Rifkin Response

Finney 1

Jill Finney

RWS 100

Mr. Werry

29 August 2014

Rifkin, “A Change of Heart about Animals”

            In the article, “A Change of Heart about Animals”, by Jeremy Rifkin, he explains that animals are more like us than we could ever imagine. Rifkin makes claims, “They feel pain, suffer and experience stress, affection, excitement and even love”. Further into the article he also states, “Tool making and the development of sophisticated language skills are just two of many attributes we [humans] thought were exclusive to our species.” One of the last emphasis’ of his story is that of course humans must be different due to our ability to grief; “scientists have long believed that mourning for the dead represents the real divide [between humans and animals].”

            Throughout the paper, Rifkin backs up his many claims by using facts, quotes of scientists in the field, as well as examples of studies done with animals. This contributes to increased credibility of Rifkin. Not only does he present many forms of evidence to back up his ideas, but also presents these evidences in a particular way that intrigue the reader. His article has style and tone, many logical appeals, and an overall organization of ideas that being used together; create a successful paper. Speaking on a personal note, I myself was very intrigued by the article; I found what it was about to be very interesting due to Rifkin’s ability to include many different stories about animals as well as the studies that backed them up. I continued to read because it was just so interesting to me, not only reading because I had to.

Kristof Response

Finney 1

Jill Finney

RWS 100

Mr. Werry

27 August 2014

Kristof Response

                    In Kristofs article regarding guns and gun violence he presents claims about how relaxed gun regulations and laws have been a cause to many unnecessary deaths in the United States; specifically this nations youth. He shows this by stating, “The fundamental reason kids are dying in massacres…. we suffer from a political failure to regulate guns.” He backs up his claim by giving related information about regulation of other typical things in the United States. “American schoolchildren are protected by building codes…. Buses must meet safety standards… bus drivers must pass tests… food is regulated for safety.” However Kristof also presents a counterargument to his own claims, which makes him more credible by addressing both sides of the coin. On a more personal note he describes what he received for his 12^th birthday; a .22 rifle. “I understand: shooting is fun! But so is driving, and we accept that we must wear seatbelts, use headlights at night, and fill out forms to buy a car.”  Furthermore Kristof goes into detail by using Australia as an example of a society that changed gun regulations and laws and the result was very positive. After the laws in Australia went into full affect, “not one [massacre shooting], the murder rate with firearms has dropped by more than 40 percent, and the suicide dropped by more than half.”  By stating a claim in the beginning of the article, then counter arguing with himself, to further supporting his original claim; results in a strong paper.

August 27 2014 HW

Finney 1

Jill Finney

RWS 100

Mr. Werry

27 August 2014

HW

                    My prospective major in attending San Diego State University is in studying Kinesiology with an emphasis in Fitness Specialties. In my high school English classes we did use terminology such as “claims” and  “evidence” in regards to commentaries that we completed. Terms like these were to point out what the author was trying to accomplish in his or her writing (claims), and how these points were backed up (evidence). Additionally, the terms “claim” and “evidence” often needed to be pointed out in majority of the papers written in my high school English classes. Outside of writings in school, I do enjoy journaling sometimes. I mostly use writing in a journal as an escape for my emotions. Typically I enjoy writing out how I feel over talking about how I feel. This way I can take time to really organize my thoughts and specify on what it is that’s actually wrong. However as a writer, generally speaking, I don’t believe that I have the strongest skills. I want to be able to change that of course, and I’m hoping that writing will become easier for me and not as much of a chore.  This leads into my goal for this class, to become more comfortable and confident in my writings, and to develop stronger skills that can help me throughout the remainder of my life in college as well as beyond.