Blog response to Yeh's "The Bad influence"

I couldn't help but completely agree with your outlook on this matter. On several occasions I have talked with many individuals who could not carry on a complete conversation due to a lack of public socialization. As I try and communicate with young men and women I find myself lost in their ideas being that I grew up playing outdoors as a kid and had very little Atari or Nintendo time indoors. Though I hope this doesn’t outdate me, I do hope it paints an understanding on how much I am into video games. As I witnessed in the long run a few of my cousins who played video games on a regular basis, I found a huge difference in how we have lived our lives. As they were constantly in and out of trouble, I stayed away from trouble for the most part as much as possible. If you were to compare our “rap sheets” you would understand the trouble I talk about getting into was nothing close to what they would get into. The video game world these days in my opinion have allowed kids to focus more on technology to get by than the regular necessities that the real world requires. I would like to admit when it comes to the patriot songs you mention, I have used those on many occasions myself to do exactly what you describe. Most often though it’s not necessarily patriot songs as much as heavy metal music which gets the adrenaline pumping.

The truth is in the evidence!

            Evidence has proven over time that no matter what, the truth is out there. While an individual sits down to produce a story or argument, many things come into play. Though not all stories need backed up with evidence, most arguments tend to rely heavily on this critical key factor. As chapter 5 of the Writing Arguments text book describes, using persuasive evidence can easily help make any argument effective to its’ audience. As I often find myself dealing with skeptical individuals who are interested in a military career, I always reach for my evidence. The evidence I use takes many forms and depends clearly on the person I am conducting my interview with. Most of my evidence falls under my personal experiences whether over seas in foreign countries or state side in a non-deployed status. At times when some may not feel my experiences are sufficient enough, I bring on my visual aides whether it is my Marine Corps Opportunities Book or even personal pictures. While I personally prefer visual aides over anything else, my target audience are generally the same way.

            As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Many live by this saying and can relate to the many pictures they come across daily. Even when the angle of vision might be misconstrued, the audience visualizing the scene has the ability to normally see exactly what he or she wants to see no matter what. While some writers may find themselves “framing evidence” to misguide their audience, I have come to realize most the time the audience can see right through them. This tends to be the case if the writer does not effectively use the STAR criteria developed by Richard Fulkerson. This criterion is described on page 90 of the Writing Arguments text in which it represents Sufficiency, Typicality, Accuracy, and Relevance (Ramage, Bean & Johnson, 90). Though many people may not even realize they are using this technique, the evidence clearly shows.

Work Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. "Chapter 3." Writing

             arguments: a rhetoric with readings . 8th ed. New York:

             Pearson Longman, 2008. 90. Print.

Rhetorical Triangle

            It was not until I learned about the rhetorical triangle that I realized on a daily basis it is not uncommon for me to utilize this structure to conduct my military business. As a U.S. Marine recruiter, my job too many entails being that annoying individual who calls at the most inopportune time to solicit a person to join the military. To me on the other hand, I am that individual who is calling to offer career opportunities with many available advancements and benefits that most people are undereducated about. As I usually start my conversation with a small introduction to build what’s known as ethos or a character reference for my audience to look up to, I tend to gain their attention quickly with my title as Sergeant in the Marines. Even though the person in which I maybe talking too may have never seen or heard from me before, they generally have no problem listening to what I have to say being that the title has evolved over time and have built a fair amount of respect and trust. After I have presented who I am, I move into trying to figure exactly what my audience is interested in so not to waste their delicate time with irrelevant subjects. As I work on building rapport and getting to understand my audience I generally tend to use a key piece of the rhetorical triangle that always seems to help me bond with my audience. In my point of view, pathos have been the meat and potatoes of my daily “arguments” on how the Marine Corps has proven to be very beneficial to men and women around the globe when it comes to deciding which military branch to serve in.

            As many men and women typically argue that the Marines just issue guns and send you straight to war in the most direct manor to be a bullet catcher, I must argue back and explain that we are more than just your average gun club. Many people often are misleading on what the Marines really have in their arsenal when it comes to benefits, jobs, and opportunities. As approximately 7 out of 10 people normally explain to me that they would much rather join another branch so they can take full advantage of educational benefits, I quickly bounce back with the fact that the Marines can offer those benefits as well. Though many are still very skeptical on this subject, I describe the route I have taken over the past 3 years to work on obtaining my bachelor degree and explain how the Marines have helped paved my way as well as my wife’s way to one of the most well known universities in the United States. As I focus on making the conversation as personal as possible, I find myself explaining to my audience the jobs I have been a big part of as well as the many opportunities I have been able to take hold of while using them for my success. Though I had no idea of what pathos were all about, I quickly realized that on a daily basis I bring many of my conversations to a personal level to gain the interest and emotional ties of my audience in hopes of showing them the many ways they could benefit from this career opportunity.

            Last but not least, logos are also a big part in my conversation being that as I utilize this concept I continually use logical reasoning in explaining why our boot camp and training courses are known for being as tough as they are. Though there are many aspects of being a Marine that are tough, the one issue that often arises from parents is why we put their sons and daughters through intense training cycles. As I usually take a few moments to catch my train of thought, I know exactly what I’m going to say but like to let the parents realize what they are really asking before I answer them. As I often find myself with this question, I always find myself asking the parents in return how bad they want their son or daughter to return home. After hearing their response I work into my answer in that we too want our Marines to come home in one piece. This is why we make them sweat in peace (boot camp and training) so they don’t bleed in war if they were to find themselves overseas in a hostile zone. As I found myself learning more about the rhetorical triangle, I have gained a better understanding of how to “enhance my credibility and trustworthiness,” in which this makes up what’s known as ethos (Ramage, Bean & Johnson, 62-63). I have also learned if one effectively uses logos, they can build their argument to gain the audiences attention easier than others who ineffectively support their claim with improper evidence (Ramage, Bean & Johnson, 63). As both ethos and logos make an effective argument, you can not count pathos out being that this is how you can grasp your audience’s attention by making the argument more personal and emotionally appealing (Ramage, Bean & Johnson, 62-63).

Work Cited

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. "Chapter 3." Writing arguments: a rhetoric with

             readings . 8th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. 62-63. Print.

Waiving Requirements

           As I believe every man and woman should have equal rights in this world, I also believe with that being said, every man and woman should pull their own weight along the way. In the Petition to Waive the University Mathematics Requirement, I sympathize with Gordon Adams. This man has shown the many accomplishments and goals he has in mind and seems to have outstanding intentions for his tribe. I fully agree with his reasoning in that he does not believe he will need nor use ASU’s algebra required course. On many occasions through my course of study through high school and now on into college, I have found myself saying many times that I would never use these courses again. In the military, this though has rang true too many times. On the other hand one must realize that even though you may never think to use certain material again in your lifetime, it has been placed in the curriculum for one reason or another.

            As a recruiter for the military, we too have rules and regulations that everyone must follow to include one of these regulations consisting of required education. On any given day it is common to get a call from a kid wanting to join the military only to find out that they don’t have the required education. In the petition to ASU, Mr. Adams explains his educational journey in which he started out with just a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). As it is expressed on how important it is for him to continue on with his college degree, the military has also expressed this feeling. As I hear too many times from not only myself back then, but also kids that now come through my office door saying “Why do I need a high school diploma, ill never use that stuff again.” Requirements are just as it should sound. As I said before, I do sympathize with the petitioner in that his request sounds very noble. If the board was to accept his request then they should have to drop this course for everyone else in the same sense or just do away with the course altogether. Where do you think this would lead? I think it would lead to too many people requesting other exemptions in the same manner in hopes of getting where they want quicker. Let’s face it, yes time is critical but everyone should face the minimum requirements. As a military service member, we are faced with many hardships along the way. With that being said I don’t ask for many things, all I ever ask of anyone is to pull their own weight.    

Yeh's Blog: Writing is like FaceBook

I can understand the reasoning behind feeling that writing is like Facebook. I can remember the first time I got my Facebook account. I first would like to say that I am not too computer savvy and tend to just stick to the basics on these things. With that being said, I was completely happy with my MySpace account until all my friends up and switched over to Facebook. Let’s face it I was “attracted, excited, and frightened” with the new website that everyone was so hooked on! Being in the military, I have used these websites to maintain contact with family and friends throughout my travels everywhere I go. I can relate to your idea of this website being intimidating due to the material people tend to make public. Some things I do feel should stay between separate parties in the sense that there is too much drama most the time. But as I mentioned, this has been a great way for me to interact with family and friends. I say though honestly, I have seen a lot of people post things on their “wall” that does depict their writing abilities. I do believe that writing skills can come with time and practice. I can understand your feelings on the feedback from strangers….. I too used to have this issue. I will admit that I don’t feel I am a strong writer but you can count on me if you need any help along the way. People on Facebook come and go, if they don’t appreciate you for you why not let them go? Confidence takes time to build in itself as well. Just believe in yourself and you will do well no matter what.

Writing is like a flowing river!

Writing is like a flowing river. Though this river may not always flow smooth, clean, or fast enough sometimes, it is still like a flowing river. Just as a river begins, it may not know where it will eventually end up. This is similar to the way I feel most the time when I want to put on paper the thoughts and feelings I often have about various subjects. Sometimes I catch myself trying to force words into places they don’t belong in hopes of quickly getting through yet another section of what may seem like a raging rapid area of a river. This is most often the time in the river I decide to make my way quickly out of the rough currents to shallow ground in order to finish walking in the opposite direction.

As I eventually realize that I’m making my way back into smooth currents, it usually dawns on me that even though there are rough currents in making this journey, there are just as many smooth currents along the way. Looking back on old times in grade school, my English classes were never my strongest subjects due to possibly my fears and doubts while traveling up and down these rivers. It is clear to me now that on many occasions I may have been making this journey without a paddle, in the sense that I never put much work and thought into where I was on this river and where this river could take me. With mentioning that these currents are not always smooth, it is easy to say now that with the proper tools, techniques, and time, any river of the magnitude can be traversed no matter where it flows.

Just as anyone can attest that a smooth river is easy to travel along, the same person will most likely agree that a clean river is just as important. With that being said, time and hard work are usually what help make this a possibility. On many occasions I have taken my turn at fishing random spots along a river’s edge not knowing what exactly I was going to come home with at the end of a long day. This is very much like the thoughts I always have when sitting down to start a writing project. There are times I come home with fresh fish to fill the freezer as well as those times I stop at the store so I can buy fish to bring home to fill the freezer. On those long days that would redirect me to the store before returning home, I would still catch random stuff mostly sunken logs and moss that would tangle my line to the point I would cut my lines (this is similar to the many wadded up pieces of paper in my trash can after a writing project).

With the ever changing currents of these rivers playing a huge role in where most of these rivers could end up, so does the pace of a writing project. On most occasions, words tend to not come to my mind fast enough when needed while when they are not needed and I’m doing daily tasks and not thinking about writing, the words are plentiful. Just as a fast flowing current can cut through the edges of a river bank, a slow current has the same opportunity and power. As I have learned on a few occasions in the past, throwing a fast paced writing project together can do more damage than good when it comes to the critics while a slow pace project thrown together normally wins the heart of its’ reader. Though both these types of writing assignments have the same power, the fast paced or rushed assignment usually lacks the proper requirements to hold up to the standards.

So as I began this blog, I had very few ideas where it would end. I again thought of it as a river and as I can now tell along the way, it has nearly reached its’ end. In my mind, it took longer than it probly should have to put these words on paper, and along the way it took some turns and twists but eventually got here. With some sections of this river coming to my mind smoothly, clearly, and fast, there was a great deal of the sections that had me in a whirlpool trying to find the shallow escape. Now with all this thought of writing being like a flowing river, I do believe I will grab a fishing pole and build a dam up here at the end to try and catch a fish or two.