CRA source 1

Assignment 5
Parker Wallace

Donohue, John. "Ban guns, end shootings? How evidence stacks up." CNN. Cable News Network, 27 Aug. 2017. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

           The author infers that if guns were banned, or the second amendment was altered, that mass shootings and gun violence would decrease. The author uses sources like the NRA and the National Crime Victimization Survey. He obtains a conclusion that the U.S. should model their gun control laws after other sovereign states to limit mass shootings.

The author is appealing to government officials and the media. I know this because he talks about what politicians should do and he is informing the media of the tragedies occurring in our country. His purpose is to ultimately get legislatures to change the policy on guns. He does this by showing the positive effects of limiting gun possession in other countries and the negative effects of no strict laws in the U.S. He is under some restraints because he is reporting to the media so he has some sort of government regulation, while it isn’t much.

            The title to the article does a pretty good job of summing up what I am looking for in an article, because it is a liberally written article, discussing the dangers of guns. I will also look at the conservative counterpart of CNN, Fox News, and use their article to control the bias of my paper.

CRA source 2

Assignment 4
Parker Wallace

Fox, J. A., and M. J. Delateur. "Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown."   Homicide Studies 18.1 (2013): 125-45. Web.

Summary: This article examines a variety of myths and misconceptions about multiple homicide and mass shooters, pointing out some of the difficult realities in trying to avert these murderous rampages. This article is peer reviewed, and references over 40 other peer reviewed articles in it. The author concludes, “Eliminating the risk of mass murder would involve extreme steps that we are unable or unwilling to take—abolishing the Second Amendment, achieving full employment, restoring our sense of community, and rounding up anyone who looks or acts at all suspicious. Mass murder just may be a price we must pay for living in a society where personal freedom is so highly valued.”

The author is writing to people concerned about the state of the country succeeding a tragedy. I know this because he discusses what goes on with policymaking and other factors of preventing these shootings after the shootings happen. The author’s purpose is to disprove myths about solutions to the mass shooting problems and I know that because he explicitly says that in the article. He references many other sources to give his article more credibility. He doesn’t have many restraints because he is just a journalist and is writing a relatively unbiased article so it doesn’t affect the article very much.

CRA subject discussion

Parker Wallace
Assignment 3

Subject: Why do people blame guns when mass shootings occur?

Why? I am an owner of multiple guns, so it gets under my skin when people blame guns for shootings. It is simply wrong and I want to write on why it is wrong and what would happen if guns were banned.

How broad? I hope to have a wide range of research, looking at many different shootings and how people reacted politically after these shootings.

Discourse: I will look at articles on both ends of the political spectrum in order to see both arguments and to remain unbiased. If I were to just look at articles by CNN or Fox News my research would be biased severely and I wouldn't have an accurate report.

Why women aren't welcome on the internet

Assignment 2

Parker Wallace

            To start, the beginning of this article was so vulgar it was nearly unreadable. Having said that, it acted as an extremely effective attention grabber. Starting articles can prove difficult sometimes because if the author isn’t successful most readers will stop reading before the end of the first page. However, Amanda Hess grabs the reader and entices them and draws them in to read the rest of the article. Amanda also uses this heinous first page to appeal to the readers’ emotions. She does this by using fear and by telling a personal story. She makes herself seem personable by telling us her job, and what her normal day is. Amanda also builds her story’s credibility by referencing a study by the Pew research center (368). She continues to tell personal horror stories and mentions Winston Churchill to add to her credibility.

            While this article does portray the dangers of being a female journalist on social media, it does not depict the social media struggles of the opposing sex. This sort of sexism is widely accepted because of how well the author depicts her issues. Most readers would feel bad for her and have sympathy towards her. Even though I am sympathetic, it is also scares me that nobody mentions the slashing men take online. Now I’m sure once you read that, you think I am some raging misogynist but I am just looking for equality in all aspects. Hess also seems to put down men when she mentions them. She does this indirectly by portraying them as having no heart and not caring about the struggles and threats she faces.

            I found the title of this article to be confusing and ironic. At first, I anticipated the article to be about a woman causing havoc or making scenes for no reason. As I read on, I realized that this was not the case, and instead the title was used for tactical irony. After finishing the article, I read the title in more of a sarcastic tone, and it made sense. In conclusion, I think this was a well written article that was emotionally appealing, but was a bit sexist.  

Lonliness of the interconnected

Assignment 1

Parker Wallace

            In the short story, The Loneliness of the interconnected, the author, Charles Seife, uses ethos, pathos, and logos to obtain credibility, appeal to the readers’ emotions, and to seem logical. Beginning before the start of the story, Seife inserts a quote by Cass Sunstein. This gives the article credibility by using a variety of people and sources to get the author’s point across. He makes further use of this tactic by referencing phycologist Leon Festinger multiple times throughout the story. Along with building the article’s credibility by using a scientist and doctor as a reference, this tactic also makes use of logos. When the reader sees a doctor is speaking on a subject, they tend to listen and believe it based on his credentials, which provide a logical insight on the topic.  Seife makes use of pathos on page 357 by referencing a study that focused on a housewife. This appeals to the reader’s emotions by mentioning a character that is easily relatable to. As a male, I can’t relate to her as a woman, but I can relate to her by her occupation and social status as I am a middle-class individual. He later references a high school student and YouTube Phenom. As the reader, the author appeals to my emotions because I’ve been in high school and publicly embarrassed before, so I feel for the kid. Nearly the entire article appeals to logic because of all the facts presented. This strategy goes along with ethos because while the facts appeal to the readers’ logic, the references to doctors also gives the article high credibility. In conclusion, the author uses ethos, pathos, and logos very strategically. These tactics aid him in relaying factual arguments to the reader while coming across as very intelligent and appealing to their emotions.