The writer uses many real life examples of how niceness is wrong (using logos), she also is very effective with her ethos approach because she speak a lot about what is ethical and what is not ethical in a very bold way.  There is little use of pathos in this story however, I didn’t really feel anything.

Letter to Birmingham -

So I absolutely LOVE the Letter from Birmingham.  I read all those political and national thingys last year in American Heritage, and that was the first time I really understood them and took a good look and this reading truly is amazing.  It was great to read it while looking for the different things that appeal to the reader.  Martin Luther King really did well with all three of the appeals.  He appealed to the senses when he talked about seeing old Negro women getting beating, or a daughter asking why she wasn't allowed at the park, or feeling the strong hate of your fellowmen in public.  Those phrases, no matter who you are, would make you really feel something inside and re-think the way you treat others.  He was also very convincing with his logic, he talks about the white moderate and how as a stander-by you are doing more against the good than you are doing for the good.  It’s like being any other situation, if you allow something unjust or immoral to continue right under your nose without trying to help in some way, you have chosen to help the other side.  Lastly, Martin Luther King uses ethical arguments EXTREMELY well in his letter.   He links freedom and justice to national documents, he uses examples of religious leaders (including Christ), and he talks about religious laws.  His use of religious stand point is very effective because he forces people to acknowledge the truth of what is right.  It works well because every human being deep inside knows what is right and what is wrong.  If I had lived back then, this letter would have fired up some serious feelings inside.  I love how passionate Martin Luther King is in this letter.  

What Christians Believe...

 So I thought this reading was very interesting.  I had NO idea that C.S. Lewis was atheist at one point in his life. I love how he goes about persuading us of this new belief he has on God and life.  His point of view is interesting and seems very real since he chose Christianity completely on his own.  No one else chose for him.  C.S. Lewis has also experienced two different sides as he talks about in this book.  Having been atheist before, he can now argue effectively against it because he himself stood there at one time.  The main point C.S. Lewis is trying to make in his writing is that Jesus Christ, who came to earth as this mortal being, is God.  We cannot simply say he is a great moral teacher.  No human being can possible do the things he did, and so we must choose to believe he is God or the Devil.  This is his main point, that Jesus is the Christ, and therefore, Christianity is the only true belief and way of life.  He explains everything in a matter of fact way, making it obvious to us.  His view of the world is that everyone either believes one way or another.  He believes that anyone who really thinks it through and studies the existence of God will come to the same conclusion he did.  It all makes sense.  He backed up his evidence extremely well by posing the arguments against Christianity as well and then explaining why they would not work.  Definitely a well written and very persuasive paper, in my eyes at least!