Wednesday 3/14/18

The topic of todays class was integrating quotes into our writing to make it more persuasive and argumentative. Mr. Rivers began the class by going over the I Will Be Able To's for today, which were:
- Evaluate how expert arguers provide context when they integrate evidence
- Structure counterclaim by combining descriptive and argumentative writing
He then asked us to define, in our groups, the definitions of the two underlined words, which were context and integrate. Essentially, integrate means to combine different things to create a whole, in English it means to combine quotes and your own words to make one sentence that is smooth and concise. Context means, in writing, providing background information to make things in your argument more clear. So, when you integrate evidence you are integrating evidence and/or quotes into your sentences to provide more support for your argument but also to make your sentence clearer and more understandable without any extra not needed information. Mr. Rivers then directed us to the Landrieu speech on the removal of the Confederate statues in New Orleans and told every group to come up with two quotes from that speech and then explain how he used his own words before the quote in one and how he used his words after the quote in the other one. This lesson can clearly be translated into real world applications because in order to write most school papers you need to include a certain amount of evidence (such as quotes) in order to pass the assignment and get a good grade. Other examples may be if you become a journalist or writer for a new/media company, you need to know how to include quotes into your paper or report so that what your reporting on actually is believable, additionally, being able to include quotes clearly and smoothly add to the value and clarity of the report or paper. Being able to integrate quotes into a paper or speech is also essential for elected officials, such as a mayorial or presidential position, in which the addition of quotes makes your speech or address more official and captures your audiences attention while also giving the impression that the speaker has credibility to their argument and, again, the addition of quotes in a speech/argument add value and clarity to the paper.