Dion Shattuck

8/1/2015
HW8
Starting a conversation:
1. The university undoubtedly wants to profile Grandin because she
deserves it, but it additionally wants to use Grandin as a showpiece for
what the university may want to represent. If the school is associated
with famous people, it is more attractive.
2. The profile was a good length for quick reading, but still had enough
detail for me to be engaged. The profile broke up the content into
sections and I appreciate this technique in all informative writing
because it gives the reader a pause to process what they just read,
what section it was under, and what the next section will be. The
profile gave history about autism, which Grandin has, which gave me a
good sense of the way Grandin grew up and lived.
3. The profile includes personal things about Grandin (fights in school,
autism, education, etc.) to bring us closer to her as a person, but also
delves into her professional career to give context and inform about
the main part of the article. This is opposed to just discussing her
achievements as a professional which would be more random and less
interesting.
4. The profile uses a diverse set of sources ranging from meat packing
industry facts, Grandins personal life, authors who included her in
books, and her students. Id think a personal interview with the subject
would be the most compelling because it gives you a direct view into
the mind of the person, but friends and colleagues are also good
sources of information.
Evaluate a Source:
1. Yes, it is about ethnocentrism (one group thinking they are superior)
which connects well with divisions between religions, moral codes, etc.
2. Yes. There are 12 sources consisting of dictionary definitions, books,
bible studies, and other published works.
3. Both authors are probably involved with religious groups, one is a
professor and missionary, the other I had trouble locating much
information about.
4. Publisher information is not available. The source is an online
document.
5. The nature of the topic makes the date of publication less important
since the piece is about human nature.

6. It is comprehensive (12 sources), but many of the sources are religion

based and I think that may sway the bias of the piece.
Rules for Writers Activity:
1. Which page(s) would help you to incorporate transitions between
sentences, paragraphs, and sections in your paper? 398, 381, 402
2. Which page(s) address how to use an apostrophe to show possession?
Ex.: the boys pie or the boys pie 321
3. Which page(s) provide a sample MLA and a sample APA paper to
illustrate formatting? 479-523
4. Which page(s) address how to format a long quotation in MLA or APA?
471, 545
5. Which page(s) provide information on the use of ellipses marks in
quotations? 470, 544
6. Which page(s) would help you to distinguish between its (possessive
pronoun) and its (contraction)? 321-325
7. Which page(s) explain how to use a comma with an introductory
phrase or clause? 293
8. Which page(s) focus on unnecessary commas? 308,309
9. Which page(s) address incomplete sentences? 180-188
10.
Which page(s) review comma splices? 188,189, 314
11.
Which page(s) explain how to avoid or repair run-on sentences?
190
12.
Which page(s) describe how to use a semicolon properly? 314318
Run-ons:
Some parents and educators argue that requiring uniforms in public
schools would improve student behavior and performance. They think that
uniforms give students a more professional attitude toward school. Moreover,
they believe that uniforms help create a sense of community among
students from diverse backgrounds, but parents and educators should
consider the drawbacks to requiring uniforms in public schools.
Uniforms do create a sense of community. They do this, however, by
stamping out individuality. Youth is a time to express originality and develop
a sense of self. One important way young people express their identities is
through the clothes they wear. The self-patrolled dress code of high school
students may be stricter than any school-imposed code, nevertheless, trying

to control dress habits from above will only lead to resentment or mindless
conformity.
If children are going to act like adults they need to be treated like adults
and allowed to make their own choices. Telling young people what to wear to
school merely prolongs their childhood. Requiring uniforms undermines the
educational purpose of public schools which is not just to teach facts and
figures, but to help young people grow into adults who are responsible for
making their own choices.