Chapter 16

The book title, everything is an argument, is a fact and to make your argument valid, you must have strong evidence to be convincing to the readers. One of the group evidence you can use is called firsthand, which includes observations, interviews, experiments and more. It is a way to show your evidence based on something you have done. Another type of evidence is called secondhand, where the information is gotten from somewhere else and you use it to support your argument. It could be from a film, the library, online and other places where somebody else did the "dirty" work researching the information.

Evidence varies towards different types of writing, some writing would depend on a certain kind of evidence. Suppose an author who is about to write a book based on a tough childhood, s/he would probably use the firsthand approach, writing about his or her own personal experience. When it comes to a science article, the writer would possibly choose evidence from experiments to support its article.

Before you can start deciding on which type of evidence you will use, you must think of the type of readers you will have. Imagine a reader that bought a book expecting it to be based on a personal childhood struggles, however the evidence presented in the book is entirely about surveys of how scientists believe that there is a gene influence towards lost childhoods. The reader would possibly feel that her or his expectation of the book was not met.

I believe that personal experience inside the firsthand evidence and research is important to my academic writing, it places powerful impact in my writing. I feel when people use their personal stories; using the right words and the form of saying it on a piece of paper can amaze people. One might argue, but I feel that if the author does not state their opinion or feelings (personal stories) into their writing, the paper might be dull. It does not have to be stated obviously but it could be mentioned in a subtle way.

It is weird because after reading chapter sixteen in everything is an argument book; I felt it showed that we could not write anything without supporting our ideas. We, the people, are always demanding to know the proof for everything to make it believable. This is why we are using the blue book to understand the fundamentals of what the society wants us to write in our paper.

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth is possibly one of the best movie that has ever been filmed because it shows a lot of reality such as color symbol, family issues and disobedience in a screwed up fairy tale story. It shows that even grown-ups have a child spot deep inside their hearts. It also shows that sometimes when we want to live in our fantasy world, we would still have connections with reality.

The color effects in the movie popped up often. During unpleasant scenes, the colors would be very dark and gloomy to add to the suspense of the mood. The dark colors tend to focus on the Captain because he was cruel! When Ofelia entered the underworld, the colors turned from gloomy to bright and colorful which shows different mood.

Pan’s Labyrinth shows that no matter what; it is very often that many families have their own issues. Ofelia seems to be a happy child who wants to live her life to the fullest and to appreciate everything she sees. Even though she was a princess, she still has issues with her family, especially when her mother decided that Ofelia move in with the General. A child should never live its life without a mother! Ofelia had no choice but to move in with the General so he would save the baby growing inside her mother’s belly.

Del Toro, the director included a lot of disobedience to show the viewers that it is okay to disobey either somebody or something, if it is something that a person feels strongly about. In the movie, Ofelia could have been the best daughter by listening to her mother and not explore things. Only if she had done that, she would never realize she is a princess.

Del Toro also displayed his disobedience while he was making the movie. The ending is not a happy ending like many fairy tales' endings. He ended the movie with Ofelia dying to emphasize that we do not always get everything we want. Even though Ofelia died, but because she died doing something she felt was right, her soul did not die.

In my opinion, there is no escape from reality, no matter how much we try to believe that there is an escape. Reality will always be part of us; Del Toro showed that in his movie, Pan's Labyrinth. I believe we would be free from reality when we draw our last breath. There is no way to verify that kind of statement until we die.

Purdue OWL website

I have heard about Purdue OWL website, I used the website to cite my work in APA format before it was mentioned in class on October 9th. I did not realize how much information the website provided for the students. There is a long list of guides that we could use to improve our writing. If we take the tools from Dr. Wood and the helpful guides from the OWL website, our writing could blow many people’s minds off.

Throughout the discussion in class, I came to a point of realization that my writing could improve with the helpful tips from the OWL website. They suggested that our conclusion should have a rebuttal in the essay therefore the writers need to show their knowledge and opinion to make their argument into a good rebuttal. Also, on the power point, it shows how we should support something we state thus when people read, they will understand the essay as a whole, rather than having the essay stand alone.

Based on the feedback I got on my writing, I now know my weak area. I could tutor myself with the website given to us. I could look up different links on the OWL page and find the site that I need to work on and learn how to do it properly by following it. I found a page called Strategies for Variation on OWL website, it shows different methods of creating sentences in a new paragraph. It is one of my weak areas and one that I need to work on.

In my opinion, this type of website would benefit deaf students because based on the hearing norms, we are delayed in reading and writing. In ASL, we can express a lot of words and ideas in signing but when we have to convert it into our second language, English; it becomes very difficult. Our thoughts are dropped down because most of us do not have the skill to convert from one language to another. Thus, Gallaudet students who are struggling with writing should contribute more practice time to improve their writing skills. Purdue OWL website could provide such help for us.

Schools overall has many English teachers ready to teach the foundation of reading and writing although not every student understand every teacher’s teaching style. Today in this world, most of new things are learned through technology thus Purdue OWL website is a good place to start for the students who are struggling in writing. It is also open twenty-four hours over seven days a week, fully accessible to the night owls when the teachers are not available to help. Purdue OWL website is there for every kid to help them improve their writing.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/03/

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth movie directed by Del Toro is one of the strangest movies I have watched. It is similar to a fairy tale yet so different. During the movie, I have caught a lot of points that Del Toro was trying to imply. Del Toro mentioned that the movie almost killed him. I could see why.
He included a lot of religion issue in the movie that could upset religious people. Del Toro included fascism system, which is very unpleasant to watch. He used colors to match the mood of the movie.
The first thing I noticed that this movie could be another fairy tale because in the beginning, it mentioned that the king was looking for its princess. However, the scene was not pleasant. It was one of Del Toro’s styles to show disobedience. It had fairies, of course, a fairy tale movie cannot be without fairies but the ones in the Pan’s Labyrinth did not have nice colorful looking fairies.
Another thing, I noticed that Ofelia, the main character, could see the fawn, but not the General. It is common for most fairy tales to show that if you believe in something, you will be able to see it. However if you refuse to believe, then you would not be able to witness it.
I am into realistic movie therefore I am not a fan of imaginary movie. The creativity that Del Toro included was a gigantic frog that tried to eat Ofelia, a root that looked like an unborn baby, and a person that had to view the world through eyes in his palms. I have to admit, regardless of the extreme creativity in the movie; it is still a good movie. Del Toro obviously used a lot of his imaginary, it was really creepy to watch the movie and think about the things that he thought of. Such as, the way the creatures looked, and how the General killed people. Especially, how he came up with the plot of the story.
This was my first time to analyze a movie, as I analyze it, I found it more interesting on what the director is trying to imply. I also noticed that when we watch movies, we might miss out the small details that might be the key point of what the hidden purpose is all about. I enjoyed watching and analyze Pan’s Labyrinth even though it is not my type of movie.

Rhetorical Analysis

I strongly feel that D’Silva (on http://www.buzzle.com/articles/antiabortion-arguments-reasons-against-abortion.html) is a good writer. D’Silva is a professional writer and writing is his passion, many of his articles can be found on Buzzle.com. He is now working as a copywriter at an Indian advertising firm. He wrote a well-written argument about anti-abortions in May 2007. He is strongly against abortion.
To justify his opinions and to attract readers, he used different rhetorical strategies. D’Silva opened his article by describing the concept on how murder is actually involved during an abortion procedure. He wanted people to understand that every abortion kills a human being, an unborn child that would never experience life. D’Silva included religion statements, facts and his opinions to show the cons of an abortion.
An abortion article is not easy to convince, especially one that is written by a male. I am sure we all thought, “How could he possibly know what it feels like to have an abortion since he never would and could never have experienced it first hand himself. D’Silva defended his position by mentioning that an abortion does not only affect the mother but the whole family as well. He may have experienced the pain of an abortion by someone close to him.
Last but not the least important, D’Silva included a lot of facts in his articles. People typically go to the doctor for answers when it comes to making an important decision concerning their health. They would be more likely to believe the outcome of a good source. D’Silva included the severe consequences of abortion to convince people that abortion is not a good decision, such as how an unborn baby would never experience life and the effects towards the mother. One of the possible side effect after an abortion would be for the mother to be unable to get pregnant ever again.
Even though, I believe that his article was very good, he supported his statements, however he did not cover situations where the mother has been raped or knowing that their unborn baby would be severely disabled. In that case, I believe it would be ok if they chose abortion since it is beyond their control.
Overall, I personally feel his article was very eye opening for the readers. It was for me, I even learned some new things, especially the side effects of an abortion on the mother. I am positive that his article about abortion brings out a lot of arguments because regardless of the facts, everybody tends to think that their opinion is what matters the most. I suggest that whoever has to make decision about abortion chose abortion as the last choice instead of first.

Rhetorical Analysis

Roy D'Silva is a professional writer and writing is his passion, many of his articles can be found on Buzzle.com. He is now working as a copywriter at Indian advertising firm. One of D'Silva's articles is "Reasons Against Abortion" I have always disliked the idea of abortion, which is why I picked this kind of argument. D’Silva listed the cons of having an abortion, and he included his opinion, religion reasoning and facts.
To convince readers like me, he shared his opinions with facts to support it and to make the readers see that he really knows his stuff. He mentioned that he does not support the idea of women having an abortion; he included the religion fact by stating “a child is a gift from God.” In the religious world, that states that God had a purpose for that certain person to have a baby and having an abortion is like disobeying God. D’Silva also mentioned facts about the mother’s body will never be the same after going through an abortion. He shared that 90% of abortions are illegal in America. That is a shocking number.
Since he is a male writer, it is tough to find this article convincing because it is not an argument coming from the heart. He could not experience it first hand since he is not capable to get pregnant therefore this article lacked pathos. Although, he included that the mother is not the only person who is affected by the abortion process but the whole family as well. Maybe one of his family members went through an abortion therefore he went though the process himself.
I disagree with his writing since he mentioned all the cons about abortions. Even though I do not support abortion, I would understand if somebody got an abortion after being raped. Basically, he stated that abortion is not good for one's health and it is simply wrong, no matter what.
Overall, I personally feel his article was very eye opening for the readers. It was to me, I even learned some new things, especially the "side effects" of having an abortion. He included the logos to convince me that abortion is not the choice. I am positive that his article about abortion brings out a lot of arguments because regardless of the facts, everybody tends to think that their opinion is what matters the most. Arguments about abortion will always continue.

D’Silva, R. (2007). “Reasons Against Abortions” Web site: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/antiabortion-arguments-reasons-against-abortion.html

List of This I believe

I believe in…

• Compassion
• Family values
• Moral values
• Standing up for what is right
• Religion differences
• Sharing
• Exploration
• Second chances
• Second life
• Hakuna matata

Nafsi in Lunsford

Nafisi (in Lunsford et al. 2007) piece states her beliefs of empathy. She placed her emotions in words, she argued about her own religion. She included facts, and stories that she believes are similar to her life experience.
Nafisi stated that one woman was shot and killed in a football stadium in Kabul because she violated the dressing code. (2007) That is an argument including a fact, Nafisi is telling us that people are not being treated fairly using examples from real life experiences. She even mentioned her experience being expelled from a University because of her race. She was not the only one who got kicked out; there were others.
In Lunsford et al. 2007, mentions that many Americans will at least say that they believe all people should be treated the same way, no matter who they are or where they come from. I agree with it but sometimes I catch myself being scared of the Muslims at the airports because of what happened on September 11, 2001. I know that not everybody is the same, and I should never label a person based on its own cover. Even though, I know all this, I still have this fear towards Muslims. I am sure even though people say we should treat everybody equally but we do not exactly act on it.
Nafisi feels that her life is similar to Huckleberry Finn because in the novel by Mark Twain. Huck stood up for his friend even though he was a slave. Huck was willing to give up his own life for his friend, which says a lot. Nafisi believes that Huck went against what the others were doing and did what he felt was the right thing; it required a lot of courage to do that.
Based on the discriminations and problems Nafisi is struggling through, she feels she could connect to everybody’s problems relating to discrimination. However she goes by everyday asking herself if she is prepared to take on the world. It is the same question I ask myself every morning, "am I ready to take on what will happen during the day today?" I believe we, the minorities, ask that question to ourselves everyday.
I recommended every elementary student to be required to take classes explaining the different kinds of cultures, and disabilities in this world during elementary. It is easier to teach kids the necessary facts when they are young. With the classes provided we could live up to, instead of saying and doing nothing, American’s belief that everybody is being treated equally.

Mother Tongue

Amy Tan wrote this short novel about the language of her mother. I found this story very touching because I have seen many people go through something similar to what happened to Amy’s mother. I have seen it through my eyes because of my culture. Being a deaf person is not easy when the hearing test our language, not the American Sign Language one but the English.
Tan wrote it in very detailed method, it made me feel as if I was in the same room when it happened to her mother, the struggle she bearded through. She even mentioned the words that came out of her mother’s mouth.
“Some of the assumptions in an argument will be based on shared values derived from culture and history.” (Pg 95 Lunsford et al.) From American’s perceptive, any language that is not stated correctly is plain wrong. Nothing but wrong. Amy’s mother stated the words correctly; it is just not completed. It is part of the culture, where we come from. In china, broken language did not seem so bad; I mean people could understand each other, which are just what we need. In America, it does not work that way. Americans tend to look at the mistakes we make but in other countries, they do not waste their time on those kind of stuff, they would rather spend their time on cultural values.
We, as the deaf people, went through that experience tons of time, being corrected by the others. When Amy explained that her mother did not get what she needed at the hospital because of her “broken” language but when Amy showed up and spoke the perfect English, her mother got the tests. That is not fair. That shows using arguments from the heart, in the second chapter, page 58 in Lunsford et al. I am positive that Amy feels angry about the way her mother is being treated and she wrote a story to present her argument by putting unfair experiences that her mother went through.
In my opinion, Amy Tan wrote a good story, about her mother’s life and the way she ended her story was very chilling, she wrote what her mother said about the story. It shows that Amy does not look at her mother differently like others do. Only if we could accept everybody for who they are, we would have a lot less arguments in this world.

Learning Concepts and Language

Learning concept and language is something that is not easy to understand. When we were young, it is easy to connect the concepts to the word itself. “I create a family of meanings by means of other concepts interrelated with that of dog, such as animal, furry, muzzle, paw, tail, and so forth.” (Pg 32 Paul and Elder 2005) When it comes to young kids, concepts are basically how you describe the word you are trying to tell. When we do that, we tend to over- generalize the word, and we could use the word “pets” can you imagine how long the list can go on under that word. I am not going to start on that list.
When I read the “Learning Concepts and Language” I totally said ah, yeah, that is exactly what I did. Sometimes I use concept to describe something such as appearance or something that I do not recall the word to. I am sure everybody has done that before. Language is one of the confusing stuff to understand especially when you have to describe it correctly; you cannot use wrong concepts because then you will give out wrong idea. “Unfortunately, nothing in the way we ordinarily learn to speak a language forces us to use concepts carefully, or prevents us from making unjustifiable inferences while engaged in their use.” (Pg 32 Paul and Elder)
When we learn a new word, we have to adjust our concepts to combine it with our new word and to make sure that our mind “digests” the word and understand it. When we happen to forget the word when we need it, we try to remember and use the concepts that we made some connections to the word itself. “Each word has a home in at least one established system of meanings. To learn the meaning of any one word in a system of words, we have to learn something of other (interwoven) meanings.” (Pg 33 Paul and Elder)
When it comes to critical thinking, it requires a lot of concepts to clash together in order to get the big picture. It is like you have to think the concepts out of the concept.

Page 42 reaction/reflection

Language is a beautiful thing, we use it to express our feelings, we could inform things, to convince people, to explore and make decisions. We could express it in many different ways, in different kinds of emotions. Based on my experience, I have used language in many different ways. I use it to inform people with the information I have. I use it to convince people to think the same way as me. I use it to explore, to discuss our opinions. Of course, we use the beautiful thing to make our decisions that could impact our lives and to meditate.
Using the language with information is a good way to persuasion somebody, if I did not do that, I would not have my best friend graduate with me. Since she comes from a hearing family, she did not know anything about Model Secondary School for the Deaf. I used my knowledge of what I knew about the school in Washington DC and the one I was about to transfer. I told the facts about the school. I inform her what MSSD has to offer us and I convinced her, we spend our last three years of our high school lives together at MSSD.
The open discussion about life or anything that makes me think and share my thoughts is very appealing. We, of course, use our language to express our opinions and that gives me the opportunity to explore different kinds of perceptive that we as an individual have. To explore things through language, there is a high percent of arguments that will occur based on opinions we have and on how strong we believe it. One topic we had a good discussion was about abortions, I do not agree with the idea of killing a baby. That brought up the discussion, a friend of mine, stated about women who got pregnant after being raped. Is it fair for the victims to keep the baby, the one they did not want to have. That made me explore the other side of abortion. It opened my mind and made me think about the things that I disagree on. Sometimes people have to do what they have to.
To make a decision is not easy because it could be a decision that could change your life. In making decision, it has arguments and persuasion combined. When we decide something that is different than the peer have made, it could create a conflict and that is when arguments occurs. Based on what we think, on what we believe; everybody tend to think they are right instead of others. At the same time it could be a persuasion because when you decide on something, and your friend disagree, you could convince them to change their decision and follow the decision you have made. My junior year at high school, I did not think I was that good enough to be on the basketball team therefore I decided to not to play and my friends refused to give up, they argued with me. Trying to make me change my mind and join the team, they gave me reasons especially telling me that if I did not join, I would not feel close with them due to away games and tournaments. They persuaded me. I ended up on the team with no regrets.
When it comes to praying, a lot of arguments tend to happen. This is America; everybody is entitled to choose their religion. We share our words through praying. At my great-grandma’s funeral, there was a pastor who shared a touching story about dying and being in a dark hole before being freed. People at the funeral did not agree with that kind of prayer since they have their own religion beliefs.
Without language, we will not be able to express our opinion, to inform, to convince, to explore, to make decision and pray. Language could lead us to arguments, to understanding others better. Basically, without language, we would not be the people we all are right now.

stiarx!

This girl here, typing this blog is just another average teenager, a Jersey girl, born and raised there for eighteen years. Somebody that is not sure what she wants to do with her life, uncertain of her own future. I come from a deaf family, fourth generation. My parents created me, they have taught me everything that I needed to know. They both also made me suffer being the second and youngest member of the family. Yup, I have an older brother who is also attending Gallaudet. My brother was disappointed that he did not receive a younger brother instead of me. Leaving him with no other choices, he rough-played with me up and treated me as if I was a boy. That is the reason why I am into sports, especially soccer. I have been playing soccer ever since I was six years old; I have played on three different teams. Until I transferred to MSSD, it did not provide a soccer team; therefore I stopped playing for three years. I would not attend to Gallaudet if it did not have a soccer team. Another passion beside soccer is loving animals. I mean, what is there not to love those adorable dogs and cats! I own a black Labrador, he is thirteen years old and still adorable, and I also have two cats. I adopted one and found another one. When it comes to stray or abused pets, I always invite them in, which are one of traits I have that my parents hate. They are animal-lovers but it is just that I always leave the “taking care” part to them. Well, maybe I am not completely clueless about what I want to do with my life, there is something. I would like to save those strays, to give them loving homes they deserve.

Now, you know something about me.