Aidan CARD101 Blog

I prefer to begin with an introduction of what a Rational Argument is. I looked up a rough definition of it to be positive, and found that a rational argument is a form of arguing, usually using reasoning with evidence to support a claim or a particular point of view on a topic. It involves presenting varying reasons, facts, and conclusions, all in an attempt to persuade the reader towards the author's stance on the subject.  The topic I decided on revolved around sports, as writing about something I found interesting would make me more interested in the project and doing the work; at least, that was my thinking. My topic was the Qatar World Cup; it happened about a year ago, and in it, Lionel Messi won his first World Cup, prevailing over France with his Argentina team. However, what was notable about the World Cup being in Qatar was the countless news sites releasing articles on why it shouldn't have been selected as host. I remembered that, so I thought it would be perfect f...

This past week, our class again had the opportunity to have a class in the library computer lab. Once again, we were with our school's librarian, Laura Cameron, who knew how to search for academic journal articles online. In CARD writing, we've started working on drafting our Rational Argument papers, and we've been assigned to find two academic journal articles that are peer-reviewed and original research. Building upon what we learned last week about the Cardinal Search tactic was learning how to research correctly. Therefore, the goal was for us all to have found our two academic journal articles by the end of our class. During our session in the library computer lab, we explored the library resource page that linked good websites to search for academic journal articles; a few of these included Academic Search Complete, JSTOR, Nexis Uni, OmniFile Full Text (Wilson), and Opposing Viewpoints. My favorite of these has to be Academic Search Complete because it allows you to...

This past week, our class had the opportunity to have a class in the library computer lab, which was different and unique. I guess you would say we had a guest speaker, a librarian, who knew the ins and outs of all there was to the library. I believe her name was Laura Cameron. In CARD writing, we had just begun working on Rational Argument papers, and part of this assignment is the requirement to have a few academic journals. The problem is that finding these things using Google or Safari is extremely difficult. Therefore, the goal of the library lesson was to help us learn how to use the tools that the Oesterle library had made available to us as students. First, I learned much about media types and how they differ in areas like their academic style. A few of these resource types include things like Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles, which are original research. There are Encyclopedia Articles that fit into the analysis and trends category, which you would consider slightly more academi...

 Hello World! This blog post tasked me with a current update on how I think the class is going from my perspective and what I've essentially taken away from it with 4 or 5 weeks of the semester left. I made my goal to make every class we had this semester, and I am still standing firm on that goal. Overall, since the 7th grade, I remember liking writing slightly; for example, I loved working on our assignments. Since then, writing has continually escalated and gotten much more difficult as specific requirements always exist. At college, the same situation exists as many requirements and things make you focus on every word you put on the page. This was especially evident in the Microtheme; I'm typically a person who writes a lot more words than is necessary because it simply takes me more words to get the point across, which proved to be a struggle because when I originally wrote the microtheme, I was a whole page over the one-page limit meaning I had to cut down my words. Doing...

 I can't believe I've skipped this topic for so long; it's my favorite sport. Anyway, Lacrosse is often referred to as "the fastest game on two feet" and known as the fastest-growing sport in the world, well before pickleball's popularity suddenly skyrocketed. Not many people know; even those who play the sport know it originated among Native American tribes, particularly the Iroquois and Algonquin nations. For Native Americans, the game served various purposes, including settling disputes and training warriors. The first games of Lacrosse could have hundreds of players and were played on vast fields with goals placed miles apart. French missionaries in the 17th century saw the game and named it "la crosse" because of the players' unique equipment. Over time, Lacrosse evolved and gained popularity in North America, and the sport continued to grow, leading to rules and leagues. Two professional leagues exist nowadays, the MLL and PLL. The PLL was ...

I am a Golf fan; Golf is a unique sport because it includes frustrations like none you'll experience in any other sport. Played on wide open settings, with long, winding fairways, sandy bunkers, and wet ponds. Golf is such a mental challenge, way more than you would ever believe. The game is quite simple to play: you use a club, and there are many different clubs to choose from that hit the ball higher or lower in the air depending on the distance to the hole; you hit a small ball into holes (Usually 18 holes) on a course in as few strokes as possible. What sets golf apart is the atmosphere and the friendships among players. This summer, my friends and I went once or twice a week; I was one of the worst ones, but it's okay because it's a game that allows you to have fun even if you chunk a few shots consecutively. It's a game that demands a lot like focus, patience, and technique, which are many things I struggle with, which could explain my struggles on the course. Th...