TOW #24 (written text)- "The Age of Mechanical Reproduction"

Reading/writing goals- Choose a difficult text about a topic I am not very familiar with. Make good transition and topic sentences, and connect each point back to the purpose.

       Millions of young families in America share similar goals and routines they wish to attain: get married, have children, and raise a family. For many people, child birth is easy and often unwanted. But other families, who struggle to reproduce, recognize that childbirth is not necessary given to all and struggle to fit the cultural norms of American society. Infertility is a growing problem for families in America due to both genetic and environmental factors. To make up for this, scientists and health officials have spent millions of dollars developing medical technology to allow infertile adults to have children. In the article, "The Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Paul Ford discusses the topic of infertility, which plagues many families, and offers up a solution to the problem, in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Using personal anecdotes and appropriate humor, Ford effectively analyzes the struggle young couples go through to give birth to their own child.

     As an introduction to the article, Paul Ford effectively grabs the readers attention with an anecdote of his own struggle with infertility. Leading up to his description of in-vitro fertilization, Ford describes the process he and his wife went through to achieve successful reproduction. Although, the process he described was clearly long, slow, and painful both emotionally and physically. Adding to the despair, their friends would tell them stories of celebrations and parties for their child's Christening, first birthday, etc. Ultimately, the personal anecdotes are the sole reason Ford is able to achieve his purpose, as it creates a deep connection between him and the audience. Because of the emotion he expresses in his writing and stories surrounding him and his wife's struggle, readers feel sympathy and are more likely to agree with the text that follows.

      Despite being such a difficult topic for Ford to discuss, as he personally suffers from infertility, he does not come across the reader as depressed and saddened by their situation. Intertwined within the anecdotes and discussion of "mechanical reproduction," Ford uses humor to lighten the mood of his article. Why would someone even think about reading the article, let along agree with what is said, if it is just sad and depressing? The positive aspects of his life that are highlighting through humor tell the audience that processes like in-vitro fertilization, though painfully long and sometimes unsuccessful, can in fact allow couples to reproduce and have a child of their own.

     Though it may not be "natural," fertilization can hypothetically be possible for all people. Through processes such as in-vitro fertilization, families have finally attained lifelong goals and wishes to have a child and can now fit in with societal norms in America. Though discussing a topic that is depressing for many, Ford effectively analyzes the struggle of infertility with his use of gripping anecdotes and appropriate humor.

IRB Post #4- "Black Hawk Down"

This marking period, I will read Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The book, which is a war story of when 100 American soldiers were killed in Somalia when their helicopter was shot down, is a topic that interests me and a genre that I have not read in the past. Also, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do a little "cross-course" learning and read something that relates to APELC and APUSH. The reason I chose this book is because I have watched the movie and liked it very much, so I look forward to seeing how the book differs from the movie.

TOW #23 (Written text)- "Babies cry at night to prevent siblings, scientist suggests"

Reading/ Writing Goals- Read an article on a topic that does not particularly interest me, but might be a topic that may show up on the exam. Choose rhetorical devices that are essential to the author's argument/purpose.

            Around the world, people invest hundreds of billions of dollars annually on scientific research in various fields, but what for? Whether people feel that it is necessary to invest so much money in science or not, scientists’ main goal is to find answers to the many questions people have regarding the natural world. Nowadays, you can find scientific research that has been conducted on nearly every topic known to man, even those that seem to have no use or importance. Recently, a neuroscience writer named Laura Sanders wrote an article published Science News analyzing the behaviors of babies. Using hypothetical reasoning and specific diction, Sanders argues that babies likely cry at night not because they are hungry or are looking for comfort from their parents, but to prevent their mothers from conceiving another child.

            Everyone knows that newborn babies are often a hassle, as they constantly cry, wake up in the middle of night, and require constant attention. Typically, people believe this is so because they are so young and cannot care for themselves, but Sanders argues otherwise. According to Sanders, babies are so demanding, especially at night, in order to gain their mother’s attention and occupy her so she is unable to have any more children. In the article, she supports this claim by offering up multiple hypotheses and reasoning to back them up. Although, her main source of reasoning is that babies naturally know, through genetic evolution, that the more attention they receive from their parents, the more likely they are to survive. Therefore, if a mother was to have a second child, the first child would receive much less attention and care than they would as an only child. Though this hypothesis seems reasonably, it is ultimately ineffective because it lacks experimental evidence and results that are required in science to prove a claim to be true. So far, Sanders only has hypothetical evidence to base her reasoning off, and therefore can not successfully make the claim that babies cry at night to prevent having siblings.

            Likely because Sanders lacks such evidence to make her claim, she relies diction that characterizes babies as much smarter and more aware of their actions than they actually are. In the article, Sanders claims that babies desire to prevent another sibling is a “devious intention” and that babies are “nighttime nursing liaisons.” Sanders depicts babies as “devious” because her argument states that babies somehow have it programmed in their genome at birth to prevent their mother from having another child. Obviously a baby cannot prevent this from happening in a more direct manner, so they resort to other underhanded tactics, such as waking up and crying at night, to prevent sex. Also, Sanders argues that babies are liaisons determined to break up sexual relations between their mother and father. Once again, I believe this is unlikely because babies can simply not survive on their own and have no other way to get attention than to cry. Sanders cannot suggest that babies are this devious and smart to develop close liaisons with their mother solely to distract them.

In conclusion, I believe this article is a great example of the diversity within the field of science, yet Laura Sanders does not effectively achieve her purpose. She cannot rely on hypothetical evidence and such diction to claim that babies act the way they do to prevent the birth of siblings.