Who has the most power to influence the U.S. government? How do you know? What powers do they have and where did those powers come from? Is their power legitimate? Why or why not? What checks exist to limit their power? Papers should include a clear thesis statement. A minimum of two sources must be cited in APA format—be sure to include both in-text citations and a works cited page. Do not use material from any source without citing it; this is an example of plagiarism. Rubric: Thoroughly and clearly responds to all questions in prompt within page limit Includes a clear thesis statement that explains the argument being made Supporting evidence is factually accurate Includes proper APA citations for sources used (minimum of two sources must be used) Uses proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation You can address : · A particular branch of government (executive, legislative, or judicial) · Interest groups · The people · Political parties · The constitution · The President Global Organization Outline 1. Introduction 1. Main Claim: I think that my room projects that my interests are on playing computer games and using social media since I bought a set of devices specifically for playing computer games. 2. Contextualizing My Argument 1. Background Information: Does the popularity of the internet caused a negative effect on teenagers, such as the internet make people addicted to the game and social media. COR: Rebuttal: Poor self-control ability of people will cause them to indulge in the online world and waste their time and neglect their studies or works. 3. Reason 1: Because the most conspicuous thing in my room is my Alienware Laptop, there are lots of colorful lights on the laptop, this makes that looks like it’s designed for gaming. When I spend too much time on the computer, people will worry about my mental health, because I may be addicted to games and social networks, and unwilling to go outside and interact with people. 1. Grounds: “RSPH and the Young Health Movement (YHM) published a report examining the positive and negative effects of social media on young people’s health, including a list of social media platforms according to their impact on young people’s mental health” (Krietz). Warrants: Social media, video games are a way to interact with people and maintain friendship with others. “students claimed that it gave them more self-confidence, improved their relationships, and even made them more socially conscious” (Beasley). 2. I spend a lot of time and money on playing games such as GTA 5, Rainbow 6, and spend a lot of time on social media such as Instagram, Snapchat... 4. Reason 2: My room layout makes me easily distracted by other things. 1. Grounds: because most of the space of my desk is occupied by my laptop, keyboard, mouse, and headphone... 2. Grounds: I have many games or anime pictures on my wall. 3. Grounds: Sometimes, when I decide to turn on the computer to study o.

1. Who has the most power to influence the U.S. government?
How do you know? What powers do they have and where did
those powers come from? Is their power legitimate? Why or
why not? What checks exist to limit their power?
Papers should include a clear thesis statement. A minimum of
two sources must be cited in APA format—be sure to include
both in-text citations and a works cited page. Do not use
material from any source without citing it; this is an example of
plagiarism.
Rubric:
Thoroughly and clearly responds to all questions in prompt
within page limit
Includes a clear thesis statement that explains the argument
being made
Supporting evidence is factually accurate
Includes proper APA citations for sources used (minimum of
two sources must be used)
Uses proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation
You can address :
· A particular branch of government (executive, legislative,
or judicial)
· Interest groups
· The people
· Political parties
· The constitution
· The President
Global Organization Outline

2. 1. Introduction
1. Main Claim: I think that my room projects that my interests
are on playing computer games and using social media since I
bought a set of devices specifically for playing computer games.
2. Contextualizing My Argument
1. Background Information: Does the popularity of the internet
caused a negative effect on teenagers, such as the internet make
people addicted to the game and social media. COR: Rebuttal:
Poor self-control ability of people will cause them to indulge in
the online world and waste their time and neglect their studies
or works.
3. Reason 1: Because the most conspicuous thing in my room is
my Alienware Laptop, there are lots of colorful lights on the
laptop, this makes that looks like it’s designed for gaming.
When I spend too much time on the computer, people will worry
about my mental health, because I may be addicted to games
and social networks, and unwilling to go outside and interact
with people.
1. Grounds: “RSPH and the Young Health Movement (YHM)
published a report examining the positive and negative effects
of social media on young people’s health, including a list of
social media platforms according to their impact on young
people’s mental health” (Krietz). Warrants: Social media,
video games are a way to interact with people and maintain
friendship with others. “students claimed that it gave them more
self-confidence, improved their relationships, and even made
them more socially conscious” (Beasley).
2. I spend a lot of time and money on playing games such as
GTA 5, Rainbow 6, and spend a lot of time on social media such
as Instagram, Snapchat...
4. Reason 2: My room layout makes me easily distracted by
other things.
1. Grounds: because most of the space of my desk is occupied
by my laptop, keyboard, mouse, and headphone...
2. Grounds: I have many games or anime pictures on my wall.
3. Grounds: Sometimes, when I decide to turn on the computer

3. to study or do other work, I always get distracted by viewing
Instagram/Snap/Facebook, etc. Warrant: I might be interrupted
by social media, but spending time on social media is not
completely useless. · “Easier Collaboration with Social Media:
Students can make groups for their classes on social networks
like Facebook, and use integrated messaging and video chat
tools to communicate long after the final bell has rung.”
(Beasley).
· Playing video games and using social media could let
introverted people, such as me, easier to make friends.
5. Conclusion
Works Cited
Beasley, Kim. “Positive Effects of Social Media on
Students.” Kim Beasley Consulting, 11 Mar. 2020,
kimbeasley.com/2017/09/positive-effects-of-social-media-on-
students/.
Krietz, Chloe, et al. “The Negative Effects of Social Media for
Teens.” Smart Social, 5 Apr. 2020, smartsocial.com/negative-
effects-of-social-media/.
Personal Space Rhetorical Analysis
Basic Assignment:
Students will develop an essay that explains to a neutral
audience what their personal space seems to be arguing about
them to visitors.Getting Ideas:
I mentioned early in our semester the idea that everything is an
argument, from obvious, explicit arguments like advertisements,
reviews, campaign slogans, and documentaries, to less obvious,
implicit arguments—things that don’t even seem like arguments
at first. I used in class the examples of how we dress, the
stickers on our laptops, or things we choose to post on social
media as ways we make implicit arguments about ourselves—
whether intentional or not—everyday. As the authors of
Everything’s an Argument explain, “The clothes you wear, the
foods you eat, and the groups you join make nuanced,
sometimes unspoken assertions about who you are and what you
value [because an argument merely] expresses a point of view”

4. (Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz 5).
What then, may be fruitful, as a way to practice our ability to
recognize and break down even the subtlest arguments, is to
break down an argument that is very close to us—our own
personal spaces. In his book Snoop: What Your Stuff Says about
You, Professor of Psychology (University of Texas) Sam
Gosling argues that we “piece together bits of evidence,
wherever you can find them, to form coherent portraits of the
characters who populate [our] social spheres. You draw on
information from your long history with dear old friends [and]
you make snap judgments from thin slices of behavior in brief
social interactions” (14). I’m sure we’ve all felt that subtle
anxiety when a new friend or a date comes back to our rooms
for the first time, whether its our dorm or our bedroom at
home—in fact, there was a whole reality dating show where a
contestant judged their dates solely by what their bedrooms
looked like! (It was called Room Raiders and ran for eight
seasons from 2003-2009! Check out a clip on YouTube here!)
Our goal in this assignment is to break down major aspects of a
personal space of our choice—it can be a bedroom, a personal
den, a dorm room, or even an office or cubicle—anywhere you
spend a lot of personal time where you feel safe and
comfortable. Make observations about how you’ve chosen to
decorate the space, the items you’ve chosen to put in that space,
and how you typically use that space. Then, we can try and
connect the dots between those observations and the way we see
ourselves. We can even practice our skills in analyzing potential
audience questions by challenging our interpretations of our
spaces and think of ways they could potentially be
misinterpreted and provide a counter-argument to their
hypothetical impressions.
This is intended to be a lower-stress, fun, and introspective
assignment. I do not wish for students to reveal things about

5. themselves that are overly personal, sensitive, or difficult.
Indeed, during this time of social isolation, since we are
spending more time in our personal spaces, it should be about
exploring what solace we can find in our personal safe spaces.
Indeed, for people who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks or
disorders are often encouraged to practice a “grounding”
technique that is all about helping maintain a sense of personal
place to stave off that anxiety, the “5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique
for Anxiety”: acknowledge five things you can see around you,
four things you can touch around you, three things you can hear,
two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste (Smith).
Ultimately, we should use the assignment more to celebrate our
personal spaces and the parts of ourselves we want to
communicate and emphasize.What I Really Want:
Your essay will be built utilizing your knowledge of rhetorical
appeals and audience-based reasoning and research. Some areas
that need to be addressed are as follows:
· Introduction: The introduction will briefly impress upon your
reader the general idea of your essay—what space are you
writing about? Briefly describe where it is and how you tend to
use it to forecast the rest of your essay, which will focus on
smaller details. Ultimately, lead your reader to a thesis
statement that states broadly what you feel your space says
about your, your personality, your values, and what elements of
that space you’re choosing to highlight as evidence.
· Supporting Reasons: The central claim of your essay ([My
space] says X about me) needs to be supported by a number of
reasons (in the form of details or highlighted aspects of your
personal space) that illustrate your central claim. Supporting
reasons are intended to illustrate to your audience what each
major aspect of your space says about you, using
observation/description and/or images to help support your
thinking. You should additionally explain your interpretation of
your space with personal anecdotes and secondary research.
Each supporting reason/aspect of your space will have [at
minimum] one paragraph on which it focuses.

6. · Conditions of Rebuttal: In any argument, you need to be
prepared to persuade a resistant audience. In the case of this
essay, one may wonder how someone could argue against your
own personal interpretation of your own personal space. But we
should be prepared to anticipate someone who interprets things
differently, or who would argue that it says something different
about ourselves. Imagine someone coming into your space
without you there to guide them or curate their experience—
what would they think? How would they react? What
conclusions would they draw about you? If they’re interpreting
things in a way that you wouldn’t like, or that you feel conflict
with your own self-image, how would you respond?
· Conclusion: Ultimately, a conclusion is intended to answer the
question “So What?” and so in our case, we can use the
conclusion as a space to reflect and meditate on what we
perhaps have discovered about ourselves. Are you confident in
what your space says about you? Did you find things you would
change about your space to more accurately reflect your self-
image?Objectives:
By writing the Personal Space Rhetorical Analysis, students
will be able to do the following:
· Construct an argument using a clear, focusing thesis for a
neutral audience
· Support an argument utilizing both primary and secondary
research as evidence
· Identify potential audience concerns or questions and provide
rebuttal or concessions
· Utilize focusing techniques for global and local organization
· Practice citation and documentation strategies employed by
the expectations of the rhetorical contextProblem Areas: Let’s
Talk:
If you have questions or concerns about your paper or just want
to talk about some ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out for personal
conferences. I enjoy talking with students about their work, so
please don’t hesitate to e-mail me to request personal
conference times—this can be accomplished in whatever format

7. students feel most comfortable, including e-mail, instant
messaging/chat, and video conferencing via Zoom.Instructions
on Format:
The Problem description should be submitted in standard MLA
format (refer to syllabus or the “OWL at Purdue” MLA style-
guide for instructions).Length:
About 1,500-2,000 words, plus an MLA formatted Works Cited
page for any secondary sources consulted.
Consistent
(High Pass)
Mostly Consistent
(Pass)
Inconsistent
(Low Pass)
Unacceptable
(No Pass)
Focus and Purpose
40 pts
34 pts
30 pts
20 pts
Development
25 pts
21 pts
19 pts
12 pts
Organization
25 pts
21 pts
19 pts
12 pts
Tone and Style
5 pts
4 pts

8. 3.5 pts
2 pts
Editing and Proofreading
5 pts
4 pts
3.5 pts
2 pts
· Focus and Purpose
· Globally, the introduction provides the necessary context for
the essay and provides a clear thesis claim.
· Globally, the essay argues for an interpretation of a personal
space and the writer’s personality and values.
· Globally, the essay recognizes the possibility of an audience
that would interpret their space differently.
· Locally, the essay focuses each paragraph on one specific,
supportive goal or purpose at a time and develops this purpose
with persuasive evidence.
· Locally, the essay utilizes evidence to support and illustrate
all claims, citing each secondary source used. NOTE: essays
without appropriate citations, both in-text and a Works Cited
page, will be an automatic failure.
· Development
· Globally, the paragraphs develop progressively, demonstrating
the writer’s understanding that the argument must develop as a
whole rather than in isolated parts.
· Globally, the essay shows an understanding of audience-
based-reasoning, considering common cultural
touchstones/Kairos.
· Globally, the essay recognizes where concessions or
qualifications are necessary.
· Locally, the essay uses grounds and backing if an audience
would have a difficult time interpreting something in a different
context.
· Locally, the essay demonstrates a writer’s ability to both
identify, gather, and incorporate both primary and secondary

9. resources to support ideas.
· Locally, the essay explains each point explicitly and concisely
how observations should be interpreted
· Organization
· Globally, the arrangement of ideas guides readers through the
essay’s argument: anticipating questions, concerns, or potential
counter claims of a skeptical audience, as well as making
connections between body paragraphs and back to overall
argument.
· Locally, paragraphs follow the Three-Es structure. When
necessary, the Three-E structure can be modified to layer
additional Exposition, Evidence, or Explanation as needed.
When necessary, the Three-E structure can be modified to be
split across multiple physical paragraphs to provide greater
focus.
· Locally, paragraphs utilize Topic Sentences to give each
paragraph focus, and uses both Exposition and Explanation
sentences to help transition from and to additional points made
in the essay.
· Locally, the essay provides connective, forward progression of
thought from Exposition to Evidence to Explanation.
· Locally, the essay provides clear attributive tags when
introducing sources and quotations. MLA formatted in-text
citations are provided for each use of outside sources.
· Tone and Style
· Tone and style are appropriate for the audience and purpose.
· Opposing views are summarized fairly and objectively.
· Sentences and word choice are clear and concise; direct
language and clear communication is emphasized.
· Excess wording and sentences are removed.
· Editing and Proofreading
· Essay is free of distracting surface errors or errors in language
that would inhibit clarity.
· Essay is formatted in the required MLA style.
· Works Cited page is the last page of the document and follows
MLA style.

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Azar, Beth. “Does your office betray your personality?”
American Psychological Association, vol. 33, no. 3, Mar. 2002,
https://www.apa.org/monitor/mar02/officebetray.
Eckel, Sara. “What Your Space Says about You.” Psychology
Today, 2 July 2018,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201807/what-
your-space-says-about-you.
Gosling, Sam. “What Your Stuff Says about You.” Interview for
NPR by Neal Conan, 26 May 2008,
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9082987
5.
---. Snoop: What Your Stuff Says about You. Basic Books,
2008.
Graham, Lindsay T. “What do your spaces say about you?”
Center for the Built Environment, UC Berkeley, 18 Jan. 2018,
https://cbe.berkeley.edu/centerline/what-do-your-spaces-say-
about-you/.
Halina, Victoria. “The Psychology of Social Media—Why We
Feel the Need to Share.” Noteworthy: The Journal Blog, 31 Jan.
2019, https://blog.usejournal.com/the-psychology-of-social-
media-why-we-feel-the-need-to-share-18c7d2d1236.
Harvey, Lisa. “What does your bedroom say about you?” BBC,
31 May 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/1cd61c5f-
4784-4a12-ac88-ae6e0c8c4bad.
Lunsford, Andrea A. and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an
Argument. 7th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
MTV. “8 Jaw-Dropping ‘Room Raiders’ Discoveries.”
YouTube, 20 Sep. 2018, https://youtu.be/txPwlmg_8S0.
Renner, Nausicaa. “How Social Media Shapes Our Identity.”
The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2019,
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-social-
media-shapes-our-identity.
Smith, Sara. “5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique for Anxiety.”
Behavioral Health Partners, University of Rochester Medical

11. Center, 10 Apr. 2018,
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/behavioral-health-partners/bhp-
blog/april-2018/5-4-3-2-1-coping-technique-for-anxiety.aspx.
Wilcox, Keith and Andrew T. Stephen. “Are Close Friends the
Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-
Control.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 40, June 2013,
DOI: 10.1086/668794.