Persuasion/argument Style Models and Ideas

Christian Arguments Against Atheism

Atheism declares that there is no god. Christianity teaches that there is a God. Both cannot be true. So which one is correct, the atheist or the Christian? Is there a convincing argument against atheism?

This article will 1) first attempt to clarify what we mean when we say “arguments against atheism,” 2) followed by what these arguments are. Finally, 3) the article introduces the source of a Christian’s confidence, 4) as well as the source of an atheist’s confidence.

1. What Does it Mean to “Argue Against Atheism”?

 In order to muster “Christian arguments against atheism,” we need to realize that we are not simply trying to argue against something. It is necessary to argue for something. The term “atheism” is a word composed of two parts: “a-” which means “without,” and “theos,” which means “god.” Thus, any argument against atheism (without God) will be an argument for theism (God).

2. Arguments Against Atheism

 Since arguments against atheism are necessarily arguments for God, here are some of classical arguments for the existence of God, in summary form.

 -The Argument from Causality: Look around for something that does not have a cause (and therefore a beginning). This sequence can work backwards indefinitely. But does it go infinitely, or does it ultimately stop? To say that it goes on infinitely leads to a logical dilemma. Without some initial cause, there can be no caused things, and no explanation for causality itself. The only rational answer is that there is at the beginning of all things an uncaused Cause, capable of causing all things.

-The Argument from Design: Nature manifests a certain irreducible complexity. The design in nature requires a Designer. God is the creator and designer of all things.

 

This is a style model about Christainity against Atheism. As it is an internet blog article, it has to have its points labeled clearly uner subtitles addressing each point. It is extremely detail as it has to be able to persaude and audience to agree witht he point of view expressed in the article, and have to be logical and clear in its presentation. It also has to try and sound like it makes more sense than the opposing team. However, i do think that this style model could do without numbering its points, or could take an essay appoach, but as it is a blog it has to be clear, and easy to pick out points quickly and efectively. Its common for persausion articles to use retorical questions to get the audience to think about the topic and let them form their own opinion.

Activity Tasks

Grammar - 7.       Find different newspaper headlines on the same story that use active and passive forms. What is the effect of this different use of voice? Is it related to a political ideology or another vested interest that the text producer might have? Think about whether agency is made explicit and foregrounded in an active construction or made less explicit or omitted in a passive one. Discuss.

Active: The Telegraph 
'The Syrian civil war is breeding a new generation of terrorist' 
This active use of voice shows that it is strongly against the war in Syria. It uses a verb to make it sound more threatening, and as though the threat is a bacteria that is growing. It is a piece of propaganda that is against the war, and wants to spread fear amounts readers. It uses the noun 'Terroist', to paint the picture of what many people would think a stereotypical terrorist would look like. Using 'Is' makes the statement appear more definite and factual, trying to convince the reader that this is the case in Syria. It suggests that there is political backing to create as much negativity to the war in order to get support to fight and help the people of Syria.

Passive: BBC News
'Syria Conflict: Aleppo rocket attack 'kills at least 18''
This headline appears to be reporting facts, as it quotes a source on how many deaths occur. it does not have a hate stance on the topic, merely stating a fact and reporting whats happened. It says conflict to ease the fear that people associate with war, and is trying not to fear monger when bringing the news of a rocket killing 18 people. It is a simple headline but still captures interest by mention the death toll, due to humans being interested in ideas of desturction.

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A twisted tale

Once upon a time, there lived a King and Queen of a far away kingdom. They were loved and adored though out the land, and were widely celebrated for their kind and fair approach to ruling. Their Capitol was blooming with the finest food, the most beautiful flowers, the most impressive buildings and the friendliest of citizens. However, there was one who resented the kind monarchs. The Cruel Witch was jealous of the success and wealth they possessed. Once she heard that they were to be due another happiness, an heir, she lost her mind and vowed to make them suffer forever.

On the day of the heirs birth, the kingdom celebrated. Many paintings had been commissioned of the new prince. The small child had small tuffs of light blond hair as soft as cotton. His eyes were a crystal clear deep blue, which could easily put any fair maids to shame. He was the perfect heir to the perfect kingdom; and everything was well. Until, later that day, once the celebrations began to calm down; the cruel witch struck. She broke into the baby's nursery, stowed him under her cloak and vanished into the night. The King and Queen were devastated and ordered a kingdom wide search to find him.However, they knew that the only way to appeal to other kingdoms to help them find their heir was to deceive... They sent an urgent message to their neighbouring kingdoms that their beautiful daughter had been kidnapped, and who ever finds her may have her hand in marriage.

Eighteen years had passed, yet there was no luck in finding the 'Princess'. Little did they know, that he was being kept just outside of the kingdom, in a tower, about 100ft off the ground. The tower was in a clearing surrounded by a dense forrest, filled with suspicious sounds and rumors of fiercesome beasts. The tower itself look ominous, looming over the trees, casting a dark shadow over a small portion of the clearing. Ivy grew up the side and withered. It wasnt a place you'd like to hang round for along time. Inside, however, it was beautifuly furnished with oak. There was a small fire place and chairs. It was cozy. Small, but practical. A small set of stairs lead up to a deccently sized bedroom, where the prince was getting dressed. He still retained his baby face, yet his cheeks had lost their chubby look. Instead of awe and innocence in his eyes, they had become cold and indifferent. His lack of creases around his face showed that it had been a while since he last smiled. There was a mysterious air about him, something inviting but dangerous. His height, let him down. standing at the grand total of 5"5, his would be threatening presense was toned down to your average grumpy introvert. There was one detail that was quite hard to miss, upon exaiming him for the first time. His incredible length of hair.

Draft for Fairy Tale rewrite

Beauty and The beast - Belle isn't pathetic
The Little Mermaid- Some things aren't worth giving up
Snow White- Snow is a guy, living in brothel
Aladdin-
Alice in Wonderland- in a mental alsyum
Rapunzel- more than capable of resuing herself

How to write a short story

Writing a short story means that it needs to be clear, simple and well developed.

There are a few steps to be keeping with in order to create a decent story.

1: Creating a believable and relateable character. This can be in first or third person view and would generally be the protagonist. Any other characters need to be in a lot less detail.

2: Creating a problem for the charcater. Ideas for a chararcter's problem are usually in a 'verses' form. e.g. Character verses Antagonist, Character verses self, Character verses society.

3: Description. This does not need to be over the top. Keeping description short and sweet can lead to an effective story plot.

4: Planning. It is better to plan the story ahead of writing it to moderate ideas. This stops too many loose ends being produced while writing, and allows a clear, easy to follow plot to be created. Planning also allows the writer to figure out in which direction they want the story to go, or if they do need to add more to their story

5: First Lines: These need to pull the reader in from the word go. The first line defines the rest of the story.

6: Endings. Not all short stories need to come to a deffinitve end. Some give the reader enough of the story to make it feel complete, but not enough to answer all the questions. Some can give a brief insight into a moment in a characters life, and let the reader imagine what happens after the story is completed

Horror Flash Fiction: Scabs Commentary

                                                     'Scabs' commentary

 'Scabs' is based on the theme of Halloween. Its purpose is to entertain and horrify the audience. The audience this piece is aimed at is Year 7 to Year 9. 'Scabs' was written as a short story in flash fiction style for a competition.

Due to the influence of the audience, I used language that would creep out and scare the readers. everyone has had scabs at some point in their lives, and most would have picked at them. There is always the fear of peeling back skin too far and causing harm, so to have a character who loves to peel his scabs who make the reader feel disturbed.

I find that one of the reasons this story is effective is due to its links to childhood. The lexis 'scab' has a lexical field of wounds, clotting, puss, not healing effectively; these are the general connotations given when hearing the word scab. It also links to childhood effectively as many children pick their scabs. The character in this story even talks about his childhood and how his mother scolds him for playing with his scab. The reader should be able to related with the childhood feeling of being interested and enjoying something disgusting.

A phrase I used to creep the audience out is 'I smiled, I loved this part'. This has pragmatic value as it implies to the reader that the character has done the same action before, and shows that he enjoys the pain, being extremely sadistic.

The piece is extremely descriptive, as it gives comparisons to size using a metaphor 'had grown to be the size of A4 paper' and a very visual image 'was deep enough to put the tip of my finger in' to help the reader picture how large the wound he's made on himself actually is. The piece also has a brief description of the feel of the scab, and the feelings of pain that the character feels, which is intended to make the reader feel on their skin the scab and clearly picture how the scab would feel under their finger tips.

Also, describing the state of the characters nails as bitten; we can picture the character struggling to get a grip on his scab, and making a mess of it as he does so. Although the character doesn't describe it, its obvious the wound he has made is more than just bleeding, we know this when he implies how large its splitting and how deep its going. This is also obvious when he is dazed in his chair.

The fact that the character doesn't have a name nor gender assigned to him during the actual story (for commentary purposes I have labelled the character as a him, to make the description easier), It doesn't give the reader a pre-picture of how the character should look, which also isn't described in the story. This makes it easier for the reader to imagine their own person peeling off the scab, either by putting themselves in the story or by creating their own character. the only information about the character is a brief insight to an aspect of his childhood, he's old enough to work, that he travels to work by bike, and how he has a weird fascination with scabs.

Horror Flash Fiction: Scabs

Scabs

I like to pick my scabs.

 I’ve done so ever since I was a child. My mother used to slap my hand away when it drifted towards my scabby knees, telling me that it would only make it bigger and take longer to heal. Though when I was six, I took no notice and did so when she wasn’t around. I used to love the scabs that were bumpy, that were rough to the touch and bubbled when you push down on them. They were the ones you could really get your nails under the sides of and pick away at, the ones that tore your skin ever so slightly more each time they peeled off.

Now I’m older, I don’t get scabs very often; so I was quite shocked and secretly delighted I got another one after falling off my bike on the way to work. It was late in the evening, while I was watching TV that my hand reminded me of it as I rubbed my elbow, its coarse, crumbly feel contrasting against my smooth skin. I had a habit of biting my nails, so I struggled to get a good grip on it. Once I had it under my bitten nail, I flicked up the edge of the scab; shivering as the sting wisped up my arm. I pinched the dried skin and pulled gently. As it peeled backwards, the vulnerable, bloody pink flesh underneath was revealed. I poked it gingerly, still pinching its protector between my thumb and fingers; taking a sharp intake of breath as blood seeped out in droplets. I examined the scab with a weird sort of gratification. It was big, much bigger than I thought it was.

Yet this wasn’t the whole scab.

I placed it carefully on my knee and felt the prickling wound once more. The sides of the scab is still stuck around the edge of the wound, sharp and jagged. I began to pick them off. However, one was stubborn. I gripped it with the tips of my fingers and pulled.

Too hard.  

The scab ripped itself up my arm, splitting my skin all the way up to my shoulder, getting wider as it grew.  I smiled, I loved this part. I tugged the length of skin across my chest, under my shirt and down one side. Blood poured down my body, sticking my shirt to the wound and binding itself to me as it clotted. The length of skin had grown to be the size of A4 paper and was deep enough to put the tip of my finger in. I lifted up my crusty shirt above my stomach, and tore the skin off; relishing in the sensation of my skin ripping apart, pulling away from my muscles and splitting off at the end.

I sat back in my chair, holding the sheet of skin with a dazed expression. I felt content. I felt satisfied. I felt at ease.

I like to pick my scabs.

Transcript: Biology homework

The Transcript has three participants: A, B and C
The transcript takes place in a library.
A, B and C are discussing biology homework

A: facilitated diffusion (.) because (.) thats the one that lets it go through the protein (.)
      //in the bi layer//
B: //because it is// what (.) lets (.) it get to the protein (.) // Yup
C:                                                                                       // I smell chips
A: [makes a tuh sound in amusement]
B: That was a // odd
A:                   // you smell chips (1.0) lovely (3.0) there isnt any chips today is there
C: [shakes head]
B: wahoo (.) done
A: That was //successful
B:                 // fan (3.0) I feel pleased with myself when I do a //bit of homework
A:                                                                                               // pleased with yourself
B: (2.0) I wont for very long though (4.0)
A: explain don't worry
B: whats we gotta (.) we gotta complete this graph apparently (.) urph (.) whats this graph thing we have to complete
A: (1.0) graph
C: whos your teacher
A: turner smith
B: thats it
C: shes alright isnt she
A: // yeah
B: // yeah but ive written something about a graph (.) is that // because you have to use it in that
A:                                                                                            // no no no you have to use it in the question
B: ha


From the transcript, we can see that it is a non scripted, natural conversation. Features that show this are the heavy use of overlap and interruptions in the conversation. A repeats a phrase from B and C's sentences in an overlap to show sarcasm in respond to their statement 'you smell chips (1.0) lovely'. B interrupts the conversation and appears to take the main role as subject manger. B constantly brings the subject back to the biology homework by asking A questions relating to it. There are times when C takes control of the conversation by off topic one liners such as 'I smell chips'. These are usually quickly dismissed by B.
B uses the sociolect word 'gotta' to shorten down her sentence while she's trying to figure out the graphs use. From this, we can hear her accent in the transcript, and gives us an idea of how quickly she is talking.

Computer Game (Boys) Transcript

The transcript has four participants: Ben, Andrew, David and Carl.
The boys are playing a computer game.
Andrew is playing, the others are watching.

The Transcript is a natural conversation.

In the first line of the transcript, we can see that on of the boys is slightly stressed out over his friends game play. Ben uses the imperative 'No' then shortly after 'now' to hint that he has played this game before, or has worked out what the aim is before the player. He pauses for 3 seconds in the first line, showing that an action has taken place before he continues his speech, despite that the person logging the transcript hasn't specified what has happened. Ben uses a jargon 'Light Sabre' to refer to the weapon in the game, this shows that Ben understands what he's talking about.

We can see by the way Andrew talks that he is quite arrogant and a show off. For example, he uses the imperative 'no' to contradict what his friend has said. He pauses before using another imperative 'observe' before he does an action on the screen. This 'observe' between two pauses would indicate that he has said this with an air of confidence about him, taking a short time before showing off his different ways of dying. However, from the actions described in the transcript '[sound of shooting and groans]' suggests that all didn't go as planned. This is followed by a four second embarrassed pause as he realised what happened.

We can tell that the transcript is from a natural conversation, as it features overlap. The overlap in this transcript occurs twice. Once between David and Andrew, with David laughing at his friends misfortune, and then again at the end when Carl makes his first appearance. There are features of repetition which also show that the conversation is natural. For example, 'throw your light sabre through (.) throw your light sabre through'  shows stress on the second repeat, and also picks up the pace of the conversation slightly.

The subject leader of the conversation flicks between Ben and Andrew, who both talk about the game at hand. The others listen and throw in their two cents every so often.

English Language and Me

As you can see from the name of this blog, my name is Sophie Power. I'm also sitting here typing with a massive writers block.. I guess it's not as easy as first thought to write about yourself without seeming extremely vain.

Aside from that, I guess it's not so vain to admit that:

• I have four cats and a dog;
• I'm the oldest of three;
• My favourite food is sweet and sour chicken and noodles (not together, mind);
• And last but not least, I'm an English language student.

I suppose the reason I took English language is because it's said to be the more creative one and its always good to have english on your side. I enjoyed English in my old school, yada yada yada... But in all seriousness, this course did seem pretty good on paper.. I do hope it lives up to expectations.