The Final Post

For me, one topic that we discussed during class really stuck out in my mind not only because of the personal connection but the common attribute this topic had was the one about countering. The fact that most people do not counter an argument or another person in general is amazing. Throughout the lecture over it I remember saying to myself how awful I was when it came to arguing or having a passionate side to my defense but rather that I take their point and just say no because I said no. Countering however, as Harris notes in his chapter is the disagreement of a viewpoint and having a real reply or counter to the person’s point of view or idea. The fact that this is such a common human reflex, there are examples of senators, world leaders, news broadcasters, etc that have the proof that arguing has taken over the intellectual side of things.

My writing has changed dramatically for the better after taking this class. Before this class, reading, typing, and studying were not my specialty and I despised the language because of previous teachers missing the point of showing the blessing of the language and different uses for it. My writing style has improved with the way I approach topics and back them up; I also am able to cite sources correctly in text thanks to this class. I have started reading more with blogs and the papers provided and have become addicted to the sites which allow me to do some more reading on a daily basis rather than spend time on facebook or playing around.

One example of how my writing has changed is the fact that now I cut out the extra fluff in my sentences while writing. After writing a piece I reread it like we did in class and checked for grammar mistakes and extra words. In terms of reading, now I go to different sites such as Daily Dish and World Newser in order to see different topics and viewpoints of people discussed on different topics.