Author Archives: JOSEPH HAMED

An op-ed is a piece of writing that was written through an author’s opinion on a specific subject. After reading the op-ed, Here’s what to know about the dangers that go along with hosting Thanksgiving amid surging coronavirus infections: What’s safe? What’s not?,  written by Keith Grant, it was clear Grant had many different views over how to approach this year’s Thanksgiving dinner amid the pandemic. In his article, Grant briefs over how serious the pandemic is and follows up with many different steps as to how to make sure people can enjoy their thanksgiving dinner as safely as possible during the pandemic. For example, he suggests in his article that anyone who refuses to wear a mask or, anyone who is vulnerable to a possible covid infection should immediately be taken off of your invite list to the gathering. He also suggests to avoid having a potluck, as everyone will be bringing a dish which raises the risk of infection for everyone who attends. Something I feel Grant was effective in doing in his op-ed was establishing credibility in his article. At the beginning of his writing he says “As the chief infection prevention officer at Hartford HealthCare and a father of two with a large extended family.” By saying this, Grant is able to gain his readers trust by revealing his profession and mentioning he has a family. This allows his readers to build a sense of trust with Grant while he explains his ideas on how to approach the dinner, not only because he is the chief infection prevention officer, but because he has a family who he is trying to keep protected at his thanksgiving dinner, which many readers can relate too.  

Julio, 18

“2020 has been an unpredictable year and with the election coming to an end so soon, it’s safe to say the election is unpredictible as well as I don’t see a clear winner. This has been by far the most interesting race to the white house I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

“This is my first year being able to vote and I’ve been looking foward to voting since the past year. The timing couldn’t have been better and I hope people my age choose to vote because politics is always involved with our lives and we shouldn’t ignore it.” 

“I hope to see whoever is in office for the next four years to really pay attention to the people and the needs of our people. Our country is broken at the moment, and whoever takes the seat should fufill the needs of our people, and they should start with bringing back jobs and give the help to the Americans who need it.”

Tenzingava, 19

“I feel this election is horrible. Trump has been unsuccessful is helping the Americans during pandemic and the death toll has hit 200,000 and counting. Trump continues to say were doing fine but in reality were not, and he isn’t helping us, he’s avoiding us.”

“With this being my first time able to vote, there’s no way I would give up the opportunity. This election has proven to be very controversial and I have a strong feeling this election could be the most participated in by the American people in a long time.”

“What I want to see in office is change. Times couldn’t be any rougher for Americans, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, racism is still as strong as ever, and the poor are still getting poorer. We need a president who wiull make it his duty to listen to his people.”

Isaiah, 18

“I never really paid any mind to elections that happened in the past. I always just went on with my life like nothing happened. This years election is definitely different however. It’s the first time I’ve really seen so many people my age talking about the election, even on social media, the election is everywhere.”

“I think the democratic party holds the stronger candidate in this election. Biden has shown us his plans for how he is going to help the people as Trump continues to deny he failed in saving Americans from covid-19. Biden is ready to get the virus out and bring life back to normal.”

“One thing I honestly hope is to happen, no matter who goes in office, is that coronavirus is gone. The pandemic has taken over all of our lives and the people are ready for everything to go back to normal. 2020 has had it’s fair share of unsatisfying events and it’s time for that to be over.”

A) After reading Backpacks V. Briefcases written by Laura Bloin Carol, I was able to recognize and learn many different ways rhetoric is used to influence our lives and perspectives. Something that really stood out from this essay to me was the section where Carol speaks about the media and how they use rhetoric. She explained how many times the media uses pathos, to appeal to our emotions and influence our perspective on what is being represented. This is mostly used and effective when companies on the media are trying to sell a product. Something else I learned from Carol’s essay was how important the use of logos is when it comes to the context of grabbing viewers attention. By giving the facts that some viewers may want to see before they make their decision on the given topic, it can make it easier for your viewers to accept what they are viewing.

B) A quote that I found to be interesting from the article is, “An analysis using the rhetorical triangle would ask similar questions about the audience as one using the rhetorical situation, but it would also ask questions about the writer and the purpose of the document. Asking questions about the writer helps the reader determine whether she or he is credible and knowledgeable.” I found this quote to be particularly significant because it represents the purpose of logos, pathos, and ethos: gaining credibility and trust from your audience. It showed that by using rhetoric well, you can earn credibility from your audience and have a strong and influential writing.

C) This article would definitely improve my use of rhetoric. It gave clear examples of how to use rhetoric successfully in your writing in order to earn credibility from your audience and I feel my use of logos, pathos, and ethos can be stronger. 

I was scrolling through twitter when this post caught my eye. It’s showing the difference between the people who support Biden (left) and those who support Trump (right). All I can say is that this post caught the idea as we all know those that support Trump get a little carried away.

In George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English language, he recognizes the idea that many see the English language with a negative perspective. He explains how it’s not the language itself that people may have an issue with, however it is the way the language is used and how it is perceived by the world. He says this is happening because “ Our civilization is decadent,” and because of this, our language must follow our civilizations downhill path. 

An excerpt from Orwell’s essay that clearly states this cause and effect relationship is when Orwell says, “ Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.” In this quote, Orwell is explaining that the use of the language is causing it to build a bad reputation because of the continued negative use of it. He also says that if these bad habits were removed, our language can be used to show creativity in new ideas as well as originality. This quote especially stood out to me because Orwell is clearly trying to show the issue that many see. He explains how the English language shouldnt be used in such a detrimental way to express bad habits and negative vibes rather than the greater purpose of representing good ideas and better habits so that they can be “intimidated” rather than spreading negativity. 

In his writing, Orwell offers many examples of what represent to him the wrong use of the language. He explains how in these examples, the writer of the text was unsuccessful in explaining or representing his or her ideas clearly. These “issues” that Orwell shows in others writing definitely still exists today. Many writers try to express their ideas in their writing and the general idea becomes to broad and the reader can become lost as the writing can become unclear and confusing. 

The use of the English and politics can be unclear at times when trying to represent an idea. The idea can become very broad and come off as wrong when a person is unable to clearly represent their ideas purpose. An example of this to me in today’s world can be with supremacist groups who try to justify and explain their ideas which can be completely unethical and immoral.