in class writing

Passage A
1Did you know that until May 5 of every year, you are not really working for yourself?
2A group in Washington, D.C., has learned that it takes workers an average of four months and four days to earn enough to pay their taxes.
3The group found in its study that taxes eat up 34 percent of all the income in the United States.
4 So, if workers used they’re entire income for taxes, they would not be through paying them until May.
5Being that May 5 is the first day people really work for themselves, the study group has some advice.
6It would like a bill passed naming May 5 “Tax Freedom Day.”
7 On that day, you would give yourself a break, irregardless of how hard you worked.
8 For, from May 5, on you will finally be you’re own boss.

Passage B

1Did you ever daydream about writing your life story?
2Do you think that your life is too dull, or you can’t write?
3Anyone’s life story is filled with fascinating events, and writing them down in the best way you know can give you a sense of accomplishment and, perhaps, leave a valuable inheritance to your family.
4The first thing to do is to buy a loose-leaf notebook.
5Each page of the book should be titled with a significant milestone in your life—from your first dog to your proudest moment.
6You should then jot down a few key words in the book whenever a memory comes back to you.
7The idea is not to begin with “I was born . . .” and try to write a chronological history of your whole life.
8Just delve into your passed at random; one memory will trigger another.
9It will become quite easy after a while.
10It's also important to write in your own language.
11Plain, honest writing is the goal.

in class writing

Commas 1 - Insert any missing commas in the following sentences.
Example: My opinion as long as you asked is that the expedition is likely to succeed.
My opinion, as long as you asked, is that the expedition is likely to succeed.
1. That singer, whoever he is, really knows how to sing the blues.
2. The woman sitting at the back table, is a well-known restaurant reviewer.
3. When conditions are right, that horse can run just like its father.
4. His four favorite artists are Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Manet.
5. Let Warren and Andrea, our most skillful speakers, present our proposal.
6. Long regarded as a leading newspaper, the Washington Post boasts an outstanding staff of reporters.
7. Slowly, slyly ,and cautiously Eric slid the wallet across the table.
8. What we need is creative leadership, leadership that will encourage experimentation.
9. During high school he read Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.
10. Song of Solomon, I believe, is the professor’s favorite.
11. I believe that ,should the eggs break, we will have a mess.
12. Sometimes I think that people are extremely foolish.
13. I believe that a computer breakdown is a common excuse for late papers.
14. The elephant that stands on the drum, is Maggie.

15. The elephant, which is a hard worker and a talented performer, is found in most zoos and circuses.

Commas 2 -Insert all necessary commas into the following sentences:

1. Heeding all too well the admonition of Genesis 1:26, man has clearly established dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and all the earth.
2. In fact man has gone far toward destroying all members of the animal kingdom, including of course himself.
3. In the last 150 years man has increased his extermination of mammals alone by fifty-five-fold, and if the killing continues at the present rate, man may well destroy all 4,062 species of mammals within thirty years.
4. Even today there are 835 endangered species with more being added each year.
5. In India where 40,000 tigers roamed in 1930 there are now only 2,500 left, and the lion population currently estimated at 175 has been depleted even more severely.
6. Australia a land of energetic sports-minded individuals, has treated its animal population no better than India has.
7. Consequently, animals like the kangaroo for which Australia is famous, are fast disappearing as are koala bears, Tasmanian wolves, and emus.
8. Because Australians were not concerned about their wildlife, in 1930 the government machine-gunned 20,000 emus at one time.
9. In the United States, too several species of wildlife have disappeared and many others are close to extinction.
10. The Eastern elk and the passenger pigeon, once so plentiful in this country, are now forever gone.
11. Other animals such as the alligator, the Southern Bald eagle, and the ivory-billed woodpecker may be fated to join the growing list of species we will see no more.
12. Although alligators are protected by law, men continue to kill them for their skins, only the belly portion of which are used.
13. As long as Americans want their expensive alligator belts, handbags, and shoes the poachers will continue to supply the skins.
14. The profit motive of course, has led to the wholesale slaughter of animals like the alligator and the tiger, but many other animals have been killed for whim or pleasure.

More Parallelism

1. We were dirty, hungry, and tired when we returned home from our camping trip in the woods.
   
2. My roommate liked to repair things around the house and was always trying to fix things.
   
3. During the day, we went on long hikes, rowed around the lake, or just leisure time.
4. She returned to the hotel to pay her rent, and because she had left some of her things in the room.
   
5. Two things that I found hard to learn as a freshman were, to get enough sleep and and to not spend too much money.
6. He asked me about the courses I was enrolled in as well as if they related to my major.
   
7. The doctor said that I should rest and that it was best not to get excited or upset.
8. Hitler’s followers considered other nations to be racially inferior and were fit only for slave labor.
9. The best way to combat juvenile delinquency is not to set up more social agencies but by restoring old-fashioned discipline in the home.
10. The book told how to build a gun cabinet, how to build a bookcase, and all types of furniture that you can make.
11. When I was a member of the basketball team, everyone met me with a happy smile, made lively conversation, and I was invited to many parties.
12. Fires, caused by unheeding persons, have destroyed valuable forests and thereby decreasing our lumber resources.
13. In basketball, there is never a dull moment, any team can win, and a fine display of teamwork.
14. My parents liked peace and quiet and to relax in the evening at home.
15. Esther is a helpful person and who makes friends easily.
16. Yosemite is a park with spectacular scenery and which has half-tame bears.
17. My friends were always going off to jog in the park or a game of tennis.
18. The manager asked me to file an application and would I leave my number.
19. We went to rallies to protest against pesticides, oppose nuclear power, or other current auses.
20. My roommate was a smart dresser, a good student, and really knew how to talk.

in class writing

1) I don't think you should go out with him. I heard that he just recently got fired from his job because he never showed up on time. He also just broke up with his long-term girlfriend because he was cheating on her. I don't want you to end up getting hurt and he just doesn't seem like a good guy.

2) Race is still an important issue in American politics today. I recently heard President Bush speaking about all the hate crimes going on in schools. As a result of this, many students don't feel safe at school and are scared to even go to school. Something needs to be done in these school systems so that students are treated fairly and are able to feel safe at school.

3) Argumentative essays are meant for the writer to be able to share their views and opinions with their readers. Often times writers use an argumentative style in order to sway the reader into agreeing with them and seeing their side of the argument. In my essay on capital punishment, my views weren't completely convinving, however, I did take an obvious side. My paper was definitely anti-capital punishment. In order to support this claim I listed the reasons why capital punishment should be abolished.

in class writing

Many of us foolishly object to taking courses in writing. In fact students going into the technical or scientific fields may think that writing is something they seldom have to do. However, our notion that only poets and novelists have to write is unrealistic. For example practicing engineers and scientists say they spend half of their time writing memos and reports. In addition, many college students going into business think their secretaries will do their writing for them. Yet, this attitude shows a naive faith in the competency of their secretaries. Because young business people seldom have private secretaries. In fact, a person in any field who can express ideas clearly is sure to succeed.

Topic Proposal

- I will discuss the issue of corruption in the legal system and discuss the issues of innocent people being convicted of the death penalty.

- The problem is that many people in the United States as well as other countries have been convicted of a crime or put on death row and then later evidence has proven that they were in fact innocent. This problem is a very big issue because it is dealing with the lives of people.

- The solution is that there need to be DNA testing and strict regulations so that only few people will ever receive the death penalty and when they do, it is becuase they were in fact guilty.

- The justification is that if there are stircter laws regarding the death penalty and DNA testing before hand, there will be little discripency.

-The position of anti- death penalty will be use din this paper, because the people against hte death penalty argue against it and one of their main reasons for beign against it is that the court is not always fair or right in their decisions.

- SOme concerns I have are if my policy is strong enough or how I am going to formulate a policy stronger than the one the that is used today.

The policy I think that needs to be changed at USC is that I think besides just having secruity guards in the dorms at night after 12, I also think they should have secruity guards who walk with students to the garage at night. Because of the number of incidents where people have been held up at gun point in the garages and been robbed I think it would be a good idea for their to be at least one security guard who walks with students to the garage and from the garage. The security guard could take more than one student at a time and I really don't think it would be that difficult. It is true that their are camera's in the garage but that doesn't stop someone from robbing students, and the red blinking light things are useful but by the time a student reaches one it may be too late, and what if a student isn't near one when they get approached? The current policy of security guards in the dorms late at night, camera's, and the push-call system are all good ideas and have benefits however, I just feel that more needs to be added to the system because things are still happening. I think authorities have not come up with the security guard walking students to the car idea because they think it will be a hassale, however I don't think it would be. The only place they would haave to walk students is to the garage because that is an enclosed area that is often times targeted. It is dark and closed off and normallly there arne't many people nearby. I think the policy could be perfected a little more by adding a security guard that walks students to their cars.

free write

I have always kind of been apathetic towards gay/lesbian rights. This issue has never really bothered me or effected me and so therefor I never really thought of my stance on the issue. I sort of always had the mindset of as it doesn't really matter to me because it doesn't effect me. That was until a girl at my school who had always been really friendly and had a lot of friends came out that she was gay. After she had gotten up enough courage to tell everyone, in return everyone quickly distanced theirselves from her and slowly began making jokes about her. That's when I realized it is important to have opinions on issues, even if they don't affect you presonally because they effect other people. This girl had never done anything wrong to any of the people making fun of her and her lifestyle wasn't affecting them. So after this I decided that I felt that people who are gay are still people and should still be respected. I learned that just because something doesn't affect me is no reason not to have feelings on the issue and that it is selfish to just agree with everyone around you.

SWA #11

The articles that I feel are the most credible on homelessness are "Four Corners Best Answer on Homeless" and "What Did Not Work: Effort to Centralize Homeless services." I picked these two articles because in the first one the writer is an active member of the community, an executive board member, and works as a real estate developer. He seems like he has a lot of experience and expertise and therefor his opinion seems to be more valid than just some random person. The other article has a whole list of ways and plans for the homeless and it seems the writer has spent a lot of time researching the issue in order to figure out what would be the best way to handle homelessness. The less credible articles are the ones where the writer doesn't seem to have a background on the issue and is just writing their opinion. You can hold some level of credibility of an article based on who the writer is, why they are writing the article, and who they intend to read the article. Also, you can tell if it is credible based on if the writer is using facts or purely just opinion. Less credible articles is research papers may be ones that don't provide facts or statistics or is derived from a source that is not up to date or knowledgable about the topic. 

in class writing

The editorial that I think was must effective was, "Colu,bia Council Should Support Mission, Homeless." The reason i felt that this article was the most effective is because the author too a situation (homelessness) and discussed how the policies weren't being carried out but how they could be. The author discusses what City Council has been doing and not doing, which many people may not be aware of until reading this article. Then the author describes how homelessness effects the overall opinion of travelers passing through Columbia when they see the city's homelessness problem. Including this in the article is very effective becasue everyone wants people to respect the city they live in and people also want to attract more visitors and tourist into the area because that will of course bring more money into the city. This editorial incorporated the emotional feelings of not only people hwo pity the homeless but also peopel who want columbia to be respected nationwide.

SWA #10

The three editorials featured in The State newspaper have very similar ideas regarding homelessness in Columbia. However, they also use different ways of getting their point across. For instance in the first Editorial "Columbia Council Should Support Mission, Homeless," the author does not try to make his/her point discrete. The author from the very beginning tells the reader that they believe that the Columbia City Council should not deny the church from having the property rezoned so that homelessness can be handled better. This article is very much tot he point and the author tells the reader what he thinks the city council should do. In the next article 'Columbia Must Care for Homeless as Well as Bantus." the author still portrays what they feel should be the right action taken however, this article puts more of an emotional value on the issue. For instance, the author talks about issues such as alcohol and drug recovery. Also the author complains about how the city says they are going to make changed but these changes haven't happened before so why would they know? This article is more geared towards saying the city council does not carry out the actions they say they will. This article also talks about how old the problem of homelessness is and how it needs to be solved. The final editorial, "One-Stop Proposal for Area's Homeless Looks Promising," takes a more positive position in supporting the mission and discussing the positive effects the proposal will have for the city's homeless. This article was effective because sometimes people would rather read positive editorials rather than a bunch of people complaining. This article is also very informative because gives the specific facts of what the mission is trying to accomplish and what differences could be made because of it. All of these articles are written in order to be effective and get a point across however, different methods were taken. Complaining and dissing the city council could be effective in order to enrage citizens of the city and trike an emotional feeling in them, while being positive may get people to think "hey, that's a good idea." Editorials are just the authors opinion on a subject and different authors use different methods of getting these points across. These three editorials were all based on teh same issue but each author used different tactics. 

SWA #9

I agree with Williamson and feel that the word "retard" is hate speech, when used in the wrong context. I agree with her argument that for children with disabilities this word may continue to haunt them through the walls of education. For instance, if someone uses that word around a child who has a disability, they may think that they are specifically being targeted. Having physical and emotional disabilities would be hard enough as a child and is a very serious matter, especially for a child. Children with disabilities want to have as normal lives as possible and so being reminded every day that they are different than others, and that difference is something people make light of, joke about, and use to offend others cannot be anything but emotionally destructive to these children. I agree that this word should not be considered "cool" by Hollywood because then it just causes children to use this word at school in order to harm someone else's feelings.

I disagree Williamson and feel that the word "retarded" should not be considered hate speech because it is not specifically threatening towards anyone. People who use this word may go a little to far sometimes but all in all I think people do not mean to actually be offensive to those with disablities. For instance the word as sort of been changed as time as gone on and people have given the word "retarded" there own definition. For children at least it's not so much associated with people with disabilities but more to kid and pick with their friends. I don't think the people who use this word or really trying to offend children with disabilities and therefore, I don't think this word should be considered hate speech.