Rough Draft of First Two Pages

Obesity
Go to a mall and look around. You should see an overweight or obese teen or child effortlessly. If a person has a BMI higher than 30 they are considered obese. (cdc) “In the last 30 years the number of children who are overweight has tripled to 15%. When you add the overweight and obese statistics together, the problem becomes crystal clear. One-third of the nation's children are carrying too much weight.”(hcco) But what caused these huge numbers of obese children and teens in our population in the richest and most successful nation on earth? Doctors claim that the main reasons for it are poor diets and lack of exercise (hcco). Our mothers and fathers have the most influence on our lives. And one of the best ways to teach is by example. Parents should act as a role model for their children in the things they eat and the ways they exercise.

With peer pressures all around, teens and children are always worried about their image. They make choices with what the crowd does. Sometimes these pressures lead to anorexia or on the opposite spectrum obesity. But, the best diet a child or teen can be on is the non-fad diet. “The no-fad diet is one that relies on good food choices that provide the nutrients needed to accommodate changing bodies”(hcco) Diet doesn’t necessarily mean not eating, it means eating the healthy food, in correct proportions.

If parents teach their children to have a well-balanced diet, all these pressures will subside. With healthy bodies, children and teens won’t be sent in the direction of not eating of overeating. Avoiding fatty, high sugared, greasy food is simple. The parents, by not buying these unhealthy products, can teach their children to eat healthy food like fruits and vegetables instead. Always having grapes or nuts or jello available to snack on in the pantry is very important.

Fast food restaurants have begun to offer healthy alternatives on their menus. Their advertisements target young children and teens to come to their restaurants. Those thousands of dollars and millions of man hours put into commercials and advertisements are no match for children. Parents should make it clear that it is okay to go to them sometimes though. When they do go out to eat get a small drink and fries and not the biggest size. Or even better, milk should be suggested instead of pop, and apples or carrots instead of fries. These simple choices can have a huge impact. Parents, order the salad and take out the mayo dressing to set an example too.

Technology has taken over today’s world. ”People don’t have to walk a mile to see their closest neighbor. They can just sit on their couch and text them burning about 10 calories.”(nick) TV, computers and video games make for much more sedentary lifestyles in most children’s lives now a day.

Schools have also contributed to increased childhood obesity. ” Daily participation in school physical education among adolescents dropped 14 percentage points over the last 13 years, from 42% in 1991 to 28% in 2003.” Sitting in school for seven hours a day is not teaching children healthy habits.

Generating Ideas for Persuasive Research Essay

In your journal make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreement between groups of people in your hometown or local community.

Cheerleading is a sport

What to do with the 2 million dollar surplus in our city

Hats in school

I-pods and phones in school

Easy to get into honors courses

Keeping our town ‘small’

Overcrowded High School

Switching from 7 hour days to 6 hour days

School dance policy

Make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreements on your college campus, and between groups of people in your home state.

Memorial for the 35 bridge collapse

Drinking age

Future of parking at NCC

Tuition costs

Smoking Indoors

New stadium for the Vikings

Think about issues—local, statewide, regional, national—that have touched your life or could affect you in some way in the following areas:  environmental, health care, civil rights, business, education, crime or sports.  Make a quick list of questions within these areas you wonder about.  For example, Will I be able to afford to send my children to college in twelve years?

Will I collect social security when I am older?

Is our earth going to use up all its resources?

How expensive will gas prices become?

Will new technology be created to suppress them?

Is our nation headed towards socialism?

Will the NFL play next year?

Will the unions get disbanded for teachers?

Will crime rates continue to grow?

Can cancer be cured?

What is more important…freedom of speech or the right to privacy?

Jot down a list of classes you are taking this semester.  Then make a quick list of topics that prompt disagreements among the people in the field you are studying or plan to study.  For instance, in political science, people continue to debate whether the electoral college is useful anymore or not.

Spanish 2200

Should people who immigrate have to learn English?

How can we embrace other cultures?

AP BC Calculus

Nothing really.. Maybe over whether or not it is useful in life

Economics

How should our economy run?

How much government should be involved?

Humanities

What is considered art?

Do things like dance count as art?

Are people born artists?

Can anything be called art?

Revising the Review Essay

Name Background:
“Corn Snakes belong to the species, Elaphe Guttata.” (Kaplan)  The latin translations of species names describe the animal. Elaphe means deerskin and guttata means speckled of spotted. The corn snakes skin is spotted pattern and feels like “tanned deer skin.” (Kaplan) All snakes that I have held seem to have this “tanned deer skin” texture and it was this that got me hooked on them and wildlife in general. I love looking at and feeling the snakes.   

I am going to use this in my final draft as my opening paragraph. I had written about the texture of the snake before so I think this will be good to tie into the topic of snakes and me owning one, thus reviewing having one as a pet.

Holding a snake:
In holding my snake I realize how jerky and fragile it is. Although he is tamed these sudden movements from him could scare someone not experienced with handling a snake. My teacher Mr. Volm told me, “All it takes is one drop and the snake could be injured or worse, it could get away and hide in an unreachable spot.” Unlike my brothers ball python, which wraps around my arms and is slow moving, my corn snake “tends to pick a direction and go for it.” (Kaplan) Little kids or people afraid of snakes should not handle for these reasons.

I can use this as one of the downfalls of owning a snake as a pet. Although I have no trouble handling my snake, many people would.

From Jury to Judgement:

Begin with a focused freewrite that explores your initial feelings and experiences, if any, about your subject. This might be the first time you remember visiting the restaurant or hearing the performer or seeing the photographs. Focus on scenes, moments, situations, and people.

Snakes have always fascinated me. I remember going to wildlife lectures were the would always have animals with the, showing them off to spark interest in the cause. Snake’s would always be there. When I was about eight, I went to one of these presentations and got to hold the tail of a huge boa constrictor. It wasn’t slimy or icky like it is stereotyped to be. The snake was actually soft, smooth like baby skin and not scary at all.

 In 9^th grade my chemistry teacher had five of these little critters. Four corn snakes and one ball python. My hand would shoot write up whenever he asked who wanted to hold them. They were just so cool to look at and hold. They’re movements seemed effortless, slithering up and around my arms, even though they had no limbs.

Write about what you think might be the important qualities of your subject. Ideally this would be what the thing should be able to do well or what effects it should have on people who use or see it.

Important qualities about this pet are that it is easy to care for, clean, interesting and pretty safe.  

Write about how the thing makes you feel. So much of our evaluation of a thing begins with our emotional responses to it. You love the photography of Edward Weston or you really dislike Alfred Hitchcock movies. Explore not just your initial good or bad feelings but the place from where those feelings arise.

Snakes and animals in general make me feel happy. They make my mind wonder, how does this thing work? Snakes are so cool because the can move without limbs. They eat things whole and kill without limbs either. They make me feel needy..having a thumb and all.

Compare the thing you’re evaluating with something similar. Focus your fastwrite on a relevant comparison, teasing out the similarities and differences and thinking about how you feel about them.

(see below...I compare to fish and cats and dogs and turtles.)

Think about Criteria

As you write think about the main criteria you will use for evaluation. Someone evaluation a good modern dance performance, for instance, may decide on these criteria: 1) interesting features (props, music), 2) something improvised, 3) visible expression of the dancer’s enjoyment, 4) good balance in choreography between repetition and randomness, 5) seamless connection between beginning, middle, and end. Know your criteria before you start writing!

Criteria:

How long will it live for? (about them)

Corn snakes in captivity can live at their longest for about 50 years. They are an investment of your time. Doing the math, their lives exceed fish by 48 years and dogs for about 35.  This is one of the downfalls of a corn snake as a pet. They will be with you through different stages of your life and who knows, the future wife or even husband may not like your little critter. Different places you live such as a dorm or apartment may not let them live there. It is impossible to know your future so having a pet that will be around for forever can be a real pain.

How big will it grow?

Animals like turtles often trick people. It’s hard to believe that that adorable little turtle that fits in the palm of your hand can grow into a monster weighing over 100 pounds. Most fish, ranging in size from a penny to an iPod, stay the same size their whole life. Corn snakes grow 4 to 5 feet in length over the course of four years after hatching. This is about 3 ½ feet longer then to begin with. This size is a confortable medium, not unmanageable like the turtle or pathetic like a fish. If planned right you will only need to purchase one or two different cages for it.

How much space will it take up?

                As cute little baby corn snakes, about the size of a pencil, a small cage or container. At full size though a 10 or 20 gallon take is needed to satisfy the corn snake. Although a piece of a counter top or the top of a dresser will be sacrificed, cages can often times be decorative. My snake has half a coconut shell as its shelter and a cute green bowl for its water. Weights on top of the cage (so the critter doesn’t sneak out and haunt your home) can be whatever you want. They aren’t an eye sore if effort and creativity are put into its home.

What need does it require?

                Most animals require the following: shelter, food, water, bedding, and climate. Snakes  can’t live in our conditions completely like a dog or cat can. They need a variety of special tools and food in order to live comfortably. It’s kind of annoying to have to make special trips to pet stores instead of just the local target in order to get the things need. Heating pads, lighting, enclosures, shelters and humidity/temperature gages are onetime purchases. Mice, bedding and water(free) are the only things that really need to be purchaced time and time again. Even then though, snakes eat once every week to every month. Bedding switched every month isn’t bad either.  Their exotic list of items fits their exotic pet status.

How much care will it need? Companionship?

                Dogs are man’s best friends, snake are what? They spend their days looking for areas in their cage to regulate body temperature. If they aren’t doing that, they are constantly looking for ways to escape, crawling up the sides of the glass until they timber. They don’t have fur and aren’t to cuddly. They won’t chase a piece of sting or fetch a ball. When friends come over its fun to show them off but really, that can get old. I mean it’s nice you don’t have to give them attention like a wining puppy requires but corn snakes in return give you no companionship.

               

How clean/dirty is the pet?

                Cat pee is one of the most discussing, puke provoking smell to have ever entered the nostrils of my nose. They get into trash and track in dirt. Kitty litter, which needs to be scooped every other day it seems,  sticks to their paws and as a result can be found in all corners of the house along with the never ending rainstorm of fur. They claw at furniture, destroying it in most cases. Their mark can lead to at least a few hours of cleaning up every week. Cats can definitely be considered a dirty pet.  When I walk into my room I don’t see any of the things from the cat just described. My corn snake, its bedding, feces, and trails are all confined to its cage. Cleaning a cage, dumping the bedding out, whipping it down, and putting new bedding down, takes a matter of minutes. It poops once a week and isn’t even recognizable in the bedding. This makes it necessary to only clean once a month to prevent bacteria growth.

How much will it cost?

                Taking care of any animal’s costs money. At first the investment of a snake is high but in the long run, maintaining your snake and its home is cheap. Snakes are reasonably priced when you think of a 300 dollar puppy. They are more expensive than a 1 dollar gold fish though. Corn snakes range in price from 30 dollars to 200. It all depends on their pattern and color. The supplies for a snake add up to cost around 200 dollars depending on which brands and styles of supplies are purchased. Like I said before, this is a one-time purchase only for most of the things. All corn snakes eat the same thing, mice. Starting your way from pinkies when they are first born, corn snakes make it up to about a large mouse when they get full grown. Mice cost about 5 dollars for a box of 4 frozen mice. When corn snakes are fed only once a week, it does not add up to much. Not to shabby of a deal for a pet.

Review of a Presentation

(Turned it in but...totally forgot this was a blog assignment! Better late than never.)

Essay Exam Presentation

            I choose the essay exams presentation. I choose this because I always struggle with getting out the important info when crunched on time. The ACT exam essays I wrote were extremely poorly written.  I have never taken a college level essay exam and I hoped to learn good strategies in taking essay exams like in the ACT. The presentation was held in language classroom and there were about 15 students in the room, no faculty.  The presenter was a professor at the Normandale. He used the projector and worked with the class to come up with the tips to use when taking essay exams. It was more of a conversation then him just lecturing.

He told us a story of when he was in college. He had an exam on biblical history and wasn’t prepared for it at all. He had read some essay on the way to class and wrote about it. No matter what the question was about, his answer came from that essay. Moral of his story was, don’t BS the essay. Know the material and be prepared.

He also told us to understand the question. We went over what the words compare, discuss, evaluate, summarize and contrast meant. Although questions will often times not specifically have the words, it is vital to find key verbs and terms, and cross out irrelevant information in order to figure out the basics of the question. We then went through four example questions and figured out what the question was basically asking.

The main thing I learned from this presentation was to use key terms and main ideas from the question to form the thesis of your answer. Although I think I do this, it was the best advice of the presentation. It makes sense because the audience just wants to be informed of what you know. You don’t need an AGD or anything. You just need to get to the facts.

Overall this presentation was sort of pointless for me. I didn’t really learn any new information about taking an essay exam. Obviously you need to know the material. Obviously you should understand the question. Actually breaking down parts of a question seemed a little pointless also because when you take an exam you aren’t going to spend five minutes breaking down the question. That should be second nature by the time you’re in college. A woman asked the question, “What is the most important thing when taking an exam?” at the end of the presentation. He replied, “Relax.” This is good advice but again, pretty well known information.

Exploding A Moment in My Personal Essay

Before: To our huge surprise we took second out of 10 teams. Although I screamed and hugged my team mates, I made sure to remember what was happening to me.

After: At awards, my stunt group and I sat down in a circle, criss-cross apple sauce, with our arms linked. Our heads were bent downward as if we were praying and our arms squeezed tight, listening for the results. “Third place goes to… stunt group number two from Centennial!” I took a deep breath not realizing I had stopped breathing. We stood up and clapped and congratulated them before returning to our huddled position. Everything got quite as the announcer began speaking again. “Second place goes to…” The next few seconds felt like eternity. I could tell my group had forgotten to breathe as well, like they were under water, not wanting to miss the next team announced.  “…stunt group number one from Prior Lake!” We all stood up hugging and cheering like cheerleaders do, excited about our success! Although I screamed and hugged my team mates, I made sure to remember what was happening to me as well, taking in the moment in its entirety

The “Music” of Figurative Language

Summertime – Kenny Chesney

http://www.youtube.com/user/KennyChesneyVEVO#p/u/19/BWSn0JFRiPI

Here is an example of simile:

“just like a long lost friend
You ain't seen in a while
And can't help but smile”

Here is an example of alliteration:

“Sweet summertime”

Here is an example of personification:

“School's out and the nights roll in”

I think these lines are examples of a metaphor because they compare are those things as summertime:

“Perfect song on the radio
Sing along 'cause it's one we know
It's a smile, it's a kiss
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime
Sweet summertime”

I learned that lyrics are a combination of many good writing techniques. In the short few lines, the writer is able to better get across his story or idea in the way he wants. Figurative language enables the writers voice to shine through his or her lyrics. It really takes skill to be able to write like that.