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1. Support for Claims:

Are all claims supported by evidence, or are they sometimes supported by more claims?

2. Credible Evidence:

Is the evidence used to support the claims from credible sources (relevant, sufficient, typical, accurate)?

3. Emotions:

Are emotions used to lead us to make judgments or feel a certain way?

4. Word Choice:

Does the word choice simply present the facts with neutral language?  Neutral language = Fair

Does the word choice lead you to make judgments about the facts or feel a certain way about them? Leading Language = Biased

Conservative News Source: US health officials report new vaping deaths, repeat warning

https://www.foxnews.com/health/us-health-officials-report-new-vaping-deaths-repeat-warning

1. The article starts off by urging readers and telling them to stop vaping due to multiple death/illness cases. It then follows by providing evidence as to why vaping is bad for you; such as giving real life case scenarios and state-wide numbers of deaths and illnesses having to do with vaping. 
2. The evidence that was given throughout the article was only from one source, which were all US health officials. Although they may be credible, evidence from other sources would be more effective. 
3. Emotions, I believe, played a major role in this article. I think their main goal is to make their readers scared and think twice about vaping, especially since their main audience seems to be younger adults which are more easier to believe what is being told. 
4. The word choice leads the reader to make judgments about the facts. For examle, the author uses words like sickened, dangerous, severe and so on. 

[Chloe Maki] Neutral News Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/trump-to-hold-meeting-on-vaping-after-reports-of-u-s-illness

1. Support For Claims: Throughout the article published by Bloomberg, I found that almost all the claims were supported by some kind of evidence. The article seemed to stick with the facts rather than the author putting their underlying opinion in. I did not see claims that were then being supported by claims in this article. 
2. Credible Evidence: The evidence used throughout this article to support its claims do come a credible source. In the article they use direct quotes from Trump and the FDA to support their claims.
3. Emotions: The language throughout the article suggests that Bloomberg is against vaping and is trying to persuade the reader to stay away from it by the emotional vocabulary used throughout the piece. Also they never condoned vaping and it is fairly frowned upon throughout the article. 
4. Word Choice: Throughout the article the author uses negative vocabulary when talking about vaping. The word choice does somewhat make the article seem biased however it’s a fact that vaping is bad; and the vocabulary can just be reflecting that. 

Liberal News Source:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/vaping-lung-illness-mystery-causes

1. Supporting Evidence:  According to the article, “more than 9 million people [use] them on a regular basis”. It is also said that “‘Vaping’ is shorthand for inhaling vaporized liquid, usually a mixture of nicotine and oil heated by a battery-powered atomizer in an e-cigarette or larger vaporizer’. This supports the claim that heavy and widespread usage, along with not being sure what is in them (besides deadly chemicals), is most likely the cause of vaping-related illness and injury.
2. Credibility: Yes, the author uses official representatives of known organizations like the CDC and FDA.
3. Emotions: Emotions are not used as much in this article. There is, however, a connotation that you will feel more inclined to not vape because the feeling of knowing you might die gives you.
4. Word Choice: The type of words used are more critical about the issue, implying a liberal stance.

My Writing Strengths:

I am a writer who articulates my ideas and thoughts well through my writing.

I am a writer who is passionate about what I write about and I always strive to learn more.

I am a writer who always listens to critiques and wants feedback on my writing in order to improve myself.

I am a writer who has strong opinions as well as respect for other peoples opinions.

I am a writer who is willing to learn from my mistakes and grow from them.

In groups, pull out your cellphones or laptops/tablets and open up one of your social media accounts. Together, discuss and record:

Q. What type of content are your top three posts (or most recent) on your timeline? Is this pretty typical for your timeline? What kinds of social groups/communities are you a part of? Compare what you see with what your peers see. Are there more similarities or differences?

A. My top two posts are are comedic videos and my third top post is a political tweet about expunging thousands of marijuana convictions. I think that this is pretty typical for my twitter timeline, I usually post more funny content as well as some political things that I agree with. I mainly follow my peers on twitter, however I do follow celebrities and politicians that I enjoy. I think the main difference between my Twitter and my peers is I don’t post many personal things. However overall they are similar.
 

Q. What is the relationship between what you see in your social media timeline and what you know or believe?

A. I think that my timeline matches pretty much exactly what I believe. This is just because I really only follow people who I like and agree with.
 

Q. How does your social presence compare with the professional/student biography that you created? 

A. I think that it is actually very different from my professional biography. I think this is because I take myself a lot less seriously on social media. I view social media as just a fun way to interact with people.

Q. Where do you find examples of bias in your social media timelines?

A. On my timeline I find examples of bias from the news stories that show up. A lot of the stories are more liberal and that’s probably because I am lean more towards the liberal side and like those kind of posts.
 

Q. Answer: who do I potentially influence on social media?

A. I believe that I potentially influence my friends and family on social media.

Q. Answer: who do I engage with most on social media?

A. On social media I engage with my friends and family the most. I don’t usually interact with people I don’t know.

 List 10 values which are some of the most important to you.

• Trust
• Respect
• Optimism
• Wisdom
• Growth
• Compassion
• Understanding
• Inner Harmony
• Self Love
• Kindness

Identify yourself in the rhetorical situation:

Who are you as a person?

• I believe that as a person I am kind and compassionate. I always put others before myself.

Who are you as a writer?

• As a writer I am opinionated but love to hear opposing opinions. I think that this makes you a better writer as well as a better person.

Who are you as a student?

• As a student I am hardworking and enjoy learning. I love to explore different areas of education and I always want to learn something new.

What roles do you play in society?

• In society I play the roles of a sister, daughter, and grand daughter.

Thomas B. Edsall, “We Aren’t Seeing White Support For What It Is”

Fact: “In less than a decade, from 2010 to 2018, whites without a college degree grew from 50 to 59 percent of all the Republican Party’s voters, while whites with college degrees fell from 40 to 29 percent of the party’s voters.”

Opinion: “Low-income whites without college degrees have moved to the Republican Party, but because they frequently hold liberal economic views — that is, they support redistributionist measures from which they benefit — they are conflicted in their partisan allegiance.”

Claim: “High-income whites without college degrees were swing voters sixty years ago, pursued by both parties; now, they are rock-ribbed Republicans. Their share of the white electorate has fallen, however, from 42.1 to 22.0 percent.”

I thought that this opinion piece by Thomas B. Edsall was very interesting and informative. The data provided in the article showed that most of Trumps voters were white, with no college degree. This was a very interesting fact and made me realize how powerful certain voting demographics can be. The fact that most of Trumps votes came from white Americans, who don’t have a college degree says a lot. Trump even said, “I love the poorly educated.” This leads me to believe that these candidates are targeting Americans who will give them their vote because they don’t know any better.

Q. Are you an obliger, questioner, rebel, or upholder? How are you going to thrive in this class (and in school in general)?

A. After reading the article, “How these 4 Personality Types find motivation” written by Stephanie Vozza, I would place myself as a obliger. This is because I do find myself being able to turn projects in on time and meet outer expectations however I am not as successful with personal goals I set for myself. This leads me to believe that I fall under the category of an obliger. I do however want to strengthen my internal motivation and be able to accomplish tasks as I do with outer expectations.

In the article “Trump suggested nuking hurricanes to stop them from hitting U.S.”, written by Jonathan Swan and Margaret Talev, discusses Trump’s recent statement. The article explains that during a hurricane briefing held at the White House, Trump said, “I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” which apparently left many people in the room baffled. However Trump did not come up with this idea. The article explains that this theory of a nuclear bomb being able to counteract convection currents has been resurfacing in the public, even though scientists have agreed it wouldn’t work. Another note from the article is that dropping a nuclear bomb into the eye of a hurricane would not be allowed under the terms of the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. Also the effects of a nuclear explosion would leave the environment with devastaing issues.

Q. According to Alex Reid, what are the benefits of doing an online blog for a writing class? What are your feelings about keeping a blog, good and bad?

A. According to Alex Reid’s essay on blogs, one of the benefits of students participating in an online blog for a writing class is allowing the students to explore and develop internal motivations for writing. Reid says that because blogs allow the user to control the subject matter, it makes it easier for them to write because they have the self motivation to do so. Reid explains that once a student has found internal motivation, it makes it easier for them to write.

A. I personally think that keeping a blog is a good idea because it will help me to find my internal motivation for writing. I think that by doing this I can greatly improve my writing ability as well making writing essays easier in the future.