For the Morality and Politics project we were given the task of writing an op-ed article based on a current political issue as well as creating a visual piece. We had to take a stance on the issue we chose to write about and use different methods of rhetoric to inform other's about our topic. In order to learn more about writing op-ed articles and using different forms of rhetoric, we did several activities to become familiar with ethos, pathos, and logos. During one assignment we had to find several posters that used different forms of rhetoric and identify which form of rhetoric was used and the impact it had. We also read several student examples from last year. I learned that in order to appeal to a wide range of people, you must use all three forms of rhetoric. Logos must be used to appeal to people who make decisions based on factual evidence. Ethos must used to appeal to people who are heavily influenced by powerful individuals and pathos must be used to appeal to people who are sympathetic.
In my article, I used quite a bit of logos to back up my stance on the topic I chose to write about. For example, I used several quotes by Obama on his stance about deporting illegal immigrants. One quote by Obama that nicely tied my connection to Deontology and was similar to my ideas about deporting illegal immigrants was, "As long as I'm president, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it's the right thing to do for our economy.... not just because it's the right thing to do for our security, but because it's the right thing to do period." However, I had a very hard time connecting my topic to an amendment. Since illegal immigrants are illegal, technically none of the amendments apply to them. I had to dig deep and think dynamically to make a connection to an amendment.
Based on the rubric, I believe the strongest aspect of my article was tying in a moral philosophy. I clearly described the moral philosophy I used in my argument and I also described how influential people such as Barrack Obama looked at deporting illegal immigrants from a deontologist perspective. I believe the aspect I was weakest on was my organization. My first draft flowed like a laundry list. Therefore, I ended up rewriting most of my article to work on the flow. However, I still struggled with making smooth transitions between paragraphs. For example, at the end of one paragraph, I talked about how we don't grant liberty and life to all, as is states in the 14th Amendment, and then at the beginning of the next paragraph, I talked about the last phrase of the pledge of allegiance. Based on the rubric, I believe I should score a 9 out of ten on the purpose/focus portion of the rubric, an 8.5 out of ten on the organization portion of the rubric. a 7.5 out ten on the evidence portion of the rubric, an 8 out of ten on the rhetoric and argumentation portion of the argument, an 8.5 out of 10 on the moral and political philosophy content portion of the rubric, a 9.5 out of ten on the sentence draft portion of the rubric, and a 10 out of 10 on the proofreading portion of the rubric. As far as my visual piece goes, I believe I should score a 8.5 out of 10 on the refinement portion of the rubric, a 9.5 out 10 on the integration portion of the rubric, a 9 out of 10 on the perspective piece of the rubric, and a 9.5 out of 10 on the rhetorical impact portion of the rubric.
If I had one more week to work on my article, I would like to research more about the different laws that apply to illegal immigrants in the United States. By doing more research about immigration laws, I would be able to create a stronger argument. I also would have liked to research more about other countries foreign policies, that way, I would be able to compare our policies to other countries foreign policies. With my visual piece, I would have liked to create a stronger impact with the barbwire wrapped around the flagpole and emphasize that more.
In my article, I used quite a bit of logos to back up my stance on the topic I chose to write about. For example, I used several quotes by Obama on his stance about deporting illegal immigrants. One quote by Obama that nicely tied my connection to Deontology and was similar to my ideas about deporting illegal immigrants was, "As long as I'm president, I will not give up on this issue, not only because it's the right thing to do for our economy.... not just because it's the right thing to do for our security, but because it's the right thing to do period." However, I had a very hard time connecting my topic to an amendment. Since illegal immigrants are illegal, technically none of the amendments apply to them. I had to dig deep and think dynamically to make a connection to an amendment.
Based on the rubric, I believe the strongest aspect of my article was tying in a moral philosophy. I clearly described the moral philosophy I used in my argument and I also described how influential people such as Barrack Obama looked at deporting illegal immigrants from a deontologist perspective. I believe the aspect I was weakest on was my organization. My first draft flowed like a laundry list. Therefore, I ended up rewriting most of my article to work on the flow. However, I still struggled with making smooth transitions between paragraphs. For example, at the end of one paragraph, I talked about how we don't grant liberty and life to all, as is states in the 14th Amendment, and then at the beginning of the next paragraph, I talked about the last phrase of the pledge of allegiance. Based on the rubric, I believe I should score a 9 out of ten on the purpose/focus portion of the rubric, an 8.5 out of ten on the organization portion of the rubric. a 7.5 out ten on the evidence portion of the rubric, an 8 out of ten on the rhetoric and argumentation portion of the argument, an 8.5 out of 10 on the moral and political philosophy content portion of the rubric, a 9.5 out of ten on the sentence draft portion of the rubric, and a 10 out of 10 on the proofreading portion of the rubric. As far as my visual piece goes, I believe I should score a 8.5 out of 10 on the refinement portion of the rubric, a 9.5 out 10 on the integration portion of the rubric, a 9 out of 10 on the perspective piece of the rubric, and a 9.5 out of 10 on the rhetorical impact portion of the rubric.
If I had one more week to work on my article, I would like to research more about the different laws that apply to illegal immigrants in the United States. By doing more research about immigration laws, I would be able to create a stronger argument. I also would have liked to research more about other countries foreign policies, that way, I would be able to compare our policies to other countries foreign policies. With my visual piece, I would have liked to create a stronger impact with the barbwire wrapped around the flagpole and emphasize that more.