Get into your blogging groups and talk about (or revisit) the issues you want your blog to focus on. By the end of the first hour of class, you will need to post your editorial plan for your blog to our course blog. In this post, you will need to write (together) a short proposal for your blog, and here’s what you need to include:
First, describe the overall topic or issue that you will all write about in some way and explain why it is an important issue and one that you should address now. (That is, think about this issue’s kairos.) Why is this issue timely? Why is it important for you and your peers to generate persuasive arguments about this issue in this particular moment? What kinds of arguments are appropriate or even possible to make at this point in time? What kinds of readers will be interested in your blog’s focus? Describe as many kinds of readers as you possibly can who might turn to your blog for insight on this issue. Overall, how will you appeal to these readers and write in a way that is appropriate for them?
Second, describe each individual writer’s post. How will each of you contribute to a discussion on this issue in a meaningful and unique way? What argument do you think you will put forth about this issue? Which sub-set of readers will you appeal to most directly? How will you appeal to them in an effective way? What gives you the authority to write about this issue? What questions do you have about this topic? What kind of extrinsic evidence do you need to support your claims about the argument you think you’ll make about it?
Questionable Quality
-
Found on the premises of Johnson-McFarlane and Centennial Halls are what
are supposed to be “convenience” stores. These convenience stores make
their busin...
16 years ago
As a group, we have decided to discuss the problem with parking and parking permits on the University of Denver campus. We feel that the problem of parking is an issue of convenience, money, and general business practices. The reoccurring problem of parking is relevant to university students, faculty, staff, the neighboring community, and the entire City and County of Denver. We think that parking needs to be addressed now because it has been a problem in the past, and we know that without an adequate and appropriate solution, parking will continue to be a problem. Taking our audience into account, we plan on appealing primarily to logos, explaining the existence of the problem and exploring solutions through reason. Through our blog posts, we aim to give a comprehensive solution through discussing degree and possibility.
ReplyDeleteWithin the group, Emma Garrison will explore the problem of parking through the perspective of money and value. Mariah Grindle will discuss the problem of parking as an issue of convenience. Ryan Schultz will argue the problem of parking through the scope of acceptable business and ethical practices, and the repercussions the problem with parking on the greater community.
The issue that my group wishes to discuss are the issues surrounding the Residence Hall's convenience stores. This issue is important because us and many of our peers are unhappy with the way the convenience stores "C-Stores" are run. This issue is timely as DU is becoming a more popular university, and with better academics should be accompanied by more modern provisions for its students. The "C Store" has three main flaws. The store lacks a respectable snack selection, has unreasonable prices, and heeds the hours appropriate for the average college student (The store does not open until 2pm, and closes at 9pm on WEEKENDS.) I feel this blog will attract the attention of most DU students, as DU students are prone to care about campus issues they benefit from. We will appeal to our readers by keeping them informed with updates on our findings, and by channeling our writing to appeal to the students (i.e. sharing empathy with them, asking for their opinions on the issue, etc.)
ReplyDeleteEach member of our three person blog team will contribute by making their post on a different side of the issue. Meredith with discuss the selection and overall quality of the food/products in the store. Craig will post on the prices of the food and how they may not be appropriate for college students. Andrew will be writing on the hours of the store and how they do not accommodate the schedule/lifestyle of your average college student. This will make for an effective blog as all the important issues surrounding the issue at hand will be covered.
Our group has chosen to write about long distance relationships that college students face including the situation of being away from family relationships as well as boyfriend and girlfriend relationships. This topic is timely in the sense that all college students face the challenge of moving away and trying to stay connected with friends, family, and boyfriends/girlfriends. The argument of this is always applicable as every year another wave of students moves out on their own and begins to engage in long distance relationships with those they care about but have left behind for the time being. The openness of the topic allows us, as writers, to connect the impact of long distance relationships with many of the overall issues of the college world and environment which lead to almost theoretical arguments about how our attachments to other places promote or inhibit integration and/or opinions of the new environment in which people find themselves. Many arguments are available to be discussed here, especially the reasons behind holding onto a long distance relationship, how those past attachments influence our current and/or developing relationships and how we choose which relationships to hold onto and which ones to let go. This focus appeals to a wide range of individuals, parents who are curious about what happens when their children go off to school, high school students who are apprehensive about which is to come, and current college students who are working through these relationships on a daily basis and want advice or just knowledge of what to do and how others deal with a similar situation. Taking into consideration the nature of the situation we plan to use some personal experiences alongside outside sources and opinions in order to write arguments and ideas that are pertinent to all sides of the issue and the curiosity of all the possible audiences.
ReplyDeleteEach one of us as writers has different strengths in the way that we convey information. We intend to tie that in those different writing mediums while creating a subtle debate/commentary on each others’ ideas to show all the possible side of the long distance relationships. In this way we can incorporate the outside advice and inspiration that center on long-distance relationships as well as bring in the situation, personal experiences to the table for discussion. Melina is going to write from more of a formal, argumentative perspective in which she brings to the table most of the outside knowledge and ideas through quotes and statistics in a persuasive piece. James is going to provide more of the personal side of the issues by writing as if to his journal about his views on the situation and how it impacts him and those around him. I plan to write letters to people I have engaged in long distance relationships with conveying my though processes and my own personal opinions as well as thoughts concerning what others have told me or advised me to do, in a way asking for their help and/or opinion showing more of an example of how college students tackle long-distance relationships. The different approaches to the topic allow people to see the argument from all aspects and choose the approach that they like to receive their appeals and information from. The authority to write this piece comes from each of our own experiences with long distance relationships as we are members of the main group of people to which this topic pertains, plus we created the blog and therefore have the authority to write about what we want. Our blog will in a way encompass the entire sphere of the pros and cons and possible impacts of long distance relationships from multiple perspectives achieve through actual who deal with all forms of long-distance relationships on a daily basis.
We will be focusing on the preservation of the Earth’s natural resources, climate change, deforestation and environmental issues overall. This issue is timely because it is affecting us right now and if we don’t act quickly the consequences could be devastating. Many people are not concerned with these issues and are driven by money or selfishness. They are not concerned with the welfare of future generations and only care about making money at any cost. People need to learn about these issues and take action to prevent further damage. There is no question that there are problems now and that the system needs to change in order to keep resources intact and life going. People may argue that it doesn’t pertain to them or that it wont affect them in their lifetime and we will argue that that is incorrect and that everyone is affected by these issues and if they still don’t care it will certainly affect their children and future generations. The readers that would be most interested in our blog would be environmentalists, environmental organizations, people whose livelihood depends on the environment (ie they earn their living from work associated with the environment). On a larger scale, these issues will affect everyone and everything on Earth. Everyone should at least be conscious about what is going on in the world and what they can do to help if they so choose. We would write specific arguments geared toward each type of person listed above to persuade them and their particular personalities.
ReplyDeleteSpecific Ideas:
ReplyDeleteTim:
Water contamination around the world and the problems it causes. How fast the world’s water supply can and is being contaminated and how third world countries and people in extreme poverty are especially affected by water contamination. There are things that can be done and information that can be exposed about what is occurring. I will focus on this issue specifically and how/what people can do to help with it. I will focus on appeals to pathos especially and how eventually water contamination will affect everyone. This will most likely be read by environmentalists, environmental organizations, and human rights organizations. I have studied water contamination before and how it fast it is occurring and how it affects third world nations. I will do further research on the topic and strengthen my argument and provide evidence.
Victor:
Global Deforestation and its consequences. Having a passion for saving the environment and putting a stop to deforestation, I will make my arguments aimed towards these matters. I will be able to provide facts and be able to reach out to my reader’s feelings using logos and pathos to convince them on my claim. I will attempt to reach out to a subset of readers that are interested in this matter and care about what is going to happen to our planet Earth. In order to appeal to them in an effective way, I will use current issues and show evidence that deforestation will only bring global problems in our future. I feel as if I have proper authority to write about this issue since I have been learning about this issue throughout my high-school career and I am currently taking an ecology class at DU. This has given me the proper knowledge and background to not only put up facts but also to create an accurate opinion of my own.
Gabe:
The issue of oil consumption has become an un-ignorable issue. The rate at which the world currently consumes oil is not sustainable, and as a resource that does not reproduce itself we will soon run out of this precious natural resource that our developed world depends on to survive. Putting forth a moderate point of view, I will discuss both why we continue to not take a strong action against this issue and what should be done in order to better the world’s situation. I will attempt to appeal to anyone concerned about this issue explaining why our current sense of consumerism will not work and what needs to change. I will need to show how the rate at which we consume this resource will not support us for much longer and how we will need to change our lifestyles and points of interest in order to protect our environment as well as ourselves.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOur overall blog topic will be "The United States Government in the 21st Century". It's a timely issue as it will discuss the government's role in our lives through social, defense, and economic issues relevant to today. It is an important topic because the actions the government takes today will be the problems and issues we confront tomorrow. The blog is primarily focused towards those who are interested in Politics and actually care about the United States. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and political journalists are the potential readers, in our attempts to appeal to them we'll aim to be non-partisan in the majority of our posts.
ReplyDeleteThe issue I am going to focus on is our current national deficit. I'll attempt to put for several arguments discussing how the current deficit was created and major expense sources of the United States government. I will show that neither party can lay a claim to being fiscally responsible and the large amount of smoke and mirrors the modern political parties use to cast blame where it is not due. I'll appeal most to those who care about fiscal matters and how it will impact each of us individually. I am qualified to write on the issue as I spend a significant portion of my free time researching the United States Government, and as an active member of our political system the government's management of the deficit affects me personally.
The group divides the role of the United States government in three sections: social, economical, and Military. Each of us will discuss each section in depth by exploring the main problems and issues that every section is facing in mean time. For me I will be exploring and discussing the social side of the government through analyzing two important issues that every American cares about in the mean time: first issue is health care reform and the second is the job bill. The readers that I will be aiming for are the Americans people who are facing problems finding jobs or finding affordable health care coverage. The best way for me to appeal to the readers would be to use an unbiased approach and not taking any political side. Living in the United States and facing all the social problems that the country is going through gives me the authority to write about these social issues that’s affecting me, the country, and the next generation. Living evidence in my life support the side effects of these issues on people and I will use those kinds of personal experience examples to persuade my audience and I will use another logical and statistics evidence that support the financial catastrophe the country might go through if we didn’t act on reforming health care and passing the job bill.
ReplyDeleteMy argument is that the patriot act goes too far in eroding the right of privacy of US citizens when the abuse of power is used by justice department.
ReplyDeleteIt relates to a hot topic about the balance between the national security and personal privacy and liberty. My opinion comes to be that the U.S government plays a role of security states and as a result, it ignores its people’s rights of privacy and liberty as a country supporting freedom. The reasons I think that patriot act goes too far because the Patriot Act made by Congress gives over powers to the officers, and some of the articles just sounds not reasonable and rational, known as the one relating to library. I will list those unreasonable articles and expend the idea how it harms U.S citizens’ privacy, connecting to some local affairs. People who cares about their rights could be interested in this topic, and as we all known, the government’s obligation is to protect the security of the society, but people still want their rights as individuals.