SWA #4

What Comes Next After Generation X?

1a) The text for this article is written in an essay form. The style the author uses is he brings up questions that encourage the reader to think and form their own opinions. The language is pretty easy to understand so that the reader does not get lost in the words but rather focuses on the point of the essay. The audience that the author most likely had in mind ranges from young adults to older adults. It focuses on answering the question about a specific generation so it is obviously geared towards that audience but it also discusses aspects of other generations that might spark interest in an older audience. Overall the essay seems to target a large audience. I don't think the author intended to target to my age group, yet I found the article very interesting and relatable. The author is very interested in figuring out what defines a whole generation and if a whole generation of people can actually be lumped together. He obviously has a fascination with people and wants to get people thinking about what ideas, thoughts, and events can shape an entire generation. Constraints that limited the author may include a differing of ideas. People who read the article may disagree with his rational on people being defined by their politics, or their music, or the technology that was create, or the events that have occurred during their lifetime. However, at the same time their is a common ground reached in this article. At least I feel like this article can reach out and relate to everyone at least in some way. One may not agree with every argument made but there is enough research and feedback from a variety people, included in this essay that almost anyone can find something in the article they agree with. I think there are a number of arguments made in the essay but they are all backed up well with facts and with real people's opinions. 

SWA #2 Response to Parker

In Kathleen Parker's article "Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World," she discusses why she feels more people should be moderate regarding their political views. SHe even goes into detail about how she tends to be Pro-Life when it comes to abortion but also agrees that she could fight for the opposite side. Parker argues that being independent is a more American approach at politics and ends her article with a statistic that proves that the Independent party is growing in America and becoming more common.

After reading Parker's article and carefully analyzing it, I have found that she has a makes valid point and provides substantial support behind her reasoning. She continues to argue that more people should be able to find their views in the middle rather than to the far left or to the far right. I can understand what she is saying and can even find myself agreeing with her. I think that it would be beneficial if people were more open minded and willing to really think about an issue rather than just agree with their political party. Also if more people were moderate I think that the political candidates would be forced to work harder rather than just rely on the fact that certain states tend to always lean towards their party or on the contrary not work as hard in states that tend to lean the other way. 

However, I also find myself questioning whether or not it is plausible for Americans to become more moderate. For instance I know a lot of people who have very strong political opinions and I don't see how they could switch to a more moderate stance. I agree with many of her points but i also feel like there's nothing wrong with having strong opinions and sticking to them. To persuade people to become more moderate may take away from many values people have. 

SWA #1 Best/Worst Writing Experience

My best writing experience occurred last year (my senior year) of high school. The reason this experience was so important to me is because the paper was part of our senior project and something I had been working on since the previous year. This senior project of course was this huge deal and highly despised by most students because of  the amount of work you were expected to put into it.  The paper we had to write was only part of the project, there was also a product we had to make and a speech we had to give. However, after I finished the paper I felt a sense of accomplishment. After researching my topic and working on the paper for so long, when I finally did complete my six page research paper (which at the time was the longest paper I had ever had to write), I felt very confident and accomplished. After working so diligently and putting some many hours into a paper it really was a great feeling and the whole experience seemed worth it.

At the same time I have also had bad writing experiences. For instance last semester in English 101 the essays we had to read and then write in response to, were often times very difficult to understand and sometimes I felt completely lost. For example the first writing assignment we were faced with I found myself completely lost and had no idea where to start or what the essay was about. I also, being new to the class didn't know what my teacher expected and that added to the experience being horrifying. Looking back now I would have talked to my teacher more about the topic and tried to understand better but at the time I took a blind leap and just tried my best. My grade didn't turn out too bad, especially since it was the first paper but the overall experience was probably the worst I have had in regards to writing. I have found with writing it is not much fun to write if you have no idea as to what you are saying and you just ramble on. However, at the same time if you put a lot of time and effort into a certain piece it leaves you feeling very accomplished

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