Argument Essay

One thing that I liked about writing the arumentive essay was the amount of time we had to work on it and conduct research. It was difficult for me to find information to use in my essay at first, but after some time I finally found some useful sources to use. I also liked that I had a choice to choose a topic that I was passionate about. My arguement came easier that way. I didn't like using the APA form. This was difficult because I had to read through the book and make sure I was citing my sources correctly. It was definitely a change for me, and I think I prefer the MLA format better. Overall, I didn't mind writing this essay, but my favorite is still the personal essay.

What Else I Would Like to know about Arguements

One thing that I would like to know about arguements that I feel we haven't covered yet is how to make an effective introduction. I am not sure if I am supposed to try to persuade my audience to take my side in the first paragraph, or if I should just tell them what I believe should be done. I know that introductions should be attention-getters but I don't want to bombard my reader with my opinion right away, so I may have to edit my introduction a little.

My Audience

My audience will mostly be the managers of companies that test their products on animals. I will be trying to persuade a 24-year-old woman that has a pet not to buy products that were tested on animals. My essay will be about animal rights and I will explain why animal rights need to be protected in the United States of America. This woman will hopefully be persuaded because she has a new puppy and if I find some information and interesting facts that will help her realize why animal testing is wrong, then I will succeed in convincing her of my ideas and point of view.

My Last Argument

The last argument I was in was with my mom. It took place a couple of weeks ago when I went clubbing in the cities with some friends. I had to lie to my mom about it because I knew she didn't want me to go (my parents are very old fashioned.) I told my mom I was going to Byron to stay with my friends family. She found out the day that I left from my tattle-tale little sister and called me steaming mad on the phone. I argued with her for about 15 minutes when I was shopping in Charlotte Russe at the Mall of America. It was actually kind of embarassing. I tried to explain that I was 19 years old and in college and I should be able to do what I wanted to do, but this didn't persuade her. This could be an appeal to pity fallacy because I wanted to make her feel sorry for me using emotions. I finally just hung up on her and waited two days to call back. This probably wasn't the best solution but it worked and now I can tell her anything and she doesn't really care.

The Fallacy That I tend to do the Most

I would say that one fallacy I tend to do the most would be the genetic fallacy. This is because I always listen to my parents and believe what they say. I assume that since they are my parents, they are always right. Usually this is the case, especially for my mom who I seldom argue with. My dad is a different story, however. The past couple of years have been difficult for us. We always seem to argue endlessly about stupid things, but being four hours away from home has helped us. On the contrary, I very seldom believe things I read on the internet or in magazines. This is because I have generalized all information in these sources to be unreliable, but really sometimes they could have true information.

Personal Essays

What I Liked Most about Writing a Personal Essay

I've always liked writing personal essays because I feel that they let the reader get a sense of who I really am. I like talking about past experiences in my life that were funny, sad, interesting, or happy. The personal essay I just wrote about was a humorous story that told the audience how my identity had been forever changed by one embarrassing incident. Overall, personal essays are probably one of my favorite essays to write about because they come easily for me and I'm always pleased with the finished product.

What I Liked Least about Writing a Personal Essay

As I mentioned above, I usually like to write personal essays so it could be hard for me to pick out what I like least about writing them. However, what I like least about writing a personal essay is all of the details I have to try to remember. Sometimes it's hard for me to think back and remember specific things about a certain event so I just make things up. This probably isn't the best thing to do because it can be a little inaccurate at times, but there is really no other alternative.

Cultural Diversity

In Fergus Falls, Minnesota you really don't get very much cultural diversity. Everyone is caucasion and posseses that Minnesotan accent that everyone loves to make fun of. Going to college here at Mankato State has definetly been a good change for me because not only have I seen people from different cultures, but I actually have a professer from Ghana, Africa. Professor Kessey's Intro to the City class has been quite challenging this past month because it is very difficult for me to understand him. He seems to know a lot about urban studies but I feel like this information doesn't get to the majority of the students because we cannot understand his accent. For example, today I tried to ask him a quick question after class and instead of just telling me, he had to take me to his office and open up some notes on the computer so that I could "see" what I was supposed to do. Overall, this was probably the longest conversation that I have actually had with a person from a different culture. I wish I could have met more people from different cultures, but growing up in Fergus Falls didn't allow for me to do this.

Mean Girl

When I was in elementary school, I used to be the brattiest little girl you could ever imagine. I remember one time in first grade that can proove just how mean and insensitive I really was. My class had just gotten done with recess and my teacher Mrs. Hjelman came to escort us all back to class. We got in a single file line and started trudging through the halls. A little boy named Benito who I didn't get along with very well kept stepping on the backs of my heals. I turned around to give him a glare but he wouldn't stop, so I took one extra-long stride and tripped him. He knealed down and started crying on the side of the hall. Mrs. Hjelman came back to see what was the matter and he pointed to me and in a trembling voice said, "She tripped me." I shook my head frantically and said I didn't do it. Mrs. Hjelman believed me so I didn't get in trouble, but I still felt guilty about it for weeks after. Needless to say, I learned a lesson that it's better to put up with things sometimes instead of physically hurting people.

My First Memory

My first memory was the Christmas of 1993. That day stands out for me because this was when my dad dressed up as Santa Claus. He rented an old Santa suit from a store and snuck outside when my little sister and I weren't paying attention. Then, he knocked on the door and my mom told me to open it. I just remember standing there in awe as I looked up at him. Then he boomed out a big "ho ho ho" and lifted me up. Needless to say, this was all a little overwhelming for me, so I started crying and screaming for my mom, while my grandma, grandpa, and uncle were chuckling in the corner.

The last time that exigence made me do something was when I was running this morning on the tread-mill for fitness activities and I stumbled a little and almost fell flat on my face. I felt really embarrassed, but luckily I caught myself and nobody seemed to notice, except for this girl next to me who started to laugh a little. This made me feel that I needed to stay more focused on my running and stop staring at the boys playing basketball below me. I need to try to be less clumbsy because I don't want any more embarrassing moments.

My First Day in College

If I could describe my first day in college in one word, it would be "chaotic." I had may first class at eight o' clock this morning...fitness activities. It was very hard for me to get out of bed because I had been sleeping in the past three months until about ten. The next class I had was Intro to the city. I got there about ten minutes early because I am always scared of being late. In high school I never had a tardy, and speed-walked regularly in the halls. Once I even broke up a couple who were holding hands! oops... Anyways, my next class was Intro to the City and at twelve this man walked in and said that out professor was actually flying over the Sahara Desert and wouldn't be back until tomorrow, so we got to leave early. That was a nice surprise. So far, my day hasn't been too bad though...