Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising, Ann McClintock

Ann Mcclintock I think is a very smart woman who knows what she is talking about. This is apparent from her school and examples she uses in her writings. Advertising has a huge impact on the people today. There is so many different ways companies can lure you into buying their products. Mcclintock outlines them very well in this reading. I like that she used a lot of examples when trying to explain the 7 different ways. It allowed me to understand more on what she was trying to say. I truthfully think that all this advertising is bad for us. I think there should be set guidelines that every company has to go by if they want to advertise. This would stop the false assumptions made from the false advertising that is found on TV. The main idea of this passage was to describe propaganda and how much it effects our daily life. Propaganda usually is associated with a totaltarian regime that’s trying to brainwash its citizens to do what they say. Propaganda is usually associated with the political arena. I think that they should stop those political ads on TV there never telling the truth and can only hurt America.  

Freewriting, Peter Elbow

In my opinion, Peter Elbow is a very intelligent man. His education and his numerous books back this up. Before reading this I thought freewriting was a waste of time, but after I’ve realized how much it can help you. After reading this I started to do a free write. It was hard at first but after the full ten minutes I realized it was easy and that I should do one every day. Freewriting is very easy to do you just sit down and write down whatever you are thinking without stopping or editing anything. This allows you to enhance the ability to get what’s in your head on paper. Freewriting allows you to have no feedback at all, meaning no one can criticize what you are writing. Practicing freewriting regularly undoes the rooted habit of editing which makes writing less blocked because words will come to you easier. In school the teachers would stress the mistakes we make which just makes it harder. I think editing is important in writing but too much of it can just make the writer nervous which can block what he is trying to say. After reading this I’m going to do freewrite every other day.

How to Mark a Book, Mortimer Adler

Adler in my opinion sounds like he knows what he is talking about. I would totally agree with him on the statement about comparing buying a beefsteak and buying a book. I think he means that we should become absorbed into our books, so we truly understand what is happening in the book. I agree with Alder when he talks about being active when you are reading. Trying to read when you are tired can be a real struggle. I would agree with him that there is no right speed for reading. Everyone has their own ways of reading and just because you’re a slow reader doesn’t mean you have a low intelligence. It just means you take your time to completely understand what you're reading. When Alder talks about the soul of a book I think he is speaking about the story that happens in the book and how you interpret it for yourself. I would agree with him about there being three types of book owners. I think I would be the third type of book owner. After reading this I have come to realize how important writing in the margins and underlining can be, and how much it can help you understand what you are reading.