Sunday, February 24, 2008

Free Write

Well, what can I say? So far this school year has strated out with a bang. I have been sick for the majority of the schhol year and am just now starting to feel a little bit better. All the while, school work is piling up and I am getting behind. If this trend continues I may never get to do anything other than study for the rest of the school year. I have a test tomorrow afternoon and am trying to study while I am writing this post. I also have work in business writing that I am falling behind in, but that will change soon when I get to class. On a good note, I am feeling better and may get to start workingout again soon. I am hoping that everything works out. I know in the end everything works out but it does stink to have to wait, right?

Monday, February 11, 2008

Cover letter

The advice given is telling us that we only need to write and send resumes/cover letters it you have investigated the company. It says that a leeter should be specific and personal. It seems that most people have the misconception that by sending mass resumes. cover letters out to people it is going to land them a job. The problem with this thinking is that it is too much paper for human resoureces to go through and the chances are that you are not going to land the position if you do not show some sort of intrest in the company its self. I agree with the advise but I also thinnk that given a great cover letter you can increase the odds of getting an interview drastically. The one area hat I was unaware of something that could be done is the follow up. This helps to show a future employer that you are really willing and wanting to work for their company.

Job strategies

I chose two articles. One article was about having good conversation with possible employers. This is showing the employer how you have reacted to other real life situations and is making sure you fit their corprate structure. This is cruticial in real life and in the job market. eing able to have a smooth conversation can make or break your interview and might just land you the job. The other article I looked at was on dealing with your interview stress. If you are a person like me you can become very anxious sometimes. The article tells the reader to take slow deep breaths and this will help to calm the nerves. Also, sit up straight and don't cross your legs or arms. It is easier to control anxiety when it first strarts then when it starts spiriling out of control. All of these skills will help in my interview the only problem is that I have to put them into action. I can read about this all day but is my personality going to allow me to follow through? That is the question I ask myself and in the near future that question will be answered.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Drug Abuse

http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/prescription_dangers.asp. There is the address for this piece I chose. The ethos is seen through the fact that teens are starting to turn away from street drugs, but the problem, that the article points out, is that they are strating to abuse a different type of drug. These would be the types of drugs that you and I would be prescriped for a broken bone or chronic back pain and such. The logos comes through when the speaker says, "Every day 2,500 youth age 12 to 17 abuse a pain reliever for the very first time., Also, In 2006, more than 2.1 million teens ages 12 to 17 reported abusing prescription drugs." This is appealing to logic that prescription drug abuse, if untreated, could become an epicidemic. The article its self suggests that this is already becoming a problem. The ethos comes in when the author starts telling the reader of the health risks associated with overdoseing. If I were a parent reading this article I would immediately go and lock my medicine cabinet, but lets be honest, if children and teens are already abusing then they will find a way to get the drug. I am not ignorant to the fact that drug use is a big deal, and to be honest time I've in high schoool and college witnessed alot of drug abuse. I am not one to judge quickly and never will be. The emotional appeal in this article comes from the fact that as a responsible adult you need to eduacte kids on the dangers of overdoseing and we need to keep close tabs on our prescription medicine. As far as me comparing the guest speakers and MLK to this pieace of writing I would have to say that MLK is the most appealing due to his charisma of being a courageous unique person in such a close minded society. He was way outside the box for his time and paid the price for being different in society during his time. His logos, pathos, and ethos are all in a unique allignment and it is seen in his eliquently written letter from a Birmingham jail. But in all honesty, I enjoy reading articles on drug abuse and addiction because it runs in my family and educating myself might help me in the future. Life is short and the most pesuasive line filled with ethos, logos, and pathos is from the Shawshank Redemption where Tim Robins says,"get busy living, or get busy dying." I know this isn't eactly what you had in mind for this assignment, but I went off on a tangent for some reason. I hope I am somewhere in the ball park for what you were looking for.