Article Analysis

The article I chose to analyze is the second one, “The Endangered Species Act Must Be Repealed.” I picked it because I found it the most convincing and I wanted to know why.
The author used a lot of effective devices, even if they are not part of good rhetoric. To begin, the introduction states that he is the former executive director of the Exotic Wildlife Association, which establishes some Ethos. Most of us don’t know what that is, though, and it’s actually an organization to protect people who privately own exotic animals. He isn’t really trying to save these animals; he just wants to make sure that people who own them have certain rights. While this may look like a credit to him in the beginning, further investigation proves it doesn’t give him any authority.
He also begins his article with a dramatic introduction. He makes drastic comparisons between the United States Government and dictatorships and the U.S.’s slow progress in moving away from a government approach to wildlife conservation to the rest of the World’s.
Another device is his use of “facts”. He throws out a ton of information and plays on his reader’s ignorance. When reading this the first time, I took in every word he said because it made sense and why would he try to lie to his audience? I doubt someone more involved in the issue would believe most of his argument because they know better. However, because I don’t know much about the issue, and he has a large vocabulary and specific examples of how the ESA is a bad program, I can’t help but want to believe him.
The biggest tool the author uses is Pathos, or emotional appeal. Specifically, he plays upon empathy. He wants us to feel sorry for the poor souls that are being hounded by the Fish and Wildlife Services because they have endangered species on their property. By citing a situation where the FWS did a number of inappropriate things and stopped once a lawsuit came up, the author effectively makes his audience mad and we feel betrayed by the government’s handling of the situation. The other example talks about all of these houses that got burned down because a couple was not able to clear their land of brush and that frightens us because what if it happened close to our home?
While all of this makes the article believable, there are some definite fallacies. For example, where does all of this information come from? “No species privately owned and commercially valued has ever gone extinct,” he states. How can he know that? He also makes a lot of assumptions or guesses as to what is possible if the ESA is reformed. He has no evidence that things will be better. He claims that more animals go extinct under this act than probably would if it didn’t exist. Another thing is he does not represent any of the good things the ESA has done. He is very one sided in his presentation. Lastly, he plays way too much on the audience’s emotions. He has very few logical appeals, and is ethos is iffy at best. His whole argument is based on making the reader feel bad for the common man, the farmer, the providers of our country. This is very effective in convincing us, but an argument needs more substance than he provides.

Marriage Is What Brings Us Together Today

This is just a possible topic. I wasn't really sure what to write about.


Anyone who attends or has attended BYU knows of the intense pressure to get married. Young marriage is a cultural characteristic of Mormons in general. Yes, we are commanded to “multiply and replenish the earth,” but it’s ok to finish college first.

In the short time I have been here at BYU I have heard numerous accounts of dating, courtship, engagement, and marriage all happening within six months of two people meeting. Are people so desperate or so afraid that they won’t get married that they rush off once they think there is a slight chance that maybe it might work out somehow if they just give it the old college try? Or perhaps our high moral standards, which are great, lead to quick engagements and hasty marriage so as to avoid those troublesome temptations that come with being close to someone for a long time. No matter what the reason, this matter deserves a little more thought.

Marriage is a big deal, especially for members of the LDS faith. It is a long term commitment: long term meaning FOREVER. In addition, divorce is accepted, but highly frowned upon among the saints. So why would you marry someone who you have known for such a short amount of time?

As the fifth child of seven, I have been able to learn a lot from the examples of my older siblings. Two of my siblings made the unfortunate choice of marrying someone they did not know for very long. The results were detrimental, especially where children were involved. It caused so much unnecessary heartache that could have been avoided had they decided to wait to see how well they knew the person they were making this huge commitment with.

I am not saying that any fast paced relationship won’t work out, but what harm is there in keeping courtships a little longer and getting to know the person a little better? If you think it will increase you chance of breaking up, that should be an indicator that maybe you shouldn’t get married. If he or she is thinking about marrying you, they should still feel that way a couple months later, and if not, you may have saved yourself the pain of marital problems later.

If you are thinking about getting married, please, please, PLEASE try to make a fair assessment of your situation. You are in love and that factor can make it hard to see clearly sometimes. How long have you known your special someone? Have you talked to someone who lives with them to see if there are any big or little habits that would be unacceptable to you as a long term companion? Have you met his/her family or has he/she met your family? Have you counseled together about what you want to do or what your plans are for life? Have you been completely honest with your companion about everything, including things that have happened in your past and do you feel he/she has been completely honest with you? Is your relationship primarily physical? If so have you tried to see if you can still have conversation and enjoy each other’s company without being physical for a week? If you can look at all of these questions and make a good assessment, you are well on your way to what may be a happy relationship. If there are some problems, you may want to take things easy for awhile.

You may be saying, “Who are you to tell me when to get married?” The truth is I’m not anyone special. I do believe that marriage is something important and sacred and should not be taken lightly. Rushing into something so monumental can be a big mistake and can have incredible consequences for those involved. Take this matter seriously.

What do I want to learn from English 150?

I am a reader. I love to read. Writing, however, I am not such a fan of. When I read I get to learn about all of these cool ideas the author has. I feel like I am increasing my knowledge. Also, it is passive. With writing, though, I feel that, first of all, I have no good ideas to share; secondly, I am horrible at communicating any ideas I do have; and third, what I write usually isn’t worth the effort. I also am not good at expanding my thoughts enough to meet the required paper lengths. I am hoping that this class will teach me to write well. This should be an example to you of why I don’t like writing: I can’t even convey what it is I need to learn.

To start, I guess I would like to learn how to come up with ideas and formulate my own opinions about issues. I am a moderate. In everything. I have very few strong opinions, because I like to look at things from both ways. Either that or I frankly just don’t care. It is hard to write about something you don’t care about and even harder to take a side on an issue where you can see the good in both sides. So, in sum, I guess I would like to learn how to form opinions, even if just for the sake of writing, and be able to support them.

Next, I would like to learn how write a flowing paper. Mine tend to be very structured and choppy. I jump from idea to idea rather than continuing from one point to the next. I don’t know how well this can be taught, because it almost seems like it has more to do with a thinking process than just writing.

Also, I would like to learn how to stretch my papers without being redundant or just filling it with quotes. I need to know how to make a paper my own and use quotes to support rather than make my argument. I also want to know how to make a paper interesting without breaking the lines of formality.

Furthermore, I am not confident with education I got in High School. I am not sure I know how to structure papers right, what kind of words to use, how long sentences should be, and all of that technical stuff. Maybe if we could have a review? I am sure our Penguin Handbook talks all about that stuff, though.

In addition, I want to know what you expect out of the class. For good or bad, I write based on what I think the teacher is looking for. If that if bad, I guess I need to learn how to ignore what I think the teacher’s expectations are.

Overall, I think I’ve got the alphabet under control and how to write basic sentences down, but anything past that I think I could use some general help with. I don’t think I’m an awful writer, I just think I am unlearned in the subject, and I am hoping that this class can take away a little of that ignorance. College professors don’t take to well to the excuse “I didn’t know any better.” I hope this was a clear enough outline of what I would like to learn.

My Life in 250 Words or less

To begin in the beginning, I was born in this bright, cheery state of Utah. My dad was a medical student at the University of Utah when I was brought into this world, and thus, I was born in the University hospital. This does not tend to go over well with my BYU friends. I spent a good five years in Salt Lake City and have only a few faint but pleasant memories of my childhood here.

After my father completed Residency, we were off to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska where my dad was a surgeon in the military for four years. However, he mostly delivered babies at the hospital on base (that being the true nature of his job as an OBGYN). I had a wonderful time going to school there where we got to endeavor in such activities as ice-skating and cross country skiing in PE (Mind you, I only lived there from K-3rd grade). The summers were fun-filled as well because it was sunny, but not hot, and light almost any time of day or night (which made going to bed rather difficult).

My time in Alaska had to end and we moved to McMinnville, OR, which is where I call home. Elementary School became Middle School, and Middle School gave way to High School, and then I graduated and moved here for college. I hesitate to use "the end", because I plan on living a little more before my life comes to its completion, so I'll leave this one as a cliff hanger.