The Value of Research in a First-Year College Writing Course

Aaron R.

The Value of Research in a First-Year College Writing Course

            Research is essential to writing courses. In order to be able to write several paragraphs about a topic, you must fully understand it. This takes the time and effort of reading up on the topic and searching the internet for more information about the topic. Once this is done, an assignment for a writing course can be completed accurately.

            Having a writing course during the first year of college can be overwhelming sometimes. Every professor is different and has expectations that are different from those of another. When writing, it is hard to tell what to include or exclude in a paper for different professors. This may be true, but when someone knows enough information about what they’re writing about, he or she should be able to meet every professor’s requirements. In order to know the information, research must be done. There are specific word count requirements for almost every paper that is written in a writing course. Some requirements are small, being 100-300 words, and some are larger scale, 500-1000 words. If you sit down to write a paper on a topic that you know nothing about, chances are you aren’t going to be able to write a large scale amount of words about the topic. Research also comes in handy in this situation because once you are informed about the topic, writing about it will become much easier.

            After really thinking about it, I see that research is of very high value in a writing course. How could anyone write a paper and please a professor with a paper without knowing about the topic? It isn’t possible. That’s why research is valuable to writing courses. I’ve always looked into something before I began writing about it, but I now I can see why I do so. It’s almost impossible for someone to fail a paper if they are fully informed on what they need to know about their topic, and that’s how there is value. 

My Selfless Act

Selfless acts are things that make the world better and happier. I believe that you can tell a lot about someone’s personality by knowing if they are someone who is willing to help out, or just keep walking when they see someone in need. Many people may say that if they were put in a situation in which someone needed them, they would be the first to help. However, in most cases, this is not true of them. Last summer my girlfriend ran for athletic queen for our high school to raise money for the athletic teams of her choice. Cheerleading was one she chose, since she’s a cheerleader, and baseball was the other because she knew that my team needed the money as well. I did a camp over the summer for youth baseball leagues in the area as a fundraiser. During this time, I helped others, taught youth something I am good at, and was self-rewarded.

            Helping my girlfriend is something that I do all the time. However, in this case, she needed me to give up a lot of free time, be in the hot sun for hours, and try to teach little kids that like to whine a lot. Even though this may not sound thrilling, I didn’t think twice about it. Even though money was being raised, I wasn’t being paid and neither was she. We did this to help out the teams at our school. Helping her was my main concern, because she didn’t have to give any money to baseball. Also, I didn’t mind at all because I was doing what I love while helping everyone.

            I’ve played baseball since I was four years old. I remember being that little boy on the mound, feeling like I was on top of the world compared to everyone else on the field. I remember feeling like I had a mission to do, and had to impress everyone. Striking out the kid on the other team at the other end of the field was the most fulfilling feeling I could’ve asked for when I was a little tyke. As I started these camps, all of the miniature pitchers from the different teams would come running, excited to start. I realized I wanted them to feel the same way that I did. I wanted them to feel on top of the world and like nothing could stop them. We began the camps soon after the announcement was made that I had signed to play baseball at college, so the kids gave me full attention at all times and told me they wanted to grow to play baseball forever like I was going to. This feeling was enough in itself for me to have done the things that I did on those hot summer days.

            Spending my summer helping with the camps was probably the highlight of my summer, honestly. I wouldn’t have taken money if it was offered to me. Supporting my girlfriend who was willing to support the thing I loved was what got me to do it at first. After actually participating, I just wanted to help those kids better themselves and be able to help make their dreams come true. I played baseball all year every year on several different leagues most of my life. Money wouldn’t be worth being able to give back to those kids. I enjoyed every minute of this time by doing what I love and giving back.

            My motivation began as my girlfriend, helping her made me feel great every step of the way. We raised enough money for both the baseball team and the cheerleading squad to get new uniforms. Afterwards I felt even better because of getting to do what I love and helping teach young people with similar goals how to be better. These reasons were enough for me that I would not have wanted to be paid or receive any reward. A selfless act can sometimes help you more than it can the person you’re supposed to be helping. 

Qualities of a good President

Aaron R.

            The President of the United States is very important to the quality of the country. He or she must make decisions for the entire country, despite his or her personal opinions or references. Three things are key to a good President: leadership, equality, and morals and values.

            A President is the leader of the country, someone who is responsible for all major decisions and laws. If a candidate for President didn’t show good leadership skills, they might not be the best option. All sides deserve to be given and considered when it comes to decisions, but the President must make a final decision based on what he or she thinks is best for the country as a whole. The President shouldn’t have a hard time deciding and feel pressured by wondering which side may disagree with the decision made. Leadership is needed so that there is someone coming to a final decision for the right reasons and not letting certain people sway them. If there weren’t that one leader to pick the best decisions out, there would just be two or more sides arguing all the time.

            Another thing that a President needs to have is an opinion on equality. Say a President doesn’t agree with gay rights, marriage, is racist, etc. That President needs to be able to look at people that fit those categories as members of his or her country and consider all of their beliefs as well. Although the President may disagree with these things, they are ongoing issues in this country that he or she will need to address on several occasions during their term and they need to do so respectfully. When deciding to veto or approve a law, the President must think not only of their opinion, but all of the people in the United States that his or her decision will affect in any situation.

            The last key thing I believe makes a good President is his or her morals and values. A President is looked at as the eye of a country, and will be making the most important decisions for their country during the term. Because of this, it is probably best that he or she has a background of honesty, equal thinking, etc. No one would want a President that was once in jail, had stealing on their record, cheated on their wife, etc. Although these are extreme examples, I think my understanding is clear that there should be instilled wholesome values in someone that is running a country for millions of lives.

            There are many things that people look for in Presidential candidates, many that I did not mention. These are my personal thoughts that are crucial to look for. The President needs to be a very respectable man or woman fitting all of these categories and many more. With all of these things put together, I think you’ll find a good President of the United States.  

Freedom

By: Aaron R.

            Freedom can be interpreted differently by anyone. I look at freedom as having the ability to say and do what I want, be treated fairly, and only have consequences against me when things can be proven. I wouldn’t want to serve a consequence for an action that I didn’t do. I also wouldn’t want everything that came out of my mouth or every move I made to be controlled or have to worry about what I was doing. I don’t think many people realize how broad of a word “freedom” is.

            The Amanda Knox case stood out to me because there was a good chance that she wasn’t guilty. She was accused of murder and convicted with no deliberate proof. I think that because she was involved with Guede, who was also in trouble with another case, she was looked down upon before real facts could actually be given. People like Nelson Mandela are the types of people who are free to begin with, but deserve their consequences. Mandela was imprisoned for sabotaging the South African state trying to prove a point between blacks and whites. He admitted to this sabotage, and there was also proof, therefor he deserved his sentence. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was arrested for a triple homicide, I completely disagree with this case. He was arrested but there was very little evidence and no finger prints were taken at the scene. I believe that this is the opposite of freedom and that he was arrested because he was a well-known African American in the 60s so he was portrayed as someone that would commit this crime.

            Freedom should give everyone equal rights. Some of the people above deserved arrests while the others did not. False accusation and jumping to conclusions takes away the right of freedom. These people could be innocent and serving someone else’s sentence. Their freedom has been taken from them for things that were never proven. Freedom is portrayed differently by everyone, but everyone deserves it. 

Argument and logic

By Aaron R.

            In this blog prompt I will be talking about what argument and logic means to me.  When I’m talking about an argument it means what a writer uses to get a point across.  When I think of logic it means its part in an argument that determines whether an argument is true or a fallacy.  I haven’t had any experience with argument writing or debating.

 On essay 2, I will form my argument on what the government should have done to prepare for this even if the government didn’t expect the horrible disaster.  My claim is that if the water is kept like this it will make those places unlivable.  Water is a necessity and without it one can’t survive.  I think this is important because, people need water.

 This claim is important to me because I don’t like seeing all the people in the Charleston area having to deal with this.  It is evidence by the media as they are showing us the inside of the situation.

West Virginia Water Scare

Aaron Rogers Dr. Wise English 101 January 30, 2014 West Virginia Water Scare I believe that the West Virginia Water Supply Scare is something that is very serious. It’s not something that anyone in the Charleston would have expected to wake up to. I couldn’t even imagine not having any sort of water supply. It would be bad not being able to take showers or drink the water from your own home. I feel sorry for the thousands of people that were affected by this horrible tragedy that cut the water from nine counties. I believe that they should have tested the water running in the New River more before supplying the city of Charleston and the surrounding nine Counties. In addition, I believe they City of Charleston should have had a backup source of water so things like this wouldn’t happen. I am thankful that none of my family or I were affected by this. I believe that the city of Charleston should be bringing in thousands of gallons of water for people to come get.