Author: picklerick13

Causal Argument – picklerick

Reading more nonfiction literature causes your brain to sharpen. When you read informational text, you’re usually making an effort to fully comprehend the text. Whereas when you’re reading a fiction or science fiction novel, you’re likely reading for pleasure. People who just read for fun may not realize that they are not fully comprehending the text. Public schooling often fails to teach the proper way to close read text. According to Ness (2011), students are struggling with close reading at an increasing rate. This could be caused by a few things. When kids receive summer reading, it is almost always a fiction novel. This makes it easy for the students to skim through the text, gaining little to no value or skill. Caitlin Dakin says, in her thesis paper, “It is essential in today’s educational world that teachers begin to transform their classroom instruction of fiction literature into short informational complex texts to give the students the opportunity to meet the demands of the common core learning standards.” Reading informational, nonfiction text will always beat fiction.

 

References

Dakin, C. (2013). The Effects of Comprehension Through Close Reading (Unpublished masters thesis). St. John Fisher College.
https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=education_ETD_masters

Amanda Christy Brown and Katherine Schulten. (2012, December 13). Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core’s Emphasis on Informational Text. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/fiction-or-nonfiction-considering-the-common-cores-emphasis-on-informational-text/
https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/fiction-or-nonfiction-considering-the-common-cores-emphasis-on-informational-text/

Bartlett, B. (2014, June 20). 4 Bad Side Effects of Reading Fiction According to the 19th Century. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-bartlett/4-bad-side-effects-of-rea_b_5513451.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-bartlett/4-bad-side-effects-of-rea_b_5513451.html

Visual Rhetoric – piclerick

0:01 The ad starts with a black screen with text that reads: “Wednesday 8:01am”. This clearly lets the viewer know that the following video takes place on a Wednesday morning. This may have significance because Wednesday is in the middle of the week and 8:01am is early in the morning.

0:02 The video quickly cuts to a video of a man sitting on a bed and holding a vacuum to a little girl’s hair. The video quality is very poor which indicates it is most likely a home video. The setting is inside of a bedroom. The girl is wearing pajamas and seems to be comfortable with the man which indicates that the man is likely her father. It is hard to tell what the father’s intention is with the vacuum, but it could be a creative/fun way of doing his daughter’s hair.

0:13 The father continues to brush his daughter’s hair with his hands and then proceeds to put a hair tie in it, giving her a pony tail. This shows that he is helping his daughter out, probably doing her hair before she goes to school (since it’s a Wednesday morning). His use of the vacuum may have been to dry her hair.

0:17 The daughter then get up off her dad’s lap and walks over to the person holding the camera whilst smiling. This shows that she is happy with how her dad did her hair. It also makes me think that the person holding the camera is probably her mother. Also, another little girl walks into the scene and sits on the dad’s lap. This is probably the first girl’s sister. She likely expects her dad to do her hair too.

0:24 Both girls are smiling and seem to be very happy. The video then fades to another black screen which reads: “Take time to be a dad today”. This shows that the video was attempting to prove how important it is for dads to bond with their children.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGPhhjnAyec

Definition Argument – picklerick

Reading books is no different than consuming any other type of media. Many people believe that reading is a hobby to be prouder of than watching television, for example. Why is television any different though? You receive language and picture on a TV, whereas reading a book only gives you the language. This often makes it more difficult to understand concepts from text than it would be from a screen. One may argue that you will learn far more from reading than from television because reading offers infinite knowledge from nonfiction literature. Sure, learning from nonfiction may be more beneficial than watching shows like, “SpongeBob.” But there are countless documentaries and other informational films to watch that will allow to you learn just as much. Another reason why reading is no better than any other form of media is that it does nothing to improve your long-term health. There is a growing problem of adults staying sedentary for too long. A study by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) concluded that an average of 60% of adults’ waking hours are spent sedentary (Matthews). This is detrimental to our health because without an active lifestyle, your whole body slows down. In his manuscript, “Too Much sitting: The Population-Health Science of Sedentary Behavior,” Neville Owens suggests, “Canadians who reported spending the majority of their day sitting had significantly poorer long-term mortality outcomes than did those who reported that they spent less time sitting.” While you may think you are benefiting yourself by sitting down and reading a book all day, it may be a healthier idea to go for a walk or participate in a more active hobby.

 

Works Cited

Owen, N., Healy, G. N., Matthews, C. E., & Dunstan, D. W. (2010). Too Much Sitting. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 38(3), 105-113. doi:10.1097/jes.0b013e3181e373a2
Matthews, C. E., Chen, K. Y., Freedson, P. S., Buchowski, M. S., Beech, B. M., Pate, R. R., & Troiano, R. P. (2008). Amount of Time Spent in Sedentary Behaviors in the United States, 2003-2004. American Journal of Epidemiology, 167(7), 875-881. doi:10.1093/aje/kwm390

PTSD Claims – picklerick

08

Brannan sent Katie to the school therapist, once. She hasn’t seen any other therapist, or a therapist trained to deal with PTSD

—”Once” makes me think that Brennan had not tried very hard to get help for her daughter. If she was really worried she would’ve brought her to the therapist a lot more than once.

—”She hasn’t seen any other therapist” reinforces Brennan’s lack of willingness to get help for Katie.

Brannan knows what a difference that makes, since the volunteer therapist she tried briefly herself spent more time asking her to explain a “bad PTSD day” than how Caleb’s symptoms were affecting the family.

—”what a difference” is used sarcastically to state how the therapist made no impact on Katie’s behavioral problems.

Certainly she seems better than some other PTSD vets’ kids Brannan knows, who scream and sob and rock back and forth at the sound of a single loud noise, or who try to commit suicide even before they’re out of middle school. Caleb spends enough time worrying that he’s messing up his kid without a doctor saying so.

—”Certainly she seems better than some other PTSD vets’ kids Brannan knows” means that Brennan must know many other parents with kids who have behavioral problems similar to, or worse than, Katie’s. This also reveals that this issue is not specific Brennan’s family, and that this is a normal occurrence within post-war households.

—”try to commit suicide even before they’re out of middle school” means that it’s normals for children in families with PTSD to attempt to commit suicide at an abnormally young age.

—”Caleb spends enough time worrying that he’s messing up his kid without a doctor saying so” let’s me know that Caleb is worried about Katies mental state and it doesn’t help when the doctors tell him what he already knows.

Brannan is a force of keeping her family together. She sleeps a maximum of five hours a night, keeps herself going with fast food and energy drinks, gets Katie to and from school and to tap dance and art, where Katie produces some startlingly impressive canvases, bright swirling shapes bisected by and intersected with other swaths of color, bold, intricate.

—”Brannan is a force of keeping her family together” reveals that the family needs Brennan, and without her, the family would fall apart.

—”keeps herself going with fast food and energy drinks” shows how Brennan doesn’t have time to eat healthy and take care of herself properly because she is too busy providing care for her family.

—”startlingly impressive canvases” shows that one wouldn’t expect Brennan to have such a creative talent due the issues she is forced to deal with on a daily basis.

She used the skills she learned as an assistant to a state Supreme Court justice and running a small newspaper to navigate Caleb’s maze of paperwork with the VA, and the paperwork for the bankruptcy they had to declare while they were waiting years for his disability benefits to come through.

—”maze of paperwork” means that the VA gives Brennan a lot of confusing and unnecessary paperwork.

—”bankruptcy they had to declare” means that they did’t want to declare bankruptcy, but were forced to because Caleb’s disability benefits took so long to come through.

She also works for the VA now, essentially, having been—after a good deal more complicated paperwork, visits, and assessments—enrolled in its new caregiver program, which can pay spouses or other family members of disabled vets who have to take care of them full time, in Brannan’s case $400 a week.

—”after a good deal more complicated paperwork, visits, and assessments” shows how the VA gave Brennan even more hassle and paperwork when she decided to become part of their caregiver program.

White Paper 3 – picklerick

My research essay will be delving into the deception of one of the healthiest pastimes we believe to have. I’m going to prove why reading young-adult fiction novels is a terrible habit for adults to acquire. It didn’t surprise me to find out that the majority of Young adult and teen fiction novels are read by grown adults. According to a study done in 2012, “55% of readers in the YA market are not young adults” (Howlett, 2015). People enjoy the appeal of YA fiction because it gives them the opportunity to escape their lives, to temporarily forget about their stresses and obligations. What these people are unaware of, though, is that this distraction isn’t the slightest bit beneficial for them. “History reveals fiction’s ability to change our values at the societal level” (Wilkinson, 2016). An example of this in television is with the show, “Modern Family”. There’s a homosexual couple treated without judgement in this program, which moves the viewers to become more accepting of the LGBT community. This is a good-hearted example, but if our views can be swayed so easily by a television show, imagine how easily a novel (with deep storylines and characters you strongly connect with) can rewire your brain.

Not only do these stories change the way we think, they also trick us into expecting many more positive outcomes than reality is willing give us. It’s no secret that YA fiction novels are almost sure to give you a happy ending; it’s part of the appeal. All this does, though, is lead us to have greater expectations for life and little knowledge of how go and achieve these aspirations. If you want to find true love, don’t go and read “The Fault in Our Stars”. Instead, pick up a book like “The Ladybird Book of Dating” and learn how to become a better partner.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/feb/24/why-are-so-many-adults-reading-ya-teen-fiction

Content of the Article: This article shows that many adults still read young adult fiction novels. It includes a study which concluded the majority of YA readers (55%) are adults. States how YA books provide an escapists appeal.

What it proves: It proves that adults love YA novels and read them more than their targeted audience.

http://bigthink.com/the-moral-sciences-club/fiction-isnt-good-for-you

Content of the Article: This article debates the counterargument that reading fiction makes you more empathetic.

What it proves: This proves that my original claim is true and falsifies the popular notion that reading fiction will make you more empathetic.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/dec/06/literary-fiction-happy-endings

Content of the Article: This article points out one of the flaws in YA faction, the facts that there are too many happy endings.

What it proves: It proves that happy endings are detrimental to our outlook on life.

https://examinedexistence.com/why-reading-literary-fiction-is-good-for-you/

Content of Article: This article gives me great examples of popular counterarguments to my hypothesis such as, “It helps your brain stay in shape”.

What it proves: It proves that reading fiction is beneficial. It also proves that this is a highly debated topic which I can take a strong side on.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160719131334.htm

Content of Article: This article is full of psychological studies which test how reading fiction effects different parts of our brain compared to reading nonfiction. This is important because it will give my hypothesis solid backing.

What it proves: It uses a study involving an FMRI machine to conclude that fiction’s use of exhaustive descriptions is unnecessary. Instead, it suggests that all an author needs to do to activate one’s imagination is suggest a scene.

 

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055341

Content of Article: This article describes a series of studies that were done to test how reading fiction literature affects people’s levels of empathy. There are two studies; one which tests how reading fiction affects levels of empathy over time, and one which tests how one’s level of transportation (how immersed you are in the story) whilst reading affects their empathy.

What it proves: It proves that there are multiple factors to consider when making the claim that reading fiction improves empathy. Your level of transportation matters a lot. The studies in this article show that people who are less immersed in a story will actually receive reduced levels of empathy after reading.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-bartlett/4-bad-side-effects-of-rea_b_5513451.html

Content of Article: This article provides four main claims which support the argument that reading fiction has negative side effects. These claims are: Fiction makes your mind flabby, stories can leave you dissatisfied with reality, novels stoke the emotions, and sensational works can numb the mind to tragedy. Each of these claims is supported with evidence that includes real novels as examples.

What it proves: It gives me more ideas for claims to support my thesis. It overall proves that reading fiction does give people negative side effects.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec12/vol70/num04/Nonfiction-Reading-Promotes-Student-Success.aspx

Content of Article: This article includes a study which shows that the average child in the U.S. spends only four minutes per day reading nonfiction. It then goes on to describe how reading nonfiction is important for students because it positively influences student success.

What is proves: It proves that children are not reading nearly enough nonfiction. It shows that if students were to start reading more nonfiction, it would improve their levels of success and make them smarter.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14175229

Content of the Article: This article gives reasons why women read more than men. It says that men only account for 20 percent of the fiction market. It explains that psychological studies show that women are on average more empatheic than men.

What it proves: It helps me disprove the claim that reading fiction makes people more empathetic. There is a positive correlation between levels of empathy and the amount of fiction people read because of the fact that women are naturally more empathetic than men.

https://thepatronsaintofsuperheroes.wordpress.com/2017/10/30/science-fiction-makes-you-stupid/

Content of the Article: This article explains why reading science fiction is bad for you. It claims that the way people usually read science fiction is flawed because they often have very low levels of transportation. It also says that science fiction readers have less comprehension of a plot than narrative realism readers.

What it proves: It proves that science fiction is worse to read than narrative fiction. People who are looking to achieve higher levels of empathy from reading are better off reading narrative fiction than science fiction.

Purposeful Summaries – picklerick

It seems counterintuitive that hospitals will chose to keep someone alive even when going against their patients’ wishes to accept death. To me, this practice is ethically wrong and should be changed. There comes a point in a person’s treatment where the cost and pain of recovery becomes too overbearing. All efforts of healing the patient become fruitless. The article mentions the fact that about one quarter of MedicRe payments are made in the final year of a patient’s life. This is absurd considering the amount of suffering said patient endures whilst going through the treatment. There are a few reasons hospitals may do this. They may be trying to obtain more money from their patients, or the patients’ families may be making these decisions for them. This just goes to show how small of an impact the actual patient has over their own life.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-moms-death-changed-my-thinking-about-end-of-life-care

It seems counterintuitive that fantasising about your future is actually harmful to your level of motivation. This is due to the fact that when we fantasise, we often imagine our ideal outcome without taking into account the steps it takes to reach that outcome. This moves us to expect said outcome without making the necessary efforts needed to actually reach it. This article mentions how there is a big difference between expectation and fantasy. Expectation is based on past experiences, where fantasy is not. If we start realising what our true expectations are for our future, we may have an easier time taking steps to improve upon those expectations.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/01/success-why-expectations-beat-fantasies.php

It seems counterintuitive that taking multivitamins would be bad for your health. These delicious gummies are supposed to be nothing but helpful, right? Well, it turns out that they are often useless in the average person’s diet. Most people get more than enough nutrients in their everyday diet, making making multivitanins a waste of money. This article refers to studies which actually link “excessive folic acid intake to lesions that can lead to colorectal cancers” (Butler, 1). With concerning studies like this, it’s probably better to go easy on the flinstone multivitamins.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/03/econundrums-do-vitamin-supplements-work/

My Hypothesis – picklerick13

1. Reading books

2. How reading effects intelligence

3. The effect a person’s time spent reading each week has on their level of intelligence.

4. Reading more often makes people have a higher level of intelligence.

5. Reading more often actually has no effect on a person’s level of intelligence.

6. Reading a surplus of fiction novels will do more harm than good to your levels of insight and intelligence