Autumn Tallman's Rhetoric Blog

Introduction Society is more aware of the prevalence of mental illness today than ever before - and yet, mental illness is still grossly misunderstood and under-treated. Though there has been extensive research done on mental illness, there is still more to be discovered. According to Mental Health America – a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving mental health in the U.S. – 43.7 million people struggle with a mental illness annually in the United States. And although access to mental health services has improved across the country, a majority of people suffering with a mental illness do not or cannot seek help. Only 44 percent of Americans with a mental illness will receive treatment in their lifetime.   There are studies and statistics on the rates of mental illness in college students, including statistics on how many individuals in the age range do not seek treatment. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “Transitional age in...

Ideas: Does past English class experience affect enjoyment of Rhetoric How many college level English classes have you taken (including AP in high school) How would you rate your enjoyment of Rhetoric on a scale of 1-10

There are a few differences between research-based argumentative papers and papers using the IMRaD format. The greatest difference is that IMRaD relies on primary research, whereas other argumentative papers rely on secondary research. In addition, IMRaD is more scientific. Papers with this format spend a great amount of time explaining the primary research, i.e. how it was conducted, statistics, and results. In contrast, other argumentative essays spend more time analyzing outcomes of multiple studies, rather than focusing on the details of each specific study.

Creative Writing (A) + Clearly written, professional, well incorporated quotes and citations - Too many quotes, not enough reflection Engineering (A-) + Very thorough, interesting writing - A bit confusing, used terms and formulas most readers would not understand Political Science (B) + Appealing formatting, proper in-text citations - Repetitive, empty Economics (B) + Utilized sources well, quotes explained thoroughly  - Informal, unprofessional Business (B-) + Well written, understandable - Sources not cited often enough, formatting could improve Psychology (C-) + Interviewed 2 people - Not well written, too much dialogue, repetitive, too short

I am happy with how I did on the first speech. I knew my information and I was not very nervous. I do think that I could have put a bit more effort into my visual aids, and I know that I do not always seem very natural when I give speeches. But that is a difficult thing to master, and overall I feel that I did pretty well. For the next speech I should move around more, use more variation of tone, and improve my visuals. In order to achieve these goals I will put more effort into practicing my speech multiple times beforehand in front of my roommates or other peers, and ask for constructive criticism.