Argument paper idea

Should schools be year round where kids go to school the entire year and have very little breaks or should they be on a semester basis where there is a winter break, spring break, and summer break.

Outline

1. Denver Nuggets Basketball team
-reviewing the team as a whole and hoe good they are compared to other teams in the NBA.
-review how good the team is based on certain criteria I have set.
-the source of the information is myself and how I view the team and also statistics of the team. The source is credilbe because it is myself and real statistics.
2. In comparison to other teams in the NBA the Denver Nuggets are one of the best teams in the league. The thesis is reasonable and balanced. The maning and value are also clear.
3. See Template B (criteria).
4. I will refute questions by using statistics and what I have seen from the team.

New Review idea

Switching rview topics from Sports Illustrated magazine to a professional basketball team in the NBA the Denver Nuggets.

Audience: People who like basketball, people who are fans of Denver sports, and people that live in Denver.

Four Criteria:
1) How good the team is (season record).

2) How well coached the team is.

3) How popular the team is (how many fans come to home games).

4) Who the best players are on the team and who is the leader(s) on the team.

Review Template B

Since I am reviewing the Sports Illustrated magazine I will be basing my review on four requirements. The first requirement would be the magazine has to have interesting articles about all sports so more people will read the magazine and be interested in it. The second requirement would be the articles are not too long to read because then it would lose the interest of the reader and it becomes more of a book. Some of the better articles in the magazines are the shorter ones. The third requirement for the Sports Illustrated magazine would be it must have good quality pictures. The pictures must be really good to catch the reader’s eye and make them want to read that article. I think the best articles in the magazine are the ones with a lot of pictures that show what they are talking about in that article. The front of the magazine should have a catchy picture about the main article in the magazine. The fourth requirement for the magazine would be to make the articles fun to read for everyone of every age. The article should also be relatable to what is going on in the world today and how sports contributes or how it relates to it. Those are the four requirements I will use to review the magazine Sports Illustrated.

Audience Analysis, Template A

I think the audience for the magazine Sports Illustrated is men and women who like sports. They do not have to like a specific sport, just any or all sports. I think the people that read the magazine the most are men of all ages. People who read this magazine want to know more about what is going on in the sports world and follow that sport. This magazine also has articles about how sports relate to what else is going on in the world, for example, a while back they had an article about how the economic downturn affected the sports industry and the teams in every sport. It was good because it related to something other than just sports and a lot of people could relate to the topic of the economic downturn. The friends of the people that read this magazine are also into sports because they have a common interest with that person. Most of the information in this magazine is real and people believe the things in the magazine. There are also many different ads in this magazine. There are ads about everything from clothing to prescription/over the counter drugs to cigarettes to cars. I see a lot more of ads about prescription/over the counter drugs and cars more than anything. The reason is because since more men read this magazine, they think more men will also be interested in cars and maybe want a new car just because it was in the magazine or because they think professional sports athletes drive these cars or because these are cars that men would like. I think they put prescription/over the counter drug ads in the magazine because a lot of the drugs they advertise are for men. For example they have ads for Viagra and other drugs that guys use. There are also a lot of ads for cigarettes and tobacco because it is a manly thing to use chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes. The only ads for clothes I have seen have been for men's suits and for jeans for men and in those ads for jeans the people in the ad are playing some sport or have a famous athlete promoting those jeans and they think more men will buy this product just because some famous athlete wears them. I also think the ads are geared toward all ages of men because I don't think younger men use Viagra and I don't think that older men would care about a certain car or jeans just because a famous athlete wears those jeans or drives that type of car. Also, this magazine is not just for people who are rich bit for everyone who is interested in sports in general. People who read Sports Illustrated are less likely to also read magazines such as People or Entertainment Weekly, I think they would read other magazine such as ESPN the Magazine so they could compare the two main sports magazines. That is who I think the audience would be that read the Sports Illustrated magazine.

Review Invention

My idea for the review assignment is to review a magazine. The magazine is Sports Illustrated. The magazine covers and has articles about all different sports. I will rate it out of 5 starts. 5 being the best and 1/0 being the worst.

Thesis paragraph

There are many trends and phenomenons here at the University of Central Florida but the one that involves the majority of the people here is the wide use of skateboards and long boards. Many people use skateboards and long boards to get around campus and the school is trying to ban the use of them because it could be a safety risk to other people. There are many different opinions about this issue and I plan to find out what people around campus think about this issue and how it affects them now and in the future. The issue of the school banning the use of skateboards and long boards could change many things around campus.

Outline

Issue/Trend: The use of Skateboards and Long Boards on campus and the school trying to ban them.

1) Stating the issue/ Introduction
a) What is the issue/trend
b) Why is it an issue/trend
c) background- why people use skateboards and long boards

2) Results
a) What could happen if the school does ban sakteboards and long boards and why could it happen
b) How people would feel about it
c) What I think should happen and why
d) How I would feel about it

3) Conclusion
a) How others feel about the issue/trend
b) How I feel about the issue/trend
c) What is happening with the issue/trend now
d) What is the future of the isssue/trend

Letter to Friend

Dear Friend,

There are many phenomena’s that happen at school here at UCF, but there is one that I find particularly interesting. This phenomenon is the use of skateboards and long boards around campus and how the school is trying to ban the use of them. I have noticed that many students use skateboards and long boards as their main transportation device to get around this large campus. This can be a hazard to some people because some users are not very good at using the skateboards and long boards so they sometimes run into other students on the way to class or back home. This is dangerous because some people can get seriously injured from these types of accidents and the school does not want that to happen on campus, so therefore they are trying to ban the skateboards and long boards. Students have very different views on this issue. I have found out that some think this is a major issue and some think it is a minor issue. For me it is a minor issue because I do not ride a skateboard or long board and I have not been hit by one...yet. I also found out that some people think that skateboards are safer than the long boards because on skateboards people do not have to weave as much as they do on long boards to move. Many people also think that people who ride skateboards and long boards get a reputation as punks but not according to the people who do ride them. Also, students that ride the skateboards and long boards do not want the school to ban them because it is their main source of transportation while students who do not ride them are indifferent. Some students think that the skateboards and long boards are annoying and some students just do not care about this issue. I think that if the school does ban the skateboards and long boards there will be a lot more students walking to class instead of riding their skateboard or long board. This may make more students late because it is a lot slower walking than riding a skateboard or a long board to class and therefore may drop their grades in their classes. In my opinion I do not think the school should ban the use of skateboards and long boards because it is easier to get around and I don not think they pose as a great danger to people. The people will just have to be more careful and alert to other people using the skateboards and long boards. I also do not agree with the view that people who ride skateboards and long boards are punks. I think they are normal people like everyone else but they just choose to have another form of transportation that is easier for them. That is my view on this particular interesting phenomenon that happens at the University of Central Florida.

Interview With Colton

5 Questions:

a) How do you know what you know?(evidence)- Just seeing other students ride the skateboards and long boards around campus every day

b) Who are you to the subject?(perspective)- A student who has to get out of the way of the people who use skateboards and long boards.

c) How is the event connected to other events?(patterns or opposing forces)- It can cause injury to students who do not use the skateboards and long boards.

d) What if things were different?(suppositions/predictions)- All the users would be upset and there would be less accidents.

e) Why is this important?(significance)-Because many people find it inconvenient to have to lookout for skateboarders and long boardsers.

My 5 Questions:

1) How serious is the issue of skateboards and long boards?-It is a minor issue.

2) What is the viw of people who use skateboards and long boards and their view on having skateboards anf long boards?- They get a reputation as being punks and they want to keep skateboards andd long boards around so they can use them.

3) What is the main reason people use the skateboards and long boards?- For transportation.

4) Should skateboards and long boards be banned by the school?- No.

5) Which is safer, skateboards or long boards?- Skateboards.

1 Idea

I think it is amazing how many people use skateboards and long boards to get around campus and how the school is trying to ban students from using the skateboards and long boards. For many students skateboards and long boards are the primary use of transportation between classes and their room. People can go very fast on them and they tend to run into people sometimes so UCF has been trying to ban the use of the skateboards and long boards for safety reasons. This can be both good and bad. It is good because it will be safer for other people because they will not get run into by the people on the skateboards or long boards. It is also bad for the students because that takes away a form of transportation that makes it quick and easy to get around campus. It does not really affect me because I do not use a skateboard or a long board and no one has run into me so far. It does affect the students that do use the skateboards and long boards along with the people that they run into. This is a new situation for me because I have never been around so many people that use the skateboards and long boards and no one has run into me…yet. I am sure some people are used to all the people using the skateboards and long boards and it is normal for them to get hit by one every once in a while. I understand why the school is trying to ban the use of the skateboards and long boards but I do not think it will be a good idea because so many people use them as their primary use of transportation.

Brainstorming for Commentary

1. The use of skateboards/long boards around campus and how many people use them as transportation. Also how the school is trying to ban the use of the skateboards and long boards.

2. The use of free give aways (i.e. T-shirts, food). If people are giving away free stuff more people tend to come and participate or listen to what they are saying even if they are not interested.

3. The spread of the Swine Flu and how the school is trying to prevent it from spreading even more.

Memoir: The Columbine High School Shootings

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for a regular day in 3rd grade at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School in Englewood, Colorado. It seemed like a normal April day in Colorado in 1999, the weather was crisp, cool, and it was dark in the morning. I get to school and my teacher was especially in a good mood that morning as she had bought us some breakfast and drinks. My first class was the same as every other day that year; we did some reading and practiced our cursive writing. The classroom was bright with the sun just coming up shining through our windows with the snowy tops of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Everyone was in a good and cheerful mood; the day could not have started any better, but things changed dramatically in the middle of my second class of the day.

We were in the middle of doing some math problems and practicing our division when the principal of my elementary school came on the loud speaker and said, “Good morning everyone, I have some sad news today. There has been a shooting at Columbine High School, so we will be on lock down for the rest of the day.” After hearing the news everyone in the room, including the teacher, gasped in shock and fear. The room suddenly became quiet as we all were worried and struck with fear. When a school goes on lock down, it means that no one can come in or out of our school. Columbine High School was only a few miles from my elementary school, so every school in the county was on lock down for the rest of the day. We all knew instantly that this was bad and we all became worried. After the announcement by the principal all the teachers in my grade started talking and whispering between each other about what was happening and what to do. One teacher asked the other teachers, “What should we do?” Another teacher then said, “We should probably check to see if all the doors are locked and then close all the windows and shades.” They talked between themselves for a few more minutes and then acted. They went around to all the classrooms in my grade to close all the windows and shades and make sure all the outside doors were locked. It became a very dark and quiet place all of a sudden, no one liked this. The sun was no longer shining through our windows as we could no longer see the sun because of the dark clouds and the closed shades. What was a great and beautiful day, turned out to be a terrible and horrifying day for all of us. The teachers could see the fear in our faces and eyes and they kept reassuring us by saying, “Do not worry kids, everything is going to be fine. You are all safe here.” We believed what they said but we were still worried. My friend then turned to me and asked me, “What would happen if the shooter comes to our school?” “I do not know,” I replied fearfully, hoping that it would never happen. Some time later some police cars pulled up and surrounded our school and the street. They wanted to protect us since the shootings were so close to our school. No one knew who the shooters were, how many there were, how many they killed and injured, and if it was going to happen at other schools too. Our parents started to get worried too because they heard about the shooting and they started calling the school to make sure we were all safe. The news of the shooting traveled fast around the nation. Even my aunts, uncles, and cousins from California called my house to see if my sister and I were safe and not part of the shootings. Our school was on lock down for the rest of the day, there was such strict security that our parents were not allowed to come and pick us up until later in the day. We did not do anything the rest of the day except watch the news and the coverage of the shootings at Columbine High School. It was very difficult to watch the news throughout the day, but yet we were interested in seeing what was happening at the same time. While watching the news and the coverage of the shootings, our teacher started to cry as the news listed some early numbers of how many they think died and were injured from the shootings.

Once the shootings were over we were all relieved but still worried about how many people died and how many were injured. We were able to go home a few hours after the shootings were over. My mom and dad were so happy to see me and my sister and they were so relieved that we were safe. Later that day we found out on the news that the shooters were two students who attended Columbine High School. Apparently they were very unhappy with their lives so they decided to commit this horrible act on this day. “How could anyone be crazy enough and so disgusted with their lives that they would go to school and shoot all these innocent people,” my mother said while watching the news. “There are some sick people in this world,” my dad added. They supposedly had planned this for some time, but it was a complete surprise to everyone else. They just decided that this was the right day to do it. The shooters had killed many students and staff from Columbine High School and injured many too. Once they were surrounded by police the two shooters committed suicide and shot themselves in the head.

It was a very sad and scary day for everyone around the country, especially for the people that lived and went to school around that area. This horrible event has changed the way schools enforce security around the country. This also made everyone realize that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, even in a place where they think they are safe. This tragedy has affected us many years later too. A few years ago, when I was in 10th grade attending Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, there was a threat against our school on the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. Everyone was scared that day because they were worried the shootings would actually happen. Parents were so scared that some did not even send their kids to school that day. The threat was not real but it reminded us all of the tragedy that happened in April of 1999. This kind of tragedy had never happened anywhere else before that day and we will all remember this horrible day forever.

Draft #1

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for a regular day in 3rd grade at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School in Colorado. It seemed like a normal April day in Colorado in 1999, the weather was crisp, cool, and dark in the morning. I get to school and my teacher was especially in a good mood that morning as she had bought us some breakfast and drinks. My first class was the same as every other day that year; we did some reading and practiced our cursive writing. The classroom was bright with the sun just coming up shining through our windows with the snowy tops of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Everyone was in a good and cheerful mood; the day could not have started any better, but things changed dramatically in the middle of my second class of the day.

We were in the middle of doing some math problems and practicing our division when the principal of my elementary school came on the loud speaker and said, “Good morning everyone, I have some sad news today. There has been a shooting at Columbine High School, so we will be on lock down for the rest of the day.” After hearing the news everyone in the room, including the teacher, gasped in shock and fear. The room suddenly became quiet as we all were worried and struck with fear. When a school goes on lock down, it means that no one can come in or out of our school. Columbine High School was only a few miles from my elementary school, so every school in the county was on lock down for the rest of the day. We all knew instantly that this was bad and we all became worried. After the announcement by the principal all the teachers in my grade started talking and whispering between each other about what was happening and what to do. They then went around to all the classrooms to close all the windows and shades and make sure all the outside doors were locked. It became a very dark and quiet place all of a sudden, no one liked this. The sun was no longer shining through our windows as we could no longer see the sun because of the dark clouds and the closed shades. What was a great and beautiful day, turned out to be a terrible and horrifying day for all of us. The teachers could see the fear in our faces and eyes and they kept reassuring us by saying, “don’t worry kids, everything is going to be fine. You are all safe here.” We believed what they said but we were still worried. Some time later some police cars pulled up and surrounded our school and the street. They wanted to protect us since the shootings were so close to our school. No one knew who the shooters were, how many there were, how many they killed and injured, and if it was going to happen at other schools too. Our parents started to get worried too because they heard about the shooting and they started calling the school to make sure we were all safe. The news of the shooting traveled fast around the nation. Even my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from California called my house to see if my sister and I were safe and not part of the shootings. Our school was on lock down for the rest of the day, there was such strict security that our parents were not allowed to come and pick us up until later in the day. We did not do anything the rest of the day except watch the news and the coverage of the shootings at Columbine High School.

Once the shootings were over we were all relieved but still worried about how many people died and how many were injured. We were able to go home a few hours after the shootings were over. My mom and dad were so happy to see my sister and me and they were so relieved that we were safe. Later that day we found out on the news that the shooters were two students who attended Columbine High School. Apparently they were very unhappy with their lives so they decided to commit this horrible act on this day. They supposedly had planned this for some time, but it was a complete surprise to everyone else. They just decided that this was the right day to do it. The shooters had killed many students and staff from Columbine High School and injured many too. Once they were surrounded by police the two shooters committed suicide and shot themselves in the head.

It was a very sad and scary day for everyone around the country, especially for the people that lived and went to school around that area. This horrible event has changed the way schools enforce security around the country. This also made everyone realize that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, even in a place where they think they are safe. This tragedy has affected us many years later too. A few years ago, when I was in 10th grade attending Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, there was a threat against our school on the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings. Everyone was scared that day because they were worried the shootings would actually happen. Parents were so scared too that some did not even send their kids to school that day. The threat was not real but it reminded us all of the tragedy that happened in April of 1999. This kind of tragedy had never happened anywhere else before that day and we will all remember this horrible day forever.

MEMO

TO: MS. MOODY

FROM: SETH ROJHANI

DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

I have gotten some good feedback on how to improve my memoir. The first thing I plan to do is to add some dialogue into my memoir. Right now I do not have any dialogue. Another thing I will try to improve is to describe the classroom I was in at the time to give the reader more of an idea of what it was like and how it changed after the shootings at Columbine High School. I also plan on going into more detail about how everyone became scared and worried. I will also try to expand on my ideas and details of the shooting in order to be more descriptive. I will also try to how after the shooting, schools around the country added more security and became more cautious and careful with what is happening in their schools. I will also try to improve the imagery of the places I was in at the time in order to make it more descriptive and create a vivid image for the reader. I plan on showing how I felt at the time and what I was thinking throughout the entire day when the shootings were happening. I also tend to be redundant when I write so I will also try to eliminate words, phrases, and sentences that are redundant. I am going to try to make the beginning of my memoir more suspenseful to get the reader more intrigued and interested in reading the rest of my memoir. I am not very good at endings, so I will improve my ending in order to make it more meaningful for me and the reader. Overall, I think the advice I received to improve my memoir was very helpful to me and I plan on improving all of these things in order to make my memoir perfect.

Introduction to Memoir

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for school. It seemed like a normal April day in Colorado, the weather was crisp and cool. I get to school and everything was normal in my first class. In the middle of my second class things changed dramatically. The principle of my elementary school came on the loud speaker to tell us that our school was on lock down. This means that no one can come in or out of our school. She said the reason for the lock down was because there was a shooting at Columbine High School, which was only a few miles from my school. We all knew instantly that this was bad and we all became worried. After the announcement by the principle all the teachers in my grade started talking between each other about what was happening. They then went around to all the classrooms to close all the windows and shades and make sure all the outside doors were locked. It became a very dark and quiet place all of a sudden, no one liked this. Some time later some police cars pulled up and surrounded our school and the street. They wanted to protect us since the shootings were so close. Our parents started to get worried because they heard about the shooting and they started calling the school to make sure we were all safe. Our school was on lock down for the rest of the day, there was such strict security that our parents were not allowed to come and pick us up until later in the day. We did not do anything the rest of the day except watch the news and their coverage of the shooting at Columbine High School. Once the shootings were over we were all relieved but still worried about how many people died and how many were injured. Later that day we found out that the shooters were two students at Columbine High School that were unhappy with their lives so they decided to commit this horrible act on that day. They supposedly had planned this for some time; they just decided that this was the right day to do it. It was a very sad and scary day for everyone around the country, especially for the people that lived and went to school around that area. This horrible event has changed the way schools enforce security around the country. This also made everyone realize that anything can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, even in a place where they think they are safe. This kind of tragedy had never happened anywhere else before this day and we will all remember this horrible day forever.

Brainstorming

Columbine school shooting

1. How I felt

• Felt like a normal day
• First hour of school was normal as usual
• After shootings started we were all scared and frightened

2. What happened

• Two unhappy students went to Columbine High School and started shooting other students and school faculty
• All schools around the area went on lockdown (including mine)
• Lasted the rest of the day
• No one could go in or out of our school because of the lockdown
• We sat in our classroom and watched the news for the rest of the day
• Relieved when it was over so we could all go home

Invention

Ideas

1. Terrorist attacks the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11. Both World Trade Center collapse and thousands of people die.

2. Columbine school shooting

3. Moved from Denver, Colorado to Parkland, Florida because of my dad’s job.

What is it about?

1. It is about the day when a group of terrorists hijacked four planes. Two of those hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York where shortly after crashing into the buildings, both buildings collapsed. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The last plane was supposedly heading for the White House but some brave passengers on the plane tried to stop the terrorist and the plane ended up crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people died on this day due to the planes crashing and the buildings collapsing.

2. The Columbine school shooting was when two unhappy students came to school one day with guns and a plan to kill everyone in the school. They killed many students and faculty at the school and they severely hurt many more students and faculty.

3. I moved from Denver, Colorado to Parkland, Florida in the summer of 2007. I had just finished my sophomore year of high school. We moved because of my dad’s job. He owned a business in Miami and he was commuting back and forth from Denver to Miami for several years and it became too hard to travel all the time so my family decided to move.


So what?

1. This event affected the country and the world in many ways. This tragedy also affected many people’s lives. The world became more alert to terrorist attacks and threats. Some people changed the way they lived their lives because if this tragedy. This event had an impact on the whole world. Things around the country and the world are very different due to these terrorist attacks.

2. The Columbine school shootings affected the whole country. In every state around the country schools changed their policies and they tightened their security around the school. This also affected the students for years to come because they will always remember what happened that day at that school and will be afraid that it could happen to their school too at anytime. After this tragedy parents were afraid to send their students to school and students were afraid to go to school.

3. This event in my life affected me greatly. Moving to Parkland from Denver has made me who I am today and it changed my life in many ways. I have had to leave my friends in Denver in the middle of high schools and come to a new school and make all new friends in two years before I left for college. Since I had to make all new friends I became more outgoing that way I could meet new people. Since I have moved I have more friends and have become a better person and a more outgoing person than what I was when I lived in Denver.