Chapter 52 Rules for Writers

Writing an MLA paper is challenging and you will face three main challenges such as: supporting a thesis, citing your sources and avoiding plagarism and integrating quotes and other forms of material.  Supporting a thesis will need support with well organized evidence.  Once you have read different sources of materials consider all sides of your issue.  The thesis will answer the central research question.  After writing a rough draft you may decide to revise your thesis.
The body of the paper will have evidence in support of your thesis.  Try sketching an informal plan that organizes your ideas.  After you have written a rough draft, you can go ahead and write a more formal outline.
After thoughtfully plannine, gathering your ideas will make an argument more complex and convincing.  Sources can play different types of roles as you develop your point.  You can use facts and statistics to support generalization or to establish the importance of your topic..  If readers are unfamiliar with a word or and idea important to your topic, you must explain it.  As you draft your argument, make sure to back up your assertions with facts, examples and other evidence from your research.  Don't ingnore sources that seem contrary to your position.
When writing an MLA paper I will make sure I cite all sources I have used. Also, I will not write in pligarism.  I know this is a really important fact.  When writitng an MLA paper I will sketch an informal plan with my ideas first.  Then, I will gather my ideas to make an argument.  These are the important things I need to work on.

Smoke Signals, the movie dialogue

What do I think about the relationship between Thomas and Victor?

In the beginning, Thomas a Victor were kids.  Thomas was a nerd whose father passed away from a fire.  Thomas and his mother were left by themselves.  Thomas and Victor didn't like each other much as kids but they somewhat tollerated each other in certain circumstances.  Victors father was a raging alchoholic who soon left his family.  Both kids were left without dads.  Victor's mom got a phone call that Thomas's father had passes away.  Thomas talked Victor into going to where his dad passds away.  Victor didn't have the money so Thomas insisted on paying but with one alternative in mind........that he gets to go.  Victor wasn't too happy about Thomas going but in the end I think he was glad he did.
I believe they had a unique friendship.  They tought each other a lot about what a friend is.  Thomas taught Victor that no matter how dorky you are, you are a true good person and friend.  Victor learned that even though Thomas was a nerdy guy that it didn't matter.  This is the feeling I got from the movie.  Victor was harsh in his words towards Thomas but I believe he just had a lot of anger from the abuse he had sustained from his father.  I felt they had a special bond because they both had lost their father.
I truely sympathised with this story because I lived a similar life as these boys.  I had a friend who I grew up with and have known since we were 7 years old.  Today we are 41.  Growing up our family lives were not so pleasant, but we had each other and that's all that mattered in the end. I will always have that bond with my dear friend and I am sure Victor and Thomas will as well.

Dina Dodd

Happy Endings, "Obituary," and "Oompah Loompah" Dialogue

What is the significance of Shirley Temple?  What meaning does she hold for Lovey?

Every Sunday morning Jerry would come over to Lovey's house to watch the beinning of Shirley Temple movies.  They always had to leave in the middle of the show to go to Sunday school.  So, since they couldn't watch the endings of the movies, they would make up happy endings during the Church service.
I believe that Lovey didn't have a lot of happiness in her life and that is why she would make up happy endings to stories all time.  I think that Jerry was such a good friend he went along with it for Lovey's benefit.  Lovey admired Shirley Temple.  Lovey was inspired by Shirley Temple because she had all the happiness that Lovey was missing in her life.  She was cute, important, special and most of all very loved.  Lovey lived her life in ferry tales through Shirley Temples movies.  Shirley Temple was a great role model for Lovey.  It also seems as if Jerry was the only other person in Lovey's life to make her happy.  Lovey and Jerry have a heartwarming friendship that will last a lifetime.

Chapter 48 Rules for Writers

When reading and in your own writing, evaluate arguments for logic and fairness.  Many arguments can stand up to scruitiny so you have to be careful.  A line of argument that at first seems reasonable ends up to be fallacious, unfair or both.
Many hasty generalizations contain words like all, ever, and never when qualifiers such as most, many, usually, and seldom would be more accurate.
It isn't always easy to draw the line between a reasonable and unreasonable analogy.  An analogy can be off base, which is called a false analogy.
Tracing causes and effects:  Demonstrating a connection between causes and effect can be difficult.  You will need to investigate each possible cause.  After investigating the possible causes then you will be able to weigh the impact of each cause and suggest appropriate remedies.
Deducing conclusions also called deductive reasoning can often be structured in a three step argument called a syllogism.  The three steps are the major premise, minor premise and the conclusion.  The major premise is the generalization.  The minor premise is a specific case.  The conclusion follows from applying the generalization to the specific case.
Distinguishing between legitimate and unfair emotional appeals have words with strong positive or negative connotations.  Attacking the persons who hold a belief rather than refuting their argument is called ad hominem, a latin term meaning "to the man".
Judge how fairly a writer handles opposing views.  In your own writing, you build credibility by addressing opposing arguments fairly.  You can access the credibility of your sources by looking at how they deal with views not in agreement with your own.
Quoting opposing views is a good idea because it assures some level of fairness and accuracy.  Sometimes, unfortunately, both the fairness and accuracy are an illusion.
I will use this information in my writings from her on by first making sure that I don't use the words all, never or ever.  I am a pretty intense person and let all know of my feelings, especially in my writings, so this will be hard to do.  Although, I am aware of it, so now I will make sure I do not use those words.  Also, I will make sure that I quote opposing views because that will assure some level of fairness and accuracy.  I want to make sure my writings are of honesty.

Rules for Writers Chapter 47

In writing an argument, you take a stand on a debute issue.  The question being debated might be a matter of public policy.  When constructing a reasonable argument, your goal is to not win or have the last word.  Your aim is to explain your understanding of the truth about a subject and to provide the best solution available to solve a problem without being combative.  Examine your issue's social and intellectual.  Many readers will be aware of the social and intellectual contexts in which your issue is grounded anprd this is why its a good idea to do research before preparing your argument.  Think about skeptical readers as you prepare your document.  It's a good idea to  as you are a panel of jurors that will make up their minds by listening to all sides of the argument.  In your introduction, establish credibility and state your position.  When constructing an argument, make sure your introduction contains a thesis sentence that states your position on the issue you have chosen to debate.  Back up your thesis with persuasive lines of argument.  Arguments of any complexity contain lines of argument that when taken together, could possibly persuade readers that the thesis has merit.  If you sum up your main lines or argument, you will have a rough outline of your essay.  You will need to support your central claim and any subordinate claims with evidence such as facts, statistics, examples and illustrations, expert opinion and etc.  You need to use facts and statistics.  A fact is something that is known with certainty because it has been objectively verified.  Examples and illustrations rarely prove a point by themselves, but when used with other forms of evidence they bring the argument to life.   The views of an expert can contribute to the force of your argument.  Skeptical readers may not be persuaded by your arguments,  a reader has to see that there is a more reasonable one.  Try and build common ground with the readers who do not agree with your views.  If you can relate to the reader and share their concerns, your readers will be more likely to acknowledge the relevance of your argument.  Be careful when you are presenting your opposing views.  Make sure they are fair before providing counterarguments.

Essay 2 Roughdraft

Anyone have a dad that was crazy about guns?  Sarah and I both had dad’s who were obsessed with guns and this is where I connected with her right away. Her and I share common interests in being hard headed as kids.  Also, we both had sister’s that were accepted by our dad’s.  Our sisters had a bond with dad that we didn’t have and it was very obvious to us.  Growing up we had a lot of similarities.

Growing up I was very hard headed in the sense that when I wanted to change schools, I did whatever I needed to do to go to that different school.  I would beg and beg and beg my mom everyday and would ask her what I needed to do in order to go to that school.  She told me I needed to get good grades and that’s what I did.  I got the good grades and I got to go to the school that I wanted to go to. When I wanted to quit gymnastics she told me I couldn’t.  I just flat out refused to go and I got my way.   In the story, Sarah is even more strong headed than me even.  She was set in her ways and didn’t have a problem letting her dad know that her love was for art.  Her parents allowed her to have a room of what she truly loved and that was music and art.  It was full of all the instruments she loved and she stuck to her feelings on her love for art.

My father had an obsession as so did Sarah’s dad. They both loved guns.  My father collected guns and wouldn’t go anywhere without a gun.  My father had me and my sister scared of guns.  I had a good reason to fear guns and it was because my father would walk around the house with a loaded shot gun telling us he was going to kill us.  I believe Sarah was afraid of the guns as well.  It was insinuated as the story was told about the loud noise of the gun.  As I was reading this story I felt as if that was a possibility. 

My sister always did what my dad told her to do.  She was much of a people pleaser just like Amy.  They were the “good children”.  My sister would shoot guns with my dad.  She would go fishing and hunting with him too.  Sarah’s sister is the same way.  Their dad wanted Amy to go shoot with him and she did.  They just did what their dads’ asked of them.  I believe Sarah and I must have felt some similar feelings with our sisters having a bond with our dad’s that we didn’t.  It wasn’t a good feeling.

As I read this story I felt there were some similarities between me and Sarah.  I could feel her passion when it came to art.  We both were hard headed kids that would get our way and make it known.  We were both hard headed kids and passionate about our beliefs and our feelings.  We would do what we had to, resulting in what we wanted.  We were both raised by a father who was obsessed by guns and didn’t want anything to do with them.  Also, we both had sisters that would do anything dad wanted them to do.  Our sisters were the “good” ones.  I definitely felt a connection to Sarah as I read this story.  As we got older and matured we realized that we had similar interests with our dad and it was just their love for an art as mine was to gymnastics and Sarah’s was to art.  Our dad’s art was their guns.  We just saw things in a different light as we got older.

The Insuffiency of honesty Dialogue

I chose to write about one of the examples Carter provides.  Do you agree with Carter's reasoning?

The article states "A wonderful epigram sometimes attributed to the filmmaker Sam Goldwyn goes like this: "The most important thing in acting is honesty; once you learn to fake that, you're in." The point is that honesty can be something one seems to have. Without integrity, what passes for honesty often is nothing of the kind; it is fake honesty­ or it is honest but irrelevant and perhaps even immoral. 

Consider an example. A man who has been married for fifty years confesses to his wife on his deathbed that he was unfaithful thirty-five years earlier. The dishonesty was killing his spirit, he says. Now he has cleared his conscience and is able to die in peace." 

 I believe that he held a lie for a very long time and that he came clean for his own being not for his wife's.    I believe it was a selfish act and if that was my husband I don't know if I would have chose to forgive him or not.  It's one of those situations you have to live in order to know how you would respond.

 I do agree with Carter that it is a fake honesty and immoral act.  It's definitely an immoral act of the example that Carter chose to provide but the example I agree with.  This was a good example that Carter came up with.  I agree with the reasoning in the sense that "without integrity, what passes for honesty often is nothing of the kind, it is fake honesty or it is honesty but irrelevant and perhaps even immoral."  The example was a perfect example of an immoral act.