Rational Argument

I never really have had trouble starting a paper but this one has been difficult for some reason. It has made continuing the paper a bit difficult. On the following paragraph I didn't really find any arguments to be made from a reliable source for the trouble of the encountering of the real world just opinions. The rest of my paper includes statements what they appeal to I just believe I'm having a bit of a rough start. Any suggestion are more than welcome.

Multimodal Project

Freewrite

Unsupported Claim

Trump's Baseless Wire Tap Claims

Trump makes several tweets accusing Obama to have wiretapped his phones in the Trump Tower ahead of the election. There is no evidence to support his serious accusation nor has he explained what kind of wiretapping it was. He never even mentioned how he was aware of this being done. This is a very serious accusation since he is implying the when Obama was president he broke the law but without any evidence. It is not that surprising since our president tends to make many of these unsupported claims. 

Transportation

After watching the video from Mayor of Bogota on Public Transportation a lot of things started to make sense. It was amazing to see the impact that bike lanes had on the citizens there. It was mentioned how the way to limit the use of cars was by limiting the available parking in the areas which led to the bike lanes, trains, and buses. From the different types of transportation the lower class was able to feel comfortable riding their own bikes since the Mayor is trying to put the people as a whole before just an individual.

A lot of the components mentioned in the video remind me of Chicago itself. I live near the city and it is always a hassle trying to find parking anywhere downtown. On nice days I prefer to walk a couple of blocks to the blue line and ride the train instead of dealing with the traffic/parking issues there. The city itself makes it easier to rely on public transportation by having multiple bike lanes all over and even offering the opportunity to be able to rent a bike. The bus routes as well as the L that extends to all over the city. It is nice to see the urban designs that contribute to the everyday lives of thousands of people.

Freewrite

      I'm learning from myself as a writer that I have a hard time putting things together. I am shaky and uncertain with how I correct my papers. I need to get out of the habit of not changing my ideas. This course is making me realize how writing isn't completely terrible for me anymore. I would usually hate any sort of writing assignments but now I don't mind them as much. I actually enjoy them since there are a lot of fun topics to write about. It shows that there are more than just an essay to work on like the microtheme. It is nice being able to see the outcomes of every project that are assigned and looking at the rough draft vs the final draft. From the documentary project/microtheme I have learned how challenging it is on keeping my own opinions limited. I'm very tempted in these projects to go on and on but the challenge is stopping yourself. It is giving it a less personal touch which is surprising from what I would expect in a writing course.

Microtheme Corrections

What Are They Teaching Us?

            In the past few years of my education, I have been taught how to write using the five-paragraph essay technique. My high school teachers have drilled this method into my brain making sure I had all the components of the five-paragraph essay. During my first week in college, I walked into my Introduction to Writing class to find out that the five-paragraph isn't the only way to write. Is there a reason why students aren't being taught the broader method of writing from the very beginning?

           Teaching students the five-paragraph method may be detrimental and hold students back from their writing capability. Using rhetorical strategies in a writing assignment helps formalize and bring the paper together. With only the basic knowledge of putting ideas into paragraphs high school students do not have the proper skills to begin a college writing course. Is it because there are so many other important things to high school students that they don't have time to learn this technique? Maybe high school teachers don't realize the importance of preparing a high school student for college and believe that this method is enough. It could also be that teachers have been using the five-paragraph method for years and do not know when is the proper time to teach a student other wise. The traditional method might be falling away.

By looking into this dilemma high school students’ knowledge might be increased and perhaps allow college freshman to have an easier transition from high school to college.

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After revising this paper it helped me see how to put ideas together for my own microtheme. The consequences was full of questions that just needed rewording to be put together. The ending was simple and to the point which I liked. It gave me an idea to how to approach my ending.

Reflection on Microtheme

I believe that my problematic question is really working for my microtheme,"Why is it so hard to eat organic food?" It is a situation I can really relate to which makes the assignment more interesting. The part that is challenging me is trying to find a way to end it properly without resolving the problem or adding in facts on the situation. I'm going to try to solve it by looking at some examples on what others did and making the ending my own.

Reflection vs. Published Review

               After reading the professional review from The New York Times by Manohla Dargis on Cartel Land I have noticed that there are many differences in the review than the reflection that I have written. Dargis begins the review with mentioning how she felt on the views the director had by the way it was evenly directed. The director showed the side of how an American felt about the situation as well as the citizens of Mexico. The reviewer mentions Dr.Mireles representing the Mexican citizens and Tim Foley representing an American citizen.They were both on the same side being against any cartels that have formed even though they never filmed them together you get to see the opinions that they have on the situation. In my reflection I have failed to mention the part of how the American citizen in the documentary felt about the drug war. I mainly introduced the documentary of what it was about and just stated my opinions and concerns about how it made me feel. I failed to incorporate more on the director of how well the film was shot as well as him being involved with all of the on going action. The reviewer mainly focuses on that part of the documentary but rarely mentions the auto defensas or the government which I feel is an important part to incorporate. 

Documentary: Cartel Land
Directed by Matthew Heineman

The documentary I chose to watch was Cartel Land that came out in 2015. It is about an on going Mexican drug war that has caused a lot of violence within the country. This led to the forming of the auto defensas organization that tried to protect the people from the cartels harming the innocent people of Mexico. The auto defensas ended up losing their main leader, Jose Mireles, and started to lose their beliefs while contributing to the on going crimes. They ended up joining the government and formed a cartel within.



1.     I was completely shocked after watching Cartel Land. The scene that got to me was when the auto defensas started to go against everything they believed in. One of the members was explaining how he was excited on trying out his new device that he got, a taser, it would make his victim weak and unable to fight against him he mentioned. Immediately after he explained his intentions with the weapon a scene of a group of guys from the auto defensas made an innocent man give up his vehicle so they can use it to look for cartel members.Once they found the cartel members that they were looking for that reside in the town they break into the house and take them in. In the process they are stealing everything in sight.

        From their actions I felt betrayed since I was rooting for them to make the world a better place but in reality they are no different than the cartel themselves. They became the people they were trying to protect others from. It’s disappointing watching a great organization become corrupt with power.


2.      What surprised me was when the auto defensas became apart of the government. The government the whole time was trying to stop the organization since they viewed them as being violent but then they offered them a deal to join them. When they did join them they were basically a cartel within the government.
       They even admitted to being a corrupt organization that does what they need to do if it benefits them. The whole time they were the ones making the meth to sell in the country. They end up using the money that they make to buy more weapons. The government doesn’t really care about their people all they care about is the image that they display to others.

3.         After watching this film I am just curious to see if this situation will ever be resolved. What stayed with me was the fact that this is an actual issue that is happening in the world. It was like a reminder to be grateful of where I am because there are terrible situations that other people have to go through.

            It may seem like a problem that is not that big of a deal since it doesn't disrupt your daily lives but it's sad hearing these types of stories from people that I actually know about their family members that live in Mexico. They all vary from being kidnapped for ransom money to hearing about towns forced to evacuate or they will all get killed. I personally haven't even been able to go to the parts of Mexico that my parents are from because of how dangerous it is over there. My parent have not been able to visit their hometowns for years because of how bad it's been until recently.

4.    There are many problematic concepts in this film that I would look for more information on. For example, the cartel is the main cause of all of these situations. I would try to see their recent activities and what locations they are in. I would look into the auto defensas to try and find more information of the places that they all came from. The corruption of the government themselves since there is a lot going on. They just try to cover everything up but they have a reputation of making their own laws repeatedly. 

         I would also look into the violent acts that happen across Mexico and try to see what actually caused it the cartel or the government cartel. Looking into the drugs that are being distributed would be a concern as well.