The Issues Paper: Thesis

My Issues Paper is going to be about adopted children into families that already have children, so here is the thesis:

Although most people would not argue that adoption is good for the children being adopted, there are a lot of potential effects for children that are adopted into families that already have blood-born children because the adoptees might feel like outsiders and alienated in the family.

Resources for Issues Paper

Very well, I must come out and say it: I decided not to do my issues paper on any of the previous topics. I want to talk about adoption. I am not really sure what specific part of adoption that I want to talk about yet, but I am doing my research for it!
My first URL focused on the different aspects of adoption like, who could adopt, who could be adopted, and the adoption process; thus, allowing me to get a better feel for how adoption really works. My Second URL was on a book all about adoption and I hardly got to read any of it, so I just know that it talked about the way parents should handle adopting children because children that are adopted can have many different problems (mentally, behaviorally) and the adopting parents need to know how to handle the situation correctly. My third URL is providing a counter argument to the idea that adopting is always a tricky and hopeless situation; it presents the idea that there are a lot of myths about adopting and that through international adopting, a person can achieve an everlasting relationship with their adopted child with less difficulty than they thought. the fourth URL takes on the target audience for birth mothers.  Birth mothers who give their children up for adoption typically have a very hard decision giving up their child for adoption, and the website goes through the different questions that a mother might be considering concerning giving up her child for adoption. The last and fifth URL focuses on the benefits children receive when adopted into a loving family after having been in a family of abuse and neglect.  The article shows how major challenges in a child's life can be mended through adoption into a loving environment.

Issues Paper Ideas

I was thinking about what topics I could write about for my issues paper, and I am only coming up with a few ideas here and there.  My first idea is about today's morals and how they are becoming less defined.  Research questions I would have for that topic are "What were the old morals and why might they have changed," "In what ways is society's break down of morals becoming less defined," and "Is the effect of loose morals based upon a person's own personal definition of morally correct behavior really affecting anything?"

My second idea is writing about the topic of pets being treated too well.  I think about how several people begin to treat their pets like people: they dress them up in scarves, have paintings done of them, and even get them pedicures or whatever. So, my questions for this topic are simple: Does treating animals like people end up being good or bad for the pets, are real people being neglected from the excess of animal rights activists, and what would make a person forget that their pet is actually a pet rather than a child?

the last idea I had is split between either sexual orientation and whether it is a choice or not, or about relationships and how often times people rush into relationships without thinking about what they are getting into.  Still not sure about that one yet.  Anyways, any ideas or comments are welcome. THANK YOU!

The Rhetorical Analysis Process

To begin, I am going to be talking about the process of writing my rhetorical analysis (as stated in the title above).  So, if you have no interest in reading about my thoughts on this subject, I suggest you read something more interesting... like the actual rhetorical analysis. Writing a rhetorical analysis reminded me a lot of my AP English class in high school, actually.  In fact, I am pretty sure that all of the papers I wrote in my AP English class were very similarly formatted.  Basically what I am trying to say is that I felt a bit more comfortable writing the rhetorical analysis, even though it is slightly more formal than the opinion editorial. 

My actual process for writing the rhetorical analysis (RA) is an interesting one.  I actually really did not want to write anything at all when I got started on my rough draft and it was pretty evident from its content.  I left out a lot of detail and kept really short paragraphs, mostly just making sure I fit in the correct amount of words and getting enough examples to get the credit I needed. My introduction and conclusion were strong, however, because I hold the opinion that those two items must be exceedingly strong before you can back it up with really good evidence.  By the time I needed to write the second draft of the RA I was able to just bust out all the writing that previously could not be found.  The peer reviewing was also really helpful in the process of writing the RA and I enjoyed receiving advice from others who had actually read the paper themselves.  They helped me work out all the last details to make my rhetorical analysis something presentable.

Rhetorical Analysis: The New Domestic Trend

Very often in the LDS religion, one will hear stories of how people not of that faith are truly affected by the “light” that the Mormon people seem to have.  Some would debate whether that “light” is genuine at all, seeing as they hold other beliefs and do not want to give the religion (or members) so much credit.  Despite those indifferences, however, Emily Matchar's "Why I can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs" effectively advocates the reading of Mormon blogs to people who may or may not have similar backgrounds or interests to those of the LDS (Mormon) religion. She integrates use of perspective, heavy use of figurative language, and the relationship between logic and emotion in order for the reader to not only feel enamored with, but also reason out the benefits of reading blogs that support a domestic lifestyle. 

Emily Matchar employs her point of view, in addition to several other’s perspectives, to get a variety of backgrounds that are unified through the “Mormon mommy blogs.”  She refers back to her own firm beliefs/non-beliefs in order to depict the grand contrast of living circumstances of her own life to the women’s blogs she reads.  “Their lives are nothing like mine,” She begins, “I’m your standard-issue late-20-something childless overeducated atheist feminist — yet I’m completely obsessed with their blogs.”  Matchar’s use of perspective helps the reader more fully understand that it is not a requirement to be of the same faith to appreciate the same standards, since Mormon women are so often seen marrying young and having large families—and, are obviously not atheist.  She does not only expound on her own perspective, though, which increases her validity.  She gives examples of other people who have also been enlightened by the messages portrayed in Mormon writing.  Matchar refers to Holbrook (the author of the popular blog Nat the Fat Rat) who says, “Most of my readers are non-LDS women in their late 20s and early 30s, college educated, many earning secondary degrees on the postgraduate level, and a comment I often get is, ‘You are making me want kids, and I’ve never wanted kids!’”  Matchar not only employs her own atheist perspective, she uses the perspective of a member of the LDS religion; and by using Holbrook’s quote, Matchar actually captures several “non-LDS women in their late 20s and early 30s” perspectives, making Matchar’s argument more credible. This second form of perspective helps the reader to feel more comfortable with what is being presented.  The reader is more able to relate and see how the effects of just a simple blog post could make someone who has never so much as glanced at a child with the desire to one day have some, to an avid and attentive person with a wish to know the bond that the blogs present of a mother-child relationship. However, Matchar does not stop there.  She goes on to give another key perspective to her theme: her husband, “a former Saint.”  With information that she receives from her husband on the LDS church, the reader is able to get all the viewpoints that are necessary to believe in what she saying.  The reader is more likely to believe Matchar with the employment of her husband’s character because he has the inside scoop; he has been to the church meetings, participated in LDS programs, and knows the teachings.  Therefore, Emily Matchar has employed the feminist atheist, the faithful Latter-day Saint, the non-LDS women, and “a former Saint” equaling out to one very persuasive literary piece. However, Emily Matchar needs a little bit more than a few different perspectives to effectively convince others of the capability of uniting polar opposite backgrounds to one firm set of simple and sweet truths. 

Of course, Emily Matchar chooses to best extenuate her points through use of figurative language to further convey and distinguish the differences between her and the blogs that she reads.  One of Matchar’s best techniques is her voice in her post.  The somewhat mocking and skeptical tone that comes out every so often such as, “I certainly have no illusions about what life as a Mormon would be like” and, “The bloggers I read may be as happy with their lot as they seem. Or not,” develops Emily Matchar’s character and makes her appear as a real person rather than some unknown entity.  In addition, the use of heavy sarcasm in her tone that comes out in reference to the picture-perfect lives of Mormon women helps the audience understand that despite the picturesque lifestyle portrayed by the Mormon mommies, it is important to know that those mothers have problems just like everyone else. Matchar states, “You’d be a fool to compare your real self to someone else’s carefully arranged surface self.”  This skilled author continues to prove her case through using very well-thought out diction.  She begins one paragraph of her post saying that she “cringes” as she uses the word “uplifting” to describe the feeling she gets from reading Mormon mommy blogs.  It is also evident that Matchar would be using very specific diction in her post since she specifically made a comment on the use of diction in the Mormon Blogger’s posts.  “But as you page through their blog archives, you notice certain ‘tells.’ They’re super-young (like, four-kids-at-29 young). They mention relatives in Utah…” shows that Matchar is very aware of the Mormon Blogger’s use of wording in their blogs, so the audience of her blog can only assume that Matchar would be very conscious of her own wording.  For example, Emily states, “…I do think women of my generation are looking to the past in an effort to create fulfilling, happy domestic lives, since the modern world doesn’t offer much of a road map.” This one sentence is filled with a great sense of word choice.  Matchar does not say “this generation of women blah blah blah,” she says, “women of my generation,” which ultimately lets the reader know that Matchar, as a feminist, is included in the group of women looking for a “fulfilling” life, and that Mormon Blogs are definitely creating a type of world for women to do that. In contrast, however, she states, “And don’t even get me started on the Mommy Blogs, which make parenthood seem like a vale of judgment and anxiety, full of words like ‘guilt’ and ‘chaos’ and ‘BPA-free’ and ‘episiotomy.’ Read enough of these, and you’ll be ready to remove your own ovaries with a butter knife.”  She makes this bold statement in order to shock the audience.  Of course she does not mean the sentence literally, but she is trying to get the point across that Mommy Blogs by other people other than Mormons tend to be depressing and stressful.  When Matchar states, "... you'll be ready to remove your own ovaries with a butter knife," she simply means that after reading those depressing blogs, the idea of having children  will seem like a nightmare.  her crude manner of putting that sentence also makes it more abrupt for the audience to read, making them ultimately reject the idea of reading the non-Mormon Mommy blogs; thus, fulfilling the goal of Emily Matchar in supporting the reading of Mormon blogs. This crude, yet humor-fulfilling example of sarcasm invokes a sense of urgency in the reader.  By reading that bit of irony, they are ultimately filled with a desire to only read Mormon mommy blogs by the harsh contrast Matchar uses to the other blogs that compare; however, Matchar must tie logic and emotion together before the knot is set for the reader.   

The most important aspect of Matchar’s article, “Why I can’t stop Reading Mormon Housewife Blogs,” is the fact that it unites the ideas of Logic with Emotion.  Several times, Matchar states how perfect the lives of the Mormon women look, when organized and planned, then placed on an online journal.  However, Matchar is wise by calling in all the details of why their lives look so great. “The bloggers I read may be as happy with their lot as they seem. Or not. While some Mormon women prosper under the cultural norms for wife- and mother-dom, others chafe. Utah is, after all, the state with the highest rate of prescription antidepressant use….” The fact that the author calls in facts that should be looked at, she still does not let those completely clash with the housewife blogs.  Matchar simply calls reality into the picture, which is a good thing.  She takes that information and adds it to the formula of why she finds the blogs she reads to be so interesting, and continues by saying, “…the basic messages expressed in these blogs — family is wonderful, life is meant to be enjoyed, celebrate the small things — are still lovely. And if they help women like me envision a life in which marriage and motherhood could potentially be something other than a miserable, soul-destroying trap, I say, ‘Right on.’” The fact of the matter is that Emily Matchar gives the reader the real picture.  Yes, LDS Women do not have perfect lives; in fact, a lot of them could be considered fakers of happiness, but it is the emotions that Emily expresses about how she feels when she reads those articles that truly persuade her readers to follow her example.  Matchar invokes several feelings within her readers.  At one point, they will be laughing because she states something a bit sketchy, at other points she may make others upset with her tendency to be so reluctant towards the actual LDS church. In the end, the audience cannot help but feel at unity with Matchar when she says, “And if [the basic messages expressed in these blogs] help women like me… I say, ‘Right on,’” because it is obvious that despite her differences, she has truly found something of worth and value to her life through the messages of simple blogs by religious women.

Emily Matchar’s argument for supporting domestic Mormon messages could be seen as subtle in "Why I can’t stop reading Mormon housewife blogs," but there is something to be noted in an article that can use persuasion without directly calling others to follow the trend.  She employs several effective examples of rhetoric through irony, perspective, and the relationship of logic and feelings in order to spark the interest of the reader.  Perhaps it is through subtle messages and accounts of personal experience that are most inviting to believe in—especially when the author asks nothing in return.

Huh... That's Interesting

Peer Reviews have always been an interesting experience for me.  You see, in my writing class at BYU, the first peer review we did was a one-on-one discussion where I read my paper out loud to a partner, we discussed it, and then she read hers aloud and on went the review.  I mean, it was a nice experience and everything; I got the constructive criticism I needed.
However, today we had our second peer reviews in class... and it was different (in a good way).  This round we were assigned to groups of 3-4 people and we had to have their papers read and annotated before we ever got to class for the actual review.  I think that I liked the small groups better than the one-on-one deal because it is a lot easier to critcize others in a group.  I mean, I enjoyed both of them, don't get me wrong, but I think that it is a lot more intimidating to tell someone that they did not get their grammar all together in their essay in a one-on-one situation.  Also, with the small groups, reading the essays beforehand is nice because you can take the initiative to look over the actual material and see all that the person was trying to accomplish, rather than just hearing how the author reads it to you.  Heck, they could read very well, but their punctuation could be totally off and the other person would never know. 
Anyways, lots of fun, those peer reviews. Now, off to make sweet sweet sandwiches! :)

A Well-structured Body..... (Paragraph)

Of course, Emily Matchar chooses to best extenuate her points through use of figurative language to further convey and distinguish the differences between her and the blogs that she reads.  One of Matchar’s best techniques is her voice in her post.  The somewhat mocking and skeptical tone that comes out every so often such as, “I certainly have no illusions about what life as a Mormon would be like” and, “The bloggers I read may be as happy with their lot as they seem. Or not,” develops Emily Matchar’s character and makes her appear as a real person rather than some unknown entity.  In addition, the use of heavy sarcasm in her tone that comes out in reference to the picture-perfect lives of Mormon women helps the audience understand that despite the picturesque lifestyle portrayed by the Mormon mommies, it is important to know that those mothers have problems just like everyone else. Matchar states, “you’d be a fool to compare your real self to someone else’s carefully arranged surface self.”  This skilled author continues to prove her case through using very well-thought out diction.  She begins one paragraph of her post saying that she “cringes” as she uses the word “uplifting” to describe the feeling she gets from reading Mormon mommy blogs.  It is also evident that Matchar would be using very specific diction in her post since she specifically made a comment on the use of diction in the Mormon Blogger’s posts.  “But as you page through their blog archives, you notice certain ‘tells.’ They’re super-young (like, four-kids-at-29 young). They mention relatives in Utah…” shows that Matchar is very aware of the Mormon Blogger’s use of wording in their blogs, so the audience of her blog can only assume that Matchar would be very conscious of her own wording.  For example, Emily states, “…I do think women of my generation are looking to the past in an effort to create fulfilling, happy domestic lives, since the modern world doesn’t offer much of a road map.” This one sentence is filled with a great sense of word choice.  Matchar does not say “this generation of women blah blah blah,” she says, “women of my generation,” which ultimately lets the reader know that Matchar, as a feminist, is included in the group of women looking for a “fulfilling” life, and that Mormon Blogs are definitely creating a type of world for women to do that. In contrast, however, she states, “And don’t even get me started on the Mommy Blogs, which make parenthood seem like a vale of judgment and anxiety, full of words like ‘guilt’ and ‘chaos’ and ‘BPA-free’ and ‘episiotomy.’ Read enough of these, and you’ll be ready to remove your own ovaries with a butter knife.”  Matchar makes this bold statement in order to shock the audience.  Of course she does not mean the sentence literally, but she is trying to get the point across that Mommy Blogs by other people other than Mormons tend to be depressing and stressful.  When Matchar states, "... you'll be ready to remove your own ovaries with a butter knife," she simply means that after reading those depressing blogs, the idea of having children  will seem like a nightmare.  her crude manner of putting that sentence also makes it more abrupt for the audience to read, making them ultimately reject the idea of reading the non-Mormon Mommy blogs; thus, fulfilling the goal of Emily Matchar in supporting the reading of Mormon blogs. This crude, yet humor-fulfilling example of sarcasm invokes a sense of urgency in the reader.  By reading that bit of irony, they are ultimately filled with a desire to only read Mormon mommy blogs by the harsh contrast Matchar uses to the other blogs that compare; however, Matchar must tie logic and emotion together before the knot is set for the reader.