Thompson Response Continued

Finney 1

Jill Finney

RWS 100

Mr. Werry

05 September 2014

Thompson Response Continued

1.     How evolved is the current generations writing due to the various social medias and Internet usage?  How do you relate to the current generations and the past generations, how old are you?

2.     Two elements that I found most persuasive about Thompsons argument were his use of multiple statistics and testimonies from real studies. This intrigued the reader, overwhelming that we write that much in a day; and with real studies as a contribution it established credibility.  I think his weakest point was the study with the children, I didn’t understand its relevance, I feel as though it was awkwardly thrown in.

3.     I think that Thompson introduces the article with this short story to show the reader/ audience just how greatly one person can write. Okkolloh was a very influential blogger and was able to get a lot of information out to the public without even realizing it. All her writings complied to be about the size of two telephone books, unknowingly to her; she had written all of that! So with this story I think Thompson is trying to accomplish that people everyday write a lot more than we are given credit for. This idea connected the astonishing stats about a average persons daily writing.

Thompson Response

Finney 1

Jill Finney

Mr. Werry

RWS 100

03 September 2014

Thompsons “Public Thinking” Response

            In Thompson’s article, “Public Thinking”, he addresses the topic of writing in today’s society. He starts his article with a brief story about a young female blogger from Kenya who wrote about the corruption of her country; branching to daily life and even her love of the Steelers. However this is all quite irrelevant to the main message that Thompson wants to get across to his readers. What Thompson is really saying can be found on pg. 51 of the article, “We are now a global culture or avid writers…we’re also writing a stunning amount of material about things we are simply interested in- our hobbies, or friends, or weird things we’ve read or seen online, sports, current events, last nights episode of our favorite TV show.” (Thompson 51). This prompts the question, “how is this all changing our cognitive behavior?” (Thompson 51), which is the number one question of the article.

            There are three main ways that Thompson tries to answer this question. They include but are not limited to, the following claims. The first, “For one, It can help clarify our thinking” (Thompson 51).  “The explosion of online writing has a second aspect that is even more important than the first, though: it is almost always done for an audience,” provides for the framework of the second claim (Thompson 52). Lastly, Thompson states, “Once thinking is public, connections take over.” (Thompson 58).

Finney 2

In stating these three claims Thompson uses evidence such as Expert Testimony, Experimental, and Individual Examples. In talking about his first claim Thompson uses Expert Testimony by tying in how poets complete their works. “I [Cecil Day-Lewis] do not sit down at my desk to put into verse something that is already clear in my mind….If it were clear in my mind, I should have no incentive or need to write about it….” (Thompson 51). In this piece of evidence from expert Cecil Day-Lewis; it can be explained that yes cognition is clarified by writing thoughts down. Lewis doesn’t have a topic in mind when he goes to write about poetry; but when he writes he is writing to understand his thoughts better. Thus relating back to the first claim that writing creates a clearer image of thought for individuals. Moving on to Thompsons next piece of evidence of Personal Anecdotes for his claim regarding always writing to an audience. “…a group of Vanderbilt University professors in 2008 published a study in which several dozen four and five year olds were shown patterns of colored bugs and asked to predict which would be next in sequence” (Thompson 55). Thompson further elaborates that in this particular study the kids were divided into groups (one group did puzzle silently, second group talked aloud to themselves through the puzzle, third had to show mom how to complete the puzzle) the group that had the highest success rates happened to be talking to mom, because she is a very important audience. Obviously this form of evidence directly backs up Thompsons claim about audiences and how writing to an audience creates an overall better writing. Lastly, Individual Examples, “Anyone who’s googled their favorite hobby….the Internet is a connection making machine” (Thompson 58). In this last bit Thompson uses himself as an example to show his personal, individual connection with the reader.

Works Cited

Thompson, Clive. "Public Thinking_." Smarter than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better. 45-69. Print.

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.