Debate wrap up

Today we had our first debate. Thanks to those who went first. It's always difficult to be the first, but thanks to you we now have a better idea about what is expected.

For next Monday, everyone should bring to class an outline (printed or handwritten) of a potential essay related to the topic of tuition fees. Your outline should have at least as much detail as the example in this powerpoint file. The topic for your outline is:

Student tuition fees risen much faster than inflation over the last 10 years. Students typically oppose any such increases suggesting that high tuition costs are preventing students from getting the education they need. In contrast, the college and the government of Ontario typically argue that without such increases, the quality of education will suffer.
FOR: Tuition should be free for all students

As always, if you don't understand something or are having a problem, contact me and we'll try to sort it out.

Today's debate

Today's debaters should post their sources here. Please, note that two sources have already been posted as comments to this post.

APA style

We'll be looking at APA style in class on Feb 25, but if you need to use it for any papers before then, you can check out this website that creates the reference for you.

Class Schedule

Finally, I've completed a week-by-week class schedule. You can view it here.

Monday's class

We started out with a discussion of coordinators and coordination, which we contrasted with subordination. We also looked at some sentence adverbs. Working from this, we talked about how to find run-on sentences and comma splices. The powerpoint file is here.

Note that most books use the traditional terms coordinating conjunction & subordinating conjunction. I find these ideas to be too vague as they mix together a variety of different kinds of words including prepositions.

After that we discussed how to improve this essay. Here's a file with my edits and comments. Have a look at it and let me know if there's anything you don't understand.

As usual, if you need any help understanding the assignments, getting scheduled for debates, accessing the various file, or paying off your car loan, let me know (I'll listen sympathetically to the car-loan thing.) Don't be shy.

Debate Schedule

The debate schedule is here. Up this Thursday are Phelicia & Able (for) vs. Robin & Marcio (against) with Joe & Sabrina as backups (remember, backups should be ready to argue for either side.)

You'll notice that for most dates there's only one debate scheduled. That's because only 19 people have signed up so far. If you would prefer a different day and can fill a debate (that is get enough people for both sides), send me an e-mail and I'll try to accommodate you, but I can't promise it will work out.

Also, if there's only one debate scheduled on your day and everyone would prefer to debate individually, we can split it into two individual debates instead of one team debate.

Leave a comment or e-mail me if any of this isn't clear. Topics are posted below:

1. Jan 24: Student tuition fees risen much faster than inflation over the last 10 years. Students typically oppose any such increases suggesting that high tuition costs are preventing students from getting the education they need. In contrast, the college and the government of Ontario typically argue that without such increases, the quality of education will suffer.
   FOR: Tuition should be free for all students
   
2. Jan 31: Recently the issue of tasers has been discussed extensively in the news. The police argue that they use tasers regularly in dangerous situations where a gun might otherwise be used with lethal consequences. On the other side we have deaths such as the of Robert Dziekanski or the famous “don’t tase me bro” incident, both available for viewing on YouTube.
   FOR: Tasers should be standard equipment for front line police officers.
3. Feb 7: Environmental concerns and global warming in particular have become very hot issues.
   FOR: We as a society should deal with this issue through legislation.
4. Feb 14: First there were stories. The stories eventually were written down becoming books. In the early 20th century, technology led to the beginning of movies. Then there was TV and now the Internet.
   FOR: Schools, being traditional institutions, should decrease their focus on older media.
5. Feb 28: Different sports allow different equipment and as the equipment improves, athletes achieve better and better results. Recently, Oscar Pistorius, an amputee sprinter who uses prosthetic feet has been denied the chance to compete in the Olympic games because his prosthetics are said to give him an unfair advantage.
   FOR: Disabled people like Pistorius should be allowed to compete as regular athletes in the Olympic games.
6. March 13: The power of organised religion, especially in Western society, began to decline hundreds of years ago. As religion became less important, however, science was blossoming. Today, some scientists such as Richard Dawkins argue that religion is harmful and should be done away with. Others contend that the average person has simply shifted blind faith in religion to blind faith in science.
   FOR: Science is simply a different kind of religion.
7. March 20: It is a commonly repeated truism that power corrupts. Examples can be seen among teachers, police, and politicians. But there are powerful people who a deeply respected and have never been tainted by a hint of corruption.
   FOR: Power does have a strong corrupting influence.
   

For your editing pleasure

Please, copy the following text to a text editor (such as Google Docs) and edit as needed. Your group can edit content, grammar, vocabulary or whatever you think is needed. Complete it before class on Tuesday. You can SHARE it with me, send it to me by e-mail, or print it out and give it to me in class.

Topic: Choose one advertising medium and explain why it is better than other media.

The Strengths of Newspaper Advertising

A wide range of people start their day off by having breakfast and reading their community newspaper as part of their daily routine. As a local retail or national based company using newspapers to advertise is one of the most convenient and effective ways to reach their target audience.
More people read the newspaper at a time that is pleasurable for them than any other medium, making them more susceptible to the advertisements within.
Newspaper advertising generates some of the highest amounts of “frequency” out of all types of advertising. In the advertising industry “frequency” is one of the two key elements strived for when marketing a product. Most homes get a newspaper delivered to their house for free or by subscription either daily or weekly. Inside the household a newspaper can be read numerous times by different members of the family as it is referred back to during the week, increasing the frequency. This is a strong point for the newspaper medium because the more times an individual sees an ad greatly increases the chance of a sale which makes for a successful campaign.
“Reach” is the other key element to consider when advertising. A newspaper’s circulation is audited by the government and has proves the audience’s socio-economic, lifestyle and psychographic group information. Companies looking to advertise to a specific target audience knowing this information can be very helpful for an effective campaign.
Smaller companies normally start out with newspaper advertising and there are a lot of advantages to this. It is the cheapest way to advertise. A smaller company can try advertising for the first time with newspapers only to watch their company grow and then proceed to advertising with other mediums. Usually still combined with newspaper advertisements because it is so effective. It is safe for a smaller company to advertise with newspapers because not much money will be lost if the campaign is unsuccessful.
Newspapers have a huge advantage over other mediums such as television and magazines when it comes to short lead-time. This means that a company can purchase an ad in a newspaper the day prior and have it printed in the next edition. Television and magazines have long lead-time averaging 3 weeks to a month and is very expensive. In a competitive market newspaper advertising because of the short lead-time is substantially rewarding. For example, when there’s a snowstorm in the local forecast a hardware store could issue an ad for snow blowers, perfectly timed for when the storm hits. Newspaper advertising also allows for companies to stay competitive with other stores. If another store is having a weekend sale a rival store can quickly issue an ad to stay completive.
Newspapers allow a company to advertise with extensive detail in their long copy. This is where a company can explain using many words and pictures explaining delicate details about their product. Long copy can include legalities or information on how to use the product. By doing this companies are increasing the chance of a sale by making the product more familiar to the consumer.
As a new retail, or established company newspapers remain to be one of the best ways to advertise because of its significant advantages over other mediums. Newspapers are a major part of many people’s everyday lifestyle and are incorporated into their lives as leisure daily. As a company advertising newspapers are the best way to get the greatest reach and frequency hitting your specific target audience with great detail quickly and effectively.