Reflection on the Issues Paper

For my issues paper I actually went through with writing about localization and how it would benefit humanity's chances of survival during a zombie apocalypse. I found my topic really easy to write about because of my love of zombies and interest in predicting how a zombie attack would play out in our world. I My paper focused on the negatives of a globalized economy, transportation, and communication, and how those industries have weakened our world to a zombie invasion. Although mythical, I was able to find legitimate sounding facts about zombies from two books on the living dead. I then proved my point in my paper by using real statistics from legitimate sources, such as the US Census Bureau and the US Energy Information Administration.

I don't think I learned that much by writing this paper, but I got a lot of good practice on citing sources in my paper. It was beneficial to practice paraphrasing as well. I was glad that we had an extended period of time to work on this essay as well, because I felt really burnt out after I wrote my first draft and needed a long break before I could rewrite.

I was so proud to turn the paper in today, it was such a relief. I was stressed at the beginning of the semester just thinking about the issues paper, and now that it is done it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. My final thoughts, I enjoyed my topic, but I hated the amount work I needed to put into this essay.

Article Outline Post

I am going to outline the article I wrote my rhetorical analysis paper on, The Environmental Benefits of Globalization by John A. Charles.

Charles begins by stating what topic he will address in his paper and his thesis, which is that American economic policies and the consumer lifestyle is sustainable on a global scale. In his next paragraph he explains the issue and the oppositions viewpoint, showing the "narration/explanation" step. Then Charles states facts and uses them to prove his argument in several body paragraphs, completing the "statement of fact" and "proof" sections of his article. After making his point, Charles proceeds to refuting the opposition's counter-arguments and concludes his article strongly.

Sources

Here are some of my sources for my issues paper:

Books: The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z by Max Brooks

pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/foodimports/

http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2009/08/us_food_imports.html 

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm

The following two correspond with each other:

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/steel_index.html#2010
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/2010pr/12/steel/

But Zombies Ate My Issues Paper!

For my issues paper topic, I think I am going to argue that globalization is bad because it increases the worlds vulnerability to complete collapse in the face of a large scale zombie outbreak. I think I am going to focus on the extensive network of transportation all parts of the world share today, and how that network will help spread the zombie infection throughout the world in a very short amount of time. I will also talk about the vast amount of dependence countries have on one another, and how if one country were to fall to zombies, other countries might not be able to produce the resources necessary for survival in the case of a zombie apocalypse. I know this is a different topic and it is going to be hard to find sources and facts, but I think I can successfully blend fact and fiction to create a compelling and influential argument.

My Thoughts on the Rhetorical Analysis

Coming into the rhetorical analysis essay, I had no idea what to expect. I had never ever heard of a rhetorical analysis before, and had never written one. I hoped that in class we would have a workshop to learn how to write these essays, but I was disappointed when it never happened. I realize that many people wrote rhetorical analysis essays in high school, but for someone like me who had no experience with this style of writing, it was confusing to find a place to start. I ended up teaching myself how to write a rhetorical analysis be reading several examples and reading the book, but I was still unsure whether I was doing the paper correctly. That is why I think one of the things that could be improved upon for the rhetorical analysis project is to teach how a proper rhetorical analysis should be written and what it should include.

Other than the rocky start I had, I eventually found what I needed to do and I think I wrote a fairly good paper. It may have been different, but I enjoyed learning a new style of writing.

Diction in "The Environmental Benefits of Globalization"

One tool used by John A. Charles in his article, "The Environmental Benefits of Globalization," is diction that cunningly influences the way the reader thinks. In the introduction of the article he addresses the opposing side’s arguments as “legitimate concerns” with little evidence to support those concerns. By using the word “concerns” instead of a bigger word such as “issues” or “problems” he subtly makes the reader view the oppositions arguments as petty, and not based in fact. Just by using the synonym of a word, he is already beginning to win over his audience.

Another example of Charles’s clever word choice is in the second paragraph when he uses economic terms such as “open, dynamic economy,” “producers and consumers,” and “self-interest.” Using these basic economic terms leads a reader inexperienced in the use of these words to believe that Charles is an experienced and intelligent economist. By using these terms, the author establishes his credibility on the subject of the economy, which makes his argument more influential to the American people.

Sorry about the short blog post fellow students, I am really sick right now though. I hope you all have a better day than I am having. :)

Rhetorical Analysis Thesis

"The Environmental Benefits of Globalization" is an effective argument to convince the American people that the globalization of the American way of life is sustainable, and that our environmental performance is getting much better because it uses logical statements, flowing organization, and shocking statistics.