Friday, October 30, 2015

The Benefits of Fight Club

As we have learned over the past two months, Fight Club really teaches us more than we realize.  Fight Club is more than a class activity, it strengthens our opinions as writers and people. The beauty of it is that it allows us to put our perspective on different topics. It reveals our character. Every week when I analyze the articles given to us, I automatically start coming up with arguments, even if they don’t fit my beliefs.. For example, it teaches us how to develop arguments from any given situation, and to stand by them even if it is difficult to do so. It also teaches us to accept counterarguments, comprehend them, and make a rebuttal, which reflects in our paper. Before coming to this class I refrained from doing this as I feared it would weaken my argument, but in reality it does the exact opposite. Recognizing the counter argument strengthens the paper as long as you write a rebuttal. This is similar to what we did when we wrote our in-class paper regarding the banning of automobiles. The purpose of that assignment was for us to practice developing arguments on any given topic. Fortunately, we were able to choose the topics for our research paper, since it is easier to develop arguments on topics that you are passionate about. As a result my claims are much stronger and credible than ever before.

On the other hand, there are some things that I still find difficult when writing my paper. For example, I am having issues with the structure and organization with my paper. While I am very passionate about what I am writing and have several strong arguments, I am unsure about how to organize and present them. Clarity  is an essential factor to a good research paper as if the reader’s can’t follow what I am saying they won’t be able to take away from it. The other thing that I am still having trouble with is using my quotations effectively. As you know, ethos is an important part of a persuasive argument as it will reel in the audience. Other than that, my paper is coming along well and I am excited to refine it.

Although Fight Club does benefit my writing in several ways, there are certain things that are easier to accomplish in a verbal argument than in a written one. For example, tone and body language is incredibly effective as it strengthens your argument. Also, it is easier to rebuttal a counterargument when you are sitting with the person you are arguing with, as you can identify their tone and facial expressions. In the end, Fight Club truly reflects our character and has developed our papers immensely.

5 comments:

  1. When discussing your difficulties with structure and organization, would it help to see examples of past students' work? Is there nothing in TSIS that could you help you out with this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree that one of the most helpful lessons learned in fight club is representing different points of view.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The very end where you mentioned body language as an equally effective tool for clear communication is a point I strongly agree with. If one can read body language well, one can know a lot about one's circumstances and situation

    ReplyDelete
  4. The very end where you mentioned body language as an equally effective tool for clear communication is a point I strongly agree with. If one can read body language well, one can know a lot about one's circumstances and situation

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like how you said that when you are initially reading the article, you start making arguments for both sides regardless of your personal beliefs. I do this too, but didn't recognize the importance until you pointed it out.

    ReplyDelete