Ohio State Football Multimodel Essay Final

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Ohio State Football Multimodel Essay

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Katy Hanratty Multimodel Essay

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Katy Hanratty Multimodel Essay Rough Draft

Katy Hanratty 

Professor Lutz

English 151

October 31, 2011

Ohio State Football:  History, Tradition…Scandal

History of Ohio State Football

Ohio State football.  What do most people think when they hear about Ohio State football: history, tradition, and legacy, to name a few.  There is a long history of winning and tradition at Ohio State.  "Since 1890, the Buckeyes have claimed 7 National Championships and have had nine undefeated seasons" (History of Ohio State Football). “Ohio State has won 35 Big Ten Championships, which is the second most in the Big Ten and the third most conference titles of any conference” (Howell).   In 2010, “Ohio State became the first team in Big Ten history to win at least 10 games in six consecutive seasons en route to a 12-1 record, a sixth consecutive Big Ten championship, a seven straight win over rival Michigan and its second straight BCS bowl victory with a 31-26 win over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl" (Wikipedia).  The players have become role models and almost like celebrities to young Ohio State football fans.  The players are expected to uphold the traditions and standards of not only The Ohio State University, but also the Ohio State football program.  As of late, when people think of Ohio State football not only do they think winning and tradition, but they also may be thinking scandal. 

The Scandal

By now any football fan on the planet has probably heard about the scandal going on at Ohio State involving their football team.  To provide a breakdown:  on December 23, 2010, Ohio State suspended five of its players, Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas for NCAA violations.  This news came as a shock to Ohio State fans around the country.  The players were found guilty of the following:  (Bender)

• Selling jerseys

• Big Ten championship rings 

• Pants

• Shoes

• Autographs

• Other memorabilia

• Accepting extra money from working during the offseason

• Receiving cash benefits from an event that occurred in Cleveland. 

The first question that came in my mind is why would the players do this.  They let down the whole city of Columbus and Buckeye fans around the world. You would think that they would know there would be consequences to their actions.  With an investigation going on during the season, luckily these players were still able to play in the Sugar Bowl and lead us to a 31-26 victory over Arkansas.  Each of these five players all made huge game changing plays for Ohio State to get the win.  The win was the fifth BCS title for coach Jim Tressel.  After all the excitement of the BCS win for the Buckeyes, devastating news appeared on Yahoo Sports.  

The Article

Ohio State Football Coach Jim Tressel

In March of 2011, the article reported that coach Jim Tressel knew what his players had done.  Right here is when we see the biggest problem.  How are we able to trust our coach, who has been lying to NCAA officials?  There was proof of e-mails from Jim Tressel proving he knew that his players had sold their valuable memorabilia for money and tattoos.  Jim Tressel is said to have known what his players had done several months before Ohio State school officials even knew about the situation, so why would he go so far to protect his players knowing that there would be serious consequences?  Tressel was informed of what his players were doing from a lawyer named Christopher Cicero, who happened to be a former walk on football player at Ohio State.  "When the NCAA found out about coach Tressel’s actions, they decided to suspend him for the first two games of the 2011 season.  Along with the suspension, Jim Tressel was fined for $250,000 (Bender)."  Coach Tressel claimed to have kept his knowledge a secret because he wanted to keep his information kept confidential for the safety of his players and the investigation.

The NCAA decided to sustain the suspension to the five suspensions for the 2011 season.  "Coach Tressel then asked to have his two game suspension lifted to a five game suspension to equal the suspensions of his players" (Bender).  In late March, it was proven that Tressel forwarded the e-mails to a businessman named Ted Sarniak, who just so happened to be a mentor to Terrelle Pryor.  In mid April, Ohio State was notified by the NCAA about Tressel’s actions.  "In early May, it was reported that Ohio State’s director of compliance was researching a minimum of 50 car sales to Ohio State athletes and their families to see if they complied with NCAA regulations" (Smith).  In late May, a former Buckeye football player came forward.  Ray Smalls played for the Buckeyes from 2006-2010.  Smalls was suspended by Tressel several times and said that he sold his Big Ten Championship ring and other valued memorabilia while playing for the Buckeyes.  Smalls also said that he got special deals on cars.  This article put a sword through any Ohio State fan's heart.  It was bad enough hearing about what are players had done, but then we had to hear that our beloved coach lied to NCAA officials.  

Terrelle Pryor

Former Buckeye Terrelle Pryor

I believe the biggest reason Ohio State is in the predicament there in is largely in part because of Terrelle Pryor.  Pryor initiated a lot of this scandal.  He is the one who decided to steal from the Ohio State weight room, he is the one who got his teammates to follow him and he is the one now being investigated for the cars he decided to drive to school.  Pryor clearly doesn't care about Ohio State or the Buckeye football team.  While Pryor is off to the NFL, he is leaving his teammates to have to deal with this mess.  What about all of the Buckeye players not involved in any of this scandal?  How do you think they feel?  Those players went from being on an amazing football team who had a shot at becoming National Champions (for the 2011 season), to having to deal with a new coach, their star quarterback leaving for the NFL and four of their key players having to sit out a couple games for NCAA violations.  Pryor didn't think about his team, the fans or the school, he was thinking only about himself.

Terrelle Pryor was able to get out of his suspension at Ohio State, but now he has to deal with the NFL suspension.  The NFL decided to suspend Pryor for the first five games of his NFL career for "receiving illegal benefits as a collegiate player" (Klemko).  Now Pryor wants to get out of his suspension from the NFL.  Pryor has issued an appeal to try and get his suspension reduced to zero games.  Pryor's ban for this first five games isn't only costing him time to prove himself, but also costing him money.  "Pryor's likely first-year salary of $375,000 would be reduced by $110,000 after his ban" (Klemko).  This just proves to me that Terrelle Pryor is always making mistakes and never wants to deal with the consequences of his actions.  

The Timeline

The timeline to this scandal follows as:  

• On May 30, 2011 coach Jim Tressel, who was just one year short of his 10-year anniversary of being the Ohio State football coach, resigned.  To follow such devastating news, that same night, allegations arose about how players were receiving benefits under coach Jim Tressel.  
• On June 7, in not so surprising news, Terrelle Pryor announced his decision to forgo his senior season and head to the NFL.  
• On July 8, 2011, devastating news came to all Buckeye football fans.  “Ohio State reacted to the NCAA by relinquishing all 12 wins from the 2010 season, which includes the Buckeyes Sugar Bowl win against Arkansas” (Associated Press).  Ohio State decided to "inflict it’s own punishment on the football program by imposing a two-year probation, with no scholarship losses or bowl bans" (Mandel).
• On August 12^th, Ohio State met with the NCAA to discuss all the infractions against Ohio State.  "Ohio State announced that they would have to give back the profit they got from the Sugar Bowl win, which was about $338,000 "(Smith).   By doing what these players did, they have cost the school money and possibly a tarnished reputation. Not to mention, “Not only could the NCAA committee tack on a bowl ban, it could also limit the Buckeyes’ number of recruits, among other possibilities” (Associated Press). 

The five players that received suspensions for NCAA violations

This leaves me to think, what was coach Jim Tressel supposed to do?  “The investigations into the players’ actions and those of Tressel have cost Ohio State’s athletic department about $800,000 so far.  Ohio State paid $270,000 to a New York PR firm to help it manage publicly stemming from the scandal, plus another $162,000 to a Kansas firm specializing in NCAA compliance consulting” (Associated Press).  Tressel had already cost the University money, reputation and a football season.  He was protecting his players and has taken a lot of heat, especially for Terrelle Pryor.  Tressel had no other choice but to resign as the head coach.  And because Tressel decided to stick out his neck out so far for Pryor, it is highly likely that Jim Tressel will never coach football again. 

Anger Towards the Players

Some people may look at this scandal and say that it was the players’ fault that Ohio State is in such a predicament.  If these players had gone to a different tattoo parlor, Ohio State wouldn’t be where they are now.  The owner of the tattoo parlor that the players went to was already being investigated.  When these investigators went in to search the house of the tattoo parlor owner, they found the Ohio State jerseys, pants, rings and other memorabilia that no person should have except the Ohio State football players.

       Some people may look at the situation and say that the players took advantage of their status.  The Ohio State football players are almost like celebrities down in Columbus because we look up to them so much.  There are several people who can look at this situation and think why would these players do this, they just let down a countless number of Buckeye fans all over the world.  It was the players who sold their personal memorabilia.  It is the players’ fault that Ohio State is in this mess.  It is the players’ fault that Jim Tressel resigned.  Many people say that it was Terrelle Pryor’s fault that all this happened.  In my opinion, I agree.  Terrelle Pryor was the leading man involved in all of the selling of memoriblia and his teammates just followed him.  Pryor was the one who took valuable items out of the Ohio State locker room and sold them to this tattoo parlor.  It was Terrelle Pryor who took advantage of his quarterback fame.  It is hard to say that the other four players, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas, were not to blame, but at the same time Terrelle Pryor was the leading man in the scandals.

However, looking at the situation, I can see why some of the players did what they did.  For example, Dan Herron grew up extremely poor in one of the poorest cities in Ohio, Warren.  He had to play football in order to afford an education.  Some can look at what he did as being disgraceful and completely against being a Buckeye.  But looking at the other side of the story, maybe Herron did what he did to get some money to try and support himself and his family.  I can’t say for sure that this is a fact, but bottom line what these players’ did was wrong. 

The Big Ten Championship ring the players sold for tattoos

Should Tressel be the One to Blame

One of the many things that have come to mind while doing research for this blog was that Tressel shouldn’t be the only one to blame.  Jim Tressel had been the head coach of Ohio State for nine years.  During his tenure, he has one a National Championship, countless Big Ten titles and has crushed rival Michigan year after year.  He appeared to be a good coach and an all around nice guy.  I do believe what he did was wrong, keeping the information from the NCAA and Ohio State.  Jim Tressel was looking out for his players as he kept this information to himself.  What makes me angry about this whole situation is that Tressel did most of this lying to cover up for his quarterback Terrelle Pryor.  He covered up texts that he had with Pryor, and he knew what Pryor was doing and didn’t say a word about it.  Why would he does this knowing that there would be consequences?                            

The Sports Illustrated Issue that covered the scandal

I have to look at the big picture and Tressel is a very good coach, and there have been a slew of player problems that he has had to deal with during his time at OSU, and I am sure that there are several instances in which he really didn’t know what was going on.  But why would he go so far as to protect someone like Terrelle Pryor?  Pryor clearly doesn’t care about Ohio State or any of the valuables he received from winning.  If there was any one person to blame in this whole scandal it is Terrelle Pryor.  They all made their choices and now they have to deal with the consequences.

For instance, instead of dealing with his suspension and staying in school, Terrelle Pryor decided to go pro and declare himself eligible for the 2011 NFL draft.  By doing this Pryor lost out on millions of dollars, instead if he would of stayed for his senior season he could have declared for the 2012 NFL draft and would have been a potential first round draft pick, instead of a third round choice.  Another instance of this is DeVier Posey.  "Posey was given over $700 for work over the summer that he had not done" (Associated Press).  Posey was already suspended for the first five games of the season and because of this recent news he was suspended for another five games which comes to a ten game suspension, leaving him with only two games to play in for his senior season.  Posey simply could have dismissed his senior season and declared for the draft with Pryor.  By deciding to stay in school, he lost out on millions of dollars because now his draft stock will be low, by hardly getting to play his senior season.  Tressel was protecting his players and has taken a lot of heat, especially for Terrelle Pryor.  Tressel had no other choice but to resign as the head coach. 

        

Rebuilding

       Will Ohio State football rebound?  Of course they will.  Every team at some point goes through a rebuilding period.  However, in order for the Buckeyes to do this, I think they need to start paying attention to the players and there actions a little bit more.  Who was monitoring the weight room when Terrelle Pryor took some of the equipment?  We need a coach who will be straight up with the team and not protect them when they violate NCAA rules.  If we had a coach who was honest, Ohio State would never be in this predicament.  Eventually, Ohio State will rebound from this.  They are thousands of supporters from all over the world that will allow the Buckeye’s to become the great football team we used to know.  

Blog #15

Blog #1

The topic that I want to write about is the Ohio State University Men’s Football Suspensions.  This topic is what I want to write about because I am a huge Buckeye football fan and when I heard about this story of all the player suspensions, it was intriguing to me.  The first article I found was written by about why the players were getting suspended and what they did to get suspended. 

            A summary of this article is about how five big time players for Ohio State’s football team got suspended for selling valuable goods such as rings, jerseys and pants to get tattoos or money.  The argument of the article is how bad should these players be punished for the acts that they committed.  “Ohio State has been investigating allegations that several football players traded autographs for tattoos.”  The NCAA wants to suspend the players for the first five regular season games, however, Terrelle Pryor.  The argument was also considering whether to suspend any players for the Sugar Bowl. 

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/ohio-state-football-players-facing-possible-suspension-for-breaking-ncaa-rules

            The article appeals to me as a reader because when I first heard about this, I wanted to know all of the details and this article provides all the details on what happened with the players and why they were getting suspended.  This article relates to ethos.  I believe that it relates to ethos because the site is very reliable with there information.  “While we believe sanctions should be rendered, we do believe they are severe," he said Thursday at a news conference. "We do believe we can give mitigating circumstances for the NCAA to consider."  This quote suggests that the author has inside information to the story and has talked to the athletic director for Ohio State. 

            This is different from other essays because it is an article that has efficient information that is reliable.  This article also has a lot of quotes from important people such as people of the NCAA and the athletic director for Ohio State. 

Blog #2

http://www.thelantern.com/sports/football/ohio-state-suspends-3-more-football-players-1.2571966#.Tpt4UWaXvoA

            The author of the article is Pat Brennan of the The Latern.  The summary of this article was about how three more Ohio State football players were suspended for receiving benefits while working over the summer.  “With OSU set to begin its 2011 season in mere hours, the new suspensions come at the tail end of an already tumultuous off-season for the Buckeyes.”  This quote explains what a rough year Ohio State football is having with their football program.  It brings questions into my mind whether Ohio State should have just forgone their 2011 season. 

            The article appeals to me as a reader because I am such a huge Ohio State football fan, so I get really emotional and passionate whenever I read these articles because it makes me wonder why they would do this to the Ohio State community.  We could have been one of the top football teams in the country and because of what some of our players did; we now have to rebuild our program.  I definitely think that this article goes with pathos.  I think that it goes with pathos because it gives off a lot of emotion towards the reader.  “Four OSU football players — DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Dan Herron and Solomon Thomas — are also suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season after selling Buckeye football memorabilia in exchange for improper benefits in the form of tattoos. Linebacker Jordan Whiting received a one-game ban.”  The emotion I got while reading this article, especially this quote, was anger because it is upsetting to see how Ohio State is playing right now, when they could be doing a lot better.

            This article is different from other essays I have read because it presents a lot of facts, and brings questions into my mind about how differently our season could of gone if those players didn’t do what they did. 

Blog #3

http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/stories/2011/09/10/ncaa-extends-three-players-suspensions.html

            The author of this article is Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch.  This argument is explaining how three Ohio State football players were expected to play in this upcoming season; however, the NCAA extended their suspension.  These players are being suspended for accepting money without the authorization of Ohio State.  “The nature and scope of their violations merit a minimum two-game suspension.”  This makes me wonder why Ohio State didn’t track their players better, especially since then coach Jim Tressel knew what his players were doing and didn’t do anything about it. 

            This article appeals to me as a reader because it presents facts and it gives me details about the players and what they did and why they are being suspended.   “The NCAA ruled that the three players committed two violations: accepting the money and not receiving approval from the Ohio State compliance office to attend the event.”  This quote proves my point that Ohio State should have kept a tighter track on what was going on with these players.  This is different than other essays I have read because the article presents facts and quotes. 

Blog #4

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_18958321

            The author of this blog is John Henderson from the Denver Post.  This article presents the argument that these player suspensions are not just one person’s fault.  "All parties involved are responsible.”  Ohio State and Jim Tressel and the players are all to blame for the sanctions against Ohio State.  This article is different from essays I have read because it gives quotes from certain people that make the information reliable.  

Blog #14

While reading the assigned pages of the Pearson text, the first hot spot I came across was “Having the freshest information at the top of the page does a few things:  as readers, it gives a sense of immediacy with no effort on our part” (Pearson 296).  Having the newest information at the top of the page gives the page more appeal.  Not many reader’s like to go to their favorite blog and see that nothing new has been updated.  Keeping the newest information at the top keeps the readers coming back to the blog because readers want blog’s that have constant new information to read.  Having the newest information at the top also makes it easier for the reader because they don’t have to read the whole blog to find out what is new and what is old.

The second hot spot I found was “When we talk about blogs, we’re talking about a way of organizing information, independent of its topic.  What we write about does not define us as bloggers; it’s how we write about it” (Pearson 297).  I thought that this was important because I think that you can blog about something that isn’t really of interest to you, but if you write about it with enough emotion, that is what makes you a good blogger.  I think that you can write about something that you completely disagree with, but depending on how you write about, shows how good of a blogger you are.  I also agree with the statement that blogs are a way of organizing information.  Whenever I read a blog the first thing I notice is the organization of it, there is always a title, the author and the date.  This gives the reader insight to what they will be reading about and if they want to continue to read it.

Blog #13

While reading Chapter 9 of the Pearson text, the first hot spot I came across was “Whenever you place an in-text citation in the body of the paper, your reader knows to turn to the Works Cited or References list at the end of the paper to get the full bibliographic information” (Pearson 221).  This is one of the most important elements of your paper because the reader wants to make sure that your information is credible and that you are able to back up what you are saying in your essay.  In-text citations are essential to have in your essay because it proves everything your saying in your essay.  Placing an in-text citation is important because then the reader is able to see where your getting your information from.  The second hot spot I found while reading Pearson was “A typical in-text citation contains two elements:  (1) the last name of the author and (2) the page number of the quoted or paraphrased passage” (Pearson 222).  This is also very important in your essay because you need to give credit to the person you got the information from.  Without this information it makes your essay less credible.

The first element of an exploratory essay that I think is important is “The essential move for exploratory thinking and writing is to keep a problem alive through consideration of multiple solutions or point of view” (Pearson 107).  I think that this is an important element in exploratory writing because in order to keep your essay going you need to think of several different views in order to keep writing.  You need to think of several outside opinions to the problem in order to write about solutions.  The second element of an exploratory essay I think is important is “The key to effective exploratory writing is to create a tension between alternate views” (Pearson 108).  I think that this in an important element in exploratory writing because creating tension between alternate views allows the writer to provide different angles to the problem.  By showing two different angles of a problem, you are giving the reader two sides of the story instead of only one. When the reader is given two sides of the story, there are more ideas, opinions, and points that the reader can now think about.

Blog #12

http://www.scribd.com/doc/67902716/Hanratty-1

Blog #11

The first picture I think is good rhetoric because its effective. It means that you have to take a leap of faith to pursue your dreams and follow and your goals.

The second picture is good rhetoric because it is motivates you to never give up on yourself and always believe in yourself.

Blog #10

My question for the exploratory essay is:  How does marketing in the NBA affect China and younger fans of the NBA?

October 2

Journal Article

SOURCE #1:
Lombardo, John.  “After Two Years, NBA China on Steady Course.”   Sportsbusinessdaily.com.  24 May 2010.  30 September 2011.   http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2010/05/20100524/This- Weeks-Issue/After-Two-Years-NBA-China-On-Steady-Course.aspx

News article

John Lombardo is a strong writer and includes a lot of facts and figures.  He provides a lot of information about the expansion of NBA China and what it hopes to build within the next couple of years.  "NBA China generates nearly half the revenue for NBA International, which generates $4.3 billion"-----good fact that I will use in my paper.

Talks about all the work the NBA has put in to build NBA China.  ----I can incorporate this because the NBA is making a profit from all the work they put into NBA China.

Focuses on how the NBA has had a huge effect on the media coverage and sponsorships that goes into NBA China.------I dont think that the NBA should be solely responsible for getting all of the media coverage and sponsorships.

NBA's revenue generates to about 150-170 million dollars -----good figure that I will use in my essay of whether the NBA really cares about expanding their business or is it really just about the money.

The NBA wanted to create NBA China to market and expose their brand.  Why would the NBA want to do this-is it directly for the money and the benefits.  Benefits including starting their own NBA league in other countries, building NBA-like arenas in China which would lead to large revenues, ect.

Conclusion:  This article had to do with the NBA and the success they have had in China since creating NBA China in 2008.  It explores the revenue that China and the NBA are receiving from marketing the NBA brand overseas.  The article also talks about how well the NBA is doing, prior to the lockout.  The fact that the NBA is doing so well, and how amazing NBA China has taken off means the NBA wants to explore more ways to market their brand overseas.



October 2

SOURCE #2

Means, Jason.  “Going Global:  The NBA Sets its Sights on Africa.”  International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship.  October 2007.  Vol. 9 Issue 1, pg 40-50.  30 September 2011.   <ahref="http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=28338 849&site=ehost-live">Going global: the NBA sets its sights on Africa.</a>

“BWB is a global program that brings people together to discuss important social issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention while emphasizing the importance of education and healthy living"-------This quote suggest how important it is for the NBA to market their brand overseas especially marketing how important education is to young children.

Basketball Without Borders suggest how important education is and also how important the game of basketball is.  With all of the kids involved in basketball without borders there may be a few that can actually play at the collegiate and possibly even the professional level.  However, to make this happen education has to come first.

"NBA Cares has emerged, with lofty goals of creating of generating $100 million in charitable donations over the next five years.  The focus will be on helping to improve the lives of individual children as well as aiding entire communities."--------This helps my point by showing that the NBA may not be making a profit for this work but they are making a difference.

"On the day the league announced that it had raised $2.5 million for Hurricane Katrina victims, a Feed the Children campaign began in South Africa.  This shows how the NBA is planting its roots in South Africa and its community for the long term."---------This quote explains how dedicated the NBA is to helping communities in need.  It shows how effective the NBA is to other countries.  By showing how much the NBA cares about helping others, other countries want to join in and start their own charities to help raise money.


Conclusion:  This article explains a lot about how effective the NBA is with their charity work.  The article also suggests how important it is to balance both education and basketball because it is education that will get you places and basketball will follow.  The article also explains why Basketball Without Borders is typically based in Africa.  It also explains what an impact the professional basketball players have on the kids involved with BWB.

Katy Hanratty Blog #9

Is marketing to younger kids more effective for a sports team?  By doing this will the kids, support that team throughout the years?  Should companies be marketing sports products to young children?  Do they benefit?

Are US businesses declining because the Chinese economy is increasing?  What does this mean for the US economy?  How will this effect US jobs?

Katy Hanratty Blog #8

After watching “First Writing Since” it was clear that there were several points when she used logos, ethos and pathos.  I saw how she used logos because she really got her point across to the audience.  She was very emotional and passionate when she was speaking and from looking at the audience, you can tell that she connected with them.  The main point of her poem is how unfair America can be when it comes to people of color and how horrible the stereotypes are.  A quote that proves this is when she said “One more person ask me if I knew the hijackers, one more mother f***** asks me what Navy my brother is in..”  This quote suggests that just because she is Palestinian she knows everything about terrorism.  I saw how she used ethos because she made several points about the war going on today.  Her credibility was never doubted throughout her poem because she was presenting facts within her argument.  “Bush has waged war on a man once openly funded by the CIA, I’ve read too many books to believe what I’m told.”  This quote shows that she has a valid argument because she has done her research on what her poem is talking about.  I saw how she used pathos when the camera showed the audience.  You saw how moved the audience was, especially the woman who was so touched by this poem she cried.  She also used pathos by giving the audience a visual image of the war going on and when she was talking about when the twin towers were hit.
I do believe that she uses poetry to make an argument of how stereotypical people can be.  I definitely find her to be persuasive because she not only speaks with so much emotion but what she is saying I agree with.  I believe that in America we do stereotype people way too much.  If a girl is raped, we automatically assume that the attacker was African American, if something goes wrong at an air port we assume the person is Islamic or Palestinian.  I think she presents a great argument because she gives several examples of personal experiences to back up her argument.

Katy Hanratty Blog #7

The first element of an exploratory essay that I think is important is “The essential move for exploratory thinking and writing is to keep a problem alive through consideration of multiple solutions or point of view” (Pearson 107).  I think that this is an important element in exploratory writing because in order to keep your essay going you need to think of several different views in order to keep writing.  You need to think of several outside opinions to the problem in order to write about solutions.
The second element of an exploratory essay I think is important is “The key to effective exploratory writing is to create a tension between alternate views” (Pearson 108).  I think that this in an important element in exploratory writing because creating tension between alternate views allows the writer to provide different angles to the problem.  By showing two different angles of a problem, you are giving the reader two sides of the story instead of only one. When the reader is given two sides of the story, there are more ideas, opinions, and points that the reader can now think about.
The third element of an exploratory essay I think is important is “In either case, the goal when writing with an exploratory aim is to reproduce the research and thinking process, taking the readers on the same emotional journey you have just traveled” (Pearson 113).  I think that this is important when writing an exploratory essay because you need to connect with the readers.  If you don’t connect with the readers your essay will not intrigue the reader and they will not be able to relate to your essay.  I think this is an important part in writing an exploratory essay because the whole point in presenting your argument or problem is for the reader to read about and understand the point.

Katy Hanratty Blog #6

While reading this article it made me think how hard it is for guys to show emotion.  If a guy shows emotion such as crying he gets called gay, sissy, wuss and several other names.  It almost seems unfair that girls are able to show any kind of emotion but guys are expected to be strong all the time.  I understand that some guys like to be to “that guy.”  The type of guy who never cries and acts strong 100% of the time.  I agree with the author when he says “Masculinity is a constant test- always up for grabs, always needing to be proved” (Kimmel 51).  I fully believe this statement because I feel like guys are always needing to prove how masculine they are.  It’s almost like if they don’t show masculinity they are afraid that other males or females with think that they are gay.  I think that guys care just as much as girls about how they present themselves to others.  Guys never want people to think that they aren’t masculine.
The second hot spot I found while reading this article was “Boys learn that their connection to mother will emasculate them, turn them into Mama’s Boys” (Kimmel 52).  After reading this statement, I realized that if I were a mother reading that I would have been offended.  I would have gotten offended because I feel like when little boys are at such a young age they need their mothers around to nurture them.  When I was reading the story about the little boy who was getting his haircut and some of the chemicals burned him so he started to cry and the barber began to call him a wussy and that he needed to stay away from his mother I thought that was horrible.  This little boy was only three and a half years old when this happened.  How can you say that he is not being man enough at the age of three.  I feel like that has no connection to how much time he was spending with his mother.  A little kid as young as three will cry at anything that hurts them, I don’t feel like a mother has anything to do with that.  A mother simply nurtures her child when the child is in pain.  I think its horrible that males have to live up to this expectation of always having to feel “manly.”

Katy Hanratty Blog #5

Watching the video from Sarah Haskins was I thought funny but very stereotypical.  I agree with a couple statements she says such as “Being a woman isn’t easy.  We work, take care of the house, we raise children…”  I agree that woman do this, however I also believe that men can do this too.  Men are just as capable as women to work, raise children and take care of a household.  This video was very biased towards men.  Sarah made men seem stupid and are no help at all except for simple activities such as yard work and cooking.  Men do this in addition to taking care of children and working.  One of the statements that I disagree with is “This commercials proof to us husbands just can’t do stuff.”  I disagree with this statement because men do a lot of things such as doing the lawn, cleaning gutters, fixing appliances and maybe improving the house.  This video shows the stereotype that men are worthless when it comes to doing work that women usually do.
Watching the Tropes vs. Women video, I thought that she was a little harsh on the writers of Hollywood.  I understand where she is coming from thinking that women are always the ones who are fixing the problems when the guy thinks that his world is coming to an end.  However, there are so many other movies out there where the man is helping the woman get through a problem.  Women are the ones who always want to fix their personal problems not avoid them and I think this is why a woman is always cast as the problem fixer versus a man.  Personally, whenever I have a problem I always go to my girl friends to help me because they always say the right thing and give me the best advice possible.  I never really go to my guy friends because they typically don’t know what the best advice to give is.  One point I do not agree with is when she says “Women are not here for men’s inspiration or celebration or whatever else.”  I don’t believe this because I believe that men and women are inspiration for each other.  There are so many musicians out there who right songs about past relationships or current ones that inspire them enough to write a song about it.  One point I do agree with her on is “Women are musicians, artists, and writers with our own brilliant and creative endeavors.”  I agree with this statement because it is presenting women as an equal to men and that we can just be as equally talented and creative as men can be.

Katy Hanratty Homework #5

The essay by August was very hard for me to understand because I felt as if he was playing the victim card for all males.  An example from the essay Real Men Don’t by August that I think any female can resonate with personal experiences is when August explains “..gender-exclusive usage that omits males from certain kinds of consideration” (August 130).  This statement is especially biased against women because it is usually women who are the ones being omitted for wanting to do something.  For example, there were a lot of people who got very angry when Hillary Clinton wanted to run for President.  Many people on talk shows and just regular add companies would jeer at her and make female biased comments towards her.  The point was to make her look like a joke to be running for President.  Have we ever seen add companies do this to a male running for President?  August continues to explain that “American males are almost twice as likely as females to be victims of violent crimes (even when rape is included in the tally) and three times more likely to be victims of murder (August 130).  This statement seems as if August is trying to say that there are more male victims of violent crime then there are women.  I agree that there are men who are sexually abused or have been a victim of a violent crime, however, the numbers for women in these statistics are probably significantly higher.
The essay by Tannen was I think more equal to men and women.  The author never intentionally bashed men in this essay.  Rather she was observing the differences between men and women.  “If a woman’s clothing is tight or revealing (in other words, sexy), it sends a message-an intended one of wanting to be attractive,  but also a possibly unintended one of availability” (Tannen 143).  I agree with this statement because it shows how a lot of women simply want to look good and feel good about themselves.  However to a male, it is sending the message that we are available, which is not always the case.  Out of the two essays that we read, I am only convinced by Tannen’s essay because she presented two sides of how men and women are perceived and observed and didn’t simply bash men.  As opposed to August, I felt that he was just bashing women.

Katy Hanratty Homework #3

The first “hot spot” I noticed when reading Everything’s a Text was “Writing is a complex, multi-layered process that can include both the personal and the academic.” (Melzer Coxwell-Teague 64).  I related to this passage because I agree with it a lot.  Writing can be so versatile.  You can write a research paper for a class about the genocide in Sudan, you can write a personal narrative on your family, or you can write a fiction story for fun.  Writing can simply be for personal enjoyment or for a grade in your English class.  This statement explains that writing does not only have to be about writing a research paper, or writing a paper for school, but writing for yourself.
The second “hot spot” I saw when reading Everything’s a Text was “I have found when students begin by writing about their lives and language use, they begin to see and understand themselves and their place within culture in new and interesting ways” (Melzer Coxwell-Teague 66).  I believe this statement because I think that when people start to write about themselves they come to get to know themselves better.  Anytime I write about myself I understand my life more.  Numerous amounts of people come into their own self in a way.  When you write about yourself, you might start to realize more of who you are as a person.  Many people might feel more comfortable with themselves after writing about themselves because writing is a form of expressing yourself.  I feel that when you express yourself you learn more about yourself.  

Katy Hanratty Homework #2

While reading chapter one in Everything’s a Text, I came across this “hot spot“ “When you compose in college and beyond, your audience with always influence the way you compose and what you say” (Melzer Coxwell-Teague 13).  I fully believe in this statement, especially after reading the speeches by Malcolm X to the different groups of people.  Malcolm X proves this statement to be true because when he speaks to the Detroit Civil Rights Group his language use is different than how he spoke to the people of Harvard.  When Malcolm X spoke to the people of Detroit it was a more relaxed tone and more casual.  When Malcolm X spoke to the people of Harvard he spoke very polite and prim.  The second passage I found interesting in Everything’s a Text was “Composers always have both a purpose for composing and an audience or audiences to receive their message” (Melzer Coxwell Teague 10).  I found this passage interesting because the composer can speak to an entire audience and that audience will receive the message but can interpret that message in several different ways.
While reading the text in Person Custom Library a “hot spot” I came across was “In a narrower sense, rhetoric is the art of making messages persuasive” (Bean, Johnson and Ramage 12).  I found this to passage to be very true because without using rhetoric to spread a message, the message will probably not get a lot of attention or focus.  Rhetoric helps to send out a message in an interesting way.  The second “hot spot” I found was “For college professors, “a good, interesting question” is at the heart of good writing” (Bean, Johnson and Ramage 8).  I believe this statement is true because without asking yourself a question before you write, you have no good basis to the essay.  The question provides how much thought you will put into the essay.

Homework #4

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan shows examples of open form prose.  I believe that “Mother Tongue” uses examples of open form prose because the story expresses the authors feelings about her mother’s native language in her personal narrative.  For instance, “Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says.  Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent.  Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese” (Tan 114).  This statement is an example of open form prose because it expresses the authors partial embarrassment of her mother’s English.  Another example of open form prose is “Lately, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks.  Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” English…It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed” (Tan 114).  The author is expressing her mood about how the English language affects her life.
I believe the audience for this short story is anybody going through a transition period in their life.  In addition, anyone who is going through a significant transitional stage in there life.  The author is stuck between valuing her native language and wanting to “fit in” to the American lifestyle.  “I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal:  her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts” (Tan 117).  This quote shows the author may be embarrassed of her mother’s “broken” English, however, the author is proud of her mother and her Chinese heritage.
This essay does conform to the genre conventions of an essay.  This coincides to the genre conventions of an essay because it is gives the reader an idea of everyday life conditions that the reader can relate to.