Cover Letter

Throughout the fall 2009 semester there have been numerous types of essays presented. Three essays in particular include the ethnography, the annotation project, and the argument against convention. Each piece of writing served as a vehicle to develop different writing skills and reinforce basic grammar and style issues. The process of developing the aforementioned essays allows one to review their writing skills and evaluate their overall process.
Writing the ethnography began with choosing a topic which I could vividly remember. Since I recently attended my first country concert, I figured it would be fresh in my memory. By making a list of details from the things that stood out in my mind, I was able to organize the information that my ethnography would contain. After creating the basic structure of the essay, I added specific details to make it more interesting to the reader. Next I received feedback from my instructor as well as my classmates which I took into consideration during the revision process. The major changes made to my essay were in regards to the introduction and the conclusion. The ethnography served as a valuable tool which mainly improved my ability to write in great detail.
The annotation project proved to be interesting as it allowed for discussion of a vast array of information. The image I chose was a political cartoon that lent itself to numerous issues surrounding America’s current war on drugs. The main issues I chose to write about included visual rhetoric, the bills of rights as it relates to the war on drugs, the prison industrial complex, the Ku Klux Klan, the cost of the war on drugs to the taxpayer. Next I gathered valid sources to find information and created an MLA style works cited page. After viewing the information I wrote about the topics I previously chose in about one paragraph per topic. Finally, I added in text citation where needed and check for grammatical errors. The annotation project allowed me to evaluate my ability to write research style material and review the format for a works cited page.
Another piece of writing creating over the semester was the argument against convention. The assignment was to purpose a conventional idea and then challenge it. The topic of my argument essay was against religion. By examining the consequences of religion over the years, a valid argument against its positive effect on society can be made. After developing the main ideas of the essay I added specific details and examples which further supported the argument. This essay allowed me to evaluate my ability to make and support a valid argument and challenge a conventional idea.
The English 11 course contained interesting assignments that encouraged writing in different styles. Although the use of blogging in an English class was new to me, it added depth to the class by allowing for easier peer editing and teacher student communication. The assignments presented in English 11 improved my overall writing skills by forcing me to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses.

Rough Draft Article Against Religion

An Argument against Religion
The concept of religion has existed, in some form, since the beginning of human society. Although main stream society may readily accept the idea that religion adds value to and advances the human race, in reality it does more harm than good by impeding scientific advancement, breeding extremism, producing violence, and perpetuating stereotypes and discriminatory ideals. Religion is little more than a social control that will soon be obsolete.
Religion has managed to be opposed to almost every significant discovery or research through out recorded time. When Galileo dared to suggest that the earth in fact orbited the sun, he was declared a heretic and forced to recant his findings in fear of suffering persecution. During the crusades countless works of art were destroyed if they were deemed to be blasphemous or pornographic. Even today, religion continues to challenge scientific discovery by attempting to discredit the theory of evolution and instead preach creationism. Anything that impedes scientific discovery impedes human advancement and is harmful.
While religion serves as an obstacle to discovery, it has the opposite effect in the cases of extremism and violence. The notion of organized religion serves as a vehicle for extremist groups and violence. The deaths that come as a result of suicide bombers and hijackers who believe they will be rewarded in the afterlife are a direct result of religious propaganda in the Islam faith. Abortion clinics that are bombed by Christian extremist groups always prove to be the most ironic. To voice their supreme belief in the protection of human life, they are taking it with their own hands. While these incidences may be occur in single instances, throughout history there has been events on a much larger scale.
When considering violent events resulting from religious influences, the Crusades without a doubt resulted in the most deaths. In the beginning of American society, the Salem witch trials took the lives of numerous falsely accused citizens and painted a perfect picture of religious extremism at the conception of a new society. Many years later a man by the name of Adolph Hilter caused a mass murder of the Jews in Germany in the name of a superior race. Most recently the religious extremist group Al Queda took thousands of lives after hijacking airplanes carrying innocent civilians. The warriors of traditional religion are now applying a method of total war in their attempts to enforce religious ideals and practices.
Religion, in addition to causing countless acts of violence, perpetuates oppression and discriminatory behavior against numerous groups of people. Homosexuals are quite often a common target of religious groups. There is a negative connotation to homosexuality when discussed by religious groups and many view the act as mere sin. While everyone is entitled an opinion, the opinions of dominant religious groups have a far reaching grasp that even affects our laws. Because religious opposition to gay marriage exists, homosexuals have been denied the lawful right to marry. It is religious ideal that has lead to a discriminatory act against homosexuals.
At first glance religion appears to serve a valid purpose to society as a whole, but things are not always as they seem. Whenever there exists an organization that wields as much power and influence as organize religion there will be corruption.

Annotation with additional source

Boortz, Neal. Somebody's Gotta Say It. New York City: Harper, 2007. Print.

The modern day War on Drugs proves to use methods that are more expensive that other options and create more of a burden for taxpayers. The current method used known as domestic law enforcment, which simply refers to the laws and law enforcement. Rather than treating drugs as a criminal offense, the government could instead offer treatment. When considering the efficiency of the two options one must remember that, "To reduce drug usage by 1 percent through treatment programs would cost about 34 million, while doing the same through our current domestic enforcement method costs about 238 million" (Boortz 204). By changing the method by which the government deals with drugs, the same overall goal could be accomplished for a fraction of the price.

Annotation Post

A political cartoon is a visual argument that relates to the broad topic of politics. According to Anthony Blair, “arguments have the primary purpose to influence people to change their beliefs, other attitudes, or conduct” (Blair 47). In political cartoons an argument of a political nature is made, and in most cases seeks to change the way in which one will vote. Using visual images to present an argument proves to be an effective way to present an argument due to the speed at which one absorbs visual information as opposed to verbal. For example, “Television shows today show about one to four dozen moving visual images in a 30 second spot, and we have no trouble processing the information. I it would be impossible to express 30 different propositions verbally in that amount of time” (Blair 51). Political cartoons prove to serve as an effective vehicle for arguments to be presented.

Argument against Convention

Although mainstream society may readily accept the idea that religion adds value to society, in reality is does more harm than good by causing a suppression of new ideas, as well as, producing violence that would otherwise not occur.

• The crusades and their connection to the dark ages
• religion's denial of scientific discovery and theories
• wars resulting from religious ideals
• religious extremism
• discriminatory ideals and values
  

Annotation Paragraphs

There are numerous right wing extremist groups that presently exist in modern America, and the Ku Klux Clan is one of them. The KKK was founded by six college students, who were also former Confederate officers, in Tennessee in 1966 (Anti-Defamation League). When the group realized the fear that their antics evoked in people, they used this to their advantage by recruiting new members. When the KKK grew large enough in numbers an organizational structure was formed. According to the article found on the Anti-Defamation League’s website, there was a supreme leader known as the Grand Wizard who served over the entire Klan, which was divided into “a number of realms, dominions, provinces and dens, which were in turn led by Grand Dragons, Titans, Giants and Cyclopes (Anti-Defamation League). Although the organization allowed the group to prosper in its infancy, the internal conflicts eventually impeded the organizations growth.

Annotations Paragraphs

America’s current War on Drugs is a danger to the integrity of the American Constitution itself. The Bill of Rights, which is contained in the Constitution, guarantees American citizens with certain inalienable rights. In efforts to eradicate drugs in American society, the government has infringed upon numerous rights ensured by the Constitution. Among these rights include search and seizure, as well as, a reasonable expectation to privacy. As Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall reminds us, “there is no drug exception to the Constitution” (qtd. in Wisotsky). It is important to consider the overall consequences of this alleged, War on Drugs, whether they are intended or not. The aforementioned points can be best put into words by the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court who stated, “If the zeal to eliminate drugs leads this state and nation to forsake its ancient heritage of constitutional liberty, then we will have suffered a far greater injury than drugs ever inflict upon us. Drugs injure some of us. The loss of liberty injures us all”( qtd.inWisotsky).

The Prison Industrial Complex has proven to be a center of controversy in the United States. Prisons prove to be valuable to the growth of any city’s economy due to the private businesses that profit from the construction and maintenance of these facilities. When the interest of private businesses and the economy begin to have influence over the criminal justice system, is when the Prison Industrial Complex sets in. “A hotel has a strong economic incentive to book every available room and encourage every guest to stay as long as possible. A private prison has exactly the same incentive” (Schlosser 4). When you consider the aforementioned quote, it is not hard to see why legislation such as mandatory minimums had increased in past years. In his farewell address former president Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a warning to the American public stating, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex” (qtd. in Schlosser 1) The Prison Industrial Complex is the modern day version of the Military Industrial Complex and in much the same way, should be guarded against.