Chapter fifteen’s main idea of crossing cultures helps with answering the ways America is a similar to a salad bowl or melting pot and the ways that it is still struggling against this idea.  The part that specifically helps with describing these ways is the section titled “Borderlands”.  This section displays one image in particular that sums up America being a melting pot/salad bowl perfectly.  The image is in the shape of the United States filled with pictures of those who have immigrated here.  Words are blended in between the images informing the viewer of the various origins these people have.  America is like a salad bowl/melting pot since this is a country that is made up of a large number of people that have different backgrounds.  Since the beginning of the country, everyone was an immigrant.  However, the country is also struggling against this idea in many ways.  One specific way that we struggle to maintain this image is the issue surrounding the border between the US and Mexico.  A road sign located near the US-Mexico border displays the word caution across the top and features what people would stereotypically consider to be illegal immigrants.  Although most Americans have no concerns with people of different backgrounds, certain cultures have been branded by the acts of those who try to get into America illegally.   These illegal immigrants are seen by most Americans as a drain on society since the people who are in the country legally pay for the services of the illegal immigrants through taxes that the illegal immigrants do not pay.

The position that a person has in the world tends to shape most of the things in their life especially when it comes to the way that we think about identity, society, and culture.  This is because where we are in a world that depends on the information available to us or how fast we necessarily get that information.  It also effects how we view and interpret this information.  However, on a scale even smaller than the world is one within the individual country that we live in.  Within our own country the way we think about identity, society, and culture varies.  This is because of the stereotypes that people hear and believe in.  These stereotypes cause people to assume they know about a certain culture or society, when they do not know the real facts.  By only viewing information from one position in the world we get a very narrow view that does not necessarily take into account all the facts or information surrounding particular events.  For instance, people who are brought up in a world with all of their needs provided tend to view the world as a good place but have the tendency to take for granted the position they have in the world.  However, those people who are brought up in families that struggle to live day to day have a tendency to be more negative about the world around them but tend to value and protect all of their possessions.

Chapter six focuses on outlining and the different ways to include information in your paper.  When outlining there are eight different styles that can be used depending on how you plan on organizing your argument.  These styles range from chronological and problem-solution to narrative.  Each of these styles have cases that they best suit.  For example, the illustrative style emphasizes examples of patterns.  The chapter discusses different ways to include information such as references in your paper and how to integrate research sources.  The different options given for integrating information are summarizing, paraphrasing, and the use of direct quotes.  Within the chapter an outline by Dexian Cai is featured as an example.  This outline consists of the major points that he is going to make within his paper.  Each point listed has an explanation of the purpose of that point and the references, if any, that support the point.   Along with the references, Dexian Cai also proiveds the citations for the points.  When developing a paper, outlining is a powerful tool used to organize your thoughts, develop the basis to support your arguments and document the supporting reference material.  An outline also helps develop the flow of the information in your paper.

The posters for “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” shows the different affects advertising can have on the viewer.  The movie theatre version of the poster tries its best to appeal to audiences with its background, placement of objects, the font type and style used.  However, the poster used for the DVD release was just a plain background with the characters and the movie title featured on a label over top of their heads.  This shows that the appeals made to the viewer in the movie theatre poster where mainly to fill seats in the theatre.  The movie theatre poster appears to almost glorify the use of drugs or other enhancers among athletes with the reasoning that it should not be considered cheating because everyone is doing it.  The movie poster shows the negative side of professional sports, but puts it in a form that is attractive, flashy, and appealing to young children who use posters to choose the movies that they want to see.  The American flag in the background behind the athletes sends the message that it is the American way to do whatever it takes to get to the top even if it means using performance enhancing drugs.  The DVD poster appeals to the more intellectual crowd by asking a thought provoking question.  This type of question appeals to part of society that wants to change the rules even though they may not be a sports person.

When taking notes I try to gather information that appears to be relevant to the topic my assignment is on.  How I take notes depends on whether or not the information is in a book or a print out.  When the information is a printout I tend to highlight the most useful parts and color code if the information fits well with a certain part of my assignment.  If the information is in a book I make sure that I right down the page number, the title of the book, the author, and occasionally the isbn number.  To avoid plagiarism I make sure that if I have paraphrased something that I include the name of the author that originally had the idea.  I also make sure that if I am quoting something that I have the page number and the author.  Another way that I avoid plagiarism is by writing down a list of the websites that I found information at so that I have the information needed when it comes time to create a works cited.  Chapter seven helps with making sure that you avoid plagiarism by suggesting that you write as if you are having a conversation with the people whose works you cite within your paper.  It says that you should serve as a moderator where you introduce each person and then in addition contribute with your own ideas on the topic.

The interviews in the textbook discuss completely different topics.  These topics consist of the how the media covers war and the McDonaldization of society.  Within the first interview the answers are typically short and more back forth conversation between a group of people with comments about things that are going on in their surroundings.  The second interview consists of a Professor discussing his thesis, in which his answers to the reporter’s questions are rather lengthy and thorough.  The arrangement of speaks within the second interview determines that the argument is building up and getting stronger.  This can be seen when the responses the reporter receives get progressively longer and more thorough as the interview precedes, even when the question asked is only one sentence.  The arrangement of speaks within the first interview does not appear to help determine the argument because some of the statements made within the interview have no relevance to the questions asked.  The arrangement however is helpful in the fact that it shows both sides of the argument, which is helpful so that the reader can see both the upside and the downside in the way the media covers the war.

Chapter thirteen and parts of chapter eleven cover the topic of stereotypes.  Within these chapters the use of a range of different forms of text provides multiple perspectives on these issues.  The varieties of texts used within these chapters consist of the opinions of different people who each possess a different form of knowledge about the topic they are discussing.  Chapter eleven features Sheri Graner Ray, an award-winning game designer, who discusses female players. Ray’s view is often different than the typical views since games are typically aimed towards the male gender and opinions are usually expressed from the male perspective.  Chapter thirteen focuses on sports media with articles by a commentator on American popular culture, a television writer and producer, and a sports writer.  Each of these articles provide different ideas and input on the same topic, sports.  It is the unique backgrounds of the individuals writing the articles that determine their reflection or opinion of a certain topic or issue.  The type of texts that form a range of perspectives on these issues are the texts in which a reader can see the facts along with the author’s opinion and interpretation of the facts.  This allows the reader to either agree or disagree with the author’s conclusion or form their own opinion on the subject.