Blog for Comp

If I were to live in a bowl of food I think I would choose to live in some vegetable soup with “O” shaped noodles. I would live here because the broth would keep me warm and I could use the different vegetables for different things to keep me occupied. I could use the peas as beach balls, the carrot slices as flat platforms to stand on, pieces of celery for a bed or, if I flip it upside down, a slide. The pieces of spinach would be my blankets and the green beans could be used as pathways and bridges to the other vegetables if I do not want to get wet. The noodles could be used as floaties if I want to go for a savory swim in the broth.

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The writing I chose for this exercise is, “3 Reasons Getting a Huge Tax Refund is a Bad Idea” by Miranda Marquit. The author incorporates a few quotes into this text, but some lack signal phrases. For example, in the introduction, the author starts the paragraph with the quote, “‘Many people get excited at the prospect of what they see as a windfall,’ said Eric Rosenberg, a personal finance expert at Personal Profibility, a financial education website. ‘However, a big tax refund really isn’t what you should be striving for’” (Marquit). Although the author does not give a signal phrase, I believe she used it to grab the readers attention and the rest of her article ties back to the second quote, which is in a way, her thesis statement. She continues the pattern of beginning sentences with a quote, but then, after stating that “Accountant Eric Nisall doesn’t think so” she puts in a quote from Nisall, “‘If you’re in debt and you’re waiting for a tax refund to make a dent in your situation, you’re costing yourself money,’ he said. ‘Allowing interest to build up on high-interest debt like credit cards is costing you.'” I think the way she put this quote in was better than before because she gave the reader a heads up who said it, but it is still a little rough. I think the author should have worked her quotes into her writing better because she has strong, supporting quotes, they just seem out of place since they are not introduced and barely explained.

The blog post I chose is, “Getting Unhooked: Nellie Bowles on Screen Addiction and Responsibility” by Nellie Bowles.

1. How well do the participants summarize others claims before responding?

Before participants give a response, they give multiple, long paragraphs about what the author wrote and then usually end their comment with their opinion.

2. How would you characterize any discussion?

It seems that any discussion under this post is non-existent. There are only seven comments and they are all from different people basically saying the same thing, but not interacting or acknowledging what someone else has said, only what the author stated.

3. How well do people listen to each other?

The few commenters on this post have clearly listened to what the author has said, but since they do not speak to each other about the post and their opinions I guess they are not listening to each other.

4. Compare the online discussion to face-to-face class discussion.

A face-to-face class discussion would be more successful and productive than the comments on this blog post.

5. What advantages does each offer?

If a person is sick they can still participate in the online discussion. Also, it might be easier to voice their opinion through a computer rather than in person because they will feel less judged.

My first social media experience was with Facebook. I was in fifth or sixth grade when I first made my account. I remember to get this account I would BEG my mom every day if I could have one and if my verbal pleads did not bring me success, I would write her notes on why I should get an account. I would write what I thought were great reasons such as, “If you let me have a Facebook I will clean the litterbox,” but in reality, I was still cleaning the damn litterbox whether or not I could write a Facebook status about it. Now, the only time I log into Facebook is when I have to check and see if my mom tagged me in something so I do not get a lecture on why I did not like or comment an emoji on it. I barely even know how to use Facebook, which is the main reason I do not use it actively. Also, none of my friends use it either and I really do not care what Janet put in the crock-pot for dinner Tuesday night or about why Keith thinks Donald Trump is a great president.

– David Zinczenko says that because his mom was the only one supporting his family, he ate fast food a lot as a child because it was affordable, which led him to be over 200 pounds at the age 15, inspiring him to write about the topic.

-Zinczenko brings up type two diabetes and how before the year 1994, diabetes in children was caused genetically (type 1) and only 5% of children with diabetes had type 2. Today, childhood diabetes is 30% type 2.

– It is explained that the fast food menus do not have calorie information charts on the menu because they are not covered by Food and Drug Administration labeling laws and gives an example how a salad from a fast-food restaurant can be 1,040 calories.

– Claims that fast-food restaurants market their unhealthy, hazardous product to children without “warning labels.”

#1- In modern society, abortion rates have risen, pushing the government to make the procedure illegal in some states. Getting rid of the procedure has caused political conflict, especially for young women. Many believe that women should have abortion as an option, and it should be their choice if they want to receive one or not.

#2- Today, women who choose to get an abortion are frowned upon. Abortions have been such an issue that the government decided to ban them. It is argued that woman should be able to make their own choice of wanting to get an abortion, but also emphasized that abortions are cruel and unethical.

If I had the choice to rewind or fast forward my life, I think I would rewind. One reason I would rewind is because time seems to be going by super fast and I feel like I am trying to catch up with it so being able to go back would give me some more time to live. Another reason I would like to go back is because there are A LOT of changes I would like to make whether it was something I did or something another person did to me. By going back I would be able to prevent things that hurt me from happening and make myself a better person. A final reason I would like to go back is the fact that I could relive some of my greatest moments and memories with my family and friends.

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My favorite restaurant is Yun Tung, which is a Chinese restaurant back in my hometown. No Chinese food can compare to the stuff from here. Although the restaurant is quite small, the menu has a lot of delicious selections. I usually do not like to even eat at other Chinese restaurants because I know it will not be as good as the food from Yun Tung. My favorite meal used to be the general tso chicken, but since I do not eat meat anymore, I order vegetable lo mein and a million veggie egg rolls.

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Many people assume that things like art or music are not good careers to go to college for. What these people don’t know is that not only are they good majors, they are important ones too. Art and music are around us everywhere we go, no matter where we go. So why do people have a negative view on wanting to pursue the two things? Most people, especially parents of the students studying the topic, believe that it will be very difficult to not only find a job, but make a decent amount of money from that job too, but there are hundreds of jobs available, a popular one being art or music therapy, which a person can make $80,000 doing. Also, a person who is talented enough in the field can make a lot of money on the side of their well-paying job by selling their art or music that they produced themselves. Maybe people who frown upon the art or music majors are just worried about the students.

As sad as it is to say, I don’t think I would be able to live without my phone. It seems like I use my phone for just about anything: communicating through calls, texts, and social media, tracking my health, and even using it for my alarm clock. Now, I know what you are thinking…I can do a lot of the things that I use my phone for without using my phone. Although it is true, it is still convenient to have everything in one spot in the palm of my hands. I feel as if I am addicted to my phone and I usually to panic when I do not have it or misplace it. I don’t know what I would do without my phone.