further discussion?

I felt that the concept of general claims could be further discussed a little more. Since it’s such a broad topic, and the book and some sites involved in explaining general claims can only do so much, learning it on my own was a challenge. It took me a little longer to grasp the concept of using general claims, as well as identifying general claims, more than it did with the other concepts that we learned. It was probably because I based it more on what was said in the book rather than outside sources. The book didn’t do such a great job in explaining it. I felt that it was just going in circles with its explanations in that chapter. I was more confused than enlightened, that’s for sure. I think what got me to understand the concept more was reading other peoples’ entries on the subject. But I did have to wait until someone posted their entry on the concept before I wrote mine. X]

It’s funny. The one concept that got me confused is the one concept that I found the most fascinating.

favorite? least favorite? improvement?

My favorite thing about this class was that it was at a learn-at-your-own-pace basis. I’ve taken online classes before, and I felt that when I took that one I felt pressured to be on top of all lectures, then come into take a final every 3 weeks or so. This class, however, felt a lot more eased than the online class I took before. It’s probably because I enjoy writing more than I like being lectured on a subject.

My least favorite thing about this class would have to be the time limit that’s given for quizzes and exams, but more specifically the quizzes. I felt that 35 minutes isn’t enough. I like to take my time when it comes to answering questions, then be able to go back and check all my answers before submitting. I know a handful of people who like to do this as well, but if a time limit is given, it makes them feel a little too pressured to just finish, rather than do their best on a quiz or exam. Maybe DO have a time limit, BUT make it at least an hour and fifteen minutes for quizzes and exams. That’d help out a lot.

The only thing I would change to improve this class is the time limits on exams and quizzes, because of the reasons above. Overall, I enjoyed this class. It was definitely an experience blogging for a grade. haha :)

what i learned this semester is...

I learned a few things this semester while taking this class. Overall, I learned how to be more specific when it comes to coming up with arguments. Not only that, but to also be careful of giving fallacious arguments. These were two things that had the biggest impact on me this entire semester because it was something I’ve grown used to doing for all the years I’ve been writing (and talking too, I suppose). I like that fact that I will be able to call out people that use words such as, “a lot” and “all” in their statements though. I’ll be able to ask them, “So did you really mean every single one of them did it? Or are you simply saying ‘a lot’ because it’s easier to describe? If that’s the case, then did you know your claim is considered vague in an argumentative standpoint? No? Oh, well now you know.” I was so fascinated by this chapter about general claims because people unintentionally use “a lot” in their statements, but they don’t know it makes their statements/claims weaker and vague, rather than strong and straightforward.

tracing the cause.

Tracing the cause of an argument backwards seemed interesting. It’s basically all about back tracking your steps in order to figure out what caused the result to occur. But it gets to a point where the possibilities of the cause are endless. The reason why is because “as we trace the cause back further it becomes too hard to fill in the normal conditions.”

The show Doctor Who does this all the time. You have to constantly watch and re-watch episodes in order to figure out what is really going on, or else you’ll be left confused by what the current episode is about. It’s obnoxious and it gets really confusing because what the writers of the show do is that they’d play a current episode from the current season, and then it will somehow relate to another episode that was done 3-4 seasons ago. However, it is really fun to do. It shows how much you pay attention to the series and how creative you are. You’re constantly asking yourself, “What if what this character did had something to do with what happened in that one episode?” Overall, it definitely does keep me thinking of all the possibilities. Sometimes I do go overboard on theories and possibilities, and now I know that it’ll become too difficult to be a normal cause and effect argument.

Someone tell this to the writers of Doctor Who! They’re basically making their viewers think harder than they normally should. Oh well. I’d watch the show either way. X]

mission critical

The Mission Critical website was also a very helpful source because it had pretty much everything that was covered so far. I specifically paid attention to the “Emotional Appeals” section, since it grabbed my attention the most. (It’s probably my favorite section we learned about so far.) I liked how the website pretty much used the same example for each emotional appeal and made it work for each one. I laughed so hard when I read the example that said, “Gosh, officer, but if you even think about giving me a ticket, I’m going to shoot you with this gun.”

For sure, these examples can’t really relate to everyone, but they are definitely humorous to an extent. I certainly enjoyed reading through all the different examples.

Comparing this to the textbook, I have to give it to the textbook when it comes to explanations. I’m not sure if it’s because all the information seems to be squished on the website, but the book’s simplistic definitions were enough for me to understand THIS particular concept. Although I’m not saying the website is less effective. The website can be another outside source in learning about all the different concepts.

Guess it just goes to show you that there isn’t one source for everything. You have to do some hardcore digging to learn the concepts and all that jazz.

cause/effect website.

This website definitely furthered my understanding of causal arguments. It goes into a lot of detail on what it is and provides examples of it being played out. I specifically really liked the exercises that were provided after reading about cause/effect. It was easy to understand. Can I say it was a lot easier to understand the textbook? Because I felt that the book was being a bit too casual with the subject. It’s nice that the textbook wants to connect with us as its readers, but only giving the minimal in formation isn’t helpful at all. It would be surprising if I could fully understand the concept on the first reading. In reality, it takes me at least two times of reading through the book PLUS getting information from another source to help me understand the given concept.

The website, on the other hand, gave more explanation and made it easy to understand. It only took me one time to read through to understand. Even though it wasn’t really being casual with its approach, the main point is that I could understand the concept. Totally recommend this website to use! :)

judging analogies

Judging analogies is important. We can’t just say that one side of an argument is better than they other isn’t really helpful. The analogy should be balanced on both sides, rather than being leaned towards one.

Actors and actresses are allowed to have tattoos while they work on television and movies. People with tattoos should be allowed to work as doctors and nurses without being judged.

First off, how is acting on a television show or movie even similar to being a doctor or a nurse?

The integrity of being a doctor or a nurse is far more important than expressing what’s on your body. The profession isn’t a fashion show. Plus, you wouldn’t want to scare patients with your inked out body. Seriously, if you’re dealing with a scared patient, you don’t want them to be even more scared.

Actors and actresses are allowed tattoos while on television shows and movies because they have make-up artists to cover them up every single day when they film something.

The integrity of the actor/actress is mostly based on looks too.

If they were to come in contact with other people, those people wouldn’t be scared of the tattoos. Rather, they would admire them for expressing their feelings through their tattoos, and would probably convince those people to get one too.

Therefore, since doctors and nurses come in everyday contact with people, they shouldn’t be tattooed.