Reflection #3

As a college writer, I have learned that there is always room for improvement.  I found that I never knew how my paper actually sounded until I read it aloud and had someone else look over it as well. Throughout WIFYS I did struggle in certain places, but everyone does.  No one can ever write perfectly.  Whether it dealt with the research portion of the paper, the use of certain types of sentences or just transitions between paragraphs, it seemed as if I was always forgetting to do something.  There are many steps and procedures one has to take in order for his or her writing to actually sound professional.  I think now that the semester is winding down and Thanksgiving and Christmas are both around the corner, I am becoming lazy and not concentrating as much on the studies as what I should be.  I think many students are in the same boat as me though.  As far as grammar goes, I have always been pretty strong with it, but there are a couple errors from time to time.  Sometimes even I have to go back and reread a sentence multiple times; but I'm glad I catch it before the reader or professor does.  In my high school, we always used APA format or some sort of format that starts with an A.  We never really used MLA format, so it took some time to refresh it in my brain and learn the techniques and steps again.  When it comes to citing my work, I learned that introducing the author(s) of the article before I state their quote or opinion often times makes the writing sound a lot stronger and supported.  I learned that giving my opinion about a certain quote or  topic helps lengthen the paper a good bit which is always helpful.  Recently in my "Pay for Play" (college athletes should be paid) paper, I used many quotes directly from both text and online sources.  I supported these quotes by offering my opinion to help get the readers attention and to help the reader better understand where the author is coming from with his or her statement.  It is extremely important to use these skills and continue to learn and practice them.  Why?  Because this is not the last time we will use them.  Writing helps everything in daily life.  It helps speech, creativity in the mind, and much more.  I know that I will have to use all of the skills sometime soon in the future.

Argument #4: 30 Days

Dennis and Tom...say that kids should be allowed to be adopted by gay and lesbian families in order to avoid being put in a foster care child home.  No matter who loves who, as long as the kids have a good upbringing then the decisions they make and the homes in which these kids are placed should not matter.

The straight lady(Katie)...says that kids should not be able to be adopted by gay and lesbian families and that they should be placed in mom dad homes only.  In this case I believe that the number of children in foster care homes would dramatically increase and that a lot more kids would be left without a home or family.

This is a very tough topic to talk about.  My opinion is on both sides I guess.  I want to say that kids should be allowed to be placed in gay and lesbian homes ONLY to prevent the numbers in foster care centers from increasing.  I was brought up to believe in mom dad homes only and that that is the best way to be raised.


Katie lives by her faith and by her families rules and how she was raised from birth.  Dennis and Tom are still religious, but their religion allows there to be gay and lesbian families with children in their church/place of worship.

If I had to pick one side, I would go with Katie.  I was raised catholic my family was raised catholic and even their families before them.  We have all grown up in mom dad families and households and that's probably how it always will be.  We have never really been around gay or lesbian families or even people alone to know what it would be like or to know if they could really give the same to a child as a mother and father together.  With that being said, I am not saying everything Katie says is right because I have always been taught to see things with an open mind and meet people with an open heart.  Katie sort of holds to her own beliefs and doesn't let the second half of her try and see where Dennis and Tom are coming from when they are speaking about their family.  From the looks of the video we watched in class, I honestly think that Dennis and Tom are doing a great job raising their family.  They seem to have things controlled perfectly and they show enough love to their kids if not more than some mom dad families.  I think I heard that they have a special needs child who didn't talk before being in their family and now he speaks.  That to me is absolutely amazing because I work with seven severely autistic boys and they are extremely hard to handle, but it is extremely rewarding.  They need more love and attention and care than any other child on this entire planet and if Dennis and Tom can give their little one all that love and attention then I truly believe they know what they are doing and I truly believe that they have the right to have children and raise a family.

Argument #3: Dive

3 rules to dumpster diving

-never take more than you need
-first come first serve
-leave it cleaner than what you found it

we are feeding our landfills as much as we are feeding our country.

Seifert argues that we/grocery stores are wasting perfectly good food that can be eaten without doing any harm to the body.  He says grocery stores are throwing food away just because the sell by date is a day old, but the food is still perfectly fine to eat.  Seifert and a team of others dumpster dive and gather what they think is perfectly good food to eat from dumpsters outside of grocery stores/markets and they eat it and share it with others.

I agree that America does waste a lot of food, but I don't agree with what Seifert is doing.  I know some of the food is probably okay to eat, but I would never take the chance.  No one really knows how much bacteria is in the dumpsters that could now be on the food.  If the food is not properly sanitized then serious harm to the body could be done.  I guess this is risk they are all willing to take since they continue to eat the food they dive for daily.

I would never lay my hands on any food that is pulled out of a trashcan in my house, let alone a dumpster outside a super market.  We as American's could do a lot to help those in need of food.  Dumpster diving is not the first way.  Maybe saving our food and not wasting as much could help those in need a lot.  Taking our left overs to shelters or food kitchens could also greatly help those in need.

I did like the point that Seifert gives that says..."we are feeding our landfills as much as we are feeding our country."  This is a very distinct point and it draws a lot of opinions.  It certainly got me thinking.  The amount of food that people waste per day is outrageous.  Just imagine what we could do with all the perfectly edible food that we waste each and every day.  Those last couple chips, that extra 3 inches of a hoagie, those vegetables that were never touched on our plate; they could all be eaten and greatly appreciated by those in need and by those who don't have any at all.

Argument #2: McGonigal

I've never really been much of a "gamer", so I'm not very educated on a subject like this.  I guess it would depend on which games you were playing.  I guess certain strategy games or sort of puzzles work the mind more academically than those that require shooting space ships, other people, or random aliens.  War games might have multiple opinions.  Some might argue that they educate those playing them about the history of our world and some might argue that the shooting and language causes more violence to occur in our world.  I believe age groups have a lot to do with this topic.  By that I mean the rating of the games and the age of the kids/adults playing the certain games.  I believe that the world has really changed and that parents are becoming more lenient as to what games their children are playing because "all of their friends are playing them and they don't fit in if they aren't".

- we as humans need to play more video games for a longer amount of time each week.  (3 billion hours isn't enough...we need 21 billion hours)
- "I'm not good enough (at life)"
- epic wins - we love epic wins...on the verge of accomplishing something "important" in order to get a good positive feeling out of it.
- urgent optimism (we continue to try and try our hardest until we succeed or reach a certain goal..until we win)
- Super-Empowered Hopeful Individuals


1.)  We as humans need to play more video games for a longer amount of time each week.

I think McGonigal is crazy.  Humans play enough video games and I believe that is part of the reason why there is so much violence in the world today and in little kid's lives.  Kids today are growing up playing war games and shooting people and things.  Many studies have been done to help prove that video games cause nerve damage in the brain and cause strain to the eyes.  Playing more video games for a longer time period each week would only make this problem even worse.  McGonigal states, "3 billion hours isn't enough...".  I think 1 billion hours would still be too long.

2.)  We love epic wins...on the verge of accomplishing something "important"...

Video games are in no way important unless they are being played in an academic environment.  The only video games that I would agree are important are online computer tutoring programs or study programs for students.  We should allow students to yes, feel a positive feeling about learning instead of taking their academic time away and allowing them to play pointless killing games.

3.)  Urgent optimism - we continue to try our hardest until we succeed or reach a certain goal...until we win.

I was born an athlete, I will always be an athlete.  I'm not saying everyone was born to have a ball in their hands or at their feet, but there is more to life than having a controller in your hands.  Why not feel the urge to win or accomplish a certain goal not sitting on your rear end?  Why not have the confidence to go out and show people there is more you can do to prove you accomplish things other than in video games?



I am not hating on video games in any way shape or form because I occasionally do sit down to take a break and hold a controller for an hour or so.  And when I say occasionally, I mean maybe 3 times a month.  My schedule is too full and I am way too busy with everything else in my life.  I know people have the urge and the talent to play video games every day.  That is alright, as long as it isn't all day.  Make time for your studies and make time for friends so you can be social.  Gamers are often looked at very differently by other groups of people, but sometimes people need to step back and see that this may be a skill that they have and they are just using it to their advantage for their own well-being.

Argument #1: Kilbourne

Kilbourne's argument is that women are being portrayed in ways that are nearly impossible.  That they are almost required to look and feel certain ways in order to benefit or please others more than themselves.  Culture and today's society make women feel that they will never be perfect, but they have to do anything and everything they can to try.  Ads geared toward women create a toxic environment.

"The average American is exposed to over 3000 ads every single day."


The fact that we will spend over two years of our lives just watching commercials amazes me.  No one would ever think that two years of his or her life are spent watching pointless television.  What could one possibly do with those two extra years?

Just to think that I am exposed to over 3000 ads every day of my life is breath taking.  If I lay in bed at the end of the day, I'm not sure if I'd be able to remember even 100 of those ads.  The human eyes see so many scenes and so much activity per day that it's really crazy to even think how we can remember anything.

Kilbourne argues that women are being portrayed in ways that are nearly impossible.  By this she means that their bodies are being shrunken down to absolutely nothing to try and make them more attractive.  As a male, I actually feel bad for women today because of the ways they are almost being forced to feel and look.  Men are men, women are women.  They were meant to look the ways they do, so why alter them electronically to try to make them feel and look better.  When this action is taken, a fake/nonexistent human being is created.  There are too many ads today persuading women to change themselves.  Like Kilbourne says, some ads are directed towards males, but certainly not as harshly as they are towards women.  What happened to the saying "looks don't matter", or "what's on the inside really matters, rather than the views on the outside".  I get it; guys will be guys.  We always have the eyes and our feelings or looks of choice for young women.  Did you ever think that maybe this is because us guys have grown up looking at "fake" or electronically altered women in ads or on commercials?  In other words, we have higher standards in women because we have seen so many "versions" or different views of them.  It is a really intense subject and can spark a lot of opinions.  I think Kilbourne does an excellent job arguing her opinion.  She certainly got me thinking about many different views on this topic.

Reflection #2: The Writing Process

Working through the writing process greatly improved who I am now as a writer.  I always thought I was a very good writer, but it wasn't until this class that I realized how much more my writing could improve.  WIFYS helped me see my writer as the reader that is reading it.  It helped show me that writing isn't just words on a piece of paper, rather than a conversation with the audience.  This class allowed me to see the different languages and tones of writing.  I learned that tutoring isn't such a bad thing after all. It is always nice to have another set of eyes on your paper before the professor has hers on it with a red pen in her hand, grading it and putting marks on it as if she were trying to construct her own paper.

Throughout this class so far, I learned that as a student, there is always room for improvement.  I learned that writing is never easy and sometimes it can pretty overwhelming, especially if it's a topic you are unsure or uncomfortable writing about.  I never thought I was able to move effectively through a paper and give it sort of a flow until I started this WIFYS class.  I can go on for days about a certain topic, which can be a good thing or a bad thing sometimes.  I just never knew how to transition into what I wanted to say next.  I was able to use transition words throughout my paper and incorporate quotes into my writing to help give my writing a better flow.  For example, the technology paper I just finished writing; I was able to use quotes directly stated from the author in order to transition into different paragraphs.  By giving my own opinion and evidence to back up my opinion, I am able to successfully move through my writing effectively.

They say, I say

1.  The title, "Entering the Conversation" reveals that as a research/argumentative writer, you should connect with your readers as well as you can.  Allow them to feel what you are talking about and truly understand and comprehend your discussion, rather than just reading words on a screen or piece of paper.

2.  "They say, I say" is a model used to spark opinions and conversation between the writer and their audience (the readers).  Offering and discussing multiple opinions within a specific writing is extremely important.

3.  The purpose of templates is to get straight to the point, to attract the audience, and to discuss a certain issue/opinion very directly.  These templates are also very effective when it comes to using a specific quote to back up an opinion of to address an issue specifically.

4.  The story of Dr. X illustrates "an important lesson: that to give writing the most important thing of all-namely, a point-a writer needs to indicate clearly not only his or her thesis, but also what larger conversation that thesis is responding to."

5.  Some of the templates that I will probably try to use in my QDW paper include;

     - It is often said that...
     - You would think that...
     - I've always believed that...
     - Many people assume that...

6.  In Chapter Four, the authors write that the most common and recognizable ways of responding to a text, author, or idea is by agreeing, disagreeing, or using a combination of both.

7.  "It is always a good tactic to begin your response not only by laughing directly into a mass of details, but by stating clearly whether you agree, disagree, or both, using a direct, non-sense move such as: "I agree," "I disagree," or "I am of two minds.  I agree that ....., but I cannot agree that ..... ". (52)

8.  Americans today tend to believe that technology in our lives is extremely important and that it is a necessity to  help us get through every day life.  Lasn and I would disagree with this statement because although technology does help us with some things, it can also distract us from other important things, as well.