Talluluh's Ap Lang Blog

  Answer:  A claim I made before was that screen time is bad for health. This is because too much screens is bad for your eyesight, and it can affect your mental health. Many people who spend a lot of time on their phones suffer from depression or anxiety. Explaining your evidence is important because it helps really persuade the audience and get them to understand as best they can. Summary:  Today we read the short story "Ambush" by Tim O'Brien, a former soldier in the Vietnam War who has written many stories featuring war veterans and their experiences. Reflection:  In the story, the narrator talks about a soldier he killed as self-defense even though that soldier may not have been a threat. The story taught me how war can affect a soldier's life. They have to make hard decisions that may torment them the rest of their lives. 

  Answer:  So far, AP Lang is going pretty well for me. I understand all the material and how to use it to make arguments. It has been kind of challenging understanding how to come up with evidence when making a claim, but I'm figuring it out. Some things I need to improve are turning in all my blog posts and being faster and more efficient writing, so I'll be ready for the exam. Summary:  Today we wrote an argument paragraph about the short story, "Ambush," that we read on Wednesday, claiming either that there is or isn't such thing as a "good" kill. Reflection:  My position on the topic was that that some kills can be justified. As we discussed it as a class, I realized some of the opposing points were good too. Knowing that the counterargument had some good points helped me to make sure my argument was strong.

  Answer:  One thing I will never understand is why people can be so careless towards the natural environment. So many people will litter without thinking twice about how their actions will affect the environment. Littering, throwing away mass amounts of clothes or food, or using chemicals in your yard that will harm the wildlife; these are all things that contribute to environmental harm. Summary:  Today we learned how to properly plan an argument body paragraph by making a list of claims and evidence, then we practiced with a prompt about how polite greetings like "How are you doing?" affect society. Reflection:  Greetings like "good morning" and "how was your day" are such a regular part of society. It's something everybody does as a way to show respect or acknowledgment to another person. It makes me wonder how that practice started. 

  Answer:  The learning method I prefer most is hands-on activities. Hands-on work helps me understand and remember the material better than other methods. It's a way to teach skills by participating rather than just writing down what the teacher is saying. It can help students process the topic better and remember it when the test comes. Summary:  Today we practiced more body paragraph and evidence planning with a prompt about what ownership actually is and how owning objects affects someone's identity. Reflection:  The prompt was about ownership and that what you own determines whether or not you're a good person. For example, owning lots of books could mean you're knowledgeable. It made me think about things I own and what they say about me.

  Answer:  One thing that makes me different from other people is that I am artistic. I know there are lots of people in the world who are artistic too, but everyone is creative in unique and different ways. I like to draw and paint. I like to make silly movies with my sister. I like to make homemade Halloween costumes. I like to make scrapbooks of trips I go on with my family. I like to doodle. Summary:  Today we watched different clips from movies and identified their rhetorical situation. Reflection:  I learned that arguments are being made all the time, in movies and in media, and they are all using rhetorical situation. I learned how I can make my arguments better by using rhetorical appeals.

  Answer:  Something really creative I like to make is a stop motion movie. I love making stop motion movies with Legos or Calico critters even though they take a long time and can be very tedious. Stop motion is an animating technique where you move the objects in small increments for each frame and the final product looks like the object is moving by itself. I like to make stop motion because I can make stories with the characters and use my creativity. Summary:  Today we read the Boarder Security Speech by President Donald J. Trump and identified the rhetorical situation used in the speech. Reflection:  I learned how to use rhetorical situation to identify the speaker's purpose, audience, reasoning, choices, and appeals used, and how it can make the argument better or worse. This taught me how I can use rhetorical situation to improve my arguments.

  Answer:  When I first came to Lakeside in ninth grade, I felt lost. Lakeside high school was much bigger than my middle school and there were so many hallways. It was hard to get used to all the halls and stairs, plus the confusing schedule, but eventually I warmed up to the schedule and found the quickest routes between each of my classes. Now that I'm a junior, I know how to get everywhere in the school. Summary:  Today we read an article about the benefits and disadvantages of a three-year bachelor's degree, and identified the types of claims made in the text. Reflection:  I learned that there are many claims in a text, and all three types of claims should be used to make a good argument.

  Answer:  When I was a kid, I believed that there were snakes in the monkey grass in our front yard. The monkey grass was tall and you couldn't see what was in it. My mom told my brother and I that there were snakes in it because she didn't want us to walk in it. Summary:  Today we learned about the three types of claims: claim of fact, claim of value, and claim of policy. Reflection:  I learned about the different types of claims and when and how to use them. This will help me when I'm trying to make a good argument. When you make an argument, you need a claim.

Answer:  My sister and I were both making our school lunches one day. We started arguing over a container that I wanted to use for my sandwich and she wanted to use for her salad. I thought I should have it because I grabbed it first. She wanted it because it was the only container that fit her salad. We should've talked it out and agreed on something, but instead we started fighting. Like in the book, Thank You for Arguing, I shouldn't have tried to outscore my opponent and instead should've tried to find the best solution. Summary:  Today we read the first three chapters of Thank You for Arguing. Reflection:  The book taught me how to argue better. I learned the techniques on how to persuade an argument to believe something, do something, or not do something.

Answer:  I was trying to persuade my parents to get me a cat for my birthday a few years ago.  I persuaded them by giving examples of how a cat would benefit me.  I showed them they could trust me to take care of the cat. I would clean its litter box and feed it every day. By showing them I was responsible enough to have a cat, I was using ethos. Summary:   We learned about the three appeals of an argument - ethos which appeals to credibility, pathos which appeals to emotion, and logos which appeals to logic. Reflection:   I learned about the three appeals of argument: ethos, pathos, and logos. These appeals will help me make stronger arguments in the future.

  Answer:  Three goals I have for this year are: stop procrastinating so much on homework and school projects, read more books, and try not to turn in any school assignments late. Last year in 11th grade, I procrastinated a lot on my schoolwork because I would get distracted. My goal for this year is to stop doing that so I won't have any missing assignments. I also want to read more books. I used to read lots of books in middle school and I want to start that up again because reading is good for your brain.