Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ways of Writing



1. Genres

A poem is different from a novel or a newspaper article - and a novel is different from a play or an academic essay or an ad. In a way, the genre already determines many aspects of the writing. However writers have also always tried to undermine the existing conventions as well as to redefine genres in new ways according to their time, culture, and concrete situation. Most good writing does NOT follow a given recipe. In fact, experimenting with different genres often produces very interesting - and innovative - results. Experimenting with different genres can also be, of course, a lot of fun. Just try it out: pick your favorite genre - and write something in it - and modify or break all the rules you wish to modify or break in the process. Have fun playing! And please feel free to post your pieces here!  (Optional!) Thank you! 

2. Sub-Genres

Most genres can be subdivided into sub-genres. The sub-genres of poetry, for example, include: haiku, ghazal, renga, sonnet, villanelle, ode, elegy, ballad, limerick, and free verse.

Like many other genres, essays come in various forms as well. Among the forms most widely used are:
1) The High-School Essay
2) The Academic Essay
3) The LIterary Essay
4) The General-Interest Essay

For a brief characteristic of each of these 4 forms, please see: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxndWRydW5kcmVoZXJ8Z3g6MzgzMDA0MzFjMmQwZTZhYQ

Please surf the internet a bit and find one (or more) interesting and/or inspiring academic essay or general-interest essay and post the link here in this section so that others can read that particular essay as well. Thank you!

3. Modes of Discourse

Very popular in writing classes: a focus on the Modes of Discourse. If you are unfamiliar with them, please see:

If you feel like doing some more,  please write a passage in each mode (or at least in some of them) and post your work here! (optional)

Thank you!

gudrun

54 comments:

  1. http://www.bestessayhelp.com/examples/sport/research-paper-sports-can-benefit-children-essay-sample

    As a student in the faculty of kinesiology, of course I believe that sports are beneficial to children; however, the reason I found this essay interesting is that the essay does not mention any negative effects of sports on children. I have come across this topic previously and I have realized that involving children in sports is not entirely, 100 percent, beneficial. Many consequences may arise depending on different situations in which the children are placed. For instance, involving a child in a sport too early and putting too much pressure on children to be the best of the best may have detrimental effects.


    This essay can be classified as a high school essay, as there are three parts to the structure of the essay (introduction, body and conclusion) which is the “recipe” which most high school students would follow for writing an essay. In addition, the thesis of the essay is underlined to allow the reader to pinpoint exactly what the essay is discussing about and the sentences used clearly illustrate the key arguments of the writer without the need for the reader to infer. The overall structure of the essay is very organized and transitions are used well to connect from one paragraph to another. The writer also appoints one paragraph to each major argument that he or she had to make while providing examples.

    Language used in this essay is simple and straight forward to allow the reader to follow along easily and understand the essay clearly. The writer provides a good hook to get the reader to start thinking about the topic and many examples were used to illustrate the key arguments as to why sports are good for children. Many rhetorical questions were asked in the essay, a whole paragraph was dedicated to rhetorical questions. I think that rhetorical questions are great to persuade readers to believe in the arguments of the essay; however, it feels as if there was an overuse of rhetorical questions in this particular essay. Overall, the structure and language of this essay is very simple, organized and followed exactly as to what a high school essay should be like.

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    1. Also a student in the faculty of kinesiology, I found this article interesting, and agreed with almost everything it referred to. Sports were a huge part of my life growing up, and they continue to be, so it was neat to be able to relate to certain things this essay discussed such as, the link between participation in team sports and the development of life skills. I could also relate to the fact that the essay discussed how participating in sports helps you deal with successes and failures in life. Aside from being active as a child and learning to lead an active lifestyle at a young age, sports also provide children with opportunities to learn leadership skills, make friends and have an over increase in self confidence. This high school essay with it's overall simple structure and language was able to deliver a key message about the importance of sports participation in the lives of children in an effective manner. However, it is also true, that while this essay focused mainly on all the advantages it didn't highlight some of the negative effects that also come with sports participation in children.

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    3. This essay seems unfortunately biased to me. Right off in the introductions, the writer announces that he or she will refer to numerous facts to push his or her argument, but without any citation the claims end up sounding like generalized statements too often spewed out from the mass media. In other words, there doesn't seem to be any distinction between facts and general opinion; this is especially apparent during the paragraph that claims kids who participate in sports are better in schooling, health, and essentially everything else. This aggressive pushing of ideas without addressing another's point of view makes it a rather weak persuasive essay, at the very least this is not something that would convince me to throw my child into team sports.

      The fact is, this "sample essay" is conspicuously one dimensional, especially to people like me who didn't participate much in team sports as a kid. I have to say that I don't feel any less confident or competent as a person now. I turned out to be a fiercely cynical nut who chooses his actions based heavily on the significance of the outcome, but that hasn't made me any less effective at doing what I do in life. I think attitude can make just a big an impact on child development as participation in sports can. Heck, there are millions of variables that can affect a kid growing up, many of which are purely probabilistic. What I'm getting at is that something so sensitive and crucial as child development should be handled with subtlety and care in an essay. This "sample essay" however, stands as a bland and thoughtless advertisement to an online service that can potentially get a student expelled, and as such it invokes some fierce criticism and disdain on my part. To have this uncited "sample essay" as a research paper is just shameful.

      I meant nothing personal, but the more I thought about it the more clear it became to me that the website used this essay quite despicably.

      John Chen

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    4. This article explains the positive of kids playing sports and staying healthy. As kids grow up being active, it can establish a good habit of always staying active in life. However, I believe that kids should not just only be active and play sports, but focus on learning other skills, such as a musical instrument or reading a book. For me, when I was a kid, I was always active, I cycled, played soccer, ran, played volleyball and many more. I enjoyed it of course, but I realized that kids can not always be active and may hate the sport because of past experiences, so the article needs to recognize not only the positive of playing sports but also the negative side too.

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  2. http://gw2jh3xr2c.search.serialssolutions.com/?genre=article&issn=10679588&title=Natural+Health&volume=40&issue=8&date=20101101&atitle=C%27mon%2c+get+happy.&spage=10&pages=10-10&sid=EBSCO:Academic+Search+Complete&aulast=


    The article I chose for this assignment is titled: C'mon, get happy: why a little sadness has its place, and the true secret to bliss. I found this rather interesting and even inspiring because it refers to a topic that is discussed around the world every day, and something we often take for granted: happiness. It talks about how sadness is a part of life, and how sometimes the pursuit for happiness actually has the exact opposite effect. At first I didn’t get how that could be, but it’s true. Often in our never ending search for something more or something better than what we have, we find ourselves unhappy with all that we do have. This article also talks about the fact that happiness can result from simple things such as being thankful for the little things in life that we often take for granted. Things like waking your kids up in the morning, or being able to go for a hike, or eating a fig. These are all things that we have become accustomed to, and have lost appreciation for in the search for something more. I agree with this, because even I can relate to this at times when I forget to be thankful for all the little things that make me happy, that I should be thankful for, and focus on all the things that are going wrong and things I don’t have. All in all, this article is a great reminder to appreciate and be thankful for the little things in life and to not get so caught up in wanting more.

    This article is written in the form of a general interest essay, as it has the goal to inform the audience of something specific, in this case happiness. Someone who feels strongly about this topic has written it as an article in a magazine, with the intentions to share their view with the reader and share its importance. This general interest essay is structured to relate to the general public, and refers to “real world” situations. The author questions the reader whether he or she is sick of the “new ways” that people look to in order to achieve happiness, and answers her own question by explaining what people should find happiness in, which is how she delivers her thesis. She delivers her message by discussing the antithesis, in this case sadness, and the structure of the essay discusses different aspects of the same topic.

    The language of the essay is rather simple and straight forward, as it is written for an audience that consists of “normal” people who in this case need to be reminded of what causes happiness. It is easy to understand, and the vocabulary and syntax is uncomplicated. Over all, the use of simple language allows for a clear delivery of the message, and the author uses rhetorical questions to further emphasize the main message. There is also the use of irony, as the author tells the reader how often when one tries too hard to be happy, he or she ends up with sadness.

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    1. I agree with the fact that people today seem to be less happy. I think it may have something to do with the 'rush' we are in. We always have something to do, whether it is going out with friends or doing homework. We seldom seem to just sit down outside and enjoy the fresh air. Most of us have seen 18 years go by in the blink of an eye, and we're not even grateful today for the position we are in. We can see people on TV suffering but as long as it doesn't affect us, we seem to pay them no mind and think that something like that can never happen to us here, though things such as natural disasters can happen anywhere. The author's right in that we should appreciate what we have as it is so fragile.

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    3. I'm going to approach life from a probabilistic point of view. Indeed we should be grateful to be alive. After all, of the millions of gametes that competed for sexual reproduction, we alone have triumphed under the odds that rival the likely hood of winning lotto 649 (which is roughly 1 in 14mil by the way). It is indeed mathematically favorable to be sad; with three lines of cash registers there is always a 2/3 chance that one of the other lines will be faster than you. But is that any reason to fret? Of course not, and since most things in life are out of our hands, why worry about them? What we can control however, is how we react to those things, and this essay outlines the idea nicely. Sadness happens, and we should expect that. I guess instead of asking why you aren't happy, you should think about how unlikely it is for anyone to be happy for more than a few days straight, let alone indefinitely. And from personal experience I can say that being grateful helps to bring some peace to some unpleasant situations.

      John Chen

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    4. I agree with this article in that in everyone's ideal goal and the pursuit of happiness is not what it is made up to be. To be truly happy does not necessarily mean to be happy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. A healthy and realistic lifestyle should consist of all the happy moments, yet all the moments that are not so perfect. One should not feel ashamed to sometimes have those days when things simply do not work out. These feelings should always be welcome and are healthy to experience, yet I can say to a certain extent. The writer reaches out to all readers, and writes in a way in which everyone can relate. She uses simple language and uncomplex sentence structure. She is speaking in a way that infers general interest as opposed to deep research on the topic.

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    6. I disagree with this article as I believe that we are currently no happier than generations before us, and that each generation faces different challenges, for example famines in Ireland or the desolate harsh winters of Russia people were able to fulfill joyous and happy lives still. As humans, we are able to adapt to hardships and our definitions of " happiness " will also adapt with us. As we fulfill our needs of shelter, food and safety we, as humans aspire for more. What drives that aspiration is our happiness. If we were all satisfied with our lives and if we had nothing more to want, mankind would stagnate and advancement would be hard to achieve. I realized this as I was talking with a friend of mine who already holds a high paying management position at Microsoft, yet he is unhappy. As he wished for simple joys that he no longer is able to enjoy due to his job, he was able to fulfill himself through other ways, such as travel and finding a wife.

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    7. The article appears to provide a certain method to feeling happiness, while stating that sadness has it place in life. Although I might agree that sadness is a part of our lives and that it negatively reinforces us to avoid anything that cause us emotional pain, I do not fully agree with the statement that gratitude will certainly bring me bliss. As the title states the true secret of bliss is gratitude, it may seem easy to state such a statement in her situation and environment that allows her to be grateful, while it may not be possible for others. If an individual is raised in isolation or did not receive the love and care when they were young, if it often difficult for them to feel gratitude to their care takers, and even more difficult to feel happy. Living below the poverty line while attempting to raise a child or more as a single parent may be filled with constant worries and stress of not being able to provide for their family and also not losing their job. They would be in a difficult position to be thinking of what they are grateful for in life, as they thoughts would be clouded with their daily problems. Statements such as gratitude being the secret to happiness appear to be possible for those who are fortunate enough to be grateful of anything, as for those who are struggling nearly every day, gratitude may not be enough.

      - Eddy Cheong

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    8. I tend to agree with the author's claim that sadness has a useful place in life. Sadness, like any other human emotion, is useful for communicating and sharing our feelings with one another. There is no need to hide or mask sadness, or to pretend it does not exist. Our emotions provide others with information about our thoughts and feelings, which is a key part of the human experience.

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    9. I agree with the article that our generation is not as happy as before. But I also disagree with the fact that we are 'sad'. As we can see from human history, humans are continually developing for the better. People can be more efficient in their work with increased productivity and technology, people live longer than they should with help of medical advancement. With such comfort in our lives to prevail, we need to sacrifice our time and freedom. We live in a generation where everyone is competitive more than ever. There are children in early high school preparing for SAT's and there are university students ending their own life because they cannot get hired. I think the problem with our generation is that we get so caught up in small, insignificant detail that we fail to see the bigger picture: to enjoy life.

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  3. Today’s society has a distorted view on beauty. It is still alarming that a topic so ethically wrong and politically incorrect is being drilled into our brains by the media everyday. There is no question that the definition of beauty has been left for the media to determine. Why have we let it come so far? The difference between right and wrong, even the thought of morals is all thrown away when we concern ourselves with appearance and what it means to be viewed as beautiful. I agree that there are already negative effects of this trend on our society today. Eating disorders and plastic surgery have become much more common due to the fact and think this is only now. If we continue on the path we are on as of now, what will become of the youth and children of tomorrow who will have to deal with the pressures of looking “perfect” in order to feel welcome. Those who are overweight do not deserve any less credit than anyone around them. As children we are taught to never judge a book by its cover but the content revealed from within. To be beautiful shouldn’t have to mean to look like the model on the cover of the new vogue issue, instead it should mean to feel beautiful and more importantly healthy in your own skin whatever that may entail.

    This piece was written as a general-interest essay and the fact that it was so refreshing is what really captured my interest. The writer started by including a clear thesis, where she gave the reader a question to think about. In each paragraph of the essay, the writer goes on to answer the question in different ways addressing various topics of discussion. The essay is written to inform the audiences of this issue and in the end to teach a lesson by providing examples that will help the readers gain further insight on the issue. The writer seems knowledgeable on the topic and is speaking to those who seem to be unaware of the situation, that being the general public.

    The writer uses language that is simple making the essay accessible for any kind of reader. The writer speaks in a tone that is argumentative to get her point across. She makes an effort to ask rhetorical questions to rile up the reader, “When has it ever been okay to pick someone out for being different?” .Her motive is to teach a lesson and leave a mark for the reader to reflect on and thus make a personal change in the way they view beauty through their very own eyes.

    http://www.bhscutlass.com/columnist/2010/12/16/todays-society-has-a-distorted-view-on-beauty/

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    1. Kathryn Waughs article : Today’s society has a distorted view on beauty unfolds a rather contreversial problem. Along with the advancements in society, the ideals of beauty have changed, leaving us all with an image that we should aim to resemble. Uniqueness is frowned upon, while everybody tries to look like and act like the models on the covers of magazines or their favourite hollywood stars. Getting caught up in all this, i believe we as a society are forgetting that beauty should not have guidelines or have to be a size zero. This general-interest essay reminds us as the readers to stop for a minute and ask ourselves if we too have been sucked in by the medias "ideals" of beauty, or if we can still dare to be different and remain true to ourselves.

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    2. This article is written by a student, and thus uses language a student will understand. It is sort of a uplifting piece, aimed to inspire those who may be feeling down about themselves due to the way they look. The author writes that since birth, we have been brainwashed into believing certain things to be beautiful, and the same applies to people. We have been 'told' what to think of as beautiful. The author suggests true beauty is in the nature of a person.It is a motivational work. The language is aimed at people still going to school, and that is wise as school can be a harsh place. Bullying can be a huge issue for some people, and it is literature like this that can help them through that tough time.

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    3. I found this article interesting, although it is nothing I have not read about before. I feel that this issue is becoming more and more talked about, be it on television, in magazines, interviews, essays ect. It is a positive thing people are becoming more aware of weight stereotypes and the unrealistic image of beauty in the media. I think that North America in particular has a very distorted view of beauty. However, although I agree that a person should not be judged on their weight, I do feel that the more publicity this issue gets, the more blurred the line gets of where healthy lies. I think that we should be putting emphasis on "healthy is beautiful". You can be healthy in many different sizes, and we should be more appreciative of what our body can do. I think if you can take pride in a certain exercise, and be able to feel proud that your legs may be larger, but they can run for 10km, the world would be a much happier and healthier place.

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    4. Using simple language and words that tell of outrage and disgust at the way society views obesity, the author effectively tells the reader that there is something very wrong with the way the world views beauty. Somewhat of a battle cry or a call to arms the writer ends the piece asking the reader to make the decision to do something about this atrocity. I definitely agree with what the author is asking for society to do.

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  4. http://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2012/01/21/the-popularization-of-dubstep-full-essay-parts-1-and-2/

    The essay that I chose to share is "The Popularization of Dubstep". The contents of the essay is a study of changing cultural identities through time, which to me is quite interesting because it invokes much of the same discussions as many other cultural changes before it; the emergence of Rock and Roll is an older example of such a change. It focuses on the identity that subcultures give to their community, and how an outside influence can disturb this sense of identity. Specifically, since the Dubstep culture has been taken and blended into mass media, the old community has been trying to maintain an identity that is distinct from the new commercialized genre by going deeper into more obscure corners of the subculture. I personally find this interesting because of two reasons. The academic study of the genre, as well as music in general, reveals the social mechanics
    behind something that is usually viewed solely through individual opinion. Also, it makes one feel the tension between people who consider a subculture their lifestyle and the flood of general consumers dilute the uniqueness of the subculture.

    As a general interest essay, the reader is supplied with an introduction of the genre as well as how it progressed through time. Though the thesis is not explicitly stated, it is weaved into every paragraph and can be interpreted rather easily. The structure provides for a standard intro/ body / conclusion order, and the ideas are presented chronologically. The focus on taste and identity is reiterated many times and is even stated in bold near the end. The multiple paragraphs in each section are all related idea logically and seem to belong together as a super paragraph; I say this due to the lack of transitions or segways between paragraphs and the generally prompt start to each one. Illustrations are placed between paragraphs, but only once or twice are they actually referred to in the paragraph.

    This essay uses fairly accessible language, but also employs higher level vocabulary during the sociological aspects of dicussion. Common everyday words make up the majority of this essay and complicated words of latin origin are not present. Technical terms used in the essay are usually explained, and there is little obfusticating jargon. In general, there is nothing special about the language used in terms of figurative language, poetic devices or diction and it is written in a straight forward manner.

    John Chen

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    1. As a listener of electronic and dubstep music, this article caught my attention. The article takes a very casual "General Interest" form. The language is fairly straight forward and appropriate for the directed audience. The introduction makes a point of how dubstep is a part of our everyday lives. There are many photos and media to keep the reader's attention. Although the media is interesting, I felt that some of it did not really related to what the author was trying to say. I like how the author brings the reader all the way back to the birth of the scene. As expected, dubstep did not gain popularity instantly. By including the involvement of external factors such as the technology and file sharing, the author links the growth of dubstep to events many of the general audience can relate to.

      What interested me the most was the distinction between the original "dubsteppers" and the mainstream "bro-steppers". As with anything that has a tendency to be liked by many, dubstep became popular with mainstream listeners.It is important to note that not only was a different "type" of music born, but also an entire subculture and community.


      Chris Tong

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    2. This article was very interesting because I do not listen to dubstep, but have recently become aware of the its prevalence in media, on the radio, and on my friends playlists. I was also unaware of the distinction between "dubstep" and "brostep". The article introduces the concept of dubstep and then essentially follows the timeline of this genre of music to now, describing the changes and controversies along the way. This is an effective way of explaining dubstep to people who are totally unfamiliar with it.

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  5. http://www.nature.com/scientificamericanmind/journal/v22/n6/full/scientificamericanmind0112-52.html

    This essay is a scientific essay yet, because it is about human behavior, it is easy to understand and relate with the essay without a broad knowledge on matter. The topic discussed in the essay is human tendency to see the 'weird' in things, and how it's a scientifically expected behavior. Also it features how some people are more likely than others to believe in god, ghosts and supernatural creatures.

    The language used in the essay is rather casual and that's why the essay is easy to read. However the content is more like that of an academic essay including many different researches and experiments and their interpretation. It is most probably because the text was not intended as a research paper but instead it was written for a science magazine.

    All in all, this is a very interesting piece which I believe everybody will enjoy reading.

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    1. This general interest essay allows us, non experts in the field of neuropsychology to understand and interpret phenomenons in the world of humans. The article starts from a scientific standpoint of trying to explain this humanistic phenomenon of believing in superstitions.

      Often times many people condemn those that are superstitious. They think that those that find Jesus on toast are irrational. Rationalism's development in recent history is what spurred on a lot of development starting from the Age of Enlightenment. This new found rationalism in humans seems like a progressive step towards higher thought. However this article states that many of the causes of being superstitious (ie: abilities to abnormal patterns and connecting it with a belief) is evolutionary and it is because of our much unexplored and complicated brain that such actions occur. A human's natural agency-detection skills might be the very cause of irrational beliefs.

      Even though it seems ironic that such a highly evolved skill set is the cause of our irrationality, the two are not contradictory. If we can agree that rationalism is indeed progressive then what forces irrationality much be non-progressive. A property of evolution is that it is not progressive. This skill set may have aided us in the past (or even now) and has helped us adapt but is still going against the rationality that has enveloped human culture the past few centuries

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  6. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html

    The article I found really interesting is a piece on mindful eating. I really connected with this article as I just got my wisdom teeth extracted and have not been able to eat normally for a while. As a result, I had been mindfully eating in a way for a few days now. I could only eat small bits and I had to chew it for a while before swallowing which allowed me to be more aware of the flavors mixing in my mouth. It hurt to chew for long periods of time so I had to savour all the food that I could manage to eat. However, after reading this article, I was able to understand the implications of mindful eating in a more enlightening manner. To eat mindfully, this article suggests many ways to be more aware while eating such as chewing thoroughly, savoring the tastes, distinguishing the different textures and flavors, and most importantly, enjoying the food you’re eating. I found this article interesting because it explains how making some changes can radically change the way you perceive food. Without anyone mentioning it, we may easily take it for granted and stuff ourselves silly and never really notice. We would just think this is just how we eat. But once you do sit down and explore the adventures that can be found through your taste buds, you enjoy food a lot more. You’ll listen to your body and appetite more and find a spiritual balance with food.

    The author wrote this article as if it was an explorative story. She asks you to try the method alongside her. But it can also be seen as a persuasive article as there are many seemingly outrageous suggestions such as “chew patiently…aiming for 25 to 30 chews for each mouthful”. The path to mindful eating is not an easy one and the author is very sympathetic, but encouraging with her words. I really liked her use of metaphoric language preventing us from “plowing through [our] meal like Cookie Monster on a shortbread bender.” Through this humorous intervention, we realize that sometimes, just like the Cookie Monster, we can sometimes literally plow through our meals without much thought just because we’re hungry. For the author to write as if she has gone through the experience herself, it is very comforting to read and go along as a reader.
    The article transitions well with asking you to try the method first and having authority figures explain the benefits of mindful eating. The article also includes experiences of others trying this method out too which is also reassuring for a reader to know many others are walking down the same path. The language is straightforward and simple but engages the reader with the humor splashed throughout the article. Humor is the prime reason the readers may give something so far from their comfort zone a chance. It is a comforting highlight for readers but also shows the perceived silliness of mindful eating in an endearing way. My favourite paragraph is “Sometimes, even she is too busy to contemplate a chickpea. So there are days when Dr. Bays, a pediatrician, will take three mindful sips of tea, “and then, O.K., I’ve got to go do my work,” she said. “Anybody can do that. Anywhere.”

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    1. This article is very interesting because it is something that I think about a lot as well. I think that in North America, our lifestyles are so busy, so we have to limit the time we have to eat, sleep, and do work. Sometimes, one of those three things takes more time than expected and we have to compensate that time by multitasking. For me, I usually do a lot of multitasking work with eating. This is sometimes helpful because I tend to eat slower and realize the flavours of the food and know when I’m full. However, sometimes, it seems that I can rush eating so that I have more time for other things such as homework, television or sports. To me, this is very unhealthy both physically and emotionally. Physically, putting lots of food in your body in a short period of time is not too great because it can cause heartburn and people usually overeat because they do not realize that they are full. Emotionally, meals are supposed to be times spent with others. In rushing our meals, we also rush our conversations with our family and friends, thus, distancing a relationship. Therefore, I thank you for this article because it just reminds me about how eating can really cause a huge impact on a healthy lifestyle.

      -Joey Chan

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    2. I found this article very interesting as well. I try to be a very conscious of what I put in my body and was aware if mindful eating before reading this article. I think that the author capture the act very well in the beginning paragraphs. The vast majority of Americans quickly rush through their meals, eating more out of necessity than enjoyment. I think mindful eating is an experience, and results in a much higher satisfaction that that of eating "because I have to". Putting our forks down is difficult- especially when we are rushed or hungry, but eating mindfully and slowly teaches more than a healthy life style, it also teaches us to be thankful and appreciative for what we have. I think mindful eating is part of a healthy balanced life and I'm glad that it is becoming more widely known!

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    3. I found this article ironic in a humorously truthful way. While reading this article, I had a box of cookies open beside me that I was subconciously eating. True enough, I had no idea what I was eating - I was just putting them into my mouth one by one. This article tells us to slow down and think about what we are actually eating. As I am taking a heavy course load this term, I usually end up eating my dinner in my room at home, or eating lunch while walking to my next lecture. Half of the time I don't even taste what I am eating as I am too engrossed with other things. Have you ever eaten the wrapping paper on your sandwich? For me, eating for the most part has become a daily routine for survival (because it is). I don't appreciate or think much about what I am eating. I'm a fairly skinny guy so I don't usually worry about my diet (I'm usually more concerned with eating more and not less), but slowing down and thinking about what I am eating maybe cut out the unnecessary junk food in my diet! In the near future I plan on giving this mindful eating a try, perhaps is will make my meals tastier and more enjoyable.

      Chris Tong

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    4. This article really made me think not only about mindful eating but being mindful in anything that we do. I agree that it would be every beneficial if people were to just stop and think before and while they are putting things into their bodies. Not solely for the sake of being healthy and watching what you eat, but just to appreciate food more. Sometimes our minds are racing a mile a minute thinking about other things, and many times doing other things; however, engaging in mindful eating would be a task on it's own. To eat slower and to really savour the food would one make you more satisfied after finishing your meal and at the same time satisfied quicker so you wouldn't just continue to bingle eat before realizing that you actually are full and satisfied with your meal. I feel like mindful eating can be applied to many other things in life that we simple just rush through and fail to appreciate. The author has done research on the topic and speaks in a way that is informative to the reader to really grasp the meaning of the article. It speaks to encourage the reader to practice mindful eating themselves and see what the positive outcomes would be based on the examples that were given in the article.

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    5. Mindful eating. I really enjoyed this article because I am a person who takes care of my health and thinks twice eating any food. Therefore, I usually estimate the calories and valuate the health nutrition in my everyday meal before eating it because I maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, after reading this article, I realize that I never thought about the taste and flavour of the food I eat, just simply the nutrition and calories. Finally, I learned that I should not only care about the nutrition of the food but also the delicious taste of it.

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  7. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_compassionate_instinct/

    Compassion, the driving force of humanity, is something we're born with and something human beings are meant to reflect upon. Compassion can be the way a mother feels about her child or even a great act of altruism. It has been proven to be a part of our human nature to help those in need. This human response of selfless service is something that has been planted into our brains for generations. Our bodies have been programmed to feel this way towards those in need. Compassion and altruism is a great aspect of human nature is it builds communities in the right manner and allows people to experience the good of this world. I personally was quiet inspired after reading this article because the writer actually used scientific research to give reasoning for what he believed in.
    This article brings about hope in humanity because he states that compassion is something we born with. He is trying to prove that everyone is capable to helping others for the greater good. This article has been written in a general interest manner. The author seems to have great knowledge about this topic. As mentioned before, he used many experiments in the past to prove that compassion is something of human nature. He also used scientific research to prove acts of compassion. The fact that this writer is capable of using scientific research as basis proves his interest and knowledge on this topic.
    This article has been written in a very formal and straightforward manner, is does not follow a very creative or literary style. It simply proves the point of why compassion is something that exists in human beings and we are all capable of being good and humane beings. It has also been broken down into different categories to help the reader understand each aspect and delve upon it. The breakdown allows for a better flow, the writer first starts off by talking about compassion and how it was looked upon in the past. He then talks about what compassion is known as nowadays and then begins to use past experiments to prove that it is human nature. He then uses scientific research to back up the fact that compassion is also something people are nurtured with. Nearing to the end of the article, he sums up the good of compassion by looking at is something that affects society as a whole.
    -Tanjot Gill

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    1. As a science student, this article was very interesting because the writer does indeed use scientific research to support what he believes in. I do agree with him that humans are born with a sinful nature but yet we are also born with compassion. Although I have no proof for this, I think that it is very evident in our daily lives. I would agree with the results of the studies discussed in this essay because it is easy for us to sympathize with those in a difficult situation. For me, it is very easy to say that if someone were to receive shocks when failing a particular task, I would cringe at the sight and offer them help in any way whether I knew the person or not. I think that we do indeed have a sinful nature, but we also have a sense of right and wrong, and most of the time, our emotions have more control over our actions. Also, I think we also have that compassion for others because we can easily put ourselves in others’ shoes and we would also like to be treated the way that we treat others. Therefore, this article is interesting because it proves what I believe in with scientific research.

      -Joey Chan

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    2. It is reassuring to read about scientific research that concludes compassion is deeply rooted in our genetics, that we're born with it. However, it seems like the gene-environment interaction is really important in whether compassionate traits emerge within the individual. This has made me really thankful for my own upbringing from my parent that has allowed my character to be more caring individual. But it has allow made me wary thinking about situations where parents are not good examples to their children. There are lots of stories coming from China for example where parents even teach their children to be ruthless because of the heavy competition there. Even if we're born to become compassionate individuals, how can individuals who have survived with cut-throat methods be encouraged to become more compassionate again?

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    3. This article talks about the possible evolutionary nature of compassion and the roots within our genes that lead us to act altruistically. However, I have wondered that if compassion is truly an evolutionary trait then why has it developed? Maybe an adaptive reasoning can back up acts of compassion for those more cynical.

      Nevertheless I think that we as humans with free-will and intellect should embrace positive emotions such as compassion. I personally think that our insignificant presence in the universe will seem slightly more meaningful with altruistic actions.

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  8. http://emmf.multiply.com/links/item/28

    I chose a general interest essay in the form of a college application essay. I thought this was a very interesting genre, but fit into the general interesting category. I thought this essay was inspiring because it shows that hard work and dedication pay off. It also shows that you cannot use excuses, and even the most gifted people put a lot of effort into their work, which I think is reassuring for all of us here at UBC.
    This essay was easy to read and drew from life experience. I found it very easy to relate to, even though there was a great circumstantial difference, being that I am not poor or homeless. The structure of the essay was chronological and easy to follow. The author made this essay interesting and captivating by using quotes and stories, and relating these to life lessons. Because this essay was being sent to the authors dream colleges, it is obvious that she is very passionate about the subject that she is writing about. I enjoyed the fact that the language was powerful without being overly complex, and although the sentence structures were simple, the impact made was very great.
    I think that this essay was very inspiring and I took a lot from it.

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    1. This college entrance essay did not include many big words or pretentious ideas; it is just a simple idea, determination and perseverance pays off. I am really inspired by the author’s story and will power. I am definitely going to bookmark it and come back to it when I face difficulties in school. No matter what difficulties I may face, it is nothing compared to being homeless or living in a difficult neighbourhood where drug dealers and prostitutes pressure you join in. Despite adversity, the author was focused on her ambitions and did not let negative external factors affect her. The author shows a perfect example of you either work hard or you don’t. In life, one should not wallow in their circumstances or give excuses. As the saying going, “if there is a will, there is a way.”

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    2. This essay's format and stylistic choices really added to the college application. I believe as a application, it draws the readers attention and piques their interest allowing this essay to stand out from others. Not only does it show the administrators the determination of the lady trying to get into university but it also shows other qualities of the writer. One thing that takes away from the essay however is the emphasis of being gifted, and the excellent test grades that the writer achieved.

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  9. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994967-1,00.html

    This general interest essay, entitled “How To Live To Be 100”, interested me initially because I was curious what the writer had to say about old age. Often very old people are extremely infirm, on thirteen different medications at once, and usually cannot care for themselves properly; however, this piece begins by describing a 96 year old woman who has none of those problems. Other descriptions of people over 100 years of age are given. It is interesting to me to starting thinking about what these people had gone through to reach that age, many worked, and continue to work, very hard, eat simply, and in good amount, and have the right genes. In some cases the time or place where these individuals grew up led to their health at such an old age.

    From the title the reader knows that at some point the writer will tell him/her what the secret is to living for that long, but the writer begins with a story of a real person who has almost reached 100 and her accomplishments. The life stories of real people are woven into the piece around evidence from scientific studies and quotes from scholars regarding the topic. This approach allows readers from many different backgrounds to relate to and understand the context. The writer also discusses the ways to live longer in order of a person’s ability to affect change on that aspect of life. Food and exercise come first, both things that people can improve on, and genetics are the last aspect mentioned something that humans cannot affect.

    The language in this article ranges from simple to relatively complex scientific wording, but the clear descriptions surrounding the scientific language allow understanding. A car metaphor is used to compare human longevity to a car that has had its oil changed often and a car that has never had its oil changed. The writer also uses many descriptive words to explain how that world was when the people living to over one hundred were born and raised.

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  10. http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=A7FZ98dFQbkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=war+technology&ots=1h-RsSLeT_&sig=wbQHyOkldS0eZzxwTCdc7M3YmZo#v=onepage&q=war%20technology&f=false


    This is a research article, titled “Technology and war : from 2000 B.C. to the present” discusses the profound ties that war and technology have each other. I was interested in this article as I have noted from an early age the many advances that we have received from the Second World War, the microwave airplanes, medicine and many more advances were achieved during this period. Until I read this article I did not realize that war and technology have been related to one another since the beginning of humanity. Although this topic intrigues me, it is albeit horrifying at the same time to realize that everything around us was a tool to help win the war effort—the pen I write with was made to communicate orders and direct troops—the microwave a supposed “death-ray” of its time.

    This article was written in a research essay type of format, designed to inform and teach the readers in a quick and concise fashion. The writer seems to persuade his readers through his command of the English language by convincing us of his intelligence through the use of more and more extravagant vocabulary. I believe that the writer did copious amounts of research into the topic and was able to communicate it effectively.

    The information is presented in a linear fashion, from the earliest records of humanity to the present, as stated by the title of the book. It is also organized into the divisions of military, perhaps because its target audience is military officers of naval, field and aviation divisions. First it discusses field combat, then it goes into naval and aviation clearly labeled within itself as chapters I, II and III. The English used, as extravagant as it is still easily understood by the readers of the book, yet it conveys the effort put into writing the novel by the author.

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  11. http://cornhead8166.blogspot.com/2007/11/argument-essay-sea-turtles-are.html

    My love and passion for turtles are immeasurable; therefore I chose this argument essay “Sea turtles are endangered”. This essay argues about sea turtles becoming extinct because of many disturbances from global warming to human impacts. Global warming causes an increase in temperature and unstable climate change. Higher temperature means increase of sea level which results in destruction of sea turtle habitats. Human impacts have a greater influence in habitat destruction because of building new homes and resorts on beaches or coastlines. Also, human pollution to the water causes turtles to die because of litter and waste being dumped into the ocean or increase of water temperature from greenhouse gases declines the survival rate of turtles. Therefore, I will work hard in the future to stop the extinction of turtles.

    This essay is a general interest argument essay, which its goal is to inform everyone about the extinction of sea turtles. Some research has been conducted for this essay due to the evident of references shown at the end of the essay. Finally, this argument essay can be easily understandable to anyone with little or no knowledge of sea turtles.

    Language of the essay can be easily understandable to “normal” people or anyone because it consists of simple and straight-forward words. Also, the essay gives room and space for the audience to fully understand the importance and objective of the essay. Finally, in my opinion, simple and basic words deliver the main concept of an essay to a “normal” audience more efficiently.

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    1. The essay based on sea turtles is quite insightful. It raises awareness to the conditions faced by the sea turtles. I, being an avid fan of turtles (I even chose the Pokemon Squirtle as my starter), after watching these little critters rush out of their shell and rush to the freedom of the ocean across a battlefield of a beach, admired this complicated animal. Even though, they may not seem like much, these cute little baby turtles often are defenseless and fall at the bottom of the food chain and often provide birds on the beach with a crunchy treat once every gestation period. Global warming has reduced the chances of these eggs spawning as male turtles, which directly affects the gestation period of female turtles, which results in eggs being produced after longer intervals of time. Thus, global warming has an adverse effect on the birds who now don’t have the opportunity to feast on these delicious crunchy treats (Baby sea turtles are highly nutritious if they are ripped to shreds by the predatory seagulls). So, I agree with the main suggestions of the articles to prevent global warming, as I feel that it would help me out in the future as well.

      Arnold Palha

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  12. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/practical-wisdom/201101/do-grades-incentives-work

    The article of interest that I have chosen for this assignment is titled, "Do Grades As Incentives Work?". As a student, I would love to say with honesty that learning is what I prioritized first and my concerns for grades came second, but I would be lying. Grades in secondary school were mostly my main concern and my motive to learn was to simply achieve a higher or a near-perfect grade. But when it comes to education, should it not be the other way around? Where our primary focus is on learning and the grades is the result of what we had learnt? This article seems to address the questions that often dwelled within me since I was a high school student, and what caught my attention is the responses that grades do work at incentives, but for the wrong reasons.

    This article is written as a general interest essay, as it attempts to persuade the audience the thesis that grades as an incentive works, but they are not the right incentives, or "smart incentives." The essay's introduction opens by answering the question of the article and stating that grades do work as an incentive to get students to work harder, but promising them a fairly high grade will have the opposite effect. The body and conclusion are structured to inform the audience the negative consequences and issues that arises with grades being the central focus to most students, and the students' concentration on learning diminishes. The article is written in such that each paragraph describes different points to of the thesis to further persuade the audience to the writer's arguments.

    The language of the article is fairly simple for the common individual, as it does not contain any complicated jargon or terminology. The message is clear and the article is easy to comprehend and straight forward, as the vocabulary and syntax is not that difficult. The writer does not overuse rhetorical questions, but enough to allow the writer to answer his own questions and conclude his position.

    Eddy Cheong

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    1. This article is quite interesting as it pretty much questions the basis of education system in the western world. This article made me question and wonder about my education so far, and if it was just based on acquiring high grades as opposed to understanding and soaking more knowledge. The article is quite informative and does advocate the necessity of prioritizing learning over the feeling of competition and acquiring high grades; but this does bring forward the question, what would be the right fix to the broken education system?

      Arnold Palha

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    2. Great article choice!

      As a second-degree student, I can really identify with this article. It becomes demoralizing to see the emphasis on grades instead of learning or sharing of knowledge. I've heard stories of students in competitive programs that will actually share incorrect information with other students in an effort to boost their relative marks - which (to me, at least) seems like the exact opposite goal of bringing smart people together.

      The author mentions the other extreme form of collaboration: blatant cheating. With the relatively high reward of a higher mark versus the relatively low risk of actually being caught, the grade seekers are highly motivated to cheat. As others cheat, the pressure grows on those that don't cheat because they begin to slip lower relative to their peers.

      Maybe it's time to consider other ways to evaluate students. I'd like to see something that brings some more subjectivity into the evaluation: How creative/original is the work? How original is the approach to solving the problem? How has the student contributed to the learning of the class as a whole? Does the work incorporate cross-faculty/cross-department knowledge in a unique or original way?

      Just my thoughts.

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  13. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/canadian-government-proposes-warrantless-internet-spying-bill.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

    This article, to an extent, fits under the category of General Interest Essay as the goal of this article is to inform the general public about an absurd bill put forward by the Conservative Government of Canada.

    After the American Government’s attempt to cut down Internet Piracy through the SOPA and PIPA were delayed due to the indefinite postponement of the mentioned bills, the Canadian Government, decided to step up and attempt to win the battle of “wits”. Even though my knowledge and interest in politics fail to meet the bare minimum, the points put forward in this article seem to be quite interesting to say the least.

    The most interesting part about the article is the Conservative Government’s blatant willingness to go against the Charter of Rights and bypass the requirement of warrants to invade any citizens privacy. Child Pornography was cited as the justification for the bill. To be honest, this felt more like a sham to use a sensitive topic as child pornography as a backbone of their bill, with hopes that no one would dare oppose it. The statement made by public safety minister Vic Toews that “Opponents [could] either stand with [the conservative government] or with the child pornographers”. This fallacy of an argument was also quite entertaining to read.

    The structure of this article is quite straight forward. Journalists seem to follow a pretty easy to follow structure, with the first paragraph being the introduction which also states the purpose of the piece. The second paragraph adds additional information to the introduction, while the rest of the body paragraphs cite sources adding more information to this piece.

    Arnold Palha

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    1. The language of the article is quite simple as its target is the mass audience.

      Arnold Palha

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    2. I find this article to be quite disturbing that the Canadian government attempts to rationalize that opposing the Internet surveillance bill is akin to supporting child pornography. With the recent event of the SOPA and PIPA bill, the timing for the government to attempt to pass a bill with similar potential is more than just a coincidence. Although the majority would agree that child pornography and piracy are both something that we should not support and attempt to eradicate, the bill that the Canadian government is attempting to pass will grant them the power to not only surveillance those who are suspects of viewers or distributors of child pornography, but this also enables the government to check any individual suspicious of illegal act, but even surveillance those who are not be suspicious of anything at all. This would be an infringement to our privacy, but also give the government too much control on our internet access. It is disturbing that the Canadian government is attempting to do something akin of what SOPA and PIPA had failed, but suggesting that those who are concern of civil liberties are supporters of child pornography embarrasses me as a Canadian citizen.

      - Eddy Cheong

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  14. http://www.publishyourarticles.org/knowledge-hub/essay/democracy-vs-dictatorship-what-do-you-prefer-essay.html

    This short and simple general interest essay discussed the relationship of two forms of government: dictatorships and democracy. Its simplicity is not only shown in its length but is also exposed by its thesis, a biased argument for democracy. The essay has quite a few flaws. Although it does try to point out the pros and cons of both types of governments the author makes very biased generalizations (e.g.: “All progressive countries want to follow the path of democracy”) and states many questionable facts without citation (e.g.: China being a dictatorship). From the surface this article seems like a common general interest essay but it is hard to distinguish it from a common opinion blog.

    Although I do not think the essay itself is a very good one I find the topic very interesting. However, instead of a Dictatorship I think an Autocracy or Oligarchy would fit the comparison better in that there are less pejorative attitudes attributed to the words. The idea that democracy is the highest form of government is an almost unanimously held belief here in the West, but this belief could be challenged or at least questioned. I think that both sides of government have their merits and the optimal government depends on the situation and scenario. Examples of successful types of both governments have been known in history, from present day Canada (although Harper is doing a fine job of destroying that!) to 17th century France. However both types of governments also have rotten specimens; there are over hundreds of failed autocracies in the past few centuries alone and many “democratic” governments often fall to corruption and inefficiency. Perhaps the answer is a balance between government types. A representational democracy without mass voting may take out aspects like the flawed election system in the USA and create an efficient legal process. It is hard to find the best type of government but I think that with proper care most types of government can achieve success.

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  15. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=faith-and-foolishness

    I believe that in the era we live in it is more important than ever to ensure the separation of church and the state. Furthermore, I believe that it is imperative that those responsible for causing or inciting harm upon others are held accountable for the outcomes of their actions. I find this essay interesting because it explores the issues that arise when members of a population place their wellbeing in the hands of those who advise actions that are not founded on testable evidence.

    This essay presents the topic passionately. The author begins by expressing disappointment towards a rising general trend in the U.S. population. Evidence offered to support his claims is presented in a way that makes it easy to verify, should one be so inclined. The author interlaces these facts to support his argument with language that is plainly biased against religion. Though the items being argued are being backed up, the opposing viewpoint is not given much chance to be explained.

    It is evident that word choice was decided upon carefully, as the overall tone of the essay is consistent. Direct claims are set forth that religion purveys ignorance – the author goes so far as to use the words “absurd and unjust”. The adjectives used throughout the text have a tendency to be deprecatory towards the subject of religion and those who support faith based decisions. While I agree with the subject of the essay, I find that the overall approach taken by the author and the way he words his argument is hindering the effective communication of his point of view.

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  16. Regulating Our Sugar Habit - MARK BITTMAN
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/regulating-our-sugar-habit/?ref=opinion

    I am intrigued by the regulation vs choice debate, and that is really what this article is about. Should government have stronger voice when it comes to the things citizens ingest? I think a better case for this can be made in Canada due to the way health care is funded. If someone wants to stuff themselves with unhealthy food to the point that they develop chronic illnesses and they’re willing to pay for the costs of the care they require, that’s their prerogative. But if it’s my tax dollars that are going to used to pay those medical bills, it becomes a tougher question to answer. It’s subsidizing the cost of poor eating habits.

    The style of the article is a general interest essay and the Bittman makes frequent comparisons between foods with added sugar and the regulated products of alcohol and tobacco when attempting to justify the regulation of sugar. Bittman also uses an interesting literary device in the line: “Yet we down (sugar) at the rate of 150 pounds per person per year...”. I am not aware of the name of this type of device, but the goal is to shock the reader by aggregating a year’s worth of consumption into a single large number, without the providing any context into what the appropriate consumption level is.

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  17. Dear All,

    Thank you ALL for posting. I find reading your comments extremely interesting! Great contributions!

    gudrun

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  18. The poem, “Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear” by Gwedonlyn Macewen is about the author emphasizing a new perspective on poems. The author always expresses that poems are not supposed to change us; it’s what we do after reading the poem that changes us. An analysis between the meaning and structure of the stanza will be analyzed in four parts.
    In the first stanza line one, Macewen immediately uses “let me make this perfectly clear” once, in order to direct the readers attention on focusing on what the message is truly implying. She then starts the contemplation and comparison between “ never [writing] [about] anything because it is a poem”. What you do with that expression is what changes you. On the third line, there are implications that point out the audiences’ failure to understand the objective of a poem. The author then begins to construct a constant repetitive trick that is used to emphasize her emotions. Strong repetitive wordings within the first stanza includes “because it is a Poem” and “mistake”. The second and fifth line of the stanza stresses over of “never written” and “not writing” “because it is a poem”. While third and fourth line refers to “mistake you always make about me” and “a dangerous mistake”. Indicating that readers often either expect too much or under analyze.
    After expressing the intention of the poem, the second stanza is directed to the readers for them to acknowledge Macewens perspective of her audience. On the first line, she uses a light word, suspect, in “(suspecting) this is a posture or an act.” Suspect is a light word because it’s an implication of how the author has the impression of how she is perceived. The strong repetitive wording within the second stanza is “an act”. She first notes the suspecting of “an act” but then reassures the audience that “it is not an act”. Concluding that she has no intention of benefiting from any of these poems.
    Under the last stanza, the poet uses the combination of intention, perspective and connection to help facilitate the message in coming across clearly. MacEwen uses a similar structured line in the third stanza as an open line for the fourth stanza. “Do not think for one minute” is similar to “all you should ever care about”, in a way that it’s some sort of command. Then the intentions from stanza one is implemented to the last stanza. “Never written anything because it is a poem” and “it is not the poem that matters” is similar in how words on a paper don’t influence anyone. On the third line, MacEwen shows the unimportance of the poem by saying “you can shove the poem” if it was meaningless to the readers. In lines four and five, “in the large dark” and “long light” is a contrasting difference of what is out there in the world for us to experience. “Large dark” may represent the crooked and corrupted part of the world while, “long light” represents the clean and innocence. The last word on the last line of the stanza is the word “breathing”. Breathing may refer to the audience of being able to function lively because we are human and we have our own minds compared to robots. Hence, the poem doesn’t matter because in the end it is our minds and our choices that influence our lives. The strong repetitive word in this stanza is “matters”. The purpose of this word is to help readers acknowledge the reasoning of the intentions.
    In conclusion, MacEwen uses strong repetitive words to help enhance her expression of her emotions. The message constructed from the analysis is, instead of caring what the poem says. Go out into the “large dark” “long light” world and live life to the fullest while you’re still “breathing”. It is the moment of “what happens when you lift your eyes” up that changes your perspective of everything. It is not what you read; it’s how you read it that matters.

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  19. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/03/06/women-and-stress-could-your-hectic-life-be-killing-you/

    For my blog submission, I chose an article from ABC news called "Women and Stress: Could Your Hectic Life Be Killing You?". I found this article interesting because the title itself automatically came into my attention due to its relevance in my life. 1) I am a woman and 2)my life has been more hectic since coming to university. Every human being, as well as animals, go through stress numerous times in their life. For me, I see stress as a positive element. I believe stress is good for people as long as it is not too extreme. If a person is not stressed, they will become lazy and less motivated to finish the work he or she may need to. In my own experience, my best work for school and for executive positions usually came through in times under stress. However it was interesting to learn from this article of how stress can have serious effects on women's physical health.

    This general interest essay seems to contain a few research materials. Readers can recognize that this essay starts off with an interesting statistic. Then it continues to discuss a general idea, that stress in women can have an effect on cortisol levels. After doing so, it briefly introduces a surprising element. Although readers assume that high cortisol levels may not have a toll on women's health, the third paragraph shows contrast to the readers assumption. It ends off this essay with the symptoms of unsual high levels of stress and how to fix such lifestyle through relaxing with yoga for example. Overall, I found this essay short, yet very straight to the point and clear. It delivered its message effectively and I like how it includes brief research to prove legitimacy in its argument.

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