Obesity

I completely agree with everything that the author of "Obesity and Race in America" was stating. She said, "Food availability, marketing of food, and obstacles to physical activity in low-income neighborhoods are largely responsible for the high prevalence of obesity in ethnic minorities." I agree with this because if I was from a low income family, the last thing on my mind would be whether or not the food I was eating was good for me or not. I also agree with the author because she says that the media contributes to the higher prevalence of obesity in America. Every other commercial on t.v is fast food, candy, and soda etc. The media does that on purpose, because the more commercials I see on t.v, the more I want that product. I think, however, that the media tries to target everyone, not just minorities. McDonald's doesn't care who eats their product, as long as they get money from it. 

Sources

In the reading for this week we read about sources and how to tell whether or not they are legitimate sources. It says that when you find a source, you should look at the title and then browse through it quickly for key terms. I usually do that when I am researching materials for my papers or homework. In the reading it also says you should check who published and produced the source. I never check that, however, I realized if you are using a source from CNN or the U.S. government, then it is most likely a legitimate source. Otherwise you could be using something from Wikipedia where there is no known source and everything could be made up. Also, it says to look at who wrote the work you are looking at and if you do not know the author, you could always Google the person to see how legitimate he/she is. Likewise, I learned that you should check to see how old a source is before using it because you want to base your research on the latest information. http://www.usg.edu/galileo/skills/unit09/

Transitions

In our reading, it talked a lot about transitions. I thought I knew most things about transitions, however, I learned a lot from the reading. Transitions makes words, sentences, and ideas flow from paragraph to paragraph. The words themselves may be simple, but "they have different functions and uses, with subtle differences even between words as close in meanings as but and yet." For me, transitional words are very important when I'm writing a paper, because they can make or break your paper. For example, expressions like first, second, third should go in the beginning of sentences, not in the middle or at the end. If transitional words are not used properly, then there is really no point in using them at all. I also learned that it is best to reread your paper aloud to test the use of the transitions, because as you read it may be easier to point out whether or not a transitional word works. http://larae.net/write/transition.html

HTWA

In our reading, there was an excerpt "Ad Report Card: Mac Attack." This is an online magazine article grading the new Apple Mac commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5skuYPa_fY I liked this reading a lot because well everything the author said in it was true. I myself use a PC, and it did not make me want to buy a Mac, it made me feel bad for the PC and want to buy that. Although it seems that Macs are definitely better, faster, and easier, I still love my little old PC. The person who is playing the Mac (Justin Long) is too perfect for the role. "...is just the sort of unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets hipster we've always imagined when picturing  a Mac enthusiast. He's perfect. Too perfect." That quote from the reading is very true because if Apple wanted to expand their market, and open up to different people, Justin Long is not the right actor for it. This ad got a C+ from the author and I have to agree with him. This ad goes along with the reading in our book because it has to do with rhetorical analysis, which is an argument that takes a close look at the strategies within a text; it lists and describes specific techniques  that a writer, speaker, editor, or advertiser has employed and then assesses their effectiveness. The Mac add, however, in my opinion does not make me want to buy the Mac, or watch the commercial.