SWA #8

For most large pieces of writing I usually start by creating a rough outline which consists usually of a web type diagram. After I do this I usually just sit down in one sitting and type my rough draft revising it as I go and after this I read through it. The idea of revising my paper after I am completely done with it is probably a better idea than trying to edit it as I go along. The idea of writing the paper then looking at it as a whole to determine the organization of the paper would be very beneficial to me. I feel that often I have the right information but I just present it in the wrong way.
Outlining ideas before you start writing can be very beneficial for organizing your ideas. It allows you to get your ideas onto paper in a less formal setting. It gives you the chance to just write not worrying about the less important pieces of the paper as much as the content of what you are writing. Outlines also provide a guide for you when writing which allows the writing of the first draft to be less stressful and take less time.
One specific suggestion to help revise a paper is the idea of is it clear or not. This is very important to writing a paper, if you can not understand it neither can the reader. This can be used in my specific case in that often I am unclear when writing so if I took more time to make sure I understand what I wrote then my paper would be more clear and easier to understand. Another suggestion for revision is the idea of is there enough variety. Variety in papers makes the paper more interesting. By varying my sentence types and the arrangement of my paragraphs I can easily improve my paper. By including more complex sentences and shorter and longer paragraph the paper would benefit. One final suggestion for revision is the idea of following the grammatical rules. Often times grammar is a subject that has been on the back burner with the introduction of spell check. While spell check does check spelling and basic grammar it cannot check more advanced grammar. There are many things that affect writing especially tense, pronoun references and also subject verb agreement. By fixing these my paper will be much improved.
Exploratory essay allows you to investigate various angles of an argument or a statement by analyzing all sides of the argument which makes a paper that is well rounded on all sides. My paper in particular is about the differences of assisted suicide, euthanasia, and killing. It will explore what constitutes each one of these topics. It paves the way for the position paper in that it allows me to learn about all sides of the issue and then to create an opinion on the issue. This opinion will be based on the information collected in the paper.
Peer revision is where you have another person of similar age review and provide suggestions on your paper. It can be done where small groups of students read each individual paper and respond on it or where the group discusses the papers individually. The teacher can be part of the action or it could be where two students exchange papers and take them home which gives them more opportunity to provide comments. I like when the papers are discussed as a group because it provides more peoples points of view. Peer review is good because it gives you an alternate viewpoint. They could see something that you might not have or they could know a better way to revise a certain part.

Body Image

Body image is culturally constructed by a couple of factors. The first being that men want to find they most atractive female. This causes females to want to have that perfect model like body. Women also want to find an atractive male. They might however find a certain trait attractive or they might just follow the way that our culture has made being skinier and better looking more desirale. This can be seen through the media and the fact that most if not all models are thin and good looking although a small portion of America is that.
Body image is culturally constructed also by the idea of that since such a large portion of America it is seen as okay. Since it seen this way people are less likely to try harder to try and reverse this. While this does exsist many people do try and resort to methods like bulimia and anorexia to try and achieve the "perfect body type". While some might see the pressure many just give in and stop trying which leads to the "American body type" being overweight.

Annotated Bibliography

Braddock III, Clarence H., and Mark R. Tonelli. "Physician Assisted Suicide." Ethics in Medicine. Oct. 2001. University of Washington. 20 Oct. 2007 .

Physician-Assisted Suicide is a piece by Clarence H Braddock III and Mark R. Tonelli that discusses the idea of physician assisted suicide and how it is different from euthanasia. It provides argument on both sides of the issue of assisted suicide. It deals a lot with the ethics of this situation and it also poses a few questions and answers like what does the medical profession think of PAS and what does the general public think of it. The article is from Washington Universities website on ethics which means they are concerned on the ethics of it and not a certain position so, it is objective. It overall will be a useful source.

Ertelt, Steven. "Poll Claims Americans Back Assisted Suicide, Votes and Others Say No." Life News. 2 Feb. 2006. 21 Oct. 2007 .

Poll Claims Americans Back Assisted Suicide, Votes and Others Say No is an article that provides some statistics on assisted suicide and euthanasia. It gives public opinion polls and also voting records of a few votes that have been held. It comes from Life News so it is probably aimed at those who are against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. The public opinion polls say that people are in favor of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia while the voting record is far from that.

Russell, Bruce. "Still a Live Issue." Philosophy and Public Affairs 7 (1978): 278-281. JSTOR. The University of South Carolina, Columbia. 20 Oct. 2007 .

Still a Live Issue is a piece by Bruce Russell in which he discuses the issue of passive euthanasia and active euthanasia. Later in this piece he discuses the difference between killing and letting die. Russell favors the idea that anyone that has a moral sense there shouldn’t be a difference. This is obviously a personal opinion and can be used to site information on the subject. Passive euthanasia is compared to letting die and active euthanasia is compared to killing. While I disagree it can be used to provide an alternative opinion.

Foot, Philippa. "Killing, Letting Die, and Euthanasia: a Reply to Holly Smith Goldman." Analysis 41 (1981): 159-160. JSTOR. The University of South Carolina, Columbia. 21 Oct. 2007 .

This short article, Letting Die, and Euthanasia: a Reply to Holly Smith Goldman refutes the idea that it is worse to kill someone than to let them die. The example Holly Smith uses is refuted then an example of her own is used. She also discuses the idea of involuntary euthanasia. This article can be used to defend the idea of its worse to kill someone than to let them die.


"Historic Euthanasia Court Cases." Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Massachusetts Citizens for Life. 21 Oct. 2007 .

This article provides a historical background for the many court cases that haven taken place involving active and passive euthanasia. One of the main points I can use from this souse is the idea of the right to die. This idea was that upheld in Bouvia versus Superior Court. Also the idea of going to active euthanasia is shown in the cases. I will use this article to show the laws and how the courts have dealt with the different issues.

Lowe, E.j. "Active and Passive Euthanasia." Royal Institute of Philosophy 55 (1980): 550-551. JSTOR. The University of South Carolina, Columbia. 10 Oct. 2007 .

This article discuses the moral sides to passive and active euthanasia. It talks about two men who either let there wife die or they killed them. The conclusion of the article talks about it is more often active euthanasia that appears more morally preferable. The article will be used to provide information about passive and active euthanasia in a way as to show the moral sides of both. Since it is from a psychological institute it can be used as an unbiased side to the issue.

Dixon, Nicholas. "On the Difference between Physician-Assisted Suicide and Active Euthanasia." The Hastings Center Report 28 (1998): 25-29. JSTOR. The University of South Carolina, Columbia. 19 Nov. 2007 .


This article argues that active euthanasia is more problematic morally than PAS. The author however acknowledges that the case for both are almost identical. He goes on to describe in detail the differences and similarities between the two. This will be beneficial to my paper because it help provide a definitional argument on PAS and active euthanasia.

White, Hillary. ""Right" to Be Dehydrated Key Right to Die Strategy." Life Site. 21 Sept. 2006. 20 Oct. 2007 .

This article discusses the idea of Right to Die. It says that only the patient should have the decision to sustain life or to end life. This article goes on to talk about how people change their opinions greatly when the wording is changed. This is a great article for my paper in that it discuses the effect of wording on people and also the idea of right to die is important for my paper.

Sources

LexisNexis Academic. October 3, 2007. The Scotsman Publications Ltd. October 15, 2007 <http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/auth/checkbrowser.do?ipco unter= 1&cookieState=0&rand=0.7420255463537619&bhcp=1>
LexisNexis Academic. September 18, 2007. The Scotsman Publications Ltd. October 15, 2007 <http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/auth/checkbrowser.do
?ipcounter=1&cookieState=0&rand=0.7420255463537619&bhcp=1>
Ethical Issues in Terminal Health Care. Spring 1994. The Senior Reporter. October 15, 2007 <http://www.cptelecom.net/~ennyman/DAS-4.html>
Should an incurably-ill patient be able to commit physician-assisted suicide. Balanced Politics. October 15, 2007. Suicide.html>
LexisNexis Academic. January 19, 2006. Nationwide News Pty Limited. October 16, 2007 dorisb=21_T2267286375&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey
=29_T2267286389&cisb=22_T2267286388&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=244790&docNo=15>

Topic Proposal for Exploratory Paper

Euthanasia is the according to Merriam-Webster is the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. Euthanasia is currently against the law in every state except Oregon in which it legal. The idea of euthanasia gives the patient the choice if they wish to continue living or if they decide it is their time to die. Thousands of people across the country are in situations where they have terminal diseases that have no cure such as types of cancer, emphysema, some mental illnesses, liver and kidney failure. Many of these diseases cause intense pain or the sick person to be in a state in which they are not fully functional in society. Many of these people think that it is there time to die but it would be a slow and often painful death which by means of euthanasia could be avoided.
My paper will explore the positives and negatives of euthanasia. This will include the preferred method of euthanization and the regulation of both euthanasia and the idea of assisted suicide which while different is very similar to euthanasia. My paper will also include the history and discuss the impact of legislation on euthanization.
My paper will be targeting anyone that has had experience of someone close to them passing on through a long drawn out ordeal. This is a target audience because they would feel more impacted by the subject than someone who has never experience this situation. I hope to write a paper that is both intriguing and informative on euthanasia.

Smoking Bans

Smoking in Restaurants
Which places it is acceptable to smoke in
Smoking in GA public places
Smoking in Columbia City limits
Smoking laws in other countries
Effects of secondhand smoke
Effect of smoking laws of the tobacco industry
Effects of smoke in restaurants atmosphere
US laws on cigarettes and the tobacco industry
Effects of cigarettes on other industries

Post Secret Card

My post secret card consists of the sentence I smoke because I think it makes me look cool on a black background with a picture of a cigarette in the middle. The text of the card is printed in a font to make the words seem almost handwritten. This was done to create the idea of it being personal. With the message I was trying to get the point across that the writer was only smoking to look “cool” even though campaigns are constantly saying that smoking is not cool and you should not do anything just to look “cool”. I chose the black background because smoking is usually considered a bad thing and black is the most suitable color. The presence of a cigarette is to display the image being discussed and to provide something other than a plain black background. Everyone seemed to get the idea pretty well because it is a fairly simple post secret card. The class reacted pretty much as would have expected them to on this particular card.

Post Secret

I am commenting on the post secret about the person locking themselves out of their room to see the security officer. The text of the message reads "I locked myself out on purpose (because the security officer is cute)". The explicit claim is that the person likes the security guard and wants to be around the security guard more often. The implicit claim is that people want to be around people they think are attractive and sometimes you have to do crazy things to accomplish this. This is most likely a college student or an apartment tenant. The audience is anyone that reads the card. It is targeted specifically towards anyone who has done something outrageous to see a person they liked. The visual component show the reader that this is real and not just made up. It is printed on the student’s copy of the lockout receipt.