Srikar's WRA-110 Website

"Your College Major..." Article:

   As the title states, the main idea of this articles is to explain why "Your College Major May Not be as Important as You Think". This is not to say that a college major is not important, it means you are not doomed if you choose a "wrong" or different major. The article opens with an excerpt of a letter which Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, recieved from his father. This letter showed his father's overall disgust with the fact that his son had chosen "Classics" as a major. The author states that many parents highly pressure or force their childeren to choose job-oriented majors rather than ones which deviate from the status quo. He then uses personal philisophes and ideas to summarize what was discussed in the article.

   The audience of this essay is most likely intended to be incoming or current students and parents. This is evident by the authors encouraging words to not be scared to try other majors and his direct acknowledgment to any parents reading this article. This article is displays citations from various sources such as Yahoo Finance and Stanford University. Much of this article is personal ideas and experiences though.

   One problem I have with this article is its example with CNN's founder Ted Turner. While it is true that Mr. Turner went on to be extremely successful despite his major choice and his parent's lack of support, as mentioned in the comments section, " For every Classics major who founds CNN, there are [thousands] who wash dishes at Denny's. Get real." A truer statement could not have been spoken. While I agree with the author's position that you should not choose a major which focuses exclusively on job development, you should still choose one related to the job you are looking for. For example, I am taking Computer Engineering because I want to go into a computer-related major. If I wanted to work with computers, I would not choose Liberal Arts or another unrelated major. Choosing the correct major will provide training for the job you are looking for and employers look for experience on top of grades.

Essay:

   As stated in the first paragraph the main idea of this paper is to explain what chemical engineering is and "The future prospects that a career as a chemical engineer can hold. In the introduction paragraph, the author clearly defines what the structure of the rest of the essay will look like. The actual essay sticks to this structure very well. The evidence presented is clearly supported with facts from various articles including the required journal entry and interview.

   The audience can be inferred to be incoming Freshmen. In particular, incoming to MSU. This can be seen by the author's section entirely dedicated to what chemical engineering is like at MSU. The author also includes statistics such as job aptitude and salaries to persuade students to choose this as a major. The essay seems to be revised very well as it is able to provide much information while avoiding filler content. It was also revised a total of six times including the final draft.

   Personally, I cannot relate to this author's position too much. Throughout middle and high school chemistry was one of my least favorite subjects. This also showed during the fall semester of my Freshman year when I was required to take CEM 141. I do agree with the author on their position on writing in engineering. As they state, "The skill will definitely be useful because the world is becoming a more diverse...environment".

Article:

   The main idea of this article is about plagarism and the measures being taken to catch and penalize students who are accused of plagarism.This article uses primarily first hand accounts to explain to the audience how easy it is to find plagarized excerpts in a writing. The author then goes on to explain various statistics which show the number of students who confess to have committed various plagarisms and a few brief examples of graduate-level students who have been dismissed from their universities due to plagarizing their work.

   Based on the content of the article, this article seems to be directed mainly towards a general audience who are reading for fun. This article could also be directed towards students who have plagarized before as a sort of warning. A summary of the author's warning could be taken from the last two sentences: "Be diligent. Because someone's watching."

   Personally, I try my best to avoid intentionally plagarizing but I have run into trouble before. I agree that you have to give credit to the proper author if you are stating their ideas but I disabgree with the extremely strict penalties for first-time offenders, especially if it was unintentional. This may just be my opinion because I have never written any popular articles or had any of my work copied.

Essay:

   The main idea--"In this paper, I am going to talk about engineering as a whole, and how it affects humans"--is stated clearly in the introduction paragraph. The author then goes on to explain what the main ideas of each of his paragraphs will be. His thesis statement is clearly supported with both first-hand accounts and information picked up from other articles. Whenever other external sources are used, the author uses citations which reference the "Works cited" page.

   From the content of the essay, it can be clearly seen that the targeted audience is incoming college Freshmen. This essay is basically a persuasive essay which presents information and the advantages of what a mechanical engineer will have to do. It also gives a clear description of the progression of a mechanical engineering major throughout college such as which classes they will have to take. This essay appears to have been revised many times and the improvement from the first draft shows. The author is able to lengthen his paragraphs while at the same time removing filler material.

   I cannot really relate to this essay because my major is not mechanical engineering and I have also never considered mechanical engineering when I was selecting my major. One thing I can relate to though is looking for the enormous amount of job opportunities. As the author states, "The skills that mechanical engineers acquire through their college education have the widest area of application of all engineers and lead to the greatest diversity of employment opportunities." This is the same case for computer engineers who have to cover topics in computer science and electrical engineering.

Craig Zimmerman's Essay

   The thesis statement for this essay appears to be about six sentences long. The first sentence introduces what the remainder of the essay will be about and each of the other five sentences talk about what each section of the essay will discuss. The subtitles of this essay are directly relevant to the thesis statement since the thesis explained what each section will be about.

   These subtitles are arranged in a logical order with introductions and backstory starting in the beginning. The next sections are about what he has to do in the present to accomplish his goals. The final sections discuss what his future goals and aspirations are and how his major will help him. The sections are primaly told without using personal examples which is understandable as the author is a Freshman at MSU. Instead the author uses information cited from various sources such as books and interviews to present all information which may convince someone to select a major in Management. These sources all seem to be quoted in the correct format according to MLA.

   Though the conclusion is short, it is able to wrap up the essay effectively. It summarizes the author's interest in business and management and explains why he wanted to select this major at MSU. This essay is definetly audienc friendly. It not only explains why students should choosing Management in layman's terms, but it also presents them in a logical and clear fashion.

Yifan Zhao's Essay

What is the thesis statment: The thesis statment in this essay is about four sentences long and is presented in the form of questions which will later be answered later in the essay. Like the first essay, the first sentence of the thesis explains what the essay will be about before showing what the rest of the essay will be about. The subtitles are arranged in chronological order with the first section explaining what his major is and the subsequent sections talking about what you have to do to achieve that major and how it will help you in your future. The subtitles are very relevant to the thesis.

   The subtitles are arranged staring with an introduction and background which then transition to courses required for the course and how writing courses relate with Hospitality Business. The author then goes on to explain how Hospitality Business majors can affect society and which jobs are available to Hospitality Business majors. Like the first essay, the evidence in the sections is primarily given through information found in ariticles and books. This is probably because the author, like the first author, was a Freshman at MSU without much experience in the field. The sources used appear to be correctly cited in the "works cited" section and are referenced many times throughout the essay.

   Also like the first essay, the conclusion is somewhat brief. It still summarizes the thesis effectively though. It also quickly summarizes the major points in the essay. This essay is very audience friendly. The author uses simple terms which an incoming Freshman would be able to understand and also throuroughly explains the requirements to complete this major.

Essay 1:

  The first essay focuses on the evolution of social networking both on and off the internet. The author discusses social networking starting from the advent of human language to modern times and into the future. The author supports her topic by contributing a section of the essay to "A Brief History" of social networking before moving on to a discussion of how people communicate during modern times. In the modern times section, the author talks about the wide variety of social media which is available and how a few of them appeal to people better. She then goes on to explain how social networking is not only used for person to person networking but is also used for work or classes. A few given examples are Google+'s "circles" and Facebook's "groups". The next sections are dedicated to the future of social networking and the problems and benefits they may pose.

  This essay seems to target a general audience. There is not much technical material in this essay but it is not simplified for a learner either. The author seems to have done their research by citing 19 sources. A few of these citations seem to reference the same or a very similar article though. One example are the three articles by Mark Suster which discuss social networking in the past, present, and future.

  I was never an avid user of social media. Relative to many other people, I only recently opened a Facebook account. Before that I only had a Google+ account which is automatically given to Google users. But in the year that I opened a Facebook account, I can definitely see both the advantages of having an account. One prime example is this class. Without a Facebook account I would be more difficult for me to get the information I need for this class.

Essay 2:

  The second essay focuses on the evolution of the American food culture. The author starts off by establishing what "American" food was back in the day. They explain that it was a combination of many different culture's foods. This is followed by a brief progression to what American food is today. The final sections are devoted to explaining the disadvantages of modern food and how people can fix this issue. Like the first essay this is likely meant for a general audience. The essay is not oversimplified for learners but it is also not technical. The author cites 14 different sources and also adds a helpful dictionary of terms used throughout the essay which the audience may not have understood.

  This essay seems to be revised very well from the informative content with minimal filler material. My only complaint would be that the author drifts from the evolution of American food to the obesity crisis for a majority of the essay. One thing I have noticed over the years was my increased consumption of processed foods. Before college I would not have to worry about what I was eating because my mom would prepare food which was healthy but now I have to choose and prepare my own food.

Outline:

Main Idea: The history of the Symphonic Orchestra

Introduction: Introduce what the Symphony Orchestra is and why they were formed

Background/History: Talk about what the first orchestras were like and move through time to modern orchestras.

Present Day:

-Talk about the main differences between the modern and past symphony orchestras.

-What do people think of symphony orchestras

-What do I think of the symphony orchestra

Conclusion: How an orchestra could evolve in the future and whether or not people will still have interest in the future with the changing music taste.

Questions:

1. What is a Symphonic Orchestra and how does it differ from a normal orchestra
2. When did the first professional orchestras form 
3. What did the first orchestras look and sound like 
4. How have orchestras changed through the years into modern orchestras (music style, arrangement, etc.) 
5. What are older people’s opinions on the orchestra and how do they differ from the modern teen’s opinion
6. What is my opinion on the Symphony Orchestra
7. Will traditional Symphony Orchestras survive the changing music taste

  While I don't know if it was intentional or not, I found it clever that the article tested its own theory that the internet and search engines are making people unable to concentrate through lengthy works of literature and interpret in-depth writings. Truth be told, I found myself staring to skim when I was about halfway through the article. This main idea is supported by many theories which were created by high ranking scholars, other articles and papers, and the author himself.

  The type of audience this article is most likely directed towards is one which consists of internet enthusiasts who use internet search engines for nearly all research and activity. The author wants to educate his audience about the disadvantages or perils of using this technique.

  As I have stated before, I noticed myself starting to skim when I was about halfway through this article. During the summer after my high school graduation, I decided to try and learn the programming language C++ and to brush up on my skills in Java. I had multiple books on C++ which all had excellent reviews. The problem arose about 10 pages into the book when my mind started to wander. After dragging my concentration back to the book, I started to wander after about five pages. After two days of this I finally gave up on the books and started using Google. There, I typed in what I wanted to know and I looked for a simple answer which was also short enough so I wouldn't have to concentrate for a long time. The same thing also happened when I tried reading a favorite book of mine a few days ago.

-Yifan

  The first essay I read was Yifan's essay. Although this essay contained a few errors, it was clear that the overall idea was about a foreign exchange student coming to study in the U.S. The essay explains his personal journey and how it affected him for the better. The main idea is supported by firsthand accounts of the author' experiences mixed in with an account of his friend's own experience. The author then goes on to explain how each of his experiences shaped his attitude toward American culture and how it differed greatly from Chinese culture. Based on the author's main idea he is probably targeting an audience consisting of future or new foreign exchange students and offering them reassurance. This essay definitely could have been edited better. While the author is able to get his point across, the essay is hard to read at times and at other times nearly incomprehensible. This essay is primarily made up of the author's own experiences and lessons with one excerpt of his friend's experience. Although I have never been part of any foreign exchange program, I can relate to this essay by my vacations in India. Being born and raised in the U.S., I am very much accustomed to American culture and ideals. However when I visit India, I feel something comparable to a culture shock from the very different way people go about their days.

-Mackenzie

  The second essay I read was Mackenzie's essay. The main idea of this essay was to discuss the difficulties of living with divorced parents. The author then goes on to explain how this experience shaped herself and her brother for the better. The main idea was presented through the personal experience of the author and her brother through a largely first person view. This point of view allows the reader to directly connect and identify with the author and her struggles growing up. As with the first essay, this essay seems that it also is directed towards an audience who is going through a similar situation. The overall essay has little to no errors and is revised well. My only gripe is that the font size differs throughout the essay and can be distracting at times. I really don't have much that I can relate to in this essay but I can say that reading this has made me thankful for what I currently have.

-Joe

  The final essay I read was Joe's essay. This essay starts out as a story of a happy child with a good life but then turns to a darker tone when the author's parent's lose their jobs and his family is forced to move into low income housing areas. The main idea of this essay is to explain the hardships that the author went through. Like the other essays, this essay also uses the first person perspective in presenting the author's experiences and what he thinks about them and what he learns from them. This essay appears to be directed towards people who are going through a similar situation. Growing up in a stable middle-class family, I cannot relate to the author's experience of living with divorced parents. But I can relate to the author's view on "the importance of humility". As I learned a long time ago, it's good to have respect for those under you as well as those who have a higher status as you.

  As the title of the article explains, the primary focus of this article was to explain what the phrase "writing in the cloud" means and present four different programs which enable a user to access the cloud. This is supported by a brief explaination of the advantages of using "the cloud" vs. a piece of hardware such as a USB stick or other media. The author then goes on to explain four types of software that can be used.

  Based on the author's word choice, it can be interpreted that this article was intended for an audience consisting of people who are currently using hardware rather than "the cloud" or people who are using some sort of cloud writing software and are looking for the advantages and disadvantages of using other programs.The author uses many hyperlinks thorughout his article which can take a reader to other articles which go further in depth about the current subject.

  Personally, I have been using programs such as Google Docs before I even knew what cloud storage was. I eventually learned about Dropbox and since then I've only used those two programs. Now that I've read this article and the advantages and disadvantages of each program have been clearly displayed, I can look to using these programs when the other ones are not available.

  Like the title says, the main idea of this article is to inform a reader on the various ways they can use Google drive. This idea is presented through a series of three steps. Each of these steps explain briefly and simply how a the Google Drive utility can be implemented to not only back up files and documents but to also store them on Google's cloud network for accessibility.

  After reading the first few paragraphs, the reader can see that the author anticipated his audience would consist of simple to average computer users. This is shown by his use of common words with a few excerpts of computer jargon such as "cloud-storage" and "archive file". Although the actual article does not appear to contain citations to outside sources, the pictures' captions indicate they were taken by the author of the article.

  I found this article helpful as I did not know before that there was a separate Google Dive utility which was similar to programs like Dropbox. Until now, I've relied on my email or an external hard drive to back up my important documents and files. My only complaint is that although he acknowledges it, the author does not explain the differences in the procedure for Mac users.