January 12, 2009 - First Post

Although this course was a requirement for both my Business and Political Science degree, I look forward to the opportunity to refine my writing. It is essential in the world today to have solid communication skills. It is important for me to be able to communicate clearly and effectively through my writing. I am generally disgusted with the lack of professionalism within writing today. Now saying that however, I do feel somewhat hypocritical. Text messaging is practically my main form of communication with others besides e-mail and most of my text messaging consists of shortcutting spelling for time purposes.

As an executive of my sorority I disregard e-mails that are in poor form. I cannot stand misspelling or grammatical errors. My favorite type of writing is argument pieces because honestly, as the book states, I believe everything is an argument. I am very confident in my opinions. I love the idea of freedom and how everything I write is an expression of it.

Being from California, in particular the San Francisco area, I have been exposed to conflict and argument my entire life. I don't feel like I fit in to that community because I do not share the same opinions or interests as the majority of those living there. The southern region of the United States is now my community. I identify with the majority of those who live in Texas, especially politically, which is very important to me. I know that it is harder to make a difference when there is high variation in public opinions and for this reason I am very comfortable living in a place that supports my ideas. By saying that I am "from" somewhere I think it automatically labels me and I do not like the assumptions that come along with specific communities or geographical regions because the majority of the time they are incorrect.

By not formally introducing myself in this blog, I actually am introducing myself. I have made a statement or an argument that basically says, "I could care less whether or not you agree with me or whether or not you would like to know who I am". After reading the text though, I realize that I should probably try to appeal more to my intended audience because that is the best way to formulate an argument. However, I have somewhat tried to appeal to my ideal audience by using ethos. I establish my credibility as a college student and as an executive of an organization that has had experience with a diverse group of individual's writing styles. I believe that logos is also a very effective way to present an argument because I am a very analytical person and believe that statements or arguments should always make logical sense.

The formatting of my blog also makes an argument as to who I am. I chose right justification instead of center because I prefer normality, formality and consistency. I like to see a clear line down a page with enough spacing to break up different ideas.

I really enjoyed the section in chapter one that tied everything together in terms of "Arguments and Their Rhetorical Situations". It makes sense that if one's audience changes, one's argument structure or format must also change to fit their needs, wants or expectations





I have read, understand and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.