Category: Uncategorized

Evidence is looked for in everyday matters to large court hearings all across the world. It’s something people seek constantly, but never can fully satisfy in themselves. Evidence is often sought after once a belief is already formed, this is seen in religion. Although followers already believe in whatever deity they do, they also look for evidence that what they believe is true, even if there is little to no evidence.

In the chapter, Kathryn Schulz states that “believing things based on paltry evidence is the engine that drives the miraculous machinery of human cognition.” This is shown in religion, because most have meager proof of reality, but large followings of people. This doesn’t stop people from looking everywhere, trying to gain proof. I immediately think of a photo I saw as a kid of “Noah’s Ark” in Turkey (below). Schulz also points out that “[humans] don’t care what is logically valid…We care about what is probable”, and when a person believes in a religion, that proof is probable.

Evidence is something we may seek, but it only takes a little to actual make a person’s mind up. Have you every tried to change a person’s mind once it’s already made up? It’s close to impossible. In the reading it says “you can urge people to not to believe anything based on meager evidence until you are blue in the face, but you will never succeed.”(Schulz) People are set in their ways most of the time, even when other evidence is presented. This connects to politics in so many ways. Most people stay on one side of the party line, and it takes a lot to make them sway in anyway.

Evidence is everywhere and will always matter when it comes to everyday arguments to large scale court hearings. Although it may be ignored to some point, it truly matters in the grand scheme of things. From religion to politics, people believe in things with little to no evidence, but search for it in everything.

Slang is something that has always been around and always will be. “Shook”, “dope”, and “lit” are all thing I have said in the past decade and there seems to be a new on every week, so where do they come from and how do they catch on so quickly?

According to D.W. Maurer, slang is defined as “unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way”. Meaning these words come from existing words or phrases and flipped to mean something new, making it easy to create a new slang word. Even though the origin of slang is pretty obscure, it can be traced back to the 1800’s newsprint in London, although I’m sure people have been using it since the beginning of spoken word.

These days it’s easier to spread new words and phrases through the use of social media, I see it everyday. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. slang is absolutely everywhere. It also helps in the case that you can’t figure out what a new slang means.

What are some of the most popular slang? It all depends on who you are. Some words belong to different groups because of race or religion. These words had or have racist intent so these groups have taken them back and use them in a positive way. I think this is important because it creates a positive out of negativity.

My earliest memory with writing was third grade, when I wrote a series of reports on the fictitious Godzilla and her babies terrorizing the U.S.A.. I know, how interesting and random, but it made my teacher laugh and I enjoyed it. It even landed me a spot at a creative writing seminar for kids. More recently, writing isn’t as fun as back then, but it still has enjoyable parts to it.

Throughout middle school I remember refining my creativity and writing, but I don’t remember any project or paper that pops out in my memory. That doesn’t mean I didn’t write about things I liked or believed in, they were just too much of a task to edit and finish. During middle school it was a time of trying to juggle multiple subjects and teachers and to try and enjoy your writing assignments at the same time was hard to manage.

When did writing become a task? Was it when we started getting grades for them or when it stopped being topics we enjoy? I don’t know the answer, but that’s how I view writing now, at least school related writing. In AP English writing was academic and meticulous. Each sentence edited and rewrote a million time, but the spark of enjoyment was still there for me. I may have had a few sleepless nights writing and rewriting, but the joy of my fingers gliding across the keyboard and losing time to the words was still there.

Since high school writing hasn’t been a priority or even really a thought. What would I even write about? So, as boring as writing may seem to others or how time consuming it is, I’m excited to start writing again. It has always been something I enjoy and I hope to continue that enjoyment throughout my college education.

Media has shaped the way children are raised, the way people date, and, as this reading explains, how people act. The author, Rajiv N. Ramil, starts their reading with, “Humans act, at least partly, on the basis of how they think others expect them to act”. I think this is true, solely based on my own experiences and opinions from my peers. Throughout the reading it it explained in technical terms data-backed research into why this is true.

The first and most important point made is that humans may act as they think others want them to act, but they are very often inaccurate in their assessment of those others. The name given to this is pluralistic ignorance. The author uses the example of the college students and their own perception of underage drinking. Students believe that others consume more than they do, because media has showcased partying and drinking in every movie we watched as a kid and teenager. But once the time of college and partying comes around, the actual level of consumption of alcohol is much lower than depicted on the big screen. I have experienced this first hand after attending college and living on the UNLV campus. I felt the need to drink and party to have fun, because I felt that everyone else was doing it, but I have found that a lot of people think that.

The false consensus effect is similar to the pluralistic effect, because they both involve misconception. The false consensus effect is the “tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share…”(Rimal). I see this in myself when I see a picture of my high school friend at the gym or with their new boyfriend. My first assumption is that they’re doing better than I am or that I’m less than them, because I don’t have those things. What I don’t think of is that they’re only going to share what they want to share, not the bad things they’re going through.

These two effects have a huge amount of influence on young adults from Instagram to Facebook to their own college campus. They may not realize social media is separate from their real life. Learning to push past these phenomenons will help people form a better understanding of how others display themselves on social media and how that very much differs from them in person. It could also help people connect on a deeper level, because there isn’t a mask of social media before the actual person.

In the first chapter of They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, the importance of laying out not only your argument, but also the opposing argument. The example given is a sociologist speaking about Dr. X’s good work in their field. They give examples, quote passages, and going into detail of their work. Although their argument is clear, Dr. X and their work is important, but why was this point being made? In the chapter “They Say”, the importance of stating the opposing argument along with your argument is to make a point. This helps the audience understand the importance of whatever the topic is.

The second chapter, “Her Point Is”, digs into the importance of summarizing. It states how it’s important to summarize the ideas you are essentially arguing or proving against and how to go about doing so. Different ways to write a good summary include removing yourself to remove bias, give a fair amount of information on the topic, and not rushing to your own opinion. The summary may also give your own argument direction by pointing out not only the original writer’s point, but to yours as well. This chapter also explains different ways to summarize with the opposing argument, such as listing the two together and itemizing ideas.

In “As He Himself Puts It”, the third chapter in They Say, I Say, the art of quoting is introduced. When using quotes, it’s important to not over use or be completely devoid. Quoting should be used when it adds to the paragraph and supports your argument, not forming a paragraph around the quote. This chapter also explains that quotes require framing and cannot be left to dangle in the paragraph. Quotes always include in-text citations as well and need to be cited in the bibliography as well.

What I Learned: Before reading, I didn’t realize how important it is to not only state your own arguments, but the opposing argument as well. It makes sense, because it convinces the reader or audience of your own side.

Hello! My name is Marissa, which I go by for the most part, and I’m 20 years old. I graduated from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, North Dakota in 2017 and moved to Las Vegas in the same year. My favorite pastime is watching Netflix or doing anything with my dogs, I’m usually watching Netflix with my dogs though.

I hope to major in Secondary Education and teach History in high school. I have always loved learning about the past, anywhere from great moments in history to the darkest parts as well. I previously went to a vocational school and got my Dental Assistant Certification, so I am only a freshman in the traditional sense of schooling. I worked in that field for a while and loved my patients, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do forever. So, here I am!

I have always been a little scared of English classes, because writing isn’t my strong suit, but I feel a lot better after Prof. Villanueva explained everything on Tuesday. So, thank you Professor, I don’t have any immediate fears for this semester! I look forward to this semester with all of you and hope to get to know everyone.