TOW Post #16- IRB: Me Talk Pretty One Day Part 2

            One key important advice that should be given to everyone is to be who you are and do not try to change who you are. Teens and young adults can relate and benefit from this advice the most because that is the age and time where one tries to find out who one is, and may also try to change oneself if one is not satisfied with who one is. Everyone has flaws, and unfortunately these are flaws that we cannot get rid of because they are apart of who we are. I believe that this is the purpose of the book or collection of essays Me Talk Pretty One day by David Sedaris.
            Author David Sedaris is an excellent writer when it comes to non-fiction, specifically memoirs and anecdotes, he really makes the reader feel like he/she is there in the moment with him. Using this skill Sedaris is able to tell anecdotes that help him convey his purpose. not only does Sedaris use anecdotes but he also is able to convey his message through personal struggles.
Similarly to "Part One" of the book, in "Part Deux" Sedaris uses his sharp memory and recalling of details to accurately bring his past experiences to life. For example Sedaris recalls himself comparing himself to other students in college, how they were better looking and smarter than him. He even began to have a negative though before Sedaris even tried something; "The only crimp in my plan was that I seemed to have no talent whatsoever.” (178). Fortunately he later on Sedaris realized that he did have talent which was art; Sedaris learned self acceptance which was what he we was trying to get across to his readers.
            Besides anecdotes Sedaris also reveal personal struggles to let his readers know how important self acceptance is for getting through life. Once living in Paris, Sedaris wanted to be very good in French so he ended up taking a class. Similarly to his speech impediment that he struggle with back in grade school, he also struggled with pronunciation with certain french words. He recalls how the class was a struggle especially with the teacher picking on him. He would go home at night and study extra just so his instructor wouldn't pick on him; until he realized that didn't help. He accepted the fact that he could pronounce certain french words and began not to stress about it anymore. By using anecdotes and personal struggles Sedaris was able to prove that self-acceptance is an important skill in life.

TOW Post #15- Article: "Goodnight. Sleep Clean."

            On the news every so once in a while there is always a report or a story about how important it is for children and even adults to get enough sleep every night. The average expected healthy amount of sleep that an adult should get every night is eight to nine hours of sleep: for children and teens eight to nine hours as well. And as we all know that most of us do not get nearly nine hours of sleep every night. They continue to say that we need the maximum hours of sleep, but why if we can still get up early in the morning without passing out? Well an opinion writer of the New York Times looked into this common question.
           Author Maria Konnikova mostly known for her first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, which was a New York Times bestseller. She is now working on her first novel and second book. Her writing has not only appear in the New York Times but also The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Paris Review and many other well-known newspapers. In her most recent article "Goodnight. Sleep Clean." she talks about the importance of sleep. She establishes her argument by saying that sleep is important because it clears out "all of the junk that has accumulated as a result of your daily thinking." She makes her argument strong by presenting multiple counter arguments, using claim of fact, and claim of value.
            In the beginning of the article Konnikova starts off with multiple counter arguments. She states rhetorical questions such as "Why would our bodies evolve to spend close to one-third of our lives completely out of it, when we could instead be doing something useful or exciting? Something that would, as an added bonus, be less likely to get us killed back when we were sleeping on the savanna?" Right after she proves how these counter arguments aren't important, due to the compelling aspect of her argument. Besides presenting counter arguments Konnikova also uses a claim of fact by supporting the fact that there is a lymphatic system that empties out "trash" in the brain during sleeping. Konnikova supports her claim of fact by using research done by scientists like Dr. Nedergaard. 
           Lastly Konnikova ends with a claim of value by noting that this potential discovery is good, considering the positive affects. Overall Konnikova made very good points, and by using claims of fact and value and presenting counter arguments, she successfully creates a strong argument.
         
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html?rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article

TOW Post #14- Visual Text: "Abuse Advertisement"

            Abuse is a rather serious problem that as a whole that cannot be easily taken care of by authority. In most cases the one that is being abused doesn't venture out for help making it harder for that person to stop the abuse. Organizations are out there to help and make advertisements to let people know that what they're going through is wrong and that help is only a phone call away. The organization and also hotline, Aware Helpline, created the advertisement above not only to let people know that they can help by providing their number on the bottom right corner, but also to show that words are just as painful as actions; verbal abuse is equally as painful as physical abuse.

            One way that the organization supports their argument that verbal abuse is just as hurtful and physical abuse is by combining and replacing the two types of abuse. The advertisement shows a punch coming out of a man's mouth hitting the women's face. With this image that they are creating is supporting their argument; the punch is very painful from the reaction of the women, but the fact that the punch is coming out of the man's mouth like words do, it's saying that words hurt just as much.

            Not only does this advertisement present an argument but it also presents a message that this is a subject that must be taken seriously. The designers of the advertisement helped present this message by using dull colors. The color choice communicates a painful and depressing tone to the audience and successfully conveying the seriousness of this subject. Also the organization communicated their message by having the women express agonizing pain on her face. Viewers will see her face and  cringe at the pain she must be suffering from, supporting the advertisement's message. By presenting an argument and using key elements to convey a message, Aware Helpline successfully achieved its purpose.


Image Source:http://www.creativeadawards.com/verbal-abuse-3/