03/23/11

Today in class we reviewed that templates are very useful to make writing understandable. We reviewed  an essay without a template and the information seemed all over the place and unorganized. Then we went over one that did use several templates and all the information was threaded together and well complimented.

03/14/11

Victor:  My essay took a more of a pathos filled approach followed by statistics pulled out of then essay, I think my approach was an efficient way to illustrate the point the author tries to make because the contrast between the pathos and logos, makes it flow smoothly.

Cesar:
Compared to the essay we reviewed in class, my essay had more personal opinions and examples that completed most of the writing, examples were pulled out of the essay to strengthen my opinion.

03/10/11

Today in class we discussed what a great essay is. According to the EPT scoring guide a perfect essay is graded as a 6. We went over what is needed to create a 6 grade essay. You need  to address the topic completely and thoroughly, it needs to address the opposing viewpoints, it uses specific details, has smooth transitions between ideas, and have little to no grammatical errors.

03/09/11 Essay

     In Bilger’s passage, he seems to be supporting the idea that there is too much money being spent on pets, wether its for medical reasons or spending for supplies. The amount spent on animals has gone up to extraordinary numbers and in my opinion, it will continue to rise as long as the pet is considered “part of the family”. In only seven years,the amount spent on pets’ veterinary care went from $11 billion to $19 billion; thats not including the cost of pet food and other supplies.

     Americans today tend to agree that pets are family, and no just an animal that is being cleaned up after. For some people, pets fill a void that most americans have; wether its replacing a child that has gone off to college, or just being treated as an unborn child completely.

     I’ve always believed that a pet can make a good companion and that the love for them would grow the more they are around. I have a dog that I care for, but I would not go to such means as to waste $5,000 for a kidney transplant. In my opinion, why put an animal through so much trouble?

     Although Bilger doesn’t come out and say it, he might think that some Americans are crazy to be spending so much amount of money on a pet. On one hand, while some may agree with that, others might disagree and say that a loved animal is worth all the money in the world.

     In this passage, Bilger states that our love affair with our pets has gotten out of control. But, who can stop the feelings that you might develop for an animal that will always be by your side if its treated well. The way american spend money on pets is up to that individual person.

0/07/11

1. The main points the author tries to make are: how important pets are to families and the extreme measures that people go through to keep their pets.
2. The author uses a lot of pathos in his writing to enhance the point he’s trying to make. Like when he compares his trucks to the cats. He compares his passion for hot rods to his love for Lady.
3. The logic in this article is when the author is describing the operation and the consequences that go along with an operation this delicate.
4. In our opinion the pathos holds more of an impact.
5. We agree with the author that pets aren’t just another animal, and that something should be done when they’re sick or hurt, but we disagree when he describes people that spend close to fifty thousand dollars on them when there might be something more important you could be doing with the money. I love my pets, but i don’t think i’ll be spending fifteen thousand dollar on them if I need to pay my house bills and other expenses.