Precis Five MWP3

In, "Rocking the racism boat: school-based activists speak out on denial and avoidance" author Darren E. Lund discusses how teachers in Canada are preaching anti-racism to their elementary students. Lund reveals the activities that educators are having their students do to teach them ways to prevent racism. The purpose of this piece is to teach children to look beyond skin color and respect one another in order to prevent them from doing anything racially motivated in their future. 

Precis Four MWP 3

In the book titled, "The Rhetoric of Racist Humour: Us, UK and Global Race Joking" author Simon Weaver talks about racist humor being a form of racist rhetoric. Weaver backs his claim up by referring to other studies about the subject. The purpose of this book is to point out a different way to look at racism in order to aware the reader to consider how other people may feel on this subject. With the overall tone of this book, the intended audience would be a mature group of open minded people.

Precis Three MWP 3

In his journal titled,"Racism: What It Is and What It Isn’t" author Lawrence Blum settles the confusion on what is racist and whats not. He clears the confusion by creating a guideline that starts by defining racism followed by different positive and negative situations. Blum discusses this valid situation in order to enlighten people on the subject of race. With the tone of this journal, i would say that the appropriate audience for this piece are college students.

Working Thesis MWP 3

A racist joke, almost everyone has heard one or possibly even repeated one. With all of the programs they have on the television and the many websites they have on the internet that have racist jokes, its hard for a person to avoid these jokes. With a racist joke, it not only targets multiple ethnic groups, but it also targets religious groups and they can be considered hate crimes. Officials need to find ways to cut down on the access of these inappropriate comments or jokes. 

Precis Two MWP 3

In, "Just Joking: Is Racist Humour A Form Of Vilification?" author Senthorun Sunil Raj discusses racist humor. The author goes in detail by explaining what hate crimes are and the different punishments that are handed out to the guilty party. The purpose if this journal is to inform people of the magnitude of this serious offense in order to warn people of their verbal actions. The tone of this piece has to be upper level high school or college students.

With this last academic article, I was unable to obtain the full document so I was forced to use the abstract. The title of the journal was, “Jokes, rhetoric and embodied racism: a rhetorical discourse analysis of the logics of racist jokes on the internet” and the authors name was Simon Weaver. In this journal, the author talks about racism on the internet or “cyber racism”. Since this was on the abstract, there was little information that I could retain from it. In the journal, Weaver chooses to talk about this subject because it can be seen in a lot of content over the internet. “It is argued that racist jokes can act as important rhetorical devices for serious racisms, and thus work in ways that can support racism in particular readings.” Weaver goes on to explain that there are two types of racism when it comes to jokes over the internet. “it is shown that internet jokes express two key logics of racism. These logics are inclusion and exclusion. It is argued that inclusion usually inferiorizes and employs race stereotypes whereas exclusion often does not.” He follows that up by saying how racism over the internet has been ignored for so long,” because of a reliance on a problematic and celebratory definition of the ethnic joke.”

Precis MWP 3

In his journal titled, "Jokes, rhetoric and embodied racism: a rhetorical discourse analysis of the logics of racist jokes on the internet" author Simon Weaver discusses racism on the internet. He supports this claims by showing different accounts of racist jokes on the internet. Weaver shows the audience this form of racism in order to aware people of this other type of racism. With the content of this journal, the targeted audience of this piece is college students.

Racism in Mass Communications

1. Racism in Social Media 2. Diversity in Broadcasting 3. Racial Broadcasting 4. Job Opportunities 5. Graduates with the degree 6. Diversity in On-Air Broadcasting 7. Racism in Sports Broadcasting 8. Stereotypical Broadcaster 9. Racism over Facebook 10. Racism over Twitter 11. Racist YouTube channels 12. Preventing Racism over Social Media 13. Say No to Racism 14. Gender Bias 15. The future of racism on the radio.  

Introduction MWP 2

   Every mother or father wants their child to graduate from high school and go on to do bigger and better things with their future. Nowadays, more and more families are dealing with their children dropping out of high school. Nearly a third of all high school students in the United States are dropping out and it is a problem that shows no signs of slowing down.With no evidence of these rates decreasing, something needs to be done in order to keep these kids in school. If something isn't done to bring this epidemic to a halt; administrators, teachers, parents, but most important the students will suffer the consequences.

High School Dropouts

   Every mother or father want their child to graduate from high school and go on doing bigger and better things with their futures. But nowadays, more and more families are dealing with there child dropping out of high school. Nearly a third of all high school students in the United States are dropping out and it is becoming a bigger problem. With no signs of these rates slowing down, something needs to be done in order to keep these kids in school.
   The reasons for why these kids are dropping out go on and on but a couple to mention are lack of motivation, situations outside of school, and the academic difficulties the students have while in school. On the positive side, each of those reason have one or more possible solutions. I feel the best solution for this problem is to have teachers shy away on high stakes testing and more time making school more enjoyable for the kids. But at the same time, teachers and administrators need to incorporate active and 21st century into every classroom in the United States.

Precis Four MWP2

In his letter, Preventing School Dropouts Should Start in Preschool Kevin Fiscella proposes a possible solution to slow down the dropout rates by emphasizing stronger education in early childhood. He supports this idea with different outcomes this proposal would do to the rates. Fiscella offers this plan in order to attempt to prevent future dropouts. The audience of this letter is a editor of a newspaper.

 Fiscella K. Preventing school dropouts should start in preschool. Prev Chronic Dis 2008;5(1). http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2008/apr/07_0216.htm. Accessed 8 March 2012

Precis Three MWP2

In "The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School", authors Andrew Sum, Ishwar Kahitada, and Joseph McLaughlin examine the numbers of high school graduates and high school drop outs. They back up their information by showing graphs and using statistics. By revealing these numbers, it warns high school students of what kind of future they have in store for them if they decide to drop out. The appropriate audience for this journal is a group young adults.

 Sum, Andrew; Khatiwada, Ishwar; and McLaughlin, Joseph, "The consequences of dropping out of high school" (2009). Center for Labor Market Studies Publications. Paper 23.

Rhetorical Precis Two MWP2

In "Dropouts, Diplomas, and Dollars: U.S. High Schools and the Nation's Economy" author Jason Amos discusses the consequences of dropping out of high school. He supports these consequences by showing statistics in categories that range from total income to unemployment rates. The purpose of this scholarly journal is to inform young adults of the troubles they will be faced with if they decide to drop out of high school. With the subject of this piece being about dropouts, then I believe that Amos is targeting high school students.

Amos, Jason. "Dropouts, Diplomas, and Dollars: U.S. High Schools and the Nation's Economy." . N.p., August 2008. Web. 6 Mar 2012.

Working Thesis

Drop out rates among high school students are becoming a problem in the United States. If this problem isn't solved within the near future, then many high schools in United States will deal with the consequence's.

MWP 2 Precis

In, "Finishing High School: Alternative Pathways and Dropout Recovery" authors John H. Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom discuss drop out rates among high school students. The authors support every claim with concrete evidence and methods of improvement. Their purpose is to come up with ways to prevent drop out in order to decrease the rates. With the tone and overall content of this journal, I believe tat the targeted audience is college students.

Zoom in on the Promblem

The problem I'm going to be discussing is the the high dropout rate within high schools. The people who are most affected by this problem are the students who are dropping out of school. Dropping out of high school can be caused by anything but some of the reasons are lack of motivation, family reasons, and failing grades. President George W. Bush created the "No Child Left Behind Act" which had many perks to try to better the education in public schools. It hasn't necessarily failed, but it really hasn't really improved much since dropout rates continue to rise. If this problem isn't fixed then important jobs in the country will decline because there will be no one qualified for the job. Someone should do something about this because the kids in high school are going to be our future leaders in different areas of the work force. If the rates continue to fall, what are those young adults going to do with the rest of their lives?

Chapter 13 Precis

In chapter 13  titled "Proposal Arguments," the authors Faigley and Selzer demonstrates how to put together a proposal argument. The authors explain how to do this by dividing the chapter into different sections that talk about different topics on proposal arguments. Faigley and Selzer's purpose of this chapter is to educate the reader on how to construct a proposal argument in order to increase their knowledge on the topic. The intended audience would have to be upper level high school to college students based on the subject matter. 

Precis Seven

In "Re-Examining 9/11" author Kenneth Jost questions the US Government on possibly preventing these attacks and the way they handled the situation when it happened. Jost supports these claims with interviews and evidence collected from both before and after the attacks. Jost calls out the Government in order to point out the opportunities the US could have taken to prevent the 9/11 attacks. The targeted audience would be any mature person(s) who questions our Government for previous decisions.

Jost, Kenneth. "Re-examining 9/11." 14.21 (2004): n. page. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://library.cqpress.com.ezproxy.colostate-pueblo.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2004060400&type=hitlist&num=0>.

Precis Six

In "The 9/11 Truth Movement: The Top Conspiracy Theory, a Decade Later", Dave Thomas believes the 9/11 truth movement " has refined its arguments but still hasn’t proved the attacks were an inside job." Thomas backs up his beliefs by revealing evidence collected from the ruble of the towers. He uses this evidence because its irrefutable in order to persuade people to believe that 9/11 was inside job.

Thomas, Dave. "The 9/11 Truth Movement: The Top Conspiracy Theory, a Decade Later." 35.4 (2011): n. page. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_9_11_truth_movement_the_top_conspiracy_theory_a_decade_later>.

Precis Five

In David Corn's journal titled, "When 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Go Bad" he recalls some warnings that the United States received about that were ignored. He supports these claims by using documented evidence of the warnings various countries sent to the US. He supplies his audience with all of this evidence in order to make people ask the question "was 9/11 avoidable?" I believe Corn's intended audience is a older group of people who have a better understanding of the events on that day.

Corn, David. "When 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Go Bad." ZNet. 1 Mar 2002: 1-3. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://mouv4x8.perso.neuf.fr/11sept01_A15_Zmag_When_911_conspiracies_go_bad.pdf>.

Precis Four

In the book, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold: the Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina"(2006) author Frank Rich believes that 9/11 was "to jump-start the realignment of the Middle East." Throughout the book, Rich's acquisitions are supported by interviews and statistics surrounding September 11th. His purpose for this book is to disprove the hype around the Bush Administration in order to show the corruption. His intended audience is anyone who has time to learn something new about the Bush Administration and 9/11.

 

Rich, Frank. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: the decline and fall of truth from 9/11 to Katrina. 2006. 1-35. Print.

Precis 3 (Non Scholarly)

Samuel Aleshinoye's article, "The 11 Most Compelling 9/11 Conspiracy Theories"(2011), gives reasons for these 11 conspiracy theories. He backs up each of these theories with evidence gathered by eye witnesses and other professionals at their field of study. Aleshinoye's purpose for this article is to give his perspective on the events of that day in order to send a message of "don't believe everything the government tells you" to his audience. The intended audience is a mature audience who has an open mind about corruption in politics.

Aleshinoye, Samuel. "The 11 Most Compelling 9/11 Conspiracy Theories." . News One, 09/01/11. Web. 16 Feb 2012. <http://newsone.com/newsone-original/samalesh/the-11-most-compelling-911-conspiracy-theories/>.

Precis Two

In Lev Grossman's Time article, "Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go
Away"(2006) he explains reasons for why the Bush administration would be behind these attacks. Grossman supports his claims by using events that actually happened following the attacks on September 11th. His purpose for this article is to have the reader reconsider what he or she beleives on what really happened on that day. This article is for a mature audience who has an opened mind on the subject of politics. 

 Grossman, Lev. "Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away." Diss. Web. <http://www.mphsmusic.com/911conspiracy.pdf>.

Precis One

In Phil Mole's article titled, "9/11 Conspiracy Theories"(2006) he explains why he believes the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon can be considered the works of our own government. Mole supports his claims by showing detailed animations and statistics of heat, jet fuel, and the construction of the buildings. His purpose of this article is to inform people that 9/11 could have been an inside job in order to make people aware of whats going on in the world. The intended audience for this piece could be for mature people who are interested in conspiracy theories.

Mole, Phil. "9/11 Conspiracy Theories." Skeptic Journal 12.4 (2006): 30-43. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

Working Thesis

People to this day still believe that the events that occurred on September 11th are the results from an "inside job". I am one of those people who do believe in this. From the way the buildings collapsed, the reason why the FAA didn't intercept the hijacked planes, or how the 9/11 commission reports left out so major events.

Conspiracy Theories

1. Were the attacks on September 11th, 2001 an inside job? 2. Why would the government do something like this? 3. Is there evidence that supports the claims? 4. What did the government want from this attack? 5. What do the citizens believe? 6. Were there bombs planted in the building prior to September 11th? 7. Why is there no evidence on to what hit the pentagon? 8. Why the hijacked planes not intercepted by the FAA? 9. Why did the Trade Centers collapse in a demolition style? 10. What caused WTC building 7 to collapse? 11. Why do some experts believe that the buildings in New York were apart of a controlled demolition? 12. What was the outcome of this event?

Chapter 7 Precis

In "Putting Good Reasons into Action," the authors explain how to find an appropriate reason to write an argument. By using examples of the different types of arguments, the authors' are supporting their statement. The purpose of this chapter is to inform writers on ways to shape up an argument in order to make it successful. The audience the authors' are trying to target are college students who looking to build on their writing abilities.

Chapter 4 Precis

In chapter four titled "Drafting and Revising Arguments" the authors believe that the thesis statement is the most important part of any well written paper and explain ways to write a proper one. Faigley and Selzer show many examples throughout the text to support claims. The authors explains to the reader on how to write thesis statement in order to make the process of writing a paper an easier process. The authors appear to be targeting college students who are eager to become better writers.

NPR and Scholarly Article Response

Both the Scholarly Article and NPR broadcast have many things in common. The NPR broadcast talks about music sampling, which is a technique many artist use to create a new song. Sampling is the act of taking bits and pieces of a song or songs and then using it in one of their own songs. That can be related to plagiarism in some ways. During the broadcast, the commentators talk about the never ending battle with the record companies and copyright laws. In the scholarly article I read, it talks about plagiarism and the different punishments dealing with it. I found the professors handling plagiarism in the article can be related to the record companies dealing with music sampling. Both are wrong but with the internet, both will continue to happen. 

Scholarly Article Precis

In the article titled, "Acceptability of Treatment for Plagiarism" (2007) authors Stacy Carter and Maria Punyanunt-Carter  studies the different types of punishments towards plagiarism. The Carter's support their research with interviews and collecting data from other researchers and professors. The purpose of the article is to find out the most effective way to handle plagiarism in order to enlighten other professors. With the purpose of this article being about ways to handle plagiarism, the intended audience could be professors or future educators.

Music Sampling and Lines on Plagiarism

         Many popular songs that people listen to today can be the result of music sampling. Music sampling is the act of taking snippet of other songs and making it into a new song. The audio clip discusses the results of music sampling and if there should be a penalty on doing this technique. People believe that music sampling is the act of stealing music from an artist who has a copyright license. Sampling is a topic that had many outlooks on it, both positive and negative. Some artist believe the sampling can be viewed as an evolution of music. Others believe that sampling isn't original and people should be sued or punish for this technique. The cast of the audio cast have their own theories for solutions for sampling. They believe that people should persuade record companies to create a library of all of these snippets of music that old and new artist want to obtain.
         In the article about plagiarism, Trip Gabriel discusses how often plagiarism is being done by college students around the United States. Students are becoming more and more lazy when it comes to writing papers. When the internet has so many links about numerous amounts of topics, it doesn't make it hard for a student to use other authors work. College professors are fearing that students are becoming so tempted when it comes to stealing another authors piece of work.

The Beginning of College Football

In this article by Taylor Branch, he talks about the start of the National Collegiate Athletics Associations and all of its scandals. The first controversy he talks about involved the hall of famer Michael Jordan and Sonny Vaccaro. In 1984 Jordan signed a contract to promote a certain pair of shoes in exchange for cash. But talks of scandals go back to the beginning. Other then scandals, Branch talks about the start of college football. The first game was played on November 6th, 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton. Walter Camp, a graduate from Yale, played a major role in college football. He created many rules and regulations for the game like playing with 11 players on the field instead of 15 and painting the field with white lines. It's no surprise that people called him the "Father of American Football". But as years went on, President Theodore Roosevelt needed to step in to "civilize" football. Roosevelt brought in 68 college representatives to discuss the start of the NCAA. Since then there has been many memorable games but there has been corruption but the NCAA has done an okay job at slowing it down.

Saving the World in Real Life

 By using my visual notes I believe that Jane McGonigal wants to make it easier for people to save the world in real life. Online gamers spend about 3 million hours a week playing games. But in order to solve the worlds most urgent problems, we will need to increase to 21 million hours a week. Being a gamer, this sounds like a terrific plan but why some people might ask? From what i got from my sketches and the video, gamers feel more successful playing video games then they do in real life. Success can come from accomplishing a mission, leveling up or beating the opposing team. In the real world, we don't receive level ups, our missions aren't as fun and we don't always have an opposing team to beat up on. Jane feels we need to create a game with real life situations so gamers can come up with multiple ways of solving them.