Thesis #2

Because of the rising number of natural habitats being destroyed, or otherwise tainted. Certain species, are struggling to remain in existince. We should protect these species natural habitats at all costs, so that our future generations can enjoy them, just as we did.

Animal Extinction

There are many animals that are endangered, meaning that there is only a small population of them left on the earth. There are also animals that are already extinct, meaning that none of their breed are still living. One of the main causes of animal endangerment and extiction is habitat loss. Forests being cut down, roads and buildings being constructed, and other destruction of natural habitats. Another cause is pollution, not only pollution of the air but also pollution of the ground, or the water. Competition from other species can also play a role in animal endangerment/extintion. Disease is yet another cause and can come naturally, or as a result of pesticides, or pollution. Finally predation, which is being hunted by another animal for food, or unregulated killing, which is being killed illegally by a human, are both major causes of animal endangerment/extinction. Many organizations have tried to help endangered species and some of them have been very successful. If we don't continue our efforts to help the endangered species, they too will become extinct, and therfore be lost forever. Someone should do something about it because life, of any kind, is too precious to allow it to be lost for eternity. When a species can no longer make it on its own, we should be there to help that species rebuild its natural environment, and to protect it from any harm.

precis #6

"Pretend  "Gun  Free"  School  Zones:  A  Deadly  Legal  Fiction,"  by  David  Kopel,  is  an  analysis  of  "the  licensed  carrying  of  firearms  in  K-12  schools  and  in  colleges  and  universities."  The  writer  claims  that  absolutes  bans  are  very dangerous  because  they  make  schools  easy  targets.  He  also  compares  the  United  States  laws  to  laws  in  other  countries.  The  target  audience  is  anyone  researching  gun  policies  in  schools.




Kopel, David. Pretend "Gun Free" School Zones: A Deadly Legal Fiction. 2. 42. Connecticut Law Review, 2009. Web. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/30546045/Pretend-Gun-Free-School-Zones-A-Deadly-Legal-Fiction>.

Precis #5

In  the  article  by  Marc  Lacey  "Lawmakers  Debate  Effect  of  Weapons  on  Campus."  The  writer  talks  about  the  bills  that  lawmakers  are  trying  to  pass  in  Arizona.  The  writer  maintains  a  neutral  point  of  view,  although  he  includes  quotes  from  more  people  who  are  opposed  to  guns  on  campuses.  His  target  audiences  are  voters  and  students.

Lacey, Marc. Lawmakers Debate Effect of Weapons on Campus. New York: The New York Times, 2011. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/politics/27guns.html?pagewanted=all>.

Precis #4

In  "Guns  and  Gun  Threats  at  College"  the  writers  are  against  guns  on  campuses  and  they  conduct  a  survey  of  college  students  which  they  claim  supports  their  side  of  the  arguement.  Like  most  of  the  opponents  of  guns  on  campuses  they  seem  to  think  colleges  are  just  full  of  binge  drinkers  who  should  not  have  firearms.



Miller, Matthew, David Hemenway, and Henry Wechsler. Guns and Gun Threats at College. 2. 51. Journal of American College Health, 2002. Web. <http://www.riskandinsurance.com/userpdfs/HarvardGunStudy.pdf>.

Precis #3

In  "No  Gun  Left  Behind,"  by  Siebel  and  Rostron.  The  writers  strongly  oppose  concealed  carry  on  college  campus.  They  argue  that  college  students  are  not  responsible  enough  to  be  trusted  with  firearms.  They  estimate  that  if  bans  are  lifted  there  will  be  more  successful  suicides,  an increase  in  gun  theft,  and  increased  public  relations  costs.  The  audience  is  students,  parents,  and  anyone  else  concerned  with  the  matter.   



works  cited

Siebel, Brian J., and Allen K. Rostron. "No Gun Left Behind." Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Brady Campaign, May 2007. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://dev.bradycenter.org/legalaction/bcereports/nogunleftbehind>.

Precis #2

"Students  for  Concealed  Carry  on  Campus,"  (SCCC)  is  an  organization  that  believes,  that  anyone  who  has  a  concealed  handgun  license  should  be  allowed  to  carry  their  gun  on  campus.  The  SCCC  provides  their  "Top  5  Reasons  to  Allow  Concealed  Carry  on  Campus:"  Reason  1.  "Only  Licensed  Legally-Armed  Citizens  would  carry."  Reason  2.  "Gun-Free  Zones  Don't  Work."  Reason  3.  "The  Net  Effect  is  Positive."  Reason  4.  "Everyone  deserves  protection."  Reason  5.  "Colleges  can't  protect  students."  The  SCCC  is  writing  to  anyone  interested  in  or  researching  the  subject.



Works  Cited

"Top 5 Reasons to Allow Concealed Carry on Campus." Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. 23 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://concealedcampus.org>.
  

Working Thesis

Any licensed, legally armed citizen should be allowed to carry their firearm on campus. According to many crime statistics, from schools that allow licensed concealed carry. School crime rates dropped considerably once they had lifted the gun-bans. Also colleges do not have the force necessary to protect student from random attacks. By leaving the gun policies in place, they are leaving schools defenseless.

Rhetorical precis for "Guns Good Bans Bad"

Michael Menkus's analysis, "Guns Good Bans Bad(2011)," argues that gun bans raise crime rates and add unnecessary enforcement costs. Menkus reinforces his argument with many credible statistics, most coming from the U.S. Department of Justice Crime Statistics. Menkus's purpose is to educate people about gun bans and their negative affect on crime rates and the economy. Menkus is writing to anyone researching gun bans and their economic effect, particularly all pro-gun, pro-self defense, and pro-2nd ammendment individuals.


Menkus, Michael. Guns Good Bans Bad. 2011. Web. <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1946236>.

Questions About Gun Control at College

1. Why are such strict gun laws in place at colleges? 2. How do gun bans affect crime rates? 3. How do gun bans affect us economically? 4. How do firearm sale increases affect the crime rate? 5. How do gun transfer sales affect the crime rate? 6. How does the amount of people carrying firearms affect the crime rate? 7. Who calculates the crime rate? 8. What are the criteria for their calculations? 9. How was CSU Fort Collins affected when the gun ban was lifted? 10. What is the annual cost of gun control?

Don't be a jerk, just do the work

With new technological breakthroughs occurring every day it is almost impossible to stop people from downloading or copying music or text illegally. We have gotten so used to having everything so easy to access that we often forget to give credit to those who deserve it, whether it be by citing their original work or by paying them for use of their musical works. When we hear the word plagiarism we think of something horrible that we could never imagine ourselves doing, but in all reality we have probably plagiarised thousands of times without even realizing it. When we think of copyright infringment we might imagine a bootlegger selling illegally copied dvd's and cd's out of the back of his van. But realistically downloading just one song without paying for it is copyright infringment. Suzana Cismas explains how plagiarism hurts everyone involved in her publication "Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Environment Engineering Students." 1. "plagiarists do not acquire the skills legitimate work would teach them, risking failure & expulsion." 2. "classmates working hard for their grades have to compete with plagiarists for jobs and admissions." 3. "teachers have to take time out of the education process to deal with plagiarism." 4. "administrators find the principles on which their institutions are founded undermined by plagiarism, and must devote resources to combating it." It is sad to see how common plagiarism and copyright infringment have become in this technological age. We must ask ourselves the question; is it really worth it? The answer is no of course, that is unless you want to wind up being kicked out of college, being fined, or winding up in jail.


Works Cited:
Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Environment Engineering Students, Suzana Cismas
http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2010/Cambridge/EE/EE-56.pdf

Rhetorical precis for anti-plagiarism strategies...

In Suzana Cismas article, "Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Environment Engineering Students", she provides many interesting statistics taken from various surveys. Suzana Cismas explains how students don't view plagiarism as cheating but rather as taking advantage of technology. She also goes into the different types of plagiarism, clarifying that not all plagiarism is intentional. A student could simply make the mistake of paraphrasing and not changing the original text enough, or by changing it too much. The student may have just taken incomplete notes and unknowingly copied someone elses work onto their paper without proper citation, not even realizing the seriousness of the issue. There are however different methods a professor can use to keep the students academically honest, and to monitor the students writing process. A professor can simply have the student turn in pieces of the paper before the final draft, such as a rough draft, bibliography, outline, or a thesis statement. With a record number of students plagiarising papers every day new methods and detection software must be produced in order to discourage the trend from becoming any worse than it already is.

"Good Reasons" chapter 2 and 3

In chapter 2 of "Good Reasons" written by Faigley and Selzer, we are taught how to read arguments
critically.  That is, not taking a side and believing it to be true, when we haven't even evaluated the argument properly.  To properly evaluate an argument, one must read it multiple times and take notes.  The reader should recognize any fallacies and make note of them.  Then the reader can map and summarize the argument.




In chapter 3 we learn how to find arguments.  It turns out you can find arguments in everyday conversations, but there are certain requirements for a strong argument.  You need an interesting claim, at least one good reason, evidence to support your reason and acknowledgment of the limitations and opposing views of the claim.  The chapter goes on to explain how to find a topic and research it thoroughly.

The Shame of College Sports

This extensive article written by Taylor Branch brings the scandalous workings of the NCAA out into the open. It also describes how the student-athlete is the victim. Many large sports corporations offer money to high school graduates in order to recruit them to whichever college team they please. The NCAA receives mass amounts of money from media, merchandise, and sports equipment corporations. The NCAA then sends money out to all the member schools, the big revenue schools making 40 to 80 million dollars a year. None of this money makes it to the student besides their scholarship. But if an athlete gets injured or performs poorly he is left out to dry. Taylor Branch gives multiple examples of students who lost cases against the NCAA because of the student-athlete policy. However there are still a large number of lawsuits working their way through the courts system that have the potential of destroying the NCAA.

Worlds Smallest Car

We have a hard time imagining anyone would find the Smart ForTwo uncomfortably large or the Scion iQ too big for their needs, but a group of businessmen in the UK believe there's a market for even smaller transportation. The group has resurrected the Peel brand, and the manufacturer is now accepting orders for both the P50 and the Trident. Both models will launch with a 49 cc two-stroke gasoline engine making just 3.35 horsepower, but buyers will also be able to choose one of two electric motors as well.

A brushless electric motor producing 1.6 horsepower and 2.5 pound-feet of torque can propel either vehicle to a golf-cart rivaling 15 mph. So equipped, the P50 and Trident deliver an operating range of around 50 miles. A more potent 4-horsepower motor is also available, which propels the three wheelers to a top speed of 50 mph with the same range. Both Peel models are limited to 28 mph.

With the Trident weighing just 130 pounds and the P50 tipping the scales at a slightly heavier 198 pounds, even the most atrophied among us should be able to drag the machines into a convenient parking space or elevator. As of the time of writing, only 9 of the 50 first limited edition Peel models remain available. Prices start at around $10,772, but if you want one, you'll need to place a $1,546 deposit. Head over to the Peel website for more information, and follow the jump for our favorite Peel video ever: Clarkson bringing one to the office for Top Gear.

 (Original post by Zach Bowman, Jan. 22 2012)
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/22/worlds-smallest-car-headed-back-into-production/

It's pretty awesome when someone takes technology from the past and implements modern technology. The Peel P50 and Trident are good examples of this. The original Peel microcar was produced from 1962-1965, it was sold for about $300. The new Peel is available with the original gasoline engine or one of two newly developed electric motors for around $12,000. If only they had a turbocharged version, I would definatly buy it.