My Thoughts on Comments

Honestly, most people would avoid the comments at all costs after they read an article. Common thought is that the comments section is a void of bad grammar and radical opinions. What people don't realize that within the void, there are a few comments that were actually thought through and can even enlighten those who read them. As a continuation to the "My Controversy" post, I'll be looking through the comments section of a similar article by NBC News.

First, the credible comments.

This commenter is clearly distressed about the FDA's approval of this drug due to her disbelief. Not only that, but from her own personal experience, her opinion of OxyContin is negative. She seems to value others' wellbeing and health (also shown in the last paragraph), and therefore does not want this drug to be distributed to children. No matter how strong her opinion is, she still seems credible. She can speak from experience and does not call out anyone or call anyone names. She has experienced addiction from both herself and her friends.

On the other side of the spectrum, I can see that this commenter has both a wish that parents would agree with this drug's approval. This is because she invalidates the other parents' experiences by saying "you have no idea". She is definitely agreeing with the FDA's decision because she saw her friend's child live his last part of life in pain because he did not have any drug available like OxyContin. This commenter values the comfort and quality of life within patients. She comes across as credible because she, again, has her own personal experience to back up her validity.

Now, the not-so-credible:

From this comment, we can tell that this person has a fear of big companies working with the government, as he shows a distrust for the FDA working as a "prostitute" for the pharmaceutical companies. From this distrust, he does not agree with the approval of OxyContin not for this children's sake, but the health insurers. He values the integrity of the government and big companies that actually work for their costumers, not just a profit. He doesn't look credible because he goes off on a tangent about a conspiracy theory first thing. The rest of the comment doesn't have much to do with the fact that the drug is for children, but he seems to be using this comment as a way to spread anti-government propaganda.

This commenter doesn't really have much to offer with his post. He expresses a negativity toward American culture, and even seems afraid of what it has become. I believe that he is not only against the FDA in this issue, but is against the culture around diseases in America. This is due to his sarcastic comment about America and what they think about medication and disease. This commenter is clearly not credible in a few ways. He does not have very good grammar, he includes an immature joke (his "sarcasm detector") in a serious news article, and finally he doesn't really add anything to the conversation, and is instead just sharing an opinion with no real thought behind it.

Reflection:

After reading some of my classmates' thoughts on their comments, I have learned a few things. First, from reading Chingiz' post, I can see a different style of writing, one with detail and yet is still enjoyable to read. Next, I saw through Hannah's post a new way to neatly organize my answers within my posts and showed me how to stay brief yet eloquent in my answers.

Overall, I tend to agree with my classmate's reasoning about their controversy's comments. Reading their blogs also showed me that every subject, no matter if its science or pop culture, will have both good and bad comments. Due to this fact, we should definitely be careful of what comments we source because even though a comment on a scientific finding may look reasonable, it may end up less credible than what it seems.

My Controversy

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/08/14/fda-approves-oxycontin-kids/31711929/

When they are in pain, most parents would do almost anything to make their child feel better. However, this willingness seems to stop when it comes the narcotics, such as OxyContin.

USAToday reports on the controversy that sparked due to the FDA's approval of OxyContin that is safe for young children (aged 11-16). The FDA notes that when it comes to children, the options for pain relief are limited. Also, this drug would only be used for chronically ill children with no other option, especially those at the end of life. However, Scott Hadland a specialist in adolescent substance abuse, states that there is still a prominent number of those prescribed that become addicted. The overall consensus is that doctors must take care when prescribing patients with this drug, including keeping track of pills dispensed and even alcohol and drug abuse screenings prior to being given a prescription.

This article interested me because I am very interested in medicine. Even though I am not very interested in Pharmacy itself, this article was still very enlightening. It was very interesting to see both sides and the science behind them. 

Calendar Reflection

Okay, so this activity was very enlightening to how little free time I have. So, I'll look past my stress for now and use this reflection to create a plan for myself to complete my schoolwork. A plan that, eventually, will help me to pass 109H the most efficient way possible.

Costes, Chris. "Day 19" 1/19/2010 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

My calendar shows that on the weekdays, I have very little time until late afternoon to do any sort of homework. My early mornings are completely booked because as a Night Owl, mornings are devoted to sleep. However, I definitely have enough time to squeeze in 6 hours a week, the trick is to use my time wisely. For me, this will probably consist of bringing out my laptop between classes and working on homework. On Monday alone I could do 4 hours of work on anything, most of which will probably be English. During the rest of the week, I could take a few hours after dinner to devote to homework.

Of course, there is always the weekend as well. 

I'm happy to take this challenge, and I know that if I stay focused, I'll be able to not only complete my coursework, but still leave some time to relax.

Reflection:

Reading through some of my peers' posts has definitely given me some inspiration to add to my own plan.

First, Rachel's post inspired me to continue at attempting to write in my planner. Even though my schedule is a little more filled, she helped me to realize that the morning is a time to work, not just sleep. Time to start going to bed earlier!

Addie's post gave me a very good idea to form my plan around. Simply, a blog post a day! Sometimes this could take less than an hour, so I could possibly move on to other English assignments within the hour or two I devote to English that day.

Both posts reminded me that college comes first, no matter what. So, I'm going to make the best out of my schedule as I possibly can, and always have an optimistic attitude, even if I do have piles of work ahead of me.

My Writing Process

I feel like I am one of the many students that have never sat down to ask themselves "What kind of writer am I?" I guess that now is the time to reflect, and who knows?  Maybe I'll become a better writer because of it.
Here you'll find my thoughts on my writing process.

Kim, Jonathan. "Writing" 3/26/3007 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic

- What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

Some strange mix of a "Heavy Planner" and a "Procrastinator" (Great combination, right?). My style of writing always ends up the same, I think upon my project, whip out a paper full of detail and ideas, and then leave the paper until last minute to be left to minimal revisions. My papers are pretty good for first drafts. But that's the only thing it is good for: a first draft.

-Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?

The article is definitely right in their description of a "Heavy Planner". Their illustration describes me to a tee! I'll think of maybe a few good-sounding sentences while sitting in class and build my paper from there. The only difference is that I wait until the last minute, like a "Procrastinator" to physically write anything down.

-Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

It has been somewhat successful so far as I seem to get at least a high B on most of my papers. My papers, as they are thoroughly thought out, usually have a good base for revision and good ideas throughout. However, even though there are good grades it doesn't mean my process is perfect. My process causes much more stress than needed. I scramble to make any revision possible, and often I pass by many errors in my frenzy. This creates a paper that is nothing much more than a collection of ideas with no real system or organization.

-Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

Yes, definitely. I would like to actually give myself time to write my paper, along with actually revising it. With my current process, I never get to put any passion or emotion into my assignments. Usually, they are just a shell of my thoughts and ideas, and I am left not really feeling proud of any of them. If I actually find time to reflect upon my assignment, I feel that it will be more personal to me, and will show through with better writing.

Writing a paper is easy. Crafting a paper requires time and thought. A paper to be proud of does not come overnight (no matter how much I would like it to).

Reflection:

After reading through some of the posts of my classmates, I realize that I am not alone in my struggles. Even though we all have different writing processes, we all have conflicts in writing. Everyone deals with procrastinating and losing motivation to do any sort of assignment, so Charles' post helped show me that I am not alone. Most students also have a hard time finding a balance of focus within their writing projects. Even a heavy reviser like Tyler and a heavy planner like me can relate. Reading their posts helped me think about not only how I can help them, but help better myself as well. So, I will try to implement my tips to them in my own writing process. I will experiment with my assignments, attempting to find the right balance of focus for me. This, however, will only be done if I give myself time to do so. So, I will also start to work on my projects little by little every day until it is done, no procrastinating!

Overall, I learned that everyone can learn from everyone. We are all in this together.