Reaction to Academic Integrity Pledge

I think the academic integrity pledge was a good thing to do because it reminds us of the priciples we should abide by in order to be successful at Clemson. At this point in our educational careers, we may sometimes neglect some of the basic aspects of integrity due to laziness or ignorance. I think it was helpful to spend a couple minutes discussing the characteristics each of us think is vital to maintaining academic integrity. Even though they may seem obvious, they may overlooked if we arent reminded of their importance from time to time. Doing this assigment in groups was useful because we got to hear what aspects of integrity other people value.

Brutus and Antony Speeches

It is obvious from their first words that Brutus and Antony use different forms of appeal in their funeral speeches. Each technique is used to elicit a different response from the audience in an attempt to persuade them into taking their side. Brutus uses the form of logos to appeal to the audience’s intellect and reasoning. Antony focuses more on the form of pathos to appeal to the audience’s emotions.

Brutus begins his speech by addressing the audience as “Romans, Countrymen, and Lovers,” whereas Antony begins his speech “Friends, Romans, Countrymen!” I think this is the first sign of what is to come in each of their speeches and how they will be different. Brutus’s use of the word “Roman’s” represents his strategy of appealing to the audience’s reason, by defending how Caesar’s death was in the best interest of Rome. This technique allows the audience to look past their emotions and see the logic behind Caesar’s death. Brutus gets the audience to focus on what he portrays as the sensible thing to do by listing reasons as to why Caesar’s death was beneficial.

Antonym’s use of the word “Friends” in his opening line foreshadows that the rest of the speech will focus on eliciting an emotional response from the crowd. He uses reasons that evoke sympathy from the audience toward both Antony and Caesar. He reminds the audience of their love for Caesar and that this love should now be turned into mourning and sorrow. Antony emphasizes Caesar’s good qualities and gets the audience to feel as though Caesar has been wronged. Antony repeatedly refers to emotion eliciting words such as love and weeping to get the audience to feel sorrow for Caesar and forget what Brutus presented as logical.

English Lab: Class Expectations

Based on the first two labs that we've had, it seems like this class is intended to enhance the basics that we will learn in English 103 and allow us to utilize these skills in a more creative fashion. The lab and regular English class are probably connected because they focus on different areas of English that, collectively, will develop our reading and writing skills to their full extent.

My first reaction to the class was that it is going to be a laid back, open-ended setting. This lab will probably allow us to take structured and general concepts that we learn in our regular English class, and give us an outlet to apply these concepts in ways according to our own imaginations.

I expect that the knowledge I will gain of grammar and rhetoric from my regular English class, will be very useful when completing many of the lab projects that will be assigned this semester. From the lab syllabus, I got the impression that most of the projects will be looking for us to express our creative side. But although the projects seem very open to personal interpretations, it is important to express ourselves creatively while still adhering to the concrete rules of the English language.

This class will give us a hand's on setting and supply us with the resources needed to put the many uses of language into action and see how they can apply to various aspects of life.

Punctuation

I think there are occasions when an extreme attention to grammar should be paid, and other situations where extreme attention is not all that necessary. However, I don’t think that people should be exempt from knowing the rules of grammar and how to properly apply them when need be. When writing something that is intended to communicate an idea to another person in a work setting or to an authority figure, where proper interpretations are vital to the other person’s perception and understanding, grammar should be used very carefully. Not only will proper grammar help get the author’s intended message across, it will also give them an air of intelligence and efficiency that may enforce their status and make the audience truly hear them out. However, in more casual situations, often involving electronic devices, attention to detail may not be as necessary. Though sending messages over the internet and on cell phones, many people have developed a common language that revolves less around proper grammar and more around time efficiency. Although bad grammar may indeed lead to misunderstandings, they are usually quickly rectified because the contexts are usually more casual and may be simply attributed to laziness. On that note, I agree with truss that it is very important for people to have scrupulous regard for their grammar in some situations but not others. However, even in situations where grammar may be appropriately overlooked, we should still be able to identify our mistakes due to a thorough knowledge of grammar.
I agree with the analogy Truss includes that "punctuation is a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling." The word "courtesy" proposes the idea that grammar is an act of consideration toward another person. This strengthens my opinion that grammar should be used in regards to the audience, but in certain situations we may be more or less courteous.

Language: The Power We Love to Hate

1. "...Sometimes a true, obviously heartfelt apology is just what you don't want; all you want is a little reminder that you are owed something." (pg. 23)

I think this quote is saying that although apologies are often defined as being "heartfelt" as a requirement for effectiveness, it is important to recognize that there are many types of apologies, and that particular ones may be more or less appropriate in different situations.

This quote struck me as very interesting because it verbalizes a commonly felt, yet likely unacknowledged sentiment that many people experience on a regular basis. I enjoy stumbling upon ideas or theories that I feel I can relate to, but may not have been able to identify until they were worded by another person. This statement really made me question the essence of an apology, and later on throughout the article, the essence of language in its entirety. For me, this is the kind of quote that can really draw the reader further into the material and be able to understand what the author is saying from a new enlightened perspective.