For the next ten minutes, I want you to just write about anything you want, but I want it to be persuasive. For example, you might write about your spring break and try to tell me why it was the best (or worst) ever. Or you could write about how stressed out you are right now and try to convince me that you are more stressed than me (good luck). Or try to convince me that your favorite movie/tv show/band etc. really is the best. While you're writing, I want you to be aware of the language you are using. What makes it convincing? Why are you choosing to talk about these particular examples? Write a brief paragraph explaining your choices.
(p.s. This picture is from my own spring break adventures in Cleveland!)
17 comments:
Don't ever stay home for spring break to help your parents. As kind-hearted as it may sound, I decided for the first time since elementary to stay home and do something for my parents instead of indulge in the social frenzy known as spring break. I cleaned non-stop, while taking every opportunity to run errands to get away from the hell hole known as home. My parents got just as tired of me as I did of them. For future reference, do your parents a favor they won't notice, and use their money to enjoy a nice plane ride to a warm place filled with beautiful people to meet.
I went on the Ultimate Spring Break Challenge for my vactation. A group of voluniteers went down to New Orleans to help rebuild the community. The trip was more fulfilling than any of the ordinary spring break trips (cancun, florida, etc.), because you actually got a sense of purpose. The people down there were so appreciative of us coming down on our spring break to help rebuild, they would tell us that it meant someone cared for them. So instead of blacking out drunk every night like some other kids did on their spring break, we mananged to make a difference in someones life.
Some of the things I did in this paragraph to try to persude people was to compare it to other spring breaks. I would tell why my spring break was better than the other spring breaks.
I am very stressed out right now because I am not sure if i am going to have to drop math. Today is the last day to drop a class, and I already didnt do good on the first exam, and the second exam before vacation was very difficult. Depending on what I got on that exam, which i find out the grade today is whether or not i have to drop the course and take it again next semester. I am very good in math and watching myself struggling this much is very hard to bear, and having to take it again in the fall will just be a huge pain, that i dont want to do that. Not to metion how my parents will feel. It makes me feel like im letting myself and my parents down by possibly having to take the course again.
My friends and I often go eat in the dining courts. We have tried them all, and I am convinced that Ford has the best food. I mean, Ford is the largest food court here on campus, and also the newest. The food there always seems to be fresher than other eateries, and it just tastes better. You can tell that many students feel the same way, because the line for Ford is huge, sometimes even a twenty minute wait. Whereas the line at Windsor, well, let's just say Windsor rarely has a line. The second Ford opens, people dash through the doors to be the first ones in. I know my friends and I like to sit there and make a few trips back and forth from the table to the food area, and then we casually sit there for sometimes two hours, just because the atmosphere is so fun. It's clean and relaxing too. Ford even has the best icecream for dessert! I bet you could ask anyone, Ford is simply the best dining court here at Purdue.
All my life I have enjoyed going to Florida for Spring Break, but have not enjoyed going to the beach. Call me crazy, but I don't like just sitting in the sand; I like being active. This break I got my chance to do whatever I wanted. My best friend and I drove straight through to Ft. Meyers Beach. We have friends who live there, so we got the chance to live there for 4 days. The family we stayed with really knew how to show friends a good time. While we stayed there we got to go watch the Boston Red Sox play, might I add we sat in the front row, then we got to go to an ice hockey game, then we got to go play golf 3 out of the 4 days we were there. We went out to dinner in some of the nicest places I have ever eaten at.
After leaving Ft. Meyers, we headed up to Medeira Beach where we stayed with my best friends grandparents in their condo. Their condo had a great view of the ocean, it was high in the air, and had tennis courts, basketball courts, and an olympic size pool. We stayed there for 6 days and played golf 5 of them. We played some of the nicest courses in Florida for cheap, due to the hook ups we had from our friends in Ft. Meyers. I had a great and relaxing time on my trip this year and not once did I step foot on a beach. The closest I got to sand was when I hit my golf ball in a bunker.
It would probably be easy to say you have a lot of stress but I guarentee that other people may have it a lot tougher. Basically, I am referring to myself because of the amount of personal issues as well as trying to pull my grades out of the danger zone. For example, I have two very low grades and have one exam left to bring those grades up. One of the classes even goes toward my major. It not like I don't do my work, these are just hard classes with hard exams. In addition, this week is my last easy week for the rest of the school year. From here on out I have at least one exam or paper each week. That is only what I now of. What happened to those first weeks in the school year when the workload was nearly absent.
Spring break: For my spring break I stay at home most of the time. Watched movies I haven't seen before, slept, went to the mall for some spring clothes, and etc. I think this break was well spent. After 8 weeks of classes straight, I think I need time to relax and enjoy myself. So I do what I like, sleep, watch tv and movie, and getting new things. I think this is one of the best breaks I've had because I got to experience how it was to be out of classes when others were still in (back at home). My brother woke up at 6:45am every morning for school while I get to sleep in till the time he gets out in the afternoon! And no homework! (for the break that it.) I knew how stressful high school was and I'm glad I'm out.
In my opinion everyone should own a motorcycle. Owning on can do a great deal of things for you socially and personally. For example, imaging you are an accountant or a lawyer and its been a really stressful week at the office. You are tired of making all the decisions and being the responsible one. So what do you do to get rid of these feelings, jump on your motorcycle and ride. You don't even hve to have a certian destination. It lets rid yourself of all the responsibilities and demands that your job or home puts on you and it also is enjoyable to you and any others that come with you on your relaxing journey. Socially it is also kind of fun to play the biker stereotype and then when people ask you what you do for a living you can chuckle and say "I'm and accountant" or "I am a lawyer at the big firm in town". riding a motorcycle can be fun and relaxing. I do understand though that it is not for everyone so I encourage you to try it at least once in your life and see what you think.
Coming back to Purdue (or college in general) has been the absolute worst mistake that I have ever made in my entire life.
I am in the middle of the biggest waste of time and money ever. I am miserable. I don't sleep. My stomach hurts all the time. I rarely spend time with my family. All this and I still don't get all the crap done that I am supposed to in order to get an irrelevant grade in subjects that I am becoming less and less interested in by the second.
In summary...big mistake...very bad...don't give a crap.
Thank you very much.
I am extremely stressed out, probably not more so than Katie, but it is still no fun to come back to. Spring break was so relaxing. I woke up to the ocean every morning and had beautiful, 80 degree weather the whole time. Coming back home to frost bite and rain was not an easy task. And if that was not enough, I have so much on my mind. First, is the English paper due tomorrow. I already wrote it but I still feel like I did not do it right. I still have some questions on it and lots of editing and typing to do. I also have other homework in classes such as SLHS, a midterm in IDIS, and who knows what in ASL because I skipped my last class. (I should also mention it was the first time I skipped all semester, but I'm one of those who always wonders what she missed.) Aside from homework, I have planning for next year to do with my classes. I have to schedule a meeting with my counselor and also plan out if I want to pursue study abroad as well as work on the steps to getting me into graduate school and all that that entails. My goal is Northwestern. Furthermore, I have my job at the daycare, which is enough stress in itself, but I get called in early on top of that every day I am scheduled. I have to figure out if I will be coming back to work there next semester and my boss is an intimidating woman to talk to. Finally, I have to figrue out this summer. It is coming down to crunch time, and I do not have a job. I had such high hopes for this summer. I wanted to take some classes through IUPUI, work, and volunteer, but nothing seems to be coming together. That is basically what is on my mind and it is a lot. I feel like there are so many balls in the air to juggle and I don't want to drop any of them. Hopefully, it will all work out.
I tried to portray what I was going through in a way that other people could relate to. I spoke practically about my situations, but I also tried to convey the stress I was under. The intances I chose to talk about were pretty straight foward. I just listed all the things on my mind right now, and in the end, I told how all of those things were making me feel.
I had the longest trip back from Florida ever. On my way back I drove for 24 consecutive hours with two sleeping individuals, leaving me to entertain myself with nothing but my own thoughts. Watching the lane markings go by for 24 hours left me seeing lanes for hours after I finished driving. I wanted to use turn signals to signal that I was going to turn left into the bathroom. I had to pass through Purdue at the 19 hour mark to head another two and half hours north to Mishawaka to drop someone off and then another two and a half back down to Purdue at five in the morning. What was a 24 hour trip seemed like 48. I feel that even if someone had a longer trip than me, my lonely 24 hour expedition seemed the longest.
I picked this example because it is something that everyone can relate to in some way. Everyone then decides to compare it to their own experience and is probably more interested to read more.
This past spring break was the best of any spring breaks that I've had. I didn't go anywhere, I just went home which is a whole 10 minute drive across the river to Lafayette. First, the weather was excellent. No one could have asked for better weather. It didn't matter where my friends were going because it was nicer outside than where they were going. I don't recall it raining at all. Also, it was always warm. The Friday that classes got out the weather was nice and it only continued to get better. It beats spending hundreds of dollars to go to Florida or some place nice like that just for the beach and the warmness. Secondly, I got to catch up on sleep. It felt wonderful to just sleep in till 1 or 2 o'clock in the afternoon and not having to worry about doing homework or going to class. It was just wonderful. Also, one of the perks of coming home were the home-cooked meals. Everyone misses those no matter who you are. The smell of the food cooking in the kitchen and the taste of a well prepared meal will beat that of any fancy restraunt or dorm cooked food. All in all, it was great to be home and just relax.
I chose words that would help describe what I was feeling. It makes it convincing by proving that the weather and smells far surpassed that of someone's spring break who didn't go home. I also chose my examples to help show that being home is just as good as going to Florida or any other place besides home.
Just from the picture on the blog from your adventures in Clevland over spring break, I can tell you that my spring break was much less eventful than yours. My spring break consisted of one day of work, and the rest being sick. I didn't feel like doing anything all day long, and because I was sick I decided to sleep most of the time. When I would wake up, I would try to get something done, and would end up back on the couch. In the evening though, I couldn't sleep, because I had slept all day. So each night I would go hang out with friends for a while, but didnt feel like doing anything. We ended up finding nothing to do, and so I finally went back to sleep again. This was my routine for about 5 days, and I am just now starting to feel better.
It likes like you had a blast going to Hard Rock Cafe. Just one meal at such an exciting place had to be more eventful than my week of sleeping.
I feel that Seinfeld is the best old show around. It is good in so many different ways. It has four main characters, but they interact with so many other people on the show, so the writers are able to come up with many themes in their episodes. You have Jerry, the comedian always trying to crack jokes, and his apartment where everyone likes to hang out. And somehow he has a different girlfriend just about every show. Elaine is a funny character, as well. George probably cracks me up the most. He is short, bald, and stalky, and constantly finds himself in compromising postitions. And you've got Kramer, who is just a goofball. But the characters fit together quite well, thanks to some excellent writing. And with people like the mailmain, Newman, and the "Soup Nazi," how can you go wrong? The way the stories between the main characters overlap and intertwine really make the show into a great one. It's mainly the dumb things the main characters get themselves into, and how they do or don't get out of it, that makes the show so funny. Probably not very persuasive, but it's hard to show how good the show is unless you actually watch it. Naturally, people will disagree, though.
Over spring break I went to a New York Rangers game in New York City with my cousin and I had the most fun in a long time at it. Going to a game where your favorite team is playing is completely different than going to one where you are just watching for fun. If anyone has not been to a game for any team they like they should go to one. For the last 2 years my mother would get free tickets to New Jersey Devils games from her friend who has several season tickets. I can say that this was the first time I actually felt "into" the game and was actually caring of what the outcome was(it was a 3-2 loss, they blew a 2-0 lead.) Cheering for your favorite team felt like I wasn't lying to cheer for the Devils. Another reason why I would say it was well worth it to go see my favorite team play was that it was my first time ever at a Rangers game. The first time always has that feeling that you will never forget and will always pull on you to go back to another despite the high cost. There is so much to do at any sporting event but going to a favorite team's game is always more fun and entertaining. From just watching to walking around to every one of the team stores to find the alternate Lundqvist jersey, which I didn't, I would say it was the most fun I had in a long time.
House is by far the best show on television right now. It's both serious and humorous without being completely ridiculous, and though it is a medical show, there's more than just medecine going on. In every episode there's always an amazing case to be solved and though it might take a while, House always solves the mystery. He's a modern, medical Sherlock Holmes along with his sidekick Watson, or in House's case, Wilson. House's methods of practicing medecine can be often questionable and more than likely illegal, but he does what he thinks is right to help a patient. Along with the very serious, tense moments the show has there is also a large amount of humor. House always has a sarcastic comment ready, whether you're one of his underlings or an ill patient. Add in that House is addicted to Vicodin, and it makes for some interesting moments.
When i write to be pursuasive i try to jazz up my word choice a bit. I usually end up thinking along the lines of what i'd likely see in a commercial on tv or an add in a newspaper. And it is fairly effective, obviously that's why adds work so well. But it also has to be a topic i'm enthusiastic about or enjoy. If it's not, i wouldn't be able to actually persuade anyone seriously.
Spring Break was amazing. I spent the week in Cancun, Mexico without a care in
the world. I woke up, went to breakfast, went to the bar, and then laid on the
beach for hours. At night i went to the clubs. Everything was great, but when i
returned home on Saturday i realized that i had so much to do for this week that
i wish i had a device that could stop time so that i can do it all!!! Sunday
began around 2 pm for me because i was exhausted from the long trip home. We
went out on Friday night to this club and then our flight out was at 6am from
cancun with a 7 hour layover in Dallas. Yikes!!! I had dinner with my family
and at around 6 i began working on things that are due this week. I had 4 pages
of Spanish homework that was due this morning at 9:30. And for what...she
doesn't even really check it all the time. So i basically waist my time doing
homework for no reason then?? It's just busy work anyway. Tomorrow i have this
huge paper due for English 106. It's not really that bad i suppose, but i'm
having trouble with it and i don't know how i'm going to finish it in time
because i have to work 4-10 tonight at Ihop. After work tonight i have to go to
Wal-Mart to buy some fruit for my Spanish class because we're having a party
tomorrow. More things to do with so little time. So it seems that it should be
mostly over after Tuesday then, right? Wrong! I have the rest of the week
filled with doctor's appointments and the biggest, most scary thing of all...my
HTM Application. That application is due on Friday with my resume and essay. I'm
so scared to turn that in because if i don't make it into Purdue's school for
Hospitality and Tourism Management, i don't know what i'm going to do. I've
finally chosen a major and what if i don't get into the school? I'm already a
member of National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) and how stupid
will i look if i joined that club and i don't even get into the school???
AAAHHHHHHH!!! The upside to this is that after this week of Hell...i will be so
relieved AND there's only 6 more weeks of school!!
I wrote about this b/c it seems like we're all stressed out right now, but these
are the things that are stressing me out right now.
There was a Hard Rock Cafe in Cancun too...looks like you had fun.
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