D#14, HW#2 - Peer Review Reflection

I completed my peer reviews on Tegan’s and Latron’s writing project four. I am not sure I did my letter correctly in the aspect that several classmates outlined clearly each outcome at the beginning of the sentences. I, on the other hand, worked the words ‘outcome and number’ throughout each of my sentences, varying the position. While I liked how my classmates outlined their work, for my personal style I think I did all right. Unfortunately, my writing project has not been reviewed at the time of this writing. I will check on it tomorrow.

My final thoughts on the peer reviews I completed throughout the course: I reviewed eight different classmates writing projects and only one classmate I peer reviewed two different times. I did not realize this occurred until I reviewed all the peer reviews I completed personally.

D#14, HW#1 - Peer Review x2

I completed my peer reviews on Tegan’s and Latron’s writing project four.

D#13, HW#1 - WP#4 Cover Letter Draft

I submitted writing project four yesterday in Google documents for the class to review.

Reflective Cover Letter

Dear English 102 Classmates, Professor and Future Self:

The beginning of my journey was quite difficult as I struggled with outcome one. I was battling my topic choice, narrowing my focus of an appropriate audience and diligently trying to determining why I wanted to write about the subject I chose with the writing of deadline two, homework one. Determining a solid research question also proved difficult when working through deadline three, which started with the reading reflection listed under homework one. I also continued to struggle with narrowing my audience within this deadline by starting with only two groups, then broaden that to several groups. I later revised this to one specific group I had not even considered. Finally, in deadline nine, homework one, I felt confident in identifying my purpose, audience, topic and thesis statement. The conclusion resulted in my writing project three submitted during deadline 10, homework two and deadline 12, homework 2.

For outcome two, I was able to start organizing which websites to use for annotated bibliographies with deadline four, homework eight. I started to gain a better understanding of how to organize my time more efficiently with deadline five, homework 10. Deadline nine, homework seven is where I really flourished with my organizing skills. At last, I was able to organize all the information I collected through research using an outline as a guide to develop a logical and coherent paper. This is also evident with writing project three submitted during deadline 10.

Writing, for outcome three, in a consistent voice, tone and diction was difficult for me to grasp with English 102. I had just completed the English 101 course the prior semester, in which I was instructed not to use terms such as ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘you’ within my writing projects. It is apparent I learned this lesson well because I did not use these terms for my writing project one appropriately. I believe I corrected this through writing project three. Grammar and spelling are usually my strongest skills when it comes to writing. However, the main area I can still improve in is the grammar aspect. I tend to use relatively easy words to comprehend and do not push myself to use words that are generally not commonly used on a day to day basis, at least not in my daily life. This is one course outcome I have the opportunity to continue to improve and expand in.

Accomplishing half of the fourth outcome is only as good as the writing that follows it. I had ample opportunities to locate print sources, however, due to family and work life I was unable to utilize the features of the library on campus. Instead I relied primarily with online sources to locate, evaluate and selecting resources that would be used in my writing projects one through three submitted in deadlines 4; 6; 7; 9; 10; and 12. If I could do this course again, this is one course outcome I’d like to have put more effort into. I will also need to explore this avenue further when I have another opportunity with research or papers involved.

Outcome five was definitely a learning experience for me. Improving skills I thought I already possessed was evident through deadline six, homework 11. Referencing writing project three, I believe I achieved this outcome fully.

APA style was determined at the beginning of the class and I was able to achieve outcome six by referencing writing projects one through three. The only concern I have for this course outcome though is that there are many differentiating references in citing sources. I mainly focused on using the handbook as a guideline; however, I did note the troubles I faced through stumbling blocks three and four.

My opinion on feedback for outcome seven is not appealing. Although I am thankful for the feedback I received from fellow classmates, I am concerned that the opportunity to possibly offend or hurt someone’s feelings is too open when there is little monitoring to stem this from happening. I refer specifically to my deadline 10, homework eight. My other concern with feedback is that during a five week course, there is little time to interact with the professor and fellow classmates on a regular basis. This is strictly my own opinion, though others may agree or disagree. The professor of this class was very helpful and responsive when questions were asked. I unfortunately did not list this information within my blog. I have kept my emails and graded writing projects where she has been very instrumental in providing the necessary feedback I could use to further improve my writing skills.

The references I have for outcome eight are the written evaluations I received through peer review and from my instructor via graded work. Unfortunately, I did not include the graded work within my blog. I have the saved documentation though. My writing skills have improved evident through writing project three and peer reviews further added to the fact I rarely have misspellings, which I believe is still my strongest skill when it comes to writing.

The last outcome can be referenced with my blog, draft and final submissions of my writing projects (through Google documents and Turnitin.com,) which will be my testimonial evidence for my generated, formatted and edited writings which demonstrated I used the available technologies appropriately. Also to be included is www.del.ic.ous.com for tagging my sources used with writing projects two through three.

After reviewing all the course outcomes, I feel confident in achieving several of the outcomes such as writing for specific rhetorical contexts; organizing writing to support a central idea; integrating sources; and using appropriate technologies to complete homework and projects. The outcomes requiring further work are using appropriate conventions and locating, evaluating and selecting ‘print’ sources. These two specific areas I intend to rework through spare time to further improve my writing skills and understanding of their concepts.

D#12, HW#7 - Deadline Reflection

Nine outcomes and 12 deadlines later, I cannot believe English 102 is almost completed. I always thought I was a strong writer with good writing skills. I learned through the English 102 course there is a lot more to writing if one stops to think about it. Rhetorical context situation, this phrase alone was a learning point for me. Rhetorical context situation for me meant the mere style or effect of a written statement surrounding a specific circumstance. A question asked that did not require an immediate answer. This concept eluded me for several deadlines. Although I cannot point to a specific deadline or homework when I finally understood this concept, I can point to my writing project three where I demonstrated my interpretation of the concept. Reviewing each of my writing projects, reading reflections, and deadline reflections was very difficult as I noticed I did not include enough information that was required and needed reflecting the work and my thoughts for those assignments. I was very disappointed with myself. I struggled to complete homework assignments four through six of deadline twelve because of the lack of information I did not include. Lesson learned.

D#12, HW#6 - Deadline Reflections Summary

I was overwhelmed, confused, and struggled with most of the deadlines starting with deadline number 2, homework number 11. I attribute this to taking an intense English course during a five-week semester. If I could start this class over, I would definitely choose to take it during a 16-week semester.

I learned several techniques throughout each deadline.

Some of these techniques are:

• Narrowing and focusing my topic with deadline number two.
• Distinguishing the difference between writing project one and writing project three.
• Set up ‘links’ for easy access in blog postings with deadline three.
• Establish how to evaluate web sites with deadline four.
• Communicate how ‘to share a document in Google’ with deadline four.
• Manage time by defining better search terms with deadline five.
• Develop a research plan and conduct a peer review with deadline five.
• Paraphrase and summarize articles correctly for annotated bibliographies with deadline six.
• Emphasize meaning within a sentence using sentence structure mechanics and words chosen with deadline eight.
• Organize research effectively to display a coherent and authoritative argument with deadline nine.
• Outlined above is the various techniques used throughout deadline 10 and 11.

D#12, HW#5 - Reading Reflections Summary

Reading assignments for the most part were beneficial. I found a lot of the information was review because I had just completed English 101 the previous semester. One of things I appreciated most throughout English 102 was the course syllabus. The very well organized syllabus enabled me to maintain focus on assignments by reading this constantly. The handbook featured several passages, chapters, and checklists that I used for reference throughout each assignment and writing project. I also liked the additional chapters posted under the reading assignment that had specific areas to work through for the writing projects. The informational websites offered plenty of tips on how to improve writing that I believe I accomplished most with writing project three and four.

D#12, HW#4 - Writing Project Reflections Summary

I slowly learned through my three writing projects how to write for a specific rhetorical context, including identifying my purpose, topic, audience, and writer. This was very difficult, as I did not originally understand what ‘specific rhetorical context’ meant in the beginning. I was finally able to understand this better with reviewing classmate’s papers and revising my own to reflect my understanding. My writing projects one and three primarily reflect this understanding.

Organization is one of my strongest skills. I really enjoyed how the course syllabus laid out each deadline and homework with specific instructions on how to complete each section. I learned how to organize my research using the Toulmin method, which helped tremendously with writing project three. I also learned how to annotate bibliographies and thankfully kept track of these early on. I believe this gave me an advantage when it came time to prepare writing project two.

Consistent voice, tone, diction, grammar, and mechanics are a major struggle for me, with the exception of grammar. I had just completed English 101 and was taught adamantly not to use ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘you’ throughout each paper I wrote. I needed to overcome this lesson with English 102 and I struggled hard with the concept. I believe I finally achieved this outcome through writing project three. I will always need to work on mechanics, as it too was a minor struggle for me. I tend to avoid using ‘big’ words, mainly relying on easy to understand words. This stems from two things: one, I used to write children’s stories as a hobby and two, as a previous trainer for my current job; I learned using certain words confused others versus helping their understanding. This is something I need to overcome in order to progress in my writing.

My sources through locating, evaluating, citing and integrating into my writing projects were anywhere from easy to difficult. (Sometimes I felt like giving up altogether.) I tried very hard to focus on search terms and evaluating the sources, I located. I ended up ‘book marking’ excessively many sources in the beginning. Towards the end, I finally understood how to work this process better in writing my third project.

APA style is a new technique I learned throughout each writing project I developed. In the beginning, I kept forgetting I was supposed to be using APA versus MLA style. I demonstrated my understanding with APA style strongest in my writing project three, with obvious mistakes corrected from writing project two.

Peer reviews are generally helpful, if participants use the technique for the designed purpose. A peer review is supposed to be objective and constructive criticism. I believe there was confusion when using this technique in the beginning and it seems the process improved throughout the assignments. My only concern with peer review is that there were little to no ‘set guidelines with examples’ on what to write or how to say things. This left open a wide area for human error. Specifically, the opportunity or hazard if you will, unintentionally offending or hurting someone’s feelings. In the future, I would like to learn clearer guidelines on how to use this technique.

Writing strengths for me would include grammar and organization. I’m able to identify and recognize I have a lot of room to improve with mechanics, diction, and tone. Strategies I will utilize for improvement will be setting my word processor to check for all possible mechanic and grammar situations. Recognizing I may need to change these settings depending on the type of document, I want to produce. This feature(s) will help me identify areas I need to reword or reconsider.

Technologies, God bless the ‘computer genius’ that invented computers and their wonderful programs. I really appreciated and had fun learning about blogging, book marking, researching MCC’s online library, and Gmail. I will be using each of these technologies in the future for classes, work projects, and even just for fun.

D#12, HW#3 - Writing Project Reflection

I have always enjoyed writing and I don’t need a reason to do it. Having a purpose for writing though makes the result seem more significant. My favorite step in bettering my skills for writing project number three was outlining. I love to organize things and combining this technique with writing was a good experience for me. The Toulmin method of outlining is a new technique that I will continue to use in my future writings. I was able to keep focused on my subject and progress through numerous homework assignments to narrow my topic, audience, and sub-points.

If I were able to complete this project again, I would do so many things differently. The first would definitely be selecting a topic that I really knew, versus something I thought I knew. The second would be to outline what I did know extensively. This is where I think I first ran into trouble. I didn’t do a complete outline in the beginning, thinking I knew my subject well enough that I’d just need to research what I didn’t know. How I was very wrong! Research has always been a struggle for me as I was never good at performing it. Until several people close to me, family and friends reminded me what I actually do on a day-to-day basis. After realizing what skills I already had (and this came late in the semester) finally I was able to concentrate more on the focus of the work instead of trying to learn thoroughly the researching process itself.

Learning the various steps to developing a cohesive and logical research paper, such as setting up a research proposal, tracking numerous sources through annotated bibliographies and outlining the argument, I have learned new techniques that will enhance skills I already possess. Of course, there’s always the ‘human error’ aspect to consider. As I look back through my writing projects, I realized I wasted a lot of time trying to perfect my research capabilities instead of focusing on the skills I needed to improve to conduct the research. I thought I knew what I was doing when it came to writing, and felt I needed to learn how to do research. I should have stressed this to the professor at the onset of the class, instead of trying to do what I felt I needed to do. I side tracked myself and now feel I have not lived up to my potential with the outcomes of this class.

Having said this, I have learned some writing techniques and skills, just not as many as I could have if my attention had been focused where it should have been. The proudest moment for me, which was also my biggest concern, is with the review of Turnitin.com my submitted paperwork were my thoughts and words mingled with a slight fraction from others. I will still need to be aware of this danger in my future writings as to not become lax or comforted in the fact I did so well in this area. My other concern is that I didn’t have enough time to let the lessons ‘sink’ in. I was constantly playing ‘catch up’ which left me grazing through assignments and not really ‘obtaining’ the knowledge.

I know I have met several course outcomes, but feel I never reached certain other ones. These are the ones I will be continuing to improve over time, while still nurturing the ones I have achieved through this course. I will specify where I met and possibly failed at these outcomes in a later posting. The last thing I’d like to mention at this juncture is that I was not pleased with the feedback or lack of during this course. There are many things that contributed to this fact and I do not wish to offend or upset anyone, so I will leave it at that.

My own personal writing strengths are the ability to spell words extremely well and have others who rely on me to do so. I am able to analyze my own work and feel comfortable with knowing I am not perfect. I organized the way I wanted to accomplish things and successfully completed things with that organization. Granted, I was late on several deadlines, however, using the organization I outlined myself with, I was able to none-the-less complete all my assignments. Future goals will be to focus on sentence structuring and varying the words I choose to use when reflecting my thoughts to others. Overall, I gained bits and pieces here and there and will continue to grow. I could not ask for any better outcome than that…

D#12, HW#2 - Final Submitted to Turnitin.com

I submitted my final to turnitin.com. It will probably take a few minutes for the website to update the percentage.

Turnitin.com at 6:45 PM finally showed my paper had a three percent match. All six matches were one percent. Four out the six matches were to other student papers. I believe I did a great job in not plagiarizing someone else's work.

D#12, HW#1 - Grammar

I have always been a strong and confident speller. Co-workers, friends and family often seek my advice on how to spell or write words correctly. Although this is a strong area in my writing as well, I generally do not use big words. I believe this stems from the fact I used to ‘dabble’ with writing children’s stories and now I seem to be uncomfortable using big words. This is something I must overcome if I am to progress in my writing.

First paragraph for grammar review:
I double checked my numbers used in the paragraph as well as the hyphens. I corrected the hyphens to have no spaces prior or after the use of. I also used the spelling and grammar feature in my word processor and I read my paper out loud to double check for words that may be misspelled or misplaced.

There have been several attempts across the nation to lower the voting age in America, including the state of Arizona. The controversy surrounding the issue to lower the voting age is whether or not teenagers, over the age of 16, are mature enough and knowledgeable to make well informed decisions. They are allowed to drive vehicles at the age of 15–that requires constant 'good' decision making; obtain a job at the age of 16–which requires paying taxes; receive permission from parents to get married at the age of 17–that requires demonstration of adult responsibility and if convicted of a serious crime be tried as an adult in a court of law prior to turning the age of 18. Teenagers with adult responsibilities and expectations are currently not allowed to vote like an adult as the current age to vote in America is 18 according to the XXVI Amendment, which reads “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age” (NARA, 2007). A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting age to 16 is stronger communities, increase in voter turnout rates, and educational opportunities.

Second paragraph for grammar review:
I rearranged a few sentences throughout this paragraph, by moving words around to further emphasize the point of each sentence. I also read this paragraph out loud to check for misspelled and misplaced words.

Many teenagers of America are serious about lowering the voting age. They have taken steps to lobby Councilwomen and Senators to introduce bills in several states, and organized exhibits. Teenagers are strengthening their communities by assisting at the election polls and being an active participant of the civic process. Admittedly, there is skepticism that teenagers are not ready and legislation has proven difficult to pass for lowering the voting age. However, in the state of Arizona legislatures have the ability to enable Arizona and its communities to become the first state to lower the voting age in America. Teachers have the opportunity to engage Arizona’s youth by promoting further educational standards within our schools and promoting a ‘good’ voting habit which can be nurtured. Legislators can help bridge the gap between youth and politicians, strengthen the communities of Arizona with legislation that allows families to truly encourage the youth to be more active with civic participation. Arizona could lower the voting age and become the first state of America to advocate democracy for all. The voting age in Arizona should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s) increasing voter turnout and strengthen the communities they live in.

D#11, HW#5 - Deadline Reflection

1. Revising takes a tremendous amount of work through thought, memory and referencing. The main thing I tried to accomplish was revising without losing the meaning of my paper. I’m not sure if I did this.
2. Organizing was not as difficult with this deadline as the deadline outline was pretty self-explanatory. The only thing I’d recommend in the future is to not put so many instructions in one paragraph. I had to copy the paragraphs then separate each sentence to ensure I was following the instructions correctly. This was time consuming, but I’m glad I did it.
3. I incorporated the techniques I learned from the previous deadline to assist with my revising.
4. I did not do any further research for outside sources on this deadline.
5. I need to further work on integrating sources properly when I summarize, paraphrase or quote sources to develop and support my ideas.
6. The feedback I received on this peer review was very helpful. Especially regarding my thesis statement.
7. I think I’m writing well. I have little else to indicate otherwise.
8. My blog is still killing me…but I am persevering. I haven't really needed to use other technologies for this deadline other than a word processor and I use the spelling/grammar check feature prior to each save. I use my gmail account everyday and I love the extra tools that come with it, like the homepage I customized with beach items.

I replied to the following classmates blogs:
Jay’s Blog – D#10, HW#8
Shawn’s Blog – D#12, HW#5
Jessica’s Blog – D#10, HW#7

D#11, HW#4 - Peer Review Reflection

Peer Review Reflection –

I peer reviewed Alexis’s & Ryan’s WP#3 drafts. I learned to double check APA style to ensure I’m citing sources correctly. After reviewing the comments on my draft by Jessica and Jason, I understood that I needed more documentation to back my argument. Also, thank you to Jessica for showing how the little word ‘of’ can be so big in a sentence. Thank you to Jason for pointing out my thesis was too strong in the opening paragraph. I moved it to the conclusion paragraph as suggested and my draft reads better now. No comments surprised me, and as always are very appreciated. Turnitin.com showed a two percent match, however, I was unable to review these matches as they were related to student papers.

D#11, HW#3 - Peer Review WP#3 x2

I peer reviewed Alexis's and Ryan's WP#3 drafts on 07/25/07. Unfortunately, I was left with a lot of questions after reading both of these papers. I believe they each intended to provide informational research papers, however, I felt they lacked sufficient documentation to back up their research. I was also confused as to why exactly they were researching their specific topics. I believe I gave unbiased, yet probing questions to help them identify areas that needed further attention.

D#11, HW#2 - Posted reply to D#10, HW#2

Writing Project # 3 Revision 3

Lower the Voting Age in Arizona

There have been several attempts across the nation to lower the voting age in America, including the state of Arizona. The controversy surrounding the issue to lower the voting age is whether or not teenagers, over the age of 16, are mature enough to make well informed decisions. They are allowed to drive vehicles at the age of 15 – that requires constant 'good' decision making; obtain a job at the age of 16 – which requires paying taxes; receive permission from parents to get married at the age of 17 – that requires demonstration of adult responsibility and if convicted of a serious crime be tried as an adult in a court of law prior to turning the age of 18. A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting age to 16 is educational opportunities, increase in voter turnout rates, and stronger communities.

Through further educational exposure or experience, some politicians and organizations have assisted youths on their quest to lower the voting age and receiving education they may otherwise not have had the opportunity. She gave two high school students an opportunity to experience first hand what’s required in getting voters to the polls. Another example, Sen. John Vasconcellos, surrounded by teenage supporters, introduced the concept of lowering the voting age to 14 in California during a news conference, supplying an educational exposure to the legislation process.

These two groups promote awareness, education and information on how to be a better citizen by becoming involved in civics.

Additionally, as politicians and organizations promote awareness with voting and actively participating within communities, there are even more educational opportunities that the state of Arizona could take advantage of. One of these beneficial opportunities is to promote further education for students to begin creating a ‘good’ habit – voting. Engaging students while they are in the “still learning” process will initiate a habit that can be nurtured. Preparing teenagers is less challenging than trying to connect with most 18 year olds, who may be more focused on graduating, starting college and possibly moving away from home. This could also be one of the main causes that voter turnout for the age group 18-24 has been very low. Establishing an early voting habit could potentially lead to voting consistency, thereby, increasing voter turnout. Another beneficial opportunity is encouraging parents to discuss politics with students who participate in the Kids Voting USA program. Students learn civics in school and then continue learning by discussing what they’ve been taught at home with parents. Therefore, the voter turnout rate would increase as parents become more responsive and motivated to act upon their civic duty to vote.

Recently, joining these countries in lowering their voting age to 16 is Austria; which is acknowledged with understanding regarding teenager responsibility in a letter written to NYRA.

However, for the past two elections, this pattern was disrupted with an increase from 22 percent to 25 percent. In Arizona, this trend ranged from 21 percent in 1994, dipping to 14 percent in 2002, than increased to 23 percent in 2006. Can you imagine what this figure would be if teenagers age 16 to 17 were allowed to vote? How many more parents would be responsive and motivated to vote? Youth voting turnout is on the rise in Arizona, opening further opportunities to increase this percentage for the upcoming elections by focusing on today’s youth.

Today’s teenagers are actively participating in and strengthening their communities by showing what they are capable of. These teenagers will also be able to assist their communities ‘hands on’ at the polling booths. Additionally, students in California are lobbying to ensure high schools are not penalized on election days when students volunteer to work at the polling booths. California currently charges schools $35 per student that is absent per day. Teenagers are not only aware of what’s happening in their communities; they are also taking steps to improve them.

Many teenagers of America are serious about lowering the voting age. They have taken steps to lobby Councilwomen and Senators to introduce bills in several states, organized exhibits and assist at the election polls. Admittedly, there is skepticism that teenagers are not ready and legislation has proven difficult to pass for lowering the voting age. However, in the state of Arizona legislatures have the ability to enable Arizona and its communities to become the first state to lower the voting age in America. Teachers have the opportunity to engage Arizona’s youth by promoting further educational standards within our schools and help bridge the gap between youth and politicians. The communities of Arizona would strengthen with legislation that allows families to truly encourage the youth to be more active with civic participation. Arizona should lower the voting age and become the first state of America to advocate democracy for all. The voting age in Arizona should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s) increasing voter turnout and strengthen the communities they live in.

D#11, HW#1 - Posted reply to D#10, HW#2

First Review:
These two sentences are the last sentence in my opening and closing paragraphs. The first sentence is my thesis outlined and the second sentence is my concluding thesis. Neither of these sentences contradicts each other; in fact they compliment each other.

A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting to 16 is educational opportunities, increase in voter turnout rates, and stronger communities.

The voting age in Arizona should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s) increasing voter turnout and strengthen the communities they live in.

Second Review:
There are several sections to my paper outlined as follows:

Reasons for lowering the voting age in Arizona
Educational Exposure or Experience opportunities
Politicians providing educational opportunities
Organizations providing educational opportunities
Politicians and organizations promoting awareness
Other countries have lowered voting age
My experience with voting
Voter turnout statistics
Communities – need to emphasize ‘strengthening’
Conclusion on Arizona lowering voting age

After this review, I may need to refocus on how I’ve arranged my arguments. It appears the strongest one is at the top with three sections to itself.

Third Review:
Two of my paragraphs subpoints were not clear and one was implying to the main point. However, I revised the following opening sentences:

Additionally, as politicians and organizations promote awareness with voting and actively participating within communities, there are even more educational opportunities that the state of Arizona could take advantage of.

Since 1982, the electoral participation (voter turnout) across the nation has declined among 18 to 29 year olds (Kirby, E., Lopez, M., & Marcelo, K. 2007).

Today’s teenagers are actively participating in and strengthening their communities by showing what they are capable of.

Fourth Review:

A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting age to 16 is educational opportunities, increase in voter turnout rates, and stronger communities. Through further educational exposure or experience, some politicians and organizations have assisted youths on their quest to lower the voting age and receiving education they may otherwise not have had the opportunity. In addition, organizations such as Kids Voting USA (KVUSA, 2007) and National Youth Rights Association (NYRA, 2007) have contributed immensely to the current awareness on educational importance and youth activism in Arizona, as well as across the nation. Additionally, as politicians and organizations promote awareness with voting and actively participating within communities, there are even more educational opportunities that the state of Arizona could take advantage of. Furthermore, for certain types of elections, several countries, such as Brazil, Cuba, East Timor, Germany, Israel, Isle of Man, Nicaragua, and Slovenia have lowered their voting age to 16 or 17 (Voting, 2007). My experience with Arizona voting, just six years prior to 1994, was non-existent because I was scared to vote when I turned 18. Since 1982, the electoral participation (voter turnout) across the nation has declined among 18 to 29 year olds (Kirby, E., Lopez, M., & Marcelo, K. 2007). Today’s teenagers are actively participating in and strengthening their communities by showing what they are capable of. The voting age in Arizona should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s) increasing voter turnout and strengthen the communities they live in.

D#10, HW#8 - Deadline Reflection

Deadline Reflection –
Reflect on how the following was accomplished for this deadline using the material read and homework completed:

1. Revising my writing to represent a specific rhetorical context is not easy. I had to ensure when revising I didn’t change the meaning of what I was addressing or to whom I was addressing the message to. However, I did need to refocus and narrow my target audience.
2. Organizing my writing is usually not a struggle for me. Unfortunately, this round of revisions was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I believe I was able to demonstrate a better coherent and unified paper by further developing my logical reasoning for my arguments.
3. Grammar and mechanics were a tough lesson to swallow as well. Although I believe I understand commas better, I would not go as far as to say I understand them completely.
4. Research is becoming easier as I realize my options for locating materials resources can be found almost anywhere.
5. Revising my summaries, paraphrases and quotations make me realize why I didn’t fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. It’s too stressing to remember all the rules.
6. Documentation style was established in the beginning as APA and I use the handbook often for reference.
7. I do not like peer review. As most of my classmates are learning the same techniques as I am, it is difficult to gauge what I need to actually revise. I welcome the opinions, but fear receiving a lower grade due to revising per comments. I also do not like to give peer reviews for fear of hurting or offending someone’s feeling. Case in point – Alexis mentioned she didn’t like my peer review of her WP#3 as she felt I changed her paper unnecessarily. I believe in most of the peer reviews I have completed that I have asked pertinent questions because I was generally confused about phrases or documentation was needed to clarify points. I hope the reviews I did through this course has not offended or hurt anyone. If they have, I apologize for the misunderstanding.
8. I value comments and evaluations for what they are. Tools for implementing change, whether this is on a small or large scale.
9. This blog will be the death of me… I love technology, but keeping up with the course work and using the technology to do it is encumber some.

D#10, HW#7 - Grammar Assignment

I learned a few things reading Part 5 of the Wadsworth handbook. Coordinating conjunctions require a comma when used to link two independent clauses. I always thought the words ‘and’ and ‘or’ took the place of commas in all writing situations. I worked through exercises 30.1—30.5 to ensure I understood the lessons.

Note: Referencing the checklist on pg. 267 will assist in using commas correctly.
Note: Reference the checklist on pg. 270 for “restrictive and non restrictive modifiers.”

Understanding comma usage can be confusing and overwhelming. There are numerous rules in using commas to remember. I’m worried about this in my writing.

Note: Contractions are considered informal and should not be used in college writings.
Note: According to the computer tip on pg. 285, set word processing to highlight contractions that may need to be revised.

Brackets [ ] – This is something I am not accustomed to using. I now know I can use brackets to replace parenthesis inside another set of parenthesis. (Just like algebra!)

Revised Paragraph #1: I concentrated on correcting my dashes and double checking commas.

There have been several attempts across the nation to lower the voting age in America, including the state of Arizona. The controversy surrounding the issue to lower the voting age is whether or not teenagers, over the age of 16, are mature enough to make well informed decisions. They are allowed to drive vehicles at the age of 15 – that requires constant 'good' decision making; obtain a job at the age of 16 – which requires paying taxes; receive permission from parents to get married at the age of 17 – that requires demonstration of adult responsibility and if convicted of a serious crime be tried as an adult in a court of law prior to turning the age of 18. Teenagers with adult responsibilities and expectations are currently not allowed to vote like an adult as the current age to vote in America is 18 according to the XXVI Amendment, which reads “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age” (NARA, 2007). A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting to 16 is educational opportunities, increase in voter turnout rates, and stronger communities.

Revised Paragraph #2: I concentrated on commas and punctuation.

Through further educational exposure or experience, some politicians and organizations have assisted youths on their quest to lower the voting age and receiving education they may otherwise not have had the opportunity. For example, providing an educational experience, Councilwoman Valerie Ervin demonstrated her belief in youths by hiring two teenagers to run her campaign (Aratani, 2006). She gave two high school students an opportunity to experience first hand what’s required in getting voters to the polls. Another example, Sen. John Vasconcellos, surrounded by teenage supporters, introduced the concept of lowering the voting age to 14 in California during a news conference, supplying an educational exposure to the legislation process. According to Senator John Vasconcellos: “To not let them have a say in what affects their lives seems to me to be not very typically American” (Bailey, 2004). Granted, the proposal was met with strong opposition by Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) who stated, “To waste taxpayer money having children cast votes would be ridiculous at any time…” (Bailey, 2004) Also, disagreeing with lowering the voting age in California because the proposal called for counting teenager votes in quarter or half measures, is the president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, Bob Stern who said “So you're a quarter person? Or a half? Either you give the vote to them or you don't. I just wonder how big an outcry there is for this" (Bailey, 2004).

D#10, HW#6 - Transitions

I have started working transitions into my WP# 3 (see paragraphs listed in D#10, HW#5.) The transitions signify more than one point being made in the paragraphs such as One, another, in addition, furthermore. In addition, :) I used ‘granted’ to introduce an opposing point of view.

D#10, HW#5 - Revised Paragraphs x2 more...

The first paragraph I worked with is my second paragraph for my WP# 3. I added signal phrases and transition phrases to allow the content to flow more smoothly. I ensured that I included in-text citation as well as the APA style bibliography at the bottom. I also introduced or summarized the point for each sentence that contained a source citing. This paragraph is stronger because it is more accurate with credible and authoritative information. It also shows my line of reasoning why these sources are important to the topic.

Through further educational exposure or experience, some politicians and organizations have assisted youths on their quest to lower the voting age and receiving education they may otherwise not have had the opportunity. For example, providing an educational experience, Councilwoman Valerie Ervin demonstrated her belief in youths by hiring two teenagers to run her campaign (Aratani, 2006). She gave two high school students an opportunity to experience first hand what’s required in getting voters to the polls. Another example, Sen. John Vasconcellos, surrounded by teenage supporters, introduced the concept of lowering the voting age to 14 in California during a news conference, supplying an educational exposure to the legislation process. According to Senator John Vasconcellos: “To not let them have a say in what affects their lives seems to me to be not very typically American” (Bailey, 2004). Granted, the proposal was met with strong opposition by Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) who stated, “To waste taxpayer money having children cast votes would be ridiculous at any time…” (Bailey, 2004) Also, disagreeing with lowering the voting age in California because the proposal called for counting teenager votes in quarter or half measures, is the president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, Bob Stern who said “So you're a quarter person? Or a half? Either you give the vote to them or you don't. I just wonder how big an outcry there is for this" (Bailey, 2004)."

Aratani, L. (2006, November 4). Teens Too Young to Vote Blaze a Campaign Trail; Ervin Applauds Students' Political Acumen. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2007 from ProQuest database.

Bailey, E. (2004, March 9). The State; Giving New Meaning to 'Youth Vote'. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on July 16, 2007 from ProQuest Database.


The following paragraph was originally intended to be included in the above paragraph. However, due to the length of each section, I decided to separate the paragraphs and emphasize the importance of each one. I followed the same guidelines as above, ensuring in-text citation was included; introduced or summarized why each reference is important to the topic; and included the bibliography at the bottom.

In addition, organizations such as Kids Voting USA (KVUSA, 2007) and National Youth Rights Association (NYRA, 2007) have contributed immensely to the current awareness on educational importance and youth activism in Arizona, as well as across the nation. These two groups promote awareness, education and information on how to be a better citizen by becoming involved in civics. For instance, KVUSA develops curriculum that is currently used in schools across the nation to educate students on civics (KVUSA, 2007). Also, NYRA recently assisted in defeating a Washington, DC emergency legislation proposing to implement an earlier curfew for teenagers (Clark, 2007). Although this does not directly relate to teenage voting, it does show that NYRA (a youth based organization) is actively participating in communities.

Clark, A. (2007, June 22). Emergency Legislation, D.C. Council rejects earlier youth curfew. Washington Post. Pg B04. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062101356.html.

KVUSA. (2007). About Us. Kids Voting USA. Retrieved on July 10, 2007 from http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/page9592.cfm.

NYRA. (2007). Lowering the voting age. National Youth Rights Association. Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.youthrights.org/votingage.php.

D#10, HW#4 - Revised Paragraphs x2

This paragraph was revised by adding a quote of the XXVI Amendment which emphasizes the current voting age in America. I introduced the quote, included in-text citation and included the bibliography at the bottom. Furthermore, I also revised my thesis statement. The previous thesis statement was so strong I have decided to use it within my conclusion paragraph. I also edited the content by adding the word 'of' prior to the ages and separating the emphasizing remark after a spaced hyphen.

There have been several attempts across the nation to lower the voting age in America, including the state of Arizona. The controversy surrounding the issue to lower the voting age is whether or not teenagers, over the age of 16, are mature enough to make well informed decisions. They are allowed to drive vehicles at the age of 15 – that requires constant 'good' decision making; obtain a job at the age of 16 – which requires paying taxes; receive permission from parents to get married at the age of 17 – that requires demonstration of adult responsibility and if convicted of a serious crime be tried as an adult in a court of law prior to turning the age of 18. Teenagers with adult responsibilities and expectations are currently not allowed to vote like an adult as the current age to vote in America is 18 according to the XXVI Amendment, which reads “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age” (NARA, 2007). A few reasons why the state of Arizona should reconsider lowering the voting to 16 is educational opportunities, increase in voter turn out rates, and stronger communities.

NARA – The U.S. National Archives & Records Administration. (2007). Retrieved July 27, 2007 http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html.


The following paragraph was added to my draft and includes only one citing. However, I included an in-text citation and bibliography at the bottom. I also introduced and summarized why this citation was important.

Additionally, as politicians and organizations promote awareness with voting and actively participating within communities, there are even more opportunities that the state of Arizona could take advantage of. One of these beneficial opportunities is to promote further education for students to begin creating a ‘good’ habit – voting. Engaging students while they are in the “still learning” process will initiate a habit that can be nurtured. According to KVUSA: “This ongoing education [opportunity] develops strong skills and habits for living in a democracy” (2007). Preparing teenagers is less challenging than trying to connect with most 18 year olds, who may be more focused on graduating, starting college and possibly moving away from home. This could also be one of the main causes that voter turn-out for the age group 18-24 has been very low. Establishing an early voting habit could potentially lead to voting consistency, thereby, increasing voter turn-out. Another beneficial opportunity is encouraging parents to discuss politics with students who participate in the Kids Voting USA program. Students learn civics in school and then continue learning by discussing what they’ve been taught at home with parents. Therefore, the voter turn-out rate would increase as parents become more responsive and motivated to act upon their civic duty to vote.

KVUSA. (2007). About Us. Kids Voting USA. Retrieved on July 10, 2007 from http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/page9592.cfm.

D#10, HW#3 - Turnitin.com

I uploaded my wp#3 to Turnitin.com. For some reason, the website is not displaying percentage of matches. I would think if it was 0% (which is not likely due to source usage) it would state that. I'll need to check later to see if the website updates this information.

I rechecked Turnitin.com - After excluding quoted & bibliography, my match was only two percentage!!! That was great news!

D#10, HW#1 - Reading Reflection

Reading Chapter 5, 7 and websites:

I learned something new with the reading chapter 5 and the following website: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/researchroom/sources/index.asp

Signal Phrases! I’ll need to use signal phrases to assist my readers in distinguishing between my ideas and the many sources I use in my research paper. A few signal phrases to use are:

again
also
furthermore
in addition
one, another, too
next
according to (source or author name)
in other words the (source or author name)
in the words of (name of the author or authors)
(name of the author) indicates
(name of the author) writes
(name of the author) suggests
(name of the author) implies

Chapter 7 provided the following:
Transition phrases are another area I’ll need to focus on. Some of these phrases I’ll need to possibly incorporate are:

Because
For example
For instance
In general
Although
Admittedly
Certainly
Granted
Nonetheless
Of course
All things considered
Therefore

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedfordresearcher/tutorials/Chapter10/index.html – As I worked through the paraphrase tutorial, I discovered I didn’t know how to paraphrase correctly. This was rather quite alarming. I’ll need to focus some major time here.

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedfordresearcher/tutorials/Chapter13/index.html – Well at least I got one thing down, quoting sources. It was a good refresher. Although, I did notice I still need to actively work on my signal phrases.

The fourth website I read was very helpful for creating my reference page since our class will be using APA style. I have already been keeping and working from a resource list that I set up through a word document. When I decide which sources I’ll actually be using in my paper, it will make the task of creating a reference page much simpler. Using this fourth website and the handbook, I should be able to cite my sources correctly on my reference page.

D#10, HW#2 - WP# 3 Draft

Lowering the Voting Age in Arizona

There have been several attempts across the nation to lowering the voting age in America, including the state of Arizona. The controversy surrounding the issue to lower the voting age is whether or not teenagers, over the age of 16, are mature enough to make well informed decisions. They are allowed to drive vehicles at the age 15-that requires constant 'good' decision making; obtain a job at the age 16-which requires paying taxes; receive permission from parents get married at the age 17 -that requires demonstration of adult responsibility and if convicted of a serious crime be tried as an adult in a court of law prior to turning the age of 18. Teenagers with adult responsibilities and expectations are currently not allowed to vote like an adult. The state of Arizona should lower the voting age to 16 because with the combination of parents, teachers and legislation that would allow teenagers to practice what they learn early through educational opportunities, the voter turn out rates at the polls in Arizona would increase, strengthening our democracy.

Through further educational exposure or experience, some politicians and organizations have assisted youths on their quest to lowering the voting age and receiving education they may otherwise not have had the opportunity. Councilwoman Valerie Ervin demonstrated her belief in youths by hiring two teenagers to run her campaign (Aratani). California Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) introduced a proposal to lower the voting age. However, this proposal was met with strong opposition by Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) & Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. Organizations such as Kids Voting USA (KVUSA) and National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) have contributed immensely to the current awareness on educational importance and youth activism in Arizona, as well as across the nation. These two groups promote awareness, education and information on how to be a better citizen by becoming involved in civics.

Teenagers in New York put together an exhibit that highlighted the ‘good’ things they were accomplishing within their community. “Many people believe a lot of negative things about teenagers…” (Armstrong). However, the exhibition called “Through Our Eyes: The Life of a Teen Activist in New York” demonstrates that many teens are actively participating in their communities with positive results. A St. Michael Academy student Michelle Victor said, "A lot of the issues we have could be prevented if adults communicated with us regarding issues like sex and HIV, instead of trying to scare us, teach us about it. We need support in general, not a condescending view. That broadens that communication gap" (Armstrong). In Arizona, new legislation will allow teenagers to further their civics education and help their communities by letting teens work at the polling booths (Boggan). Pre-registering to vote is Florida’s way to engage teenagers to participate in the civic process. These teenagers will also be able to assist their communities ‘hands on’ at the polling booths (Broward). Students in California are lobbying to ensure high schools are not penalized on election days when students volunteer to work at the polling booths. California currently charges schools $35 per student that is absent per day. This figure totaled for one county district $1300 in 2005 (Nardi). Teenagers are not only aware of what’s happening in their communities; they are also taking steps to improve them.

Many teenagers of America are serious about lowering the voting age. They have taken steps to lobby Councilwomen and Senators to introduce bills in several states (Aratani & Bailey). Skepticism and opposition have made it abundantly clear that there are those who believe teenagers are not ready and determinedly hard to pass legislation to lowering the voting age (Bailey). The state of Arizona politicians have the power to make Arizona the first state to lower the voting age in America. Teachers have the opportunity to engage Arizona’s youth by promoting further educational standards within our schools and help bridge the gap between youth and politicians. The communities of Arizona would strengthen with legislation that allows families to truly encourage the youth to be more active with civic participation. Arizona should lower the voting age and become the first state of America to advocate democracy for all.

References

Aratani, L. (2006, November 4). Teens Too Young to Vote Blaze a Campaign Trail; Ervin Applauds Students' Political Acumen. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2007 from ProQuest database.

Armstrong, L. (2006, June 1-7). Youth exhibit activist spirit. New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from ProQuest database.

Bailey, E. (2004, March 9). The State; Giving New Meaning to 'Youth Vote'. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on July 16, 2007 from ProQuest Database.

Boggan, S. New Law Lets Teens Serve at Voting Sites: Kids Under Legal Age Get Civics Lesson. (2006, November 6). The Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

CBS News. Broward: Sign Up To Vote When You Sign Up To Drive. (11, June 2007). Retrieved July 7, 2007, from http://cbs4.com/local/local_story_162160313.html

KVUSA. About Us. (2007). Kids Voting USA. Retrieved on July 10, 2007 from http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/page9592.cfm.

Nardi, E. (2006, September 27). Students Lobby for Bill Aiding Poll Work: LAFAYETTE: Teens Say Schools Shouldn't Lose Money if They Miss Classes to Work at Voting Places. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

NYRA. Lowering the voting age. (2007) National Youth Rights Association. Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.youthrights.org/votingage.php.

D#9, HW#7 - Deadline Reflection

I really liked the homework assignments for this deadline. I'm finally able to organize all this information I collected through research, which is now making sense. Outlining my research topic and subtopics using 3d as a starter point, I was able to get a clearer idea where my research was heading. Then, as I worked through chapter 8's activities, such as clustering and further identifying my audience (which I narrowed again) I was able to see where my research was missing crucial information to make my arguments more credible and authoritative. I like how the Toulmin Method of outlining is designed to layout the pertinent information needed in a good research paper. Using this method also showed where I needed to do further research, such as on educational opportunities and how lowering the voting age would possibly help or hinder the voter turn-out in Arizona. I look forward to putting all this research material together in a cohesive form that supports my thesis.

I responded to the following two classmates and their Toulmin Method Outlines:

Shawn’s Blog – D#9 HW# 6
Jessica’s Blog – D#9 HW# 6

D#9, HW#6 - Toulmin Method Outline

Topic: Lowering the Voting Age in Arizona

Thesis Statement: The voting age in Arizona should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s), increase voter turn-out and strengthen the communities they live in.

Reason # 1: Educational opportunities are easier to provide to students still in school.

Warrant # 1: Most 16-17 year olds are in high school.

¨ Backing # 1: Teachers have the opportunity to enhance the learning regarding civics and politics for 16-17 year olds.

¨ Backing # 2: Organizations such as Kids Voting USA have designed curriculum directly related with teaching ‘voting’ for kids.

Reason # 2: Establishing early voting habit(s) is simpler while students are still in school and leads to voter turn-out increase.

Warrant # 1: Engaging students while they are in the “still learning” process will initiate a habit that can be nurtured.

¨ Backing # 1: Preparing teenagers is less challenging than trying to connect with most 18 year olds, who may be more focused on graduating, starting college and possibly moving away from home.

¨ Backing # 2: Some people believe that establishing an early voting habit would lead to voting consistency, thereby, increasing voter turn-out.

Warrant # 2: Parents discuss politics with students who participate in the Kids Voting USA program.

¨ Backing # 1: Statistics show districts with the Kids Voting USA program have increased at the polls.

¨ Backing # 2: Kids Voting USA curriculum is designed for students to learn civics in school and continue learning by discussing what they learn at home with parents.

§ Objection # 1: Voter turn-out has not increased for the age group of 18-24 for the past 20 years. What makes you think that the turn-out will be any different for teenagers?

¨ Rebuttal # 1: Using the KVUSA curriculum will not only teach kids how to vote, it also encourages parents to vote by setting an example. Families will be more involved with discussions in the home when promoting a positive habit.

Reason # 4: Communities are strengthened with active civic participation amongst teenagers.

Warrant # 1: Youths active in their communities are more invested and concerned with what’s happening in their communities.

¨ Backing # 1: Several teenagers and politicians have already attempted to introduce legislation that would lower the voting age.

¨ Backing # 2: Teenagers in New York created an exhibit where they demonstrated their ability to be ‘positive’ and community ‘vested.’

D#9, HW#5 - Ch 8 Activities

Addressing Your Audience’s Wants and Needs

1. My audience has narrowed to the politicians of Arizona. However, my research will also affect teachers, parents and teenagers.
2. My audience will value the articles referenced because they are written by unbiased person(s). It will be important to include statistical data showing how lowering the voting age will improve their teenager lives and strengthen the communities.
3. My audience will expect credible and reliable resources. However, I still need to locate further data regarding statistics.
4. Several politicians have already expressed their opinion in lowering the voting age. I think that politicians who are against lowering the voting age, may change their minds after reading this research. Politicians opinions on this topic vary with some agreeing to lowering the voting age and some disagreeing with lowering the voting age.

Developing Evaluation Criteria

1. My audience will be politicians of Arizona. They will be the ones I can impact the most with my research. They need to know how youths feel and reacting to this issue. They also need to know by allowing teens to vote it would create a tremendous and positive impact on the communities of Arizona.
2. The purpose of my research is to inform and enlist the politicians of Arizona to interact with teenagers in a more direct and positive way. I’ll be able to accomplish this with providing facts about what has and is happening across the nation and world.
3. My research will be covering information mainly within the last six years. However, some information provided will also be considered historical – the bill of rights for example.
4. The focus of my research was narrowed further as feedback received from my peers and instructor showed that I was focusing too wide on my audience and topic.
5. Further research is needed on how lowering the voting age in other countries has helped or hindered. A few countries I need to further research are Austria, Germany, Brazil, Iran, Israel, England, Canada, and New Zealand. I also need further information on education opportunities from KVUSA.
6. A topic I will not be addressing in depth is teenager’s maturity and intelligence level to vote without causing mayhem. Specifically whether teenagers would just vote for whoever is the most popular. I’m hoping that by covering educational opportunities and stronger communities will lead my readers to believe teenagers are mature and intelligent valid through their own recent actions.

Clustering

I really like the idea of clustering. It helps lay things out just like an outline. Also, I get to dabble with artistic features such as cool shapes and pretty colors.
Cluster Map Draft

Finding Additional Resources

I feel there are two areas of concerns for my research due to lack of credible sources. These are early voting habit subtopic and voter turn out subtopic.

1. I would like to collect the following information to lend support with stronger and credible resources. I'd also like to collect statistics regarding 18-24 age groups and their voting habits.
2. I shared my cluster map and outline with a family member and he thought I was right on target with my topic and research. We also discussed the possibility of combining my second and third argument. He felt that I should keep them separate. I think I should combine them to make them a stronger subtopic.
3. I shared my cluster map and outline with another family member and one friend. These two opinions reaffirmed what I already felt I needed to do. I will combine my second and third arguments as one argument to make them a stronger argument.
4. See my outline listed in my next blog & my cluster map listed in the link above.

D#9, HW#4 - Annotated Bibliographies

U.S. Census Bureau. Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004. (2005, May 25). Retrieved on July 23, 2007 from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/cps2004.html.

This webpage contains numerous links to statistical information regarding voting and registration in the United States. I will be specifically using the link for Table 4b that shows stats for Arizona. This website is a credible resource because most Americans know the U.S. Census Bureau and it’s purpose.

IDEA. Turnout in the World – Country by Country Performance. (2005, March 7). International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved on July 23, 2007 from http://www.idea.int/index.cfm.

This website contains global statistical information that will be very beneficial to my research regarding voter turn-out throughout the world. I will be referring to several countries that have already lowered their voting age under 18 and review how their voter turn-out stats relate to America.

Kirby, E., Lopez, M., & Marcelo, K. Youth Voter Turnout Increases in 2006. (2007, June). CIRCLE. Retrieved on July 23, 2007 from http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/FactSheets/FS07_2006MidtermCPS.pdf.

This fact sheet displays a chart showing the voter turnout for midterm years by age. The article also includes statistical information regarding the age group 18-24 olds that will be beneficial to my research. This article also sites three potential reasons why the youth voter turnout has increased. One of the reasons is due to organizations such as Hip Hop Summit, U.S. PIRG and Young Voter Strategies, as well as partisan efforts. It also contains a chart that shows that the youth voter turnout increased more than any other age group. This also will be beneficial to my research as I attempt to show youths are becoming more and more civic active. This is possibly due to programs such as KVUSA.

D#9, HW#3 - Writing Project Reflection

Annotated Bibliographies are important to any paper whether it be a research, argument, cause/effect, etc. Listing where you located your information allows others to review your work or establish a credible confidence that what’s contained within the document it can/cannot be trusted depending on the sources listed.

I feel there should have been more course work related to WP#2 as I do not know if what I submitted was correct or not. I believe I included everything the assignment prompt asked for and received little feedback telling me otherwise. In the future, I have learned that I will need to do more research prior to picking a topic I think I know versus something I wish to learn about while writing about it.

D#9, HW#2 - Turnitin.com

I turned in my WP#2 final to Turnitin.com and received 10% match. After reviewing the matched hits, I only had one item that had a high of 3% match and the rest were at 1% matches. All of these items were due to titles of news articles.

D#9, HW#1 - Reading Reflection

The reading this deadline is tremendous again. I’ve gone through the material feeling like what happened with my writing project 2? Writing project 3 I believe is going to be my toughest assignment yet. Thankfully, chapter 3 had several tips for shaping my material.

I don't know about anyone else, but reading through chapter 8 is killing me. There are numerous passages that are marked out or text inputted in blue that's killing my eyes to read online. Unfortunately, I don't have enough printer paper to print this out at 3:30 in the morning. So unfortunately, I'll have to save it for later today.

The websites had a mass amount of information as well. However, the toulmin method of outlining seems to be helping a bit. I’m currently struggling with the fact that although I like my sources and find them very beneficial, I do not feel they carry a lot of weight or ‘evidence or backing.’ At this moment and time I am not feeling confident about my WP#3 at all. I believe I can effectively write an argument paper, but not a solid research paper. I can confidently identify my purpose, audience, topic and even thesis. I’m able to generally organize my writing(s) to support my topic. I’m not worried about grammar or mechanics such as sentence structuring. I ‘AM’ worried about finding, evaluating, selecting and then bringing all of my sources together to represent a ‘research’ paper versus just an argument paper. I believe I did a good job with summarizing and paraphrasing on my WP#2 (I received little feedback to the contrary.) Documentation style was established on the outset of APA. As far as my own writing strengths go, I’ve used the minimal feedback I’ve received to correct or improve my writing as needed. The most recent being I didn’t state clearly in my conclusion paragraph where I stood on my issue. At this point, technology has been a help with being able to do research from home with my busy schedule of work, family and school.

D#8, HW#5 - Deadline Reflection

I responded to the following classmates blogs:
Latron’s Blog – D#8 HW#1
Amanda’s Blog – D#8 HW#5
Jessica’s Blog – D#8 HW#5
Jessica’s Blog – D#8 HW#2

Peer reviews allow me to see how others are researching their specific topics and sometimes may even lead to potential resources (databases or websites) for the topic I’m currently covering or topics I may cover in the future. It seems that while I enjoy the way this course is generally set up, the interaction is not very strong. I wish I knew how to improve this aspect of class.

The reading of Part 3 has been very helpful in reminding me about sentence structures and how the words I choose to use in my paper can be more effective in getting my view and points across. While I don’t feel it actually helped me with the writing of WP#2, the information and exercises will definitely be beneficial when I write my WP#3 and #4.

There were also several webpage links to review. I initially only skimmed them as there were several to view. However, after reviewing each one thoroughly again, it’s information I’ll be using for WP#3 and #4.

I would have preferred to have assignments that were more geared towards the drafting of my final of WP#2 which is due tomorrow. I guess at this point though I’ll need to rely on what I’ve learned prior to this deadline and hope that my WP#2 is written as it should be.

D#8, HW#4 - Grammar Assignment - Part 3

Although I worked through Part 3 – Sentence Style and did a few of the exercises (14.2, 16.1, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, and 19.3) I felt these chapters would have been more useful during the writing of WP#3. I will make a point to review this chapter during that time.

D#8, HW#3 - Ch 7 Activities

What is my rhetorical situation?

What are the benefits and disadvantages of lowering the voting age in America from 18 to 16?

Purpose:
My research is intended to inform and promote awareness regarding the benefits and disadvantages of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in the United States.

Audience:
My research will target parents in the hopes of motivating them to become more involved. It will also be aimed towards teachers to reinforce the importance of educational efforts on civics and democracy. The research will also enlist politicians to interact and advocate with youth early.

Personal Context:
My personal interest is that I am an American citizen that feared voting for many years. I would have been able to proudly contribute to democracy had I been educated and had the opportunity to participate in the voting process earlier in life. I now vote regularly as it is not only a privilege but my right as an American citizen.

Generating responses to your research question?

What are the benefits of lowering the voting age in America from 18 to 16?

Benefits of lowering the voting age:

1. Better education opportunities with organizations, such as Kids Voting USA.
2. Establishing a habit early will increase voter turn-out.
3. Politicians having to face real issues and being help accountable.
4. Better & stronger communities as youths are invested.
5. Youths perspectives are unique to their situations and issues at 16-17 years of age.
6. Teenagers are already making critical thinking decisions by driving, working jobs, and paying taxes while going to school.

Disadvantages of lowering the voting age:

1. 16-17 years olds are not knowledgeable enough to understand the intricate issues and their seriousness.
2. Cities and States would incur an additional ‘debt’ to ensure educational needs are met and voting equipments are set up for teenage usage.
3. The expectation of 16-17 year olds actually voting is low due to the current standings of 18-24 year olds.
4. Politicians currently are not held accountable for decisions made for educational programs and budget cuts concerning youths.
5. Teenagers do not understand taxes and are not vested in democracy like adults are.

*** Need to determine (referring to AB’s) which positions would my audience be more interested in (I believe each of them are equally important) and which positions I could defend to my audiences (these would be the benefits.)

Drafting a Thesis Statement:

Precise Claim: The voting age in America should be lowered from 18 to 16.

Reasons/Blueprint:
Youths have better educational opportunities to learn about voting.
The voter turn-out would increase and establish early voting habit(s).
Politicians would be held accountable for youth issues.
Youths are invested in enhancing the communities they live in.
Youths perspectives are unique to their age-group issues.

Complete Thesis Statement:
The voting age in America should be lowered from 18 to 16 because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting, establish early voting habit(s), increase voter turn-out and enhance the communities they live in.

Understanding My Warrants:

Claim: The voting age in America should be lowered from 18 to 16
Reason: because youths have better opportunities to learn about voting and establishing early voting habit(s)
Warrant: Early voting habit(s) would be established with education by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in America.

Claim: The voting age in America should be lowered from 18 to 16
Reason: because youths have better opportunities to increase voter turn-out
Warrant: Voter turn-out would increase with youth involvement by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in America.

Claim: The voting age in America should be lowered from 18 to 16
Reason: because youths have better opportunities to enhance the communities they live in
Warrant: Communities would become stronger with youth participation by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in America.

Developing Rebuttals:

Rebuttal:
Teenagers lack the intelligence and life experience to make informed decisions.

Counter:
Educational opportunities are more readily available for 16-17 year olds than 18 year olds.
Organizations such as Kids Voting USA encourage parents and teachers to educate and be more involved with teenagers and civic responsibilities.
Most teenagers drive and/or work paying jobs, enabling further development of critical thinking.

Rebuttal:
Voter turn-out is very low with 18-24 year olds that won’t change by lowering the voting age?

Counter:
Most 18 year olds are usually focused on graduating, obtaining higher paying jobs, applying to colleges and possibly leaving home to attend college, while on the other hand, the average 16-17 year olds are rooted to the communities they live in.
Many parents will be more involved conversing with teenagers about political issues, increasing voter turn-out on two fronts (adults & teenagers.)

Rebuttal:
This will cost the tax-payers, city and state too much money to implement.

Counter:
Many teenagers are tax payers too.
Developing teenagers to vote early would make most communities stronger.
“How would this cost money?”

D#8, HW#2 - Peer Review Reflection

Reviewing my classmates blogs I’m reminded to ensure all pertinent information is included on my annotated bibliographies (AB’s), such as retrieval dates and multi perspectives are represented. I also need to ensure my opinion is made clear on the topic itself, such as ‘I believe in that by lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in America combined with parents, teachers and appropriate legislation would increase voter turn-out and improve the democracy of the United States.’

Latron & Ryan reviewed my WP#2 draft. Thanks to Latron for pointing out my conclusion did not completely specify where I stood on the issue. Ryan’s comment confused me a bit, but as he agreed with me, I’m ok with it.

Turnitin.com rated my paper with 28% match. After reviewing each article I could actually view, I determined it was all due to quotes and headline information for my AB’s. I will need to double check each of my cited sources and summary paragraphs to ensure I’ve quoted and labeled correctly.

D#8, HW#1 - Peer Reviewx2

I reviewed Jessica's and Jay's WP#2's.

I had concerns with Jessica's WP#2 opening and closing paragraphs. I suggested that there is a third perception or belief that was not represented in the research.

Jay's paper was set up well except he forgot to list the dates when he retrieved the information.

D#7, HW#6 - Deadline Reflection

I replied to the following classmates:

Amanda’s Blog – D#7, HW#1
Jay’s Blog – D#7, HW#4

Unfortunately, most of the class has not posted D#7 sections yet, so replying to classmates blogs was difficult.

D#7, HW#5 - Turnitin.com

Submitted WP#2 draft to turnitin.com and received a whoppin' 28%. Eeeeek! I'll be waiting to hear from the professor as to what happened there.

I also noticed the following for the 28%:
there were 4 hits for internet; 5 hits for publication; and 3 hits for student paper

I then clicked on exclude quotes and the percentage reduced to 12. I also clicked on exclude bibliography and still reached a 12%. I went from 12 hits to 10 hits. Two of the 10 hits were 3% each and the rest were 1% per each hit. I'm not sure why the percentage is still high. Hopefully, the professor can help answer that.

D#7, HW#4 - WP#2 draft

Annotated Bibliographies

OVERVIEW

Youth activism is on the rise in the United States and has been for the past several years. The current issue the youth of America are concerned with is lowering the voting age in the United States. Initial research proved difficult with limited search terms. However, as the search terms expand, so does the research being accumulated. Listed below are current articles and/or references that will be used to document the benefits/disadvantages and several perspectives on lowering the voting age in America. Several articles depict the fact that teenagers across America are lobbying to change the voting age to 16. A few articles reference that other countries already have or will be lowering their voting age to include teenagers at elections. This list will continue to grow as research indicates this topic is still at the forefront of Youth activism.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

*** Austria Lowers Voting Age. (2007, April 17). Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.youthrights.org/nyranews2007.php.

This article refers to a monumental step for Austria which may prove beneficial to the United States as the voting trend of youths will be watched closely. This article will help establish a major viewpoint (from another country’s example) for lowering the voting age in America. This article though found on a youth movement web site is still authoritative because of the letter written by the ambassador. This article will be referenced with another AB regarding other countries viewpoints. A possible quote to refer to: “We demand so much responsibility from the younger generation and load so many burdens on their shoulders that we feel it was the right thing to do,” wrote Austrian ambassador Eva Nowotny in a letter to National Youth Rights Association (NYRA).

** Bach, A. (2002, March 3). Teen Lobbies to Lower Voting Age. Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from Newsbank database.

Article demonstrates that an Arizona teenager is willing to fight for the right to vote, including going to the House committee to introduce a bill for lowering the voting age in America. This article is the second reference to the Arizona teenager(s) attempting to lower the voting age in Arizona. This article is 5 years old, but the concept is still relevant to the research topic. I also noticed there was a mention of a youth group called “Generation NOW” based in Tucson, Arizona. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful in locating further information on this group through internet and database searches.

*** Bailey, Eric. (2004, March 9). The State; Giving New Meaning to 'Youth Vote'; A state senator says he wants to change the California Constitution to allow teens as young as 14 to cast ballots. The proposal is met with ridicule.:[HOME EDITION]. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on July 16, 2007 from ProQuest Database.

A California State Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) proposed to lower the voting age to 14. However, this proposal was met with strong opposition by Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) & Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, both stating in various terms that this proposal was outrageous. The article also refers to Germany & Austria having already lowered their voting age to allow teens to vote. This article will help establish three points: different perspectives for, against and those who have already lowered the voting age. This article also relates to at least one other article regarding other countries lowering the voting age. I was glad I finally found another article that had opinions that are against lowering the voting age which will help address another viewpoint.

** Boggan, S. (2006, November 6). New law lets teens serve at voting sites: Kids under legal age get civics lesson. The Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

The author of this article is a news reporter for the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona. She’s also the new Vice President for Society of Professional Journalists. She maintained an unbiased opinion throughout the article by giving facts and quotes. The reporter quoted five different people with respects to the article. The article shows two things: First, teens want to be involved and second, some adults do recognize they are mature enough to at least work at the polls on election days. A possible quote to refer to: “This is the first year people younger than the voting age of 18 have been able to work at election polling places. Legislation was passed at this year's session allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work at the polls and even get paid for it,” said Gilberto Hoyos, director of elections for Pinal County.

** Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication. (2004, September 24). Sufferin' for suffrage: should teens have the right to vote? Retrieved July 10, 2007 from Access My Library database.

This article refers to adolescents that are being provided with voting awareness in the critical years prior to college, which will hopefully increase voter turn out during elections. A possible quote to refer to: "If you can get young adults to cast a ballot in one of their first two or three elections, you increase the likelihood that they'll [vote] regularly. If you miss that first window, you'll probably lose them," said Tom Patterson, head of the Vanishing Voter Project, an organization devoted to increasing voter turnout.

** Lori Aratani, L. (2006, November 4). Teens Too Young to Vote Blaze a Campaign Trail; Ervin Applauds Students' Political Acumen: [FINAL Edition]. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2007 from ProQuest database.

This newspaper article depicts a Montgomery County Councilwoman, Valerie Ervin, who enlisted the help of two teenagers, Adam Yalowitz and Avi Edelman, to run her campaign. “"The adults thought I was crazy," said Ervin, who recruited the pair, seniors at Montgomery Blair High School, in June.” They said, 'You cannot risk your reputation by having two 17-year-olds run your campaign.' But in reality, they knew what they were doing." Although Ervin's longtime friend Susan Phillips, 51, was the campaign's official manager, “Yalowitz and Edelman were instrumental in developing strategy and mobilizing volunteers,” Ervin said. Something worked. Ervin won the Democratic primary in September with 68.1 percent of the vote. This article will be very beneficial to the research being conducted on lowering the voting age as it proves some teens do know what they’re doing.

*** Lower the Voting Age? (2006, October 2). Junior Scholastic, Retrieved July 10, 2007, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Michael Cappetta a 16 year old junior at Chagrin Falls High School in Ohio stated “Opening up the voting pool to a younger generation may inspire our generation to vote more often, and take part in democracy.” This article displays ‘teenagers’ perspectives for and against lowering the voting age. The author is not clearly listed, though this could be due to the fact it was written for teenagers’. Also, after reviewing the article again via the database, I noticed two links I could use that would be helpful. One link would include the citation in the second link that would email the article where I wanted to send it. I chose to have it sent to my email for easier reference.

** Nardi, E. (2006, September 27). Students lobby for bill aiding poll work: LAFAYETTE: Teens say schools shouldn't lose money if they miss classes to work at voting places. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

This newspaper article is written by a reporter Elizabeth Nardi who is currently still staffed with Contra Costa Times. Although this article does not directly relate with the lowering of the voting age for major elections, it does show that teens are lobbying to make sure high schools are not losing money when the teens work at the polls. The article states that California charges schools $35 per student that is absent per day. The article also included that for Acalanes district last year, that figure totaled $1300. Several sources are quoted within the article.

** Stafford, Katy. (2006, November 5). Charlotte Observer. Students learning how, why to vote: About 20,000 in Mecklenburg to cast ballots in mock election. Retrieved July 9, 2007 from Access My Library database.

"The ultimate goal is to get informed about the election process. They learn the skills in a textbook and then get to experience it in real life." said Amy Farrell, executive director of the Mecklenburg program, part of Kids Voting USA, a nonprofit organization based in Tempe, Ariz. The author maintained an unbiased tone throughout the article as she reported about the program Kids Voting USA helping students learn how to vote and casting ballots in a mock election. The author quoted three different people that voiced the same sentiment. Students are learning about voting and then actually being able to do it is a benefit to all students who participate. This also encourages parents who must accompany the students when they vote.

*** Sweet, A., Tatz, P., & Puz, J. (2005, July 28). From playgrounds to voting booths: Kids want to vote. New York Amsterdam News. Vol. 96, Issue 31. Retrieved July 9, 2007 from Academic Search Premier Database.

“People talk about how the youth don't care and aren't involved, especially in the last election, and I think part of the problem is, we're just ignored. When you're 16, you have a lot of adult "rights," like paying taxes, driving, enlisting in the Army, serving adult prison terms, but you're not treated as an adult” (Sweet). “Democracy is the founding principle of America. If some of us are given a vote, and others aren't, how is that good democracy? Expanding the vote will make democracy even better and richer. How can expanding the vote be bad?” (Tatz). “…it's a double standard when we are told, "No, you're kids, you're not responsible enough to vote, but you're responsible enough to face the same penalties adults do"” (Puz). This article shows a keen perspective from several teenagers that are aware of the youth suffrage and want to be able to cast their ballot.

*** “Vote”. Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary. Copyright 2006-2007. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/voting

Using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online I was able to obtain the definition of voting. This is key information to understanding the main topic.

CONCLUSION

These resources have opened my eyes to the fact that teenagers of America are serious about lowering the voting age. They have taken steps to lobby Councilwomen and Senators to introduce bills in several states. Skepticism and opposition have made it abundantly clear that they believe teenagers are not ready and this shouldn’t even be a discussion. However, I have formed the opinion that combined with parents, teachers and legislation that would allow teenagers to practice what they learn early, the voter turn out rates in America would increase.