Ok so I had a Xanga back in the day when it was kool and all, and now i feel its time to start that again. It would be convinient to just blog on myspace…. but then the whole world can read my posts; I just think this would be a little more secure.

So here I go, let this be my official notice to the world, that i will start bloging again for personal reasons, to let out some steam, and just to develop my writing skills. And cuz I think it’s kool.

Where to Start:

Today was my last day of my first semester, second year of college. Let me just start by saying that time flys by way to fast, and im already starting to freak out. I love school, the people, the teachers, the campus, my roomie, everything there just seems to fit in with the person I am .
Finals are over and I am so glad, cuz i needed a break…. i was goning to have a nervous break down soon. I am so very glad to be home, in my wonderful bed, but I know that I will be missing my roomate, she a lot of fun.

Okay I am tierd now …. and I want to watch some television so I am OUT

Untill Next time…

Michele Buenaventura
ENG 1023.17
Ms. Blackwell
May 3rd 2007
                                                               ESSAY EXAM

The world we live in today revolves around the use of technology. You can see the great impact technology has had on the world everywhere you turn. The place where technology has had the greatest impact is education. Students ranging from elementary school to college are using blog sites to do homework, turn in work, and express their ideas. Blog sites allow the students to freely express their ideas without worrying about criticism.Using WordPress this semester has helped me improve in many ways but most importantly as a writer.

Using WordPress this semester has been very helpful. It was a new and exciting way to do and turn in homework. The blog really helped me keep up with the work load in an organized manner. Another positive aspect that I enjoyed was that the instructions or previous in-class work were always available. This feature was very helpful when I need to double check something I was questioning. I could easily backtrack and reference a previous blog, when I need to finish an assignment. Implementing this type of technology in class was a constructive way to encourage and show me and other students how to freely express their ideas, even when it was on a topic we did not enjoy much.

I truly enjoyed using WordPress for English class this semester. Compared to other bloging sites that I have encountered in the past, this blog was simple and easy to navigate. When I was in doubt about an assignment, I would easily go to another student’s blog site to observe what specifically had to be done, from that I could create my own blog entry. What I really liked about WordPress was that it was available twenty-four seven. This feature was great for those days when you do not have enough time to do everything. Fortunately, with WordPress you could complete your homework at anytime, day or night, with out having to worry about time constrictions, except of assigned deadlines. Another great feature of WordPress was the open network of people, students, strangers or professionals. Anyone with a WordPress blog could comment on a specific blog providing both positive and negative impact. I had a doctor comment on one of my blog’s; her information really helped me complete an assignment. In a similar fashion, you could also help other in the WordPress community.

Out of all the positive outcomes I got from using WordPress, I found two that really contributed to my writing career. The first one was the freedom to write freely about the topic of choice. Using this site allowed me to talk about everything and anything I knew on a specific topic. From the random blog’s I created, I could then produce brainstorms which later led to fully developed, organized papers. The last feature that I benefited from WordPress was being able to store all my ideas and papers in a “digital folder.” This way I had less chances of losing them, and I could always flip through to reference a previous idea.

In the beginning, WordPress was a little difficult getting accustomed to. The good thing was that after only a few weeks of practice, I was easily able to navigate the site. AS much as a stranger could provide a positive comment, I found it freighting that anyone with a WordPress account could, click away to my site and read and comment on my posts. Lastly, like any site I encountered some “temper tantrums” with WordPress. When under pressure there is not time to worry about “technical glitches.” Fortunately, any WordPress trouble cleared away quickly.

Overall, I really enjoyed using WordPress this semester. I would have liked it more if the class was based mostly off WordPress. This would not only help students become more technologically advanced, but also allow students to freely express more and more ideas on assigned topics. Maybe in the future, someone will create a blog site similar to wordpress that is solely for students. I believe this would allow students feel at ease when strangers read their posts. To ease navigation, I think WordPress should provide a tutorial teaching their new users how to manage their sites. Till this day, there are some buttons as well as pages that I have no idea what they are for.

Employing WordPress this semester was conductive to my learning in many ways. It has allowed me to become more technologically advanced. I had previous knowledge about using blog sites, but using it this semester has further more perfected my ability. The part that I found more useful during this semester was when others commented on your blog posts. Their comments really helped to adjust, what readers found confusing parts in my papers. Lastly, I found that by bloging, I could communicate everything I felt about the assignment, instead of having to worry about criticism coming from peers in class discussions.

In the future I do plan to blog for both educational and personal purposes. Bloging allows me to let out everything I feel, think, and know about a specific topics. It is also a good way to vent when having a bad day, or when I want to talk about some exciting news. Bloging this semester has allowed me to improve my writing; I now find better ways of organizing my ideas and brainstorming them into useful topics for a paper.

Using WordPress this semester has brought many advantages to the classroom atmosphere. Thoroughly expressing your ideas, getting help from other students, and finally keeping all your brainstorms together and in an organized manner were three of the most important advantages I encountered this semester. I believe using WordPress is a great way of getting more students to interact during class and with class assignments. WordPress brings a great advantage and I believe you should continue to implement it in future Composition classes.

 1. How long do you want the essay to be?

2. Is there any outside source you want us to include?

3. Do you want topic sentences in the three body paragraphs?

4. Is there any terms that we have learned during the semester that need to be included in our final essay?

5. What about grammar goals?

6. What kind of essay will it be? Argumentative, analysis …

7. Can we use first person in the essay?

 8. Will we know the topic before hand?

Writing an essay exam and a regular essay share some of the same characteristics. To write an effective essay exam always the book suggested to remember the following:

·        Your audience for your essay exam is your instructor.(714)

·        What does your instructor value and want? (714)

·        What are they looking at specifically…analysis, application of roles,or individual interpretation.(714)

·        The best ways to prepare for an essay exam include attending class regularly, participating in discussions, and finally keeping up with the reading. (714)

·        Being organized will help you recall the information learned when taking the essay exam.(715)

·        Figure out what is most important and how it correlated to the class discussion.

·        Look over outlines or review sheets (715) if they do not provide any listen for thesis, key points in the lecture. (715)

·        Compare the main ideas from class to those in the text book(715)

·        Study! Form study groups, look over previous exams, make up practice questions(716)

·        Get a good night sleep, instead of staying up all night cramming for the exam(717)

The days surrounding Exams are crammed with studying, nap times, and some more studying. Essentially there is no way to prepare for an essay exam because the teacher can assign a random and broad topic. In some cases, they provide you with a list of possible options for the exams, which just means you will be studying lots of extra material you might not need.

 Final Exams are stressful enough, but when they become essay exams it becomes extremely stressful. In an essay exam you need to know EVERY LITTLE DETAIL about the assign topic. A brain can’t hold that much information, especially if you are under stress.

Writing the actual essay is another thing. You can’t have a clean polished essay in that time span. A lot of the essay is a brainstorm and the ideas are being thrown out  there. If there is reading involved, it will take up even more time to read, put your ideas together , and then organize them in an order that actually makes sense.

My Argument and Counterargument

               After taking a careful look at the recent articles and other facts surrounding the Human-Papillomavirus controversy in Texas, it becomes very clear that Governor Rick Perry and the company that produces Gardasil, Merck, share a close relationship. Governor Perry’s questionable behavior has led many Texas women, especially mothers, to question the true reasoning behind his legislation. Even though he states to be “looking out for young woman”, his actions show other wise. In his past election “the governor accepted a total of $6,000 from Merck” to aid his re-election campaign. (Yahoo! News,) This has led many government officials, as well as mothers to question Perry’s true intentions; was the legislation passed so he could receive money for his campaign or is he really trying to help reduce the number of deaths due to cervical cancer in Texas? It should also be taking into consideration that by making this legislation mandatory, both Merck and Perry would be making money. As of right now, no one can really tell Governor Rick Perry’s true intentions. Given that there are little facts proving he was against receiving money, he comes off being as a politician only interested in making money for his future campaign.
            According to a study done by researchers at, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “HPV infection is more common than previously thought, particularly among younger age groups.” (HPV Infections Seen). This fact helps support that HPV is a very serious threat that is quickly growing in our nation. In June 2006, the “Food and Drug Administration approved the used of Gardasil in preventing certain types of cervical cancer.” (HPV Infections Seen). Unlike Rick Perry, the researchers at both the CDC and FDA have spent many years studying both the positive and negative outcomes of HPV and Gardasil. As of right now, Gardasil is said to help prevent “more than 70 percent of cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts cases.” (HPV Infections Seen). Even though Gardasil does not prevent from all types of both High and Low Risk HPV, it dramatically decreasing the numbers of the four most common types.

1. Who is your specific audience?

For my topic my audience will be directed toward the general audience; more specifically woman between the ages of 12- late 20’s. HPV has been a crucial issue that has been in and out of the news the past few months. Not a lot of women truly understand the importance of HPV and the shot Gardisil. So the main purpose of my essay would be to educate them and hopefully prevent them from experiencing the consequences of HPV. I feel this is a very important subject, especially with all the recent discovers of HPV being the leading cause of 4 types of cervical cancer. I choose this audience because they are the ones to be most effected by it. Many women in that age range have first hand experience with HPV. If they would have had this information beforehand they might have been able to prevent suffering. If women are educated about their personal help, they can also educate other women who are not by “word of mouth.” In my essay I am trying to convince women that it will be beneficial for them to get Gardisil, but solely because they want to. No government or doctors justify the right of mandating a required shot for anyone.

1. Which fallacies will you need to focus on keeping from your argument? Why are these (individually) important to consider in your argument?

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (After this, therefore because of this)(Also called Confusing Chronology with Causality) This would be a possible Fallacy in my paper because I could assume, and not explain that Gardisil, the shot, will prevent all types of cervical cancer, and sexually transmitted disease.  I need to thoroughly explain how the shot works, what it prevents and the possible side effects. Hasty Generalization This could be a possible fallacy in my paper if I begin to argue that getting the shot is the only possible cure against cervical cancer. I need to explain that Gardasil does not 100% prevent cervical cancer, and it does not cure it. As of right now it helps prevent it greatly, but it could be possible that another shot or medicine is invented in the future to help prevent HPV and cervical cancer. Either-or ReasoningThis could be a possible Fallacy if I stick to the side that getting Gardisil is the only solution in preventing cervical cancer. There are other precautions I could mention that would help decrease the chances of getting HPV and later on cervical cancer.  

Ad Hominem (Against the Person) This could be a possible fallacy if I state that the only reason the governors from various states made the law mandatory was to get money for their future campaigns. Even though I believe this has a strong correlation for why they passed this legislation, I want to stay open minded and try to discover other reasoning behind their actions. Appeals to False Authority and Bandwagon Appeals Gardasil commercials, advertisements, and pamphlets are seen everywhere today. Many of these provide a sense of pathos. If parents don’t get their daughters the shot, then what kind of parents are they. The shot is very popular right now; if woman don’t get it then they will be out of the circle. Slipper SlopeIf they make Gardasil mandatory for all girls, then sexual activity will dramatically increase within the teenager population because they believe it will prevent them from getting HPV.Overreliance on authority This could be a fallacy if I fail to explain that it does not always prevent the 4 types of HPV.  

 

 

 

Static Encephalopathy Annotations  

My Child has been diagnosed with static encephalopathy. What does this mean?

Paragraph 1:  This paragraph describes what SE is, what causes it and what its effects are. 

Paragraph 2: This paragraph further describes what SE is and then explains the type of disease it is.           
-what percentage of children improve?           
-what do you consider improvements? 
Paragraph 3:  This paragraph further explains the meaning of SE, while also explaining why they brain does not allow for normal function.           
-what causes it?           
- can it be prevented?           
-how sever can it be?           
- What parts of the body are the most common not to function properly? 

What are the symptoms of SE? What kind of problems can I expect my child to have? This answer sections describes what the symptoms would be if SE affected different parts of the brain.  

 Is SE the same as cerebral palsy?  This answer question discusses the difference between cerebral palsy and SE, and how it could be present in a child that has SE.             -what signs to doctors look for before the diagnose Se or CP? 

How does a doctor diagnose SE? This paragraph describes the process a doctor takes to diagnose a child with SE 

What lab tests should the doctor do? This paragraph describes all the possible test doctors can do and what they look for in each one and what they can conclude from them.           

 -what kind of things are they looking for while doing the tests?       
 -what kind of genetic problems have not been found?
-what risks can happen if certain tests are done? 

What causes SE? This paragraph describes the possible reasons that can cause SE, but it also states what can’t cause it.            

 - why is it difficult for parents to understand what the doctors says didn’t cause it.  

 How is SE treated?  This paragraph discus the different options for treatment that are available, but it also mentions that treatment depends on the symptoms and type of SE the child might have. 

-what are typical problems that a family experiences with a child that has SE?             

Is my child handicapped?  This paragraph explains the difference between handicapped and disabled, how it affects the child depends on the severity of their SE.  This would be a good article to mention when writing a research paper. It provides a lot of good and basic information that the average person does not know. It is easy to follow and understand.

 This would be a great source to include when trying to describe the basic parts of SE or what Ashley X could possibly have. After reading this I feel like the parents of Ashley X, jumped to a conclusion, there is always the question of what if. By putting Ashley through numerous surgeries they ruined every remote possibility of her being able to improve.

 The Following are topics I will discuss in my paper: 

1.      What is HPV         
          a.      What types of HPV are there:                                                 
                  i.      Low risk HPV à Mostly an STI                                             
                                     ii.      High risk HPV à Most common reason for cervical cancer
2.      How do you get it?
3.      What can it cause?
4.      How can it be prevented? 
  à Gardisl the shot
  à Avoiding contact with infected individuals
5.      What are the possible side effects from the shot?
6.      What positive and negative outcomes could come from the shot?
7.      What effect has Gov. Perry’s Legislation had on Texas woman
            a.      Explain what the legislation is
            b.      What would women have to do
            c.       Can it be wavered? If so how? And for what reasons?
            d.      What is the cost for the shot?
            e.      For what age group?
                  à 3 shots, over an 8 month period= around $400
                  à What if women can’t afford it?
8.      What were his motives for passing this legislation
         a.      Moral/ethical issues 
              à trying to prevent more deaths                                                
                                         i.      Texas has the 2^nd highest rate of women with HPV
         b.      Economical/ help his platform and campaign 
         c.       Perry’s close ties with the company who makes the shot
                           àMerck                                                
                                            i.      Help the company make money, as well as making money himself  9.      Why are people against Gov. Perry’s Legislation?
           a.      Invasion of privacy?
           b.       10.  What are the two sides of Gov. Perry’s legislation?
11.  How has Gov. Perry’s Legislation affected the nation?
            a.      Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said he would sign legislation
                à The second state to pass this legislation
12.  What are the actual rates of caner without the shot?

Are you writing on an issue that is actually controversial?

On February 02, 2007Governor Perry (Texas) passed an executive order to the HHSC or Health and Human Services Commission, that makes the HPV vaccination required for all girls before entering the 6^th grade.Texas has the 2^ndhighest number of women suffering from HPV, making the vaccine mandatory will help the crease that number. Making the vaccine mandatory in Texas has caused a lot of turmoil. Many believe Perry has done this for economic reasons as well as keeping his conservative stand strong. Perry also said that parents could wavier this vaccination but they had to apply for an exemption form online.

Are you conscious of both sides of the argument?

This is mostly a moral issue. The two sides of this argument consist of:

a)     To approve mandatory vaccination against HPV for girls before the 6^th grade

-          How will it improve and or prevent HPV in girls?
-          Why did Perry side with this issue; what motives are behind this legislation?

b)     To disapprove the mandatory vaccination against HPV.           

 - Why are parents against it? What possible issues could prevent them from allowing their daughters to receive HPV vaccination?

Is this a topic that needs to be expanded or narrowed so that you are not burdened with covering information in your essay?  

I think this is a good topic to write my research paper on. HPV leads to cancer which affects many women. Finding ways to prevent it is always good.  The motives why Perry chose to support it may not be ethical, but could eventually lead to a good out come.   ** This is based on some research, I would like to do more research before picking a side**