Writing a Paper

Writing a paper may be easy for some, but even for those who are used to writing papers sometimes come across a paper in which at the beginning you think it will be easy to write, it turns out a little harder than you expected.  The main difficulty I had in writing my paper was structuring the argument.  I am pretty bad at structuring my papers in a way that it flows well.  I usually just start with an introductory paragraph and then present clearly one side, then the other.  These two paragraphs next to each other show the clear difference in the two opinions.  The overlaps will be shown either in the second set of explanations or in a paragraph after the two different views, showing that they aren't totally opposites.  Most arguments have polar views, but have similarities as well.  The problem comes when the solutions come with completely different views.
At first, I thought my topic would be really clear cut and simple, but now I realize that there are bigger problems than fixing equipment on the buses and firing people.  MATA's primary argument is that they don't have the necessary funding to make improvements.  I found articles in newspapers which described how MATA had to cut routes and fire people because of the decrease in the budget.  So although the complaints can't go unnoticed, there is a legitimate excuse for not being able to do better.  Retraining the bus drivers and service operators that are rude is possible, but that will also need funding.  Fixing the machinery on the bus will also take money.  Creating new and improved routes means more buses, drivers, operators, bus signs, gas, and all of those things cost money.  While we can't really say that the problem lies in money, MATA officials argue it and I want to agree because it is true.  But part of me says that service problems don't lie with MATA officials or money; it lies in the people who are offering the services: the bus drivers and the operators.  So now, although I don't have any support, I have come to a conclusion that there are three different solutions to the problems we are having with MATA.  There are others who argue that it is a race problem.

Analysis on Dr. MLK's Letter from Jail

Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham jail is one piece of literature that is eye opening for those at that time and even today, and can be applied to the social issues going on today.  My personal opinion on this letter is that most of it was probably necessary in order to make the statement as strong as it was.  Dr. King says he could’ve written it in a shorter letter if he wasn’t in jail, but because of the length and detail the letter goes into, it made it that much stronger.  He uses vivid descriptions of the injustice in the southern communities, most of which the white clergymen did not have to go through and suffer.  His comparison of justice and injustice in the times of the Holocaust was brilliant because no one with a heart can deny that the genocide of millions of Jews was morally just.  He also ties his title as an extremist to past people like Jesus and Martin Luther and Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. At first he is hesitant, but all progression came from someone being an extremist.  But the thing that hit me most was the fact that Dr. King states the quality of the white supporters is few, but “they are big in quality.”  Just as anything in life, it’s not always about the numbers; it is about the quality of the numbers.  The most important thing though is that people get involved.  Like Dr. King states, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.  Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”  Ignorance and the will to do nothing are worse than opposition in the view of Dr. King because you are allowing something to happen.  I totally agree with him because just as the Germans didn’t stand up against Hitler, you don’t actively participate, but indirectly participate in the injustice.

MATA- English Paper Topic

People are encouraged to ride the bus to decrease pollution and to help decrease the amount of cars on the road, but with the system being as bad as it is, how do they expect us to?  I rode a public transportation bus all throughout high school and I don't ever remember a day that I met someone who thought that the transit system was doing a good job.  I always heard someone, whether it was a student or an adult, complaining about how slow the bus was or how horrible the driver was or even how awful the people on the bus were.  Certainly we can do something to change some of these issues.  Of course not all of it are the transit system's fault, but there are many problems that can be solved by them.  Slow transportation is a huge reason why most people don't ride the buses.In the news, bus drivers of these public transportation services get a bad representation because of the process that they currently have.  There are cases of bad driving and sleeping on the job; taking rests are fine, but sleeping on the job is just unacceptable.  There were a couple of drivers, not in Memphis, that hit pedestrians or cars.  I've seen my share of drivers, having ridden the MTA for four years.  Some are nice, some are just plain awful. Earlier this year in Memphis, there was a union formed to try and create a connection between the riders, who are fed up with the awful treatment of bus riders and the high prices of riding buses.  It is a huge step in helping improving the problem, but how else can we improve the system?

What's up?

Hey everyone!  I'm a student at the University of Memphis in English 1020.  I am from Nashville, and tend to align myself with the Republican party.  I watch baseball and am a big fan of the New York Yankees since I was 6.  I don't have a favorite football team, but I like watching it.  I like playing different sports, but never played on a team.  I enjoy trying new things, but only if it doesn't involve risking my life.  I am scared of heights and hate certain foods, like peanut butter and skittles.  I hate brown sodas but love sweet tea.  I don't drink coffee.  I have four siblings so I'm used to being annoyed.  I love Criminal Minds and Law & Order SVU.  I also enjoy other shows like Once Upon a Time, The F Word, Friends, Common Law, Psych, COPS, Chuck, Arthur, Terra Nova, Prison Break and Leverage.  I'm also a big fan of professional wrestling like WWE and TNA.  I listen to mostly pop and country music.  Currently my favorite country singer is Blake Shelton.  I enjoy talking about current news and how people are reacting/affected by it.