I have found this blog to be somewhat helpful in relation to the other writings we have been required to do like the ARP or the commonplace essay.  It forces you to write something down before the actual assignment is due so if you can not come up with something to write, it expedites the process.

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This was especially helpful for me with the commonplace essay. I have also found that seeing what other people have come up with can be helpful when you do not know what to write. Other than that I don't see the blog as a much more useful tool in a classroom setting.

For my commonplace essay I wanted to discuss how business profits effect the way our society is run. My reason for choosing this topic is that the amount of money businesses and executives of businesses make, how they spend their profits, and how their profits are regulated is an issue that has raised much conversation, especially in the past couple of years. My own views on this situation have been influenced by the opinions of others, the information I have learned in classrooms, and my own work experience as an employee. 

The primary source I chose to analyze was was a comic strip from the newspaper called Dilbert. This comic strip is a parody of office work settings. The secondary sources I chose are two articles and a book which is a collection of articles. These secondary sources cover subjects like management.

These secondary sources have several uses in relation to my primary source. I can use them to show how an efficient office runs compared to the one in the comic. They can also be used to show what the comic is a parody of. Inefficiencies that the articles point out can be connected to comic's criticisms.

The relationship between claims and evidence is that claims are opinions you produce based on the evidence you find. This is important because a claim without supporting evidence can not be taken seriously or used to argue a point. In relation to academic writing, gathering evidence to support your claims is a way of making of a relevant and noteworthy argument that can be used to stress a certain a certain point of view.

Secondary sources are a good place to find the evidence needed to support your claims. Secondary sources can provide you with helpful information about whatever your topic and they can also show you someone else's claims. Evidence gathered from secondary sources is the foundation of a relevant claim.