Response to Rifkin's "A Change of Heart About Animals"

Ally Ferrell

Werry Section 27

August 29, 2014

Rifkin’s “A Change of Heart about Animals”

Rifkin’s main claim in his article is that animals are much more like humans than most people realize. Some of his supporting claims include animals have feelings, some arevery intellectual, and that they are self aware. 

One of the types of evidence that Rifkin uses to support his claims is facts and statistics. He shows research done by universities that show that animals have feelings, are self aware. etc. This also plays into his use of ethos, or authoritative quotes. He quotes very reliable sources on their opinions and research in order to show that his facts can be trusted by the readers instead of them thinking that he’s making it all up. The third type of evidence he uses is examples. Rifkin uses examples of different animals doing things that are convincing that they are much like us.

The strategy that Rifkin uses is pathos, in order to connect to the emotions of the readers. He really personifies the animals and gives examples that are easy to connect to in order to help prove his point that animals are like humans and have similar experiences. 

Response to Kristof's "Do We Have the Courage"

Ally Ferrell

Werry Section 27

August 27, 2014

What do you think are Kristof's main claims?

Kristof claims that more gun control is vital in the United States to ensure that there are less gun related deaths in the country, especially in schools. He also claims that the politicians that have the power to fix the national shooting problem could easily do so, but are too fearful of the National Rifle Association to actually change anything. Kristof states that guns should be just as regulated as any other things that cause extreme amounts of deaths, such as cars and ladders.

List the main types of evidence you saw in the text. 

Kristof uses facts, personal experiences and examples as his evidence. The evidence Kristof uses to support his claims includes statistics related to gun control in the United States, gun control in different countries, and control of things other than guns in the United States. He states that 30,000 people in the United States get killed due to guns annually. He also talks about the different strategies that Australia and Canada have taken to lower the shooting rates and how these countries were successful with this goal. More evidence he uses is comparing the control of real guns with the control of toy guns, ladders, and cars.

Identify a strategy Kristof uses to persuade his audience (see page 7 of the reader). Do you think this is effective? Why/why not?

Kristof uses the strategy of identifying and refuting opposing views. He quotes a person saying that it is harder to adopt a pet than it is to purchase a gun. He refutes this by using a personal experience of how easy it was for him to get a gun as a child as evidence. I think this is a very effective strategy because the opposing view that he is refuting is usually a wide held belief or opinion. If the reader had this belief before reading the article, Kristof explains why they are wrong and can open his or her mind to new opinions.

Ally Ferell

Werry Section 27

What is your prospective major?

My prospective major is Mechanical Engineering.

Have you ever used the terms “claims” and “evidence” in a class?  If so, what was the class and how did you use them?

I have used the words "claim" and "evidence" in class before. I used them mostly in my high school history and English classes in essays to explain what and how authors try to explain and prove a certain point.

What writing activities do you enjoy outside of school (blogging, tweeting, journaling, etc.)?  What do you write about and how often do you do it?

The only form of writing I do outside of school includes texts, emails, and tweets. I don't do these very often and when I do it's usually just about what I'm doing or asking questions. It's usually very casual except for the occasional formal email.

How do you feel about yourself as a writer?

I believe that I write the best on opinion papers and research papers. Creativity is not my strong suit, so I don't think I do well with creative essays.