Research...

So far my researching for essay three/four has been going well. I have check out 8 books from the public library and I have 6 more on hold, waiting to be picked up. I feel that my topic will be a easy one to research. I haven't come up with a solution to the problem yet. I have quite a few ideas in my head, but I am going to have to read more books to actually come up with a solution. I have been extremely busy lately and I haven't had time to really do much hw. Work has been my number one concern at the moment, but that needs to change fast because I am falling behind at school. I have self paced classes that I need to finish,and this essay is going to need lots of attention, but its just a matter of actually finding time, which has been very hard these past couple weeks. Oh well that's life, busy, busy, busy!!

Works Cited(essay #2)

Works Cited

(it didn't align the way I had it in Word.

I had it double spaced and aligned

in correct MLA format,

but it messed up)

“Compare Cars: Hyundai Elantra-Interior Features.” MSN Autos. 7 March 2007.
http://autos.msn.com/research/compare/engines.aspx?c=0&n=3&i=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t0&tb=0&dt=0&v=t93634&v=t1695

“Honda Civic vs. Hyundai Elantra.” Car Space 2001. 21 Feb. 2007
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee9e647/638.

Matras, John. “2001 Ford Focus.” TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=2001_Ford_Focus&ReviewID=801

Moorhead, Ron. “2001 Hyundai Elantra.” TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=

Moorhead, Ron. “2001Volkswagon Jetta.” TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=2001_Volkswagen_Jetta&ReviewID=919

Moorhead, Ron. “1999 Volkswagen Jetta. TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=1999_Volkswagen_Jetta&ReviewID=570

Plunkett, Bob. “2001 Honda Civic.” TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=2001_Honda_Civic&ReviewID=813

Thursby, Ray. “1999 Honda Civic.” TestDrive. 26 Feb. 2007
http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=1999_Honda_Civic&ReviewID=506

The used 2001 Hyundai Elantra(essay #2)

The used 2001 Hyundai Elantra

When I was looking to get a bigger car about a year ago, I decided a used car was the way to go. I needed a 4 door mid sized family sedan, with low mileage, something that was stylist, and it had to be at the very most $6,000. I compared the used 1999 or 2001 Honda Civic, the used 2001 Ford Focus, and the used 1999 or 2001 Volkswagen Jetta and this is what I found out. I put my criteria in the order that I feel to be most important to the least important.
Crash Test Scores were important to me. When comparing the Elantra to the 2001 Civic they both got “4 stars in the rear test, the Elantra got 5 stars (the highest possible) for the front and the Civic got 4” (Honda 1). So overall both vehicles are good vehicles with the test proving safety, but there are other reasons why I choose the Elantra.
I also wanted something that had average or above average gas mileage. The manufacturers estimated each of the cars to have the following miles per gallon (MPG). “The 1999 Civic gets 29 city and 35 highway mpg” (Thursby 4) “The 2001 Civic gets 32/37 mpg” (Plunkett 4). “The 1999 Jetta gets 19/28mpg” (Moorhead 4). “The 2001 Jetta gets 19/28 mpg” (Moorhead 4). “The Ford Focus gets 25/33 mpg” (Matras 4). “The Elantra gets 24/33 mpg” (Moorhead 4). Upon calling the current owners of a certain car, I determined that the manufactures were wrong. All the Civics owners I talked to got about 30/35 mpg. The Jetta owners got 17/26 mpg, and the Focus owners got about 27/33 mpg. Well the most shocking thing I found was, that most Elantra owners got more than the estimated mpg. They were getting about 26/35 mpg, and now that I am an owner of an Elantra, I can tell you that is true, I get about 27-29 mpg in the city. My boyfriend owns a Ford Focus and I can tell you that he gets about 25-27 in the city, which is around what the manufactures said Focus’ would probably get.
Another real important deciding factor in buying a used car was to see how many miles were on the car. I looked at one Ford Focus and it had close to 110K, now that would be fine if the car was 6 or more years old, but when I was looking at cars, it was in the beginning of 2006 meaning that they should have just over the average for 5 years. The average number of miles driven a year ranges from 15K to 20K. That would means when I was looking for a 2001 car at the beginning of 2006; I wanted something with 75K to 100K. Well when I found the Elantra, it only had 61K, which is great! I knew I couldn’t pass up on a car with such “low” miles. Buying a used car really doesn’t give you much choice in how many miles a car will have on it, but if you have a choice, choose a car with as low of miles as possible, it will save you from more problems (mechanically) down the road.
When I was looking for a used car, I wanted something that was practical, something that I wouldn’t have to do a lot of up keep on. I needed something that didn’t have a lot of damage to the outside or inside of it. Going with a used car, I knew I didn’t really have much say in this but, I was able to look at different cars before I choose to buy the Hyundai.
Another important feature for me was the interior design and features. “The Elantra has 39.60 in. of headroom; it has 38.00 in. of read headroom” (Compare 1-2). It also has “53.00 in. of front hip room, and 55.60 in. of rear hip room” (Compare 1-2). “It overall interior is more spacious then both the 1999 and 2001 Civic and both of the 1999 and 2001 Jetta” (Compare 1-2). The Elantra seats 5 average sized adults comfortably. I knew at certain times, I would need to fit as many people in my car as I could, and I wanted them to be as comfortable as possible.

So with the criteria that I had, my decision was made easier with the help of the Hyundai Elantra. It was exactly what I wanted, and I have and will continue to recommend it to anyone.

Spring Break Is Over =(

So today is the first day back from Spring Break, I am not looking forward to today. The paper we have to turn in today, I feel, is one of the worse papers I have written. I don't know what more to do, I am driving myself nuts with it!

Anyways, I had a wonderful Spring Break, this is the first time I have ever gone anywhere for Spring Break, and I am so glad I did!!

Spring Break!!

Ok so today is Tuesday...that means one more day of English and its Spring Break. I am so excited, I need a break from school. I can't wait to go to Bellevue(Seattle)...it should be very exciting. I get to see my love KJ!!! I haven't seen him since the end of January!!! I know that my time up there is going to fly by and then I have to face reality again and come back to school, and go about my normal day life, oh well...School will be over in a year, so I am happy about that!! Got to run back to school now!

Reflection (essay #1)

Tropical Girl

Professor Matthew Jolly

English 102

30 January 2007

Unnecessary Freeway

I am going to start off by looking at the content of my letter to the

editor. I will determine if I used ethos, logos, and pathos. I will also look

at whether I achieved some part of the rhetorical situation. When looking

at these I will also show some examples that I used for each one.

In my essay I am sure to establish credibility, right off the bat, so

that my readers would understand that I am not just some outsider

looking in on the situation. I am one of them. “I am a nineteen-year-old

college student who has lived in Ahwatukee for the last fourteen years.” I

also established ethos, by my signing my name at the end of the letter. I

may not have that much credibility by just signing my name, but it proves

that I am a real person, who is willing to stand up for my words and my

opinion; I am not just some machine.

In my opinion, I explained how logically Ahwatukee would not get

that much use out of the proposed freeway. “If the freeway was built, I

highly doubt that the majority of people from Ahwatukee are going to

drive all the way out to 55th Avenue just to have to sit in eastbound traffic

trying to get into downtown Phoenix.” I also showed how logically it’s not

worth it, with the proposed freeway going to “cost us taxpayers $1.7

billion dollars.”

I appealed to all the drivers in Ahwatukee that have to sit in the

Broadway Curve traffic. If the freeway was built it’s would only “bring

crime, noise, and more pollution to the Ahwatukee area, and it will lower

the value of the homes in Ahwatukee.” With Ahwatukee being known as

having high dollar houses (mine being one of the lower end ones), I highly

doubt that so many people would be willing to give up that kind of

lifestyle just for the convenience (or inconvenience, depending on how

you look at it) of the proposed freeway.

My intended audience for this letter to the editor was the community

of Ahwatukee. I believe my actual audience was still the community of

Ahwatukee. I think that I appealed to them in just the way that I wanted

to. I feel that I appealed to everyone, not just the people that go to work

and have to sit in that traffic, but also to the stay-at-home-moms and

dads. If the freeway was built the stay at home parents would have to

watch out for more crime that would come to our community, and those

that work would still have to sit and wait in the Broadway Curve traffic,

that can back up until past Pecos Rd on I-10.

My purpose for writing this letter to the editor was; I want everyone

in Ahwatukee to know that if ADOT builds this freeway, it won’t help the

majority of us get to work, school, or appointments that much faster. It

would only bring more harm then good to our community in the long run.

My genre for this essay is a letter to the editor. The form takes on a

business letter format. Which meant that I had to put the newspapers

address on the top left corner, and I had to put my address at the very

bottom, under where I physically sign my name.

In conclusion, I think I achieved exactly what I was trying to

achieve. I got my point across to the audience I was aiming for. I used

ethos, logos, and pathos. Not only did I use ethos, logos, and pathos, but

I also gave examples of exactly how I used them. I was able to use the

rhetorical situation to help my audience better understand what my point

to writing this letter was, and for them to understand the reason why I

used the form of writing that I used.

Letter To The Editor (essay #1)

January 30, 2007

The Ahwatukee Republic
106 E. Baseline Road
Mesa, AZ 85210
Fax (480) 516-0112

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the editorial “Freeway no help to Foothills traffic; funds better spent elsewhere,” of Jan. 24, which is written in response to the editorial “Freeway must get past planning stage,” of Jan 18.
I am a nineteen-year-old college student who has lived in Ahwatukee for the last fourteen years. I agree with Patrick Panetta, the author of “Freeway no help to Foothills traffic; funds better spent elsewhere.” I think that if the proposed freeway connecting Pecos rd. to 55th Avenue were built it would not help the congestion around the Broadway Curve. Mr. Panetta said it perfectly “The congestion that backs up from the Broadway Curve onto U.S. 60 and I-10, is not…due to the sheer volume of traffic, but rather to the transition of merging two four-lane freeways into one five-lane freeway.” If ADOT built the proposed freeway it would be used as more of a bypass for trucks going from Los Angeles to El Paso.
If the freeway was built, I highly doubt that the majority of people from Ahwatukee are going to drive all the way out to 55th Avenue just to have to sit in eastbound traffic trying to get into downtown Phoenix. As it is right now, most people work in or around the downtown area. So unless ADOT can find a way to fix the mess they made of the merge, the problem of the congested traffic is still going to be just that, a problem.
Even if the freeway is built it will not help with the number of vehicles going around the Broadway Curve. So there is no need to build this freeway, it will only bring crime, noise, and more pollution to the Ahwatukee area, and it will lower the value of the homes in Ahwatukee. To top it off it will cost us taxpayers $1.7 billion dollars, for something that is not going to help Ahwatukee residents with the congestion around the Broadway Curve.
Maybe in the future, the building of this freeway would help, but it is not needed now! We have and always will be known as the “giant cul-de-sac.” Lets keep it that way.

Sincerely,



Tropical Girl
123 E. Island Ave
Maui, HA 12345

Overwhelmed

I am not sure if I like the idea of posting my thoughts on here or not...but whatever!

Anyways, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with school and all. This semester is kind of hard for me, because I am taking two accounting classes, and they are hard to begin with, but it doesn't help the fact that my last semesters accounting teacher didn't really teach, so I am having to reteach my self the stuff I was suppose to learn last semester. grrr! Oh well thats life!