Fight Club 11/19- Analyzing the President's Move

Pros:

• He should have stepped in and stopped the racism. 
• The President had plenty of time to address the issue, and by him choosing not too it portrayed him poorly. 
• A good President is involved with his students and their well-being. If there is ever any sign of a President who lacks this there purpose is absent. 
• By having a new President it will give students hope, and will help them move on from the issue. Even if the current President were to attempt to solve the problem, the students may still resent him. In other words, in times if stress there needs a be a change. 
• Ethically speking, by the President being uninvolved it shows his lack of pride towards the University. He put himself before the well-being of the students. 

Cons:

• By stepping down he isn't solving the problem. Maybe he should have taken the threats as a symbol to take action. 

• Why would the new President be any better? Now that the school is without a President, nothing can be resolved until another one comes in. 
• They are just delaying the issue. 
• College students tend to over-react to sensative topics. 
• Gahndi and MLK would never ask anyone to step down, instead they would try to resolve the problem instead of making it bigger. By the President leaving, that just shows how unstable the University is. 
• Politically speaking, if the President were to leave everything would blow up and matters would only get worse, It is important for leaders to be responsible for their actions. 

Argument for Disagreement - NYT Article

Disagree

• Readers have a better imagination than people who don't read
• Readers gain knowledge through reading, can tell others their newly learned facts which makes the an interesting person
• Remember books throughout his or her lifetime versus a video or TV show

Agree

• No good social skills if you only read, no social interaction
• No imagination because the ideas are taken from others
• Writing helps you create your own work versus reading takes from others

What is rhetoric

Before defining “rhetoric” I think it is important to understand how to pronounce the word. I don’t know about you all, but as for myself, I despise the proper pronunciation keys with all the upside-down letters and strange markings. For those of us who can read and understand English, rhetoric is pronounced: Red-o-rick. I thought that it was pronounced like “rhetorical” which is: reh-Torr-eh-cal. I can say I have learned something from this class. But now that we know how to pronounce the word, what does it mean? Some define rhetoric as, “... the study of effective speaking and writing.” Others say it is the art of persuasive speaking or writing. I, on the other hand, define rhetoric as the ability to convey your thoughts effectively to others via speaking as well as writing. I feel that the other two definitions are trying to be fancy with words like art and study. The definitions are vague as well as too formal. Rhetoric is not just about persuasion either. Yes, persuasiveness is a large factor but it does not encompass the entirety of the word’s definition. I will agree that being able to correctly argue a point (this blog post is an example of an argument) is crucial to writing. Being able to stay organized and concentrated in such argument is where rhetoric comes into play, yet it is not all the way defined. Just the mere skill to speak and have other readers/listeners follow and understand where your are coming from is rhetoric. Rhetoric is useful for everyone of all education levels because without it, readers are not able to understand and, therefore, reply to the author. If a conversation is not a possible outcome of a text, then the text serves zero purpose to have been written in the first place. Being able to see into the author’s point of view as well as knowing of his opposition is the golden ticket, if you will, to rhetoric. I find that the website brings up a wonderful analogy with the forest. However, I think being able to acquire a bird’s eye view of the forest first is a necessity before diving into it and exploring the forest. I also think by incorporating dialectic into the site is helpful. Dialectic is more or less discovering the truth behind opinions. Being able to read an author’s opinion and relate it to society’s and your own is essential and goes hand in hand rhetoric. I also like that breaking rhetoric into the five cannons is a good way to look at rhetoric and obtain a more clear understanding. I do not like how the website is laid out. To me, the layout of the website is confusing and messy. The two large columns of information on the side bars provide a lot of information but being able to navigate them is un-orthodox for a website. I know that there are different viewing options for them but that still does not change my opinion. I also think the articles, yet short, are difficult to read. They use complex vocabulary that to any lay person seems difficult. I found myself looking up many terms just to understand what the website wanted to tell me. Using good vocabulary is impressive and makes the text not appear dull but there is a point when it is too much. I think if the messages within each passage were easier to read, the website would be more effective.

Burton, Gideon. "The Forest of Rhetoric." Silva Rhetoricae. Brigham Young University, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2015. <http://rhetoric.byu.edu>

Past Writing Experience and Thoughts

Writing and journalism actually run in my blood. My grandma and a friend of hers started their own local newspaper/shopper in the 80's. My grandma, mom, and dad still currently work for this newspaper. In regards to this, I have been very experienced to writing even before high school. In fact, I used to write a short weekly column for the newspaper in middle school. So, writing in high school, you could say, came easy to me. I had excellent guidance and sources at home to proof read my writings. The English Department at my high school could be considered as a rookie team. The staff changed frequently so I didn't have a lot of veteran teachers in English especially. However, that does not necessarily mean they were bad teachers, just inexperienced. I feel that I have been taught and molded in my writing skills with correct protocol. I love the ability to creative write and I am not a fan of rubrics. I tend to want to do things my own way and convey my thoughts the way I choose. I suppose this is a hope I have for college writing. I don't think there is anything wrong with structures and guidelines for writing. I just like to let the creative juices flow and express myself. I liked writing about books in high school is well. It is always interesting to see how everyone in the class got something different out of the same material. I hope we have discussions and exchange opinions in the college classroom. This is also the first time I have ever blogged so I look forward to this new experience too.

Eloquence

 Eloquence is aspiring to be more sophisticated in regards to a culture while being clear and effective in a respectful manner