1. I chose the reading, Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change. This reading b written by Charles A. Riley II touched upon many different aspects of how people with disabilities are treated and portrayed in our community. This reading really stood out to me for some personal reasons. My mother unfortunately suffers from a brain disorder and can no longer speak. She is also on the board for her Assisted Living Facility to make a difference in her community. With that being said, I couldn’t have chosen a better reading to write about.
2. I chose my topic mainly around people with disabilities and the community. This reading and topic itself really hit home for me and is something I truly enjoy researching and conversing about.
3. Throughout my paper, I’m going to be touching upon my thesis of;
People with disabilities should always be portrayed as contributing members to the community.
I chose carefully when thinking of this thesis and main point to write about. In his writing, Riley makes a list of “tips” when reporting to people with disabilities. While they are valid statements and tips, I feel that some of them are a little rough around the edges and are somewhat controversial.
4. The argument I will be presenting Is going to a challenge on common belief. Again, in Riley’s “tips” he states, “people with disabilities should be portrayed as contributing members to the community.” I completely agree with this argument, but I also feel that it is a given to most people. So, I’m going to be elaborating on that statement and going to make a firmer argument supporting Riley and his “tip”.
5. I honestly can say that I saw this reading and it jumped off the page at me. Again, I am very passionate about the way people with disabilities are portrayed. I deal with misconception on that level daily and I couldn’t have chosen a more suitable reading for myself. I am more than positive I will not have to change my topic. I am more than prepared to continue research about my topic.
6. A lot of my research was in person. I was able to attend a board meeting with my mother at her living facility. When I was there, I learned a lot about each and every person that was in that meeting and they are all spectacular people with amazing capabilities. I interviewed a few people who stood out to me and again learned so much about them and the problems they face every day. I’m going to continue my research online to find the rest of my information.
7. I mainly researched other controversies around the world that include discrimination against people with disabilities. That’s the basis of my paper and it’s very easy to find information on between the various types of discrimination that’s out there. I found a lot of court cases that pertain to this topic and its unbelievable how many cases that exist. My research was very specific. It did not vary due to my argument. I am trying to stay on the track of discrimination and the portrayal of people with disabilities.
8. I didn’t necessarily have to download any of the information that I gathered online. The websites that I used were all very resourceful without any downloads. I was able to access court cases, articles, and programs across the United States that fight for the same topic I am arguing about. It’s a very big controversy around the world that millions of people of fighting for.
9. The main database that I used for my articles was Jstor.org. I really like this site. Not only does it supply a countless number of articles and court cases, I really never have to narrow my search or dig any harder than I am to find the information that I need. I have always been told to use Jstor throughout my time at PBSC and its never failed!
10. I combined a few words in order to find the proper information. I used the words like: discrimination, disability and, portrayal. These few words really helped me find all the information that I needed to prepare this paper.
11. With the thorough research that I did, I can honestly say I read over 10 articles about my topic. I did not have to use all them. Again, this topic really hits home and I enjoy reading up on it and educating myself more and more.
12. Credible research has to come from a very reliable source. For example, Wikipedia is not a reliable source at all. Anyone can post something about a topic, and you could be reading totally false information. An example of a reliable source would be Web.md. All of that information is coming from doctors and medical research which both very reliable sources. My research is also very current (within the last ten years) and incredibly accurate.
13. I am more than positive that all of my information is credible. I did have to throw away a few articles that did not pertain to my topic. I did continue to read them although they didn’t pertain to my topic. The information that’s provided in most of the articles that I read are very interesting.
14. Most of the research that I found all agrees with my argument. However, I did find a few articles that disagreed with my topic. I am more than prepared to cover both agreements and disagreements about my topic.
15. I think people should care about this topic because it is a very serious and relevant problem in today’s society. We deal with people almost every day that might have some sort of disability. Some are obvious and others, not so much. It is of vital importunacy that we treat everyone the same way and portray nobody differently.
16. The audience of my argument is directed to anyone who knows or has someone in their family that has some sort of disability. This is a very strong argument that reaches out even further than people with a disabled relative or friend. It reaches out to anyone who has ever encountered someone with disabilities or does on a daily basis. This topic can relate to majority of people. In my opinion.
17. Yes. I am trying to make the argument in behalf of people with disabilities that they should never be portrayed differently and is absurd that it is even a current problem in society today.
18. I think my argument is best presented in classical structural style. It’s a straight forward argument that can be easily addressed by getting the audience’s attention, address the problem and tell them what they can do to help or contribute to the cause.
19. My argument will be structured as so; I will start by addressing the issue and how big of a problem it is in today’s society. I will then trying to connect with anyone in the audience who can relate to my problem or the topic itself. This will help gain attention. I will continue by incorporating the court cases and articles with all of the statistics and information. Finally, I will close the argument again restating the thesis and telling the audience what they can do to contribute
20. My ethos will be addressed in the fact that it is morally wrong to discriminate someone based upon a disability that they unfortunately suffer with. My pathos will be introduced with my mother. I have a very strong connection to this topic and it was not hard for me to personally connect to it. My logos will be in the form of the court cases in documents that proves the topic and argument I am getting across to the audience.