101 Argument Peer Review Professor Ramos Blog

101 Argument Peer Review Elevator Pitch Elevator Pitch Imagine you have one minute to present yourself and your ideas to someone who can implement your solution or make a change. What would you say in that one minute elevator ride to convince this person that your ideas are worthy of attention. You have ten floors to make a compelling case. Take a few minutes to figure out how to make your proposal professional, succinct, and interesting. Then, write it down. Today we will be peer reviewing the Solution Argument essay. Introductions Writing Effective Introductions Introductions are very important. The link above has some great examples and explanations for writing introductions. Much like an elevator pitch, an introduction has to make a good impression, grab your reader’s interest, and make them want to keep reading. Take the elevator pitch you just wrote and figure out how to work it into your introduction. The elevator pitch can work as the intro, or add to your intro, to make a case for reading the rest of the essay. Revise Using the Templates Starting on page 139, go through the questions looking at your own essay. Peer Editing Check their citations. Do they look correct? Are they missing any citations? Peer edit the same way you revise your own work.  Pay attention to global issues first. Don’t worry about grammar or sentence structure yet. Focus on improving and clarifying the ideas. Be specific in identifying problems or opportunities.  Explain what the problem you see if. Avoid vague language like â€Å"awkward.† Explain what it is that is awkward and give suggestions for how to improve. Offer suggestions for improvement.  If they are not mentioning a major counterargument, suggest it for them to address. If a point is unclear, explain how they can clarify it. Praise what is genuinely good in the paper.  No false praise. If you like a particular point or passage, let them know. Use proofreading symbols, if you know them. Otherwise, mark up the paper directly so that they will have a reference from which to revise their work. Keep comments tactful.  Treat other’s work as you would like to have your efforts treated. Stay on topic and don’t be mean or harsh, that is not productive. Class Review In groups of 4, come up with a list of the most helpful lessons, classes, readings, etc. from the course and why. Make a list of four or five and explain why. We will share these. 10 minutes to come up with the list.

drug War essays

drug War essays How many people have heard about the Drug War the US is supposedly fighting? A few months ago in another class we were asked whether we thought Marijuana should be legalized in class and seven people were against legalizing it, six were for it, and four were undecided. Those numbers are pretty close and could have gone either way if the undecided had picked one side or the other. Much of the drug war puts Marijuana users away. There are many arguments for and against the Drug War that the US is trying to fight and much of it pertains to the mandatory minimum sentencing the US has and the cost of keeping drug users in jail. The number one reason why I believe we should stop the so called drug war in this country is that the government is spending to much of our taxes to fight a losing battle. I have not seen any results in this fight and believe it is a waste of time and money. There are many ways the government is wasting our money on this fight. Former President Bill Clinton gave hundreds of billions of dollars to Columbia and other countries governments to help stop drugs from coming into the US. These countries governments probably receive money from the drug dealers in there country to sell drugs in the US. Then before Bill Clinton left office he pardoned a number of drug users including his half brother. Although I agree with letting these people go I find it a bit hypocritical. Another way the government is spending our taxes is by allowing outrageous laws and mandatory minimum sentences that lock tens of thousands of people up for possession longer then someone who rapes or murders someone. According to the US Justice Department Bureau of Prison Statistics about 60% of federal prisoners are drug offenders and just 3% are violent offenders. Whereas violent offenders serve an average of 54% of their prison term, drug offenders are legally required to se ...