Is America Loosing It's Title as Superpower?

Zakaria tackles the issue of superpowers in his article The Last Superpower. He quotes, "There will surely be some slippage of America's position over the next few decades. This is not a political statement but a mathematical one. As other countries grow faster, America's relative economic weight will fall. But the decline need not be large-scale, rapid, or consequential, as long as the United States can adapt to new challenges as well as it adapted to those it confronted over the last century." Zakaria is saying that the United States is not exactly in decline but the rest of the world power is rising. I think Zakaria's idea makes a lot of sense and is very realistic.

The title The Last Superpower, is referring to the United States as being the last superpower in the world today. This has been so since around 1989, when the fall of the Berlin wall and the fall of the USSR. But now, we also are starting to fall. According to Zakaria there will no longer be "superpowers" in the future and countries will be somewhat equal. He introduces he idea of multipolarity. Multipolarity, in other words, means that multiple places in the world that have power. This goes back to Thomas Friedman's essay in which he says the world is flattening and we are on a more level playing field. As other countries rise we are slightly declining. The whole world is competing with each other and America needs to stay in the game.

In my opinion I think America is conceited. We think we are all that in a bag of chips because we are supposedly this big bad superpower. We have become full of ourselves. We need to get on the train with the rest of the world and learn how to keep up. Everyone else is rising, so we should be rising too. Instead, we are worried about keeping isolated from the rest of the world. We don't approve of immigrants, learning new languages, and change. America needs to stop making all other countries enemies of them and collaborating with the rest of the world about globalization. I agree with Zakaria in his idea about the world with multipolarity. He makes a strong and interestin point about the rest of the world rising and America "slipping." America, everyone is gaining on you why isolate yourself now?

How is the world becoming flat?

In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman a columnist, writes "Clearly, it is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world- using computers, e-mail, networks tele-conferencing, and dynamic new software." He says this to argue his statement that the world is flat. Friedman contrast himself to Columbus' journey. He travels to India and speaks to many citizens to come to a realization that the world is flat contrary to Columbus saying the world is round. However, Friedman does not really mean the world is actually flat.

Friedman is saying the playing field is leveling, and people are competing for jobs all across the world. Governments are working together in a globalization economy or a world market. Technology has interconnected the world so that countries at two different parts of the world can connect instantaneously. Other countries are growing and the US needs to keep up. Friedman is excited and dreadful at the same time about this flattening of the world. He is looking forward to the globalization.

When talking about globalization the question is: does globalization mean Americanization. Friedman found when he went to India that there is a huge change in the younger generation. The outsourcing of jobs is allowing young women and men to get jobs at call centers and get paid a decent amount of money. This is allowing young adults to go out and buy things and live more like Americans. The women of the generation are beginning to become more independent, rather then having to stay home and take care of their families and being married off to create their own families. There is more free-thinking generation in India and the older generation is being left behind in the technology world. Traditions are going to the back burner while the young generation tries to Americanize their lives and live in luxury. There is a difference in priorities in India today between the older generation and the younger generation. Is India the next America? Is the world becoming flatter as we speak?

Dowd's Weak Stats

Contrary to Bob Herbert, Alan W. Dowd says, "the declinist were wrong yesterday. And if their record-and America's- are any indication, they are just as wrong today." Dowd, reffers to anyone who thinks America is in decline as a declinist. Basically he is saying they are wrong and America is not in decline. They are exagerated ideas and there is a decline in declinism. As he is supporting his argument by using today's current economic statistics, he fails to represent all the information and explanations of the statistics.

Dowd says that the U.S. statis is okay because workers are more productive and 1/5 of the world economy represents America. Each year on average the U.S. is 2.7% more productive. He also compares our average income with China's. Ours being about 44,000 and China's around 20,000. He also mentions that major american companies are exported more than we recieve other countries major companies. Looking at this information he has presented you might be suprised.

This information looks to be promising but Dowd fails to mention some things. In this case, what is productive? Dowd doesn't define what productive is according to his statistics and doesn't address who is this productivity helping. Yes, the productivity is increasing each year in America, but is our wages increasing with productivity? No. We are doing more and more work for the same amount of pay. Dowd also doesn't mention anything about unemployment in this argument, which could affect how we look at some of these statistics. In the statistic comparing America and China's average income, there is a problem. America's wealthy earn most of the economies money. There is a dimishing middle class and the median average income for America is skewed. The mean is being pulled up by the large amount of money that the very few rich people are making. Finally, when talking about how we export our companies more than we recieve other countries companies. Who is the money going to and which economy is it supporting?

Dowd has a lot of flaws in his argument. He fails to mention facts, therefore, making his information look better than it really is. I think Dowd might be in denial and has a weak argument. He is falsely reprisenting information. Next time he writes an essay he should go deeper and explain the meanings of his statistics.

What is a "Fire in the Basement"?

The title of Bob Herbert's editorial, "A Fire in the Basement" is a metaphor for describing the state of America. In his editorial he addresses problems in America's society such as: partisanship, racism, failure to follow founding ideas, class struggle, and the indifference to abuses of power and social injustices. By "fire in the basement" Herbert is referring to the underlying problems of society that people can't see but are definitely there. The problems "burning" in the basement are a threat to bring the whole building down. The U.S. being the building. Fire in the foundation of the building affects everyone. So the underlying problems threaten to bring America down and affect all of it's citizens.

I think Herbert makes a good point and I agree with him. He talks about partisanship, which means the democrats and Republicans don't work together anymore. Before they used to be able to get stuff done but now they can't come to agreement on many things, weakening our country. Herbert also points out racism by talking about a story where a group of black men were wrongly accused because of their color. This is happening today and we are at a point in our country where we should be past racism but were not. Americans don't care about abuses of power and social injustices in our society. We are not informed enough of the governments mistakes and hypocrisy in our nation, but when we are informed Americans are indifferent and don't speak up. In the future this leads to more abuses of power and more social injustices. Also the diminishing middle class is posing a threat. In today's economy you are either rich or struggling.

Hidden Itellectualism

Gerald Graff argues in his essay Hidden Intellectualism that pop culture can be a subject for serious intellectual analysis. Graff says, "Real intellectuals turn any subject, however lightweight it may seem, into grist for their mill through the thoughtful questions they bring to it, whereas a dullard will find a way to drain the interest out of the richest subject." Graff is saying that intellectuals can make any subject into a serious intellectual argument through their insightful new ideas they bring to the table about the subject. Graff also explains, " the rudiments of the intellectual life: how to make an argument, weigh different kinds of evidence, move between particulars and generalizations, summarize the views of others, and enter a conversation about ideas." All these things are present in an intellectual argument.

In Antonia Peacocke's essay, Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, she presents an intellectual argument supporting the TV show Family Guy. If you have seen Family Guy the word intellectual is not the first word that comes to mind. Peacocke makes her argument intellectual by using Graff's advice. She provides the many view of family guy and summarizes arguments of many other authors opposing views. For example pages 262-263 are perfect ways Peacocke summarizes others beliefs. She brings her own ideas and thoughts to the table and explains why she stands on her beliefs. Peacock has written the "perfect essay" according to the book "They Say, I Say." She is in the they say, I say conversation, and makes a not-so intellectual show Family Guy into an intellectual, argumentative writing piece.

Rushkoff's Difficult Viewpoint

This might be how you are feeling when reading Rushkoff's essay


Douglas Rushkoff writes in his essay Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence, "The Simpsons is the closest thing in America to a national media literacy program." In this sentence Rushkoff is stating his view point, that the Simpsons is a good show because it teaches us to read the rest of media culture in America. The "they say" in this argument would be those who oppose the satire and somewhat offensive jokes in the show. The first time I read this essay, I was under the impression that Rushkoff was "bashing" the Simpsons. The reason that this might occur when other peers read it, is because although the Simpsons is directed towards young people, Rushkoff directs his essay towards a more intellectual individual. Rushkoff's essay is more on a high academic level, because of the complex ideas and vocabulary he uses. He is trying to show highly intelligent people that the Simpsons is not a "dumb" and offensive cartoon.





However, if Rushkoff were to write his essay geared toward the audience of the viewers of show he would have to change his tone, language, and arguments. He could first start of by using less complex of a vocabulary. In his essay, as it is now, requires a dictionary at hand for me to read. The tone of his essay would have to be more casual and attention catching to appeal to the teens of today. He might argue in his new essay for the reasons why we should be watching the Simpsons. Rushkoff could explain the deeper meanings behind the show, and how they are getting us to read the rest of media culture. Example's of this would have to be used in the essay. Overall his goal would be to write this essay and make it to where a younger individual would want to sit down, read it, and be interested in what he's saying.

Technology Takes Attension (blog 10)

Sherry Turkle addresses in her article, "Can You Hear Me Now?" how technology alienates you. It takes your attention from others around you and from yourself. She also mentions that it is bad for children to have cell phones, because they are always connected to their parents and don't get out in the real world by themselves. I agree with Turkle on the point that technology alienates us from our surroundings and somewhat ourselves, however I disagree that it is negative for children to own cell phones.

Turkle uses the reference of the PDA the Blackberry often in her article. As a Blackberry owner I have experience in being alienated from society. The Blackberry can receive your facebook and myspace updates, text messages, emails from all accounts you have, instant messages, and phone calls. Your phone is constantly chiming in with your new information. In most of the technology today they have phones that have all these and more features in your cell phone. This always gives people something to do in the technology world, you can check everything anywhere. I myself don't know what i would do without my cell phone. Turkle writes in her essay how technology like these can be addicting, and she is absolutely right. I myself have even had friends and relatives who spend all their time on their phones and text while your talking to them. I have gotten the "huh" and head nods a lot from friends not paying attention lost deep in their cell phones. Cell phones have disconnected us from society and ourselves.

Although I agree that technology is alienating, Turkle fails to support the opposition that we need these technologies to and extent. Turkle says in her article that children and teens these days should not have cell phones because it allows them to always be connected to their parents, not experience the real world, and not learn to fend for themselves. I disagree with this thought. The world has gone to crap. You are constantly hearing news stories of the increasing violence, kidnappings, homicides, and disasters. Do you want to be able to get a hold of your child in case they become a victim of the world's evil? We need these technologies to stay connected to our children and informed of whats going on around us in the world. Isn't that what parents are for anyways, protecting and being there for their children?

Yes technology is distracting, alienating, and disconnecting, but think where would we be without it. We need our cell phones, email, Internet, and other forms of communication to an extent. It all comes down to today's society, and how we have abused the technology given to us. Technology has made us rude. Next time your in class, having a conversation with a friend, or driving, put your phone down and have some respect.

The Internet is a Tool of Knowledge...If Used Correctly

Amy Goldwasser wrote the article "What's the Matter with Kids Today," in which she answers nothing. Parents and the older generation are under the impression that the Internet is "melting their teen's brain." In her article, Goldwasser says that he Internet is an educational tool and teens and the younger generations are reading and writing more than ever. In my opinion, Goldwasser is right in saying the Internet is a great learning tool but she fails to mention the problems that can come from the Internet. You have to use the Internet the correct way for it to be an educational tool.

Goldwasser reports, "the average teen chooses to spend an average of 16.7 hours a week reading and writing online." In this statistic she is pointing out that the Internet creates a voluntary learning experience. Teens can get on the Internet today and look up and research any information they are interested in. Teens find these interesting articles and some create blogs, in which they respond in writing how they feel about the issue and creating a debate. From experience, I know that reading things are far more likely for me to complete when it's something that I'm interested in and that I voluntarily choose to read. When teachers assign readings in class it is usually something not interesting to you, but using the Internet can allow us to search the web about anything our mind can think of. Teachers are also using the popular Internet tool, YouTube, now in classes for visual references. I love when teachers use YouTube in class, because it helps me apply information learned to real life and gives me a visual to better understand the information. Teens use the Internet for multiple reasons, whether it be blogging, using facebook to stay connected with old friends, or researching a topic on YouTube and reading articles about it, the Internet is a successful learning tool. Goldwasser praises this tool by saying, "Teenagers today read and write for fun; it's part of their social lives. We need to start celebrating his unprecedented surge, incorporating it as an educational tool.."

Golwasser, however, does not mention the negative effects the Internet has on teenagers. In a generation of high speed we have instant messaging, text messaging, and facebook and mypace. In these technologies teens are trying to look for a faster way to communicate. This results in abbreviations and misspellings in order to speed up the process. For example, the famous LOL, GTG, BRB, 2day, ppl, cuz, and many more. Yes, teens are reading and writing more, but how are they writing. The poor texting and instant messaging grammar spills over into these students school work. I can't tell you the countless times i have written ppl in a paper instead of people, unconsciously. In the Internet communication it is not rare to see many punctuation mistakes also or no punctuation at all. I know from personal experience that my grammar and punctuation skills suffer greatly from lack of practice and extreme practice of common texting or IMing language. The Internet could also be used for negative reasons also. You can have facebook and myspace stalkers, Internet porn that teen boys are attracted to, and many other dangers out there.

Yes, the Internet is a great learning tool, but we need to teach our society to use it correctly. So many people abuse the great technology. Our bad grammar used in the cyber world is now spilling into reality. Overall Goldwasser is correct, but fails to mention the negative side to the Internet.

example of metacommentary (8)

In Dana Steven's opening paragraph of her article "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box," she uses metacommentary and other context clues to let the reader know she is summarizing the views of another author, Steven Johnson. In summarizing Johnson's article "Watching TV Makes you Smarter, Steven's references Johnson's ideas of more complex plots, multi-threading, and his overall thesis of watching TV makes you smarter. She introduces the paragraph with the author she is arguing against and the piece he has wrote that she is going to be referencing. She comes out saying she "could make no sense of Johnson's piece," and this lets us know she is arguing against him and is going to summarize his thoughts she disagrees with. This sentence in her article summarizes part of Johnson's argument; "As far as I can tell, his thesis is that television shows have slowly grown more and more complicated over the last two decades, so that now, like rates in a behaviorist's maze, trained viewers can differentiate among up to 12 distinct plot lines in shows like The Sopranos." As you can see she uses the metacommentary "As far as I can tell, HIS thesis is," in other words she is starting the sentence off with "I," saying that she is summarizing "HIS" thesis of the article. Another great example of metacommentary is Steven's use of "In other words," in her sentence "In other words, if I understand correctly, watching TV teaches you to watch more TV.." The use of "in other words" lets us readers know that Steven's is going to put in her own words and her thought, what Johnson has written in his article. The last sentence of her first paragraph is her view on the subject. "..Like Teletubbies, which is essentially a tutorial instructing toddlers in the basics of vegging out," in this Steven's in making her point that watching TV doesn't make you smarter by referring to "vegging out" as becoming vegetable like.

In my opinion, I agree with Dana Stevens point of view. When i was reading Johnson's article I was thinking the same things, "so in order to understand these more complex plots you must watch more TV?" "Plots have become more complicated, so what? That doesn't teach you anything new it just requires you to think." Although I agree some TV can make you smarter, but it all depends on what your watching.

picture-http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/.a/6a00d83451c3cb69e20120a58fae9a970b-800wi

Metacommentary (7)

• In making a case for medical use of marijuana, I'm not saying that it should be prescribed for everything, but in certain cases it is acceptable.
• But my argument will do more than prove that one particular industrial chemical has certain toxic properties. In this article, i will also prove there is danger in using this industrial chemical.
• My point about the national obsessions with sports reinforces the belief held by many athletes that they are celebrities.
• I believe, therefore, that the war is completely justified. But let me back up and explain how I arrived at this conclusion. Tons of money is being put into this war to give Iraq there freedom, and many innocent people are dying. In this way, I came to believe that this war is a big mistake.

Is Caffeine Addictive? (6)

Caffeine addiction has become a real and widespread problem. You may not believe it but researchers say that regular caffeine usage creates a physical dependence. Ronald Griffiths, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has conducted many experiments and completed lots of research on this issue. He has proven that caffeine is addictive and can produce withdrawal symptoms, he considers it a mental disorder. Ultimately, what is at stake here is your health. Caffeine, like other drugs of addiction has health threats. About 80% of the world's population uses caffeine on a daily basis(Medicinenet.com).

Picture-http://www.donotgiveup.net/coffee%20addiction.jpg

Is Advertising Towards Kids Right? (blog 5)

Eric Schlosser writes in "Your Trusted Friends", about the issue of advertisement targeting children. Schlosser views this as a negative in his writings. He writes about the toys, playgrounds, and cartoon characters that fast food marketers use to grab the kids and lure them in. We know this is his position because of his multiple negative reasons of the advertisements targeting children. He does not give any reasons supporting the good from the advertising.

In my opinion, I believe that advertising towards children is okay to an extent. You have to understand that fast food is a business and it wouldn't be there tempting us if there wasn't a demand for it from us the consumers. With that said all businesses are out to make a buck. Advertising and promoting are only created in order to increase the sales of the business. It's like saying that we can no longer advertise rated r movies because it will increase the younger generations who see the movie therefore creating more violence in teens. But, how are people going to know it's there if it is not advertised and promoted.

One issue Schlosser addresses is using cartoon characters to appeal to children. Schlosser says, "Studies suggest that until the age of six, roughly 80 percent of children's dreams are about animals"(190) So Schlosser is saying that the market uses animated animals and creatures to suck kids in at an early age and make them customers for life. Marketers use these characters in TV commercials that they know children all over watch, because TV watching is a top American pastime. However, Toys in Happy Meals is plaguing the issue of advertisement towards children also. Fast food companies create promotional links with popular toy manufactures, giving away a "prize" in each Happy Meal. Schlosser states that, " A successful promotion easily doubles or triples the weekly sales volume of children's meals"(194). Schlosser blames Playlands in part of sucking in the child consumer also.

Although it is true that these tactics of advertising towards children are extreme, what are we to do about it? Should we put laws on advertising towards children? Taking away Happy Meals, Ronald McDonald and the gang, and Playlands is taking many American childhood memories away. Americans have lost there sense of personal responsibility and want laws to control marketing and businesses. Some skeptics may say, "advertisements targeting children are a large factor to our child obesity rates." I say that because they advertise towards children doesn't imply causation of child obesity. You have to not succumb to the pleas of your children for Happy Meals 5 times a week. Putting laws on advertising and businesses for targeting kids will suck the fun out of life. My future kids will not know the fun of going to the local McDonald's on occasion to experience the fun of ball pits, Happy Meals, and getting the newest toy for eating all their food. Ronald McDonald has been around for ages and is just now being blamed for the current obesity issue. I do agree with Eric Schlosser that fast food should not be viewed as a "prize" in the eyes of children, but overall disagree with his negative views of advertising towards children.

Pic-http://www.catsandbeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/mcdonalds_characters.jpg

some of the most famous cartoon characters created by the food industry

The Thinkings of Susie Orbach (blog 4)

In Susie Orbach's book Fat as a Feminist Issue, she is defending women from others pointing the finger at them and blaming there own self for being overweight. The ongoing debate is whether women are at fault themselves for overeating or if there is an underlying cause for their overeating and impulses. Susie Orbach agrees with feminist views on the issue.

Feminism views state that society has sex stereotypes that women feel obligated to fit into. For explanation on the stereotypes Susie Orbach is saying, "The media present women either in a sexual context or within the family, reflecting a woman's two prescribed roles, first as a sex object and then as a mother." In other words, women in society are pressured into looking good for men and to create a family. If this is unattainable for a women she is faced with failure and therefore makes a woman extremely self-conscious. The media provides women with the "ideal look" and defines what is beauty. Beauty also changes with time periods and requires women to change to conform to the definition of beauty. Most definitions of beauty today require women to be thin.

Orbach responds to this with, "Fat is a social disease, and fat is a feminist issue. Fat is not about lack of self-control or lack of willpower. It is a response to the inequality of the sexes." This is saying that women who are overweight are not to blame themselves. It is a "social disease" and they are influenced by society to be the perfect women. If women view themselves as fat it isolates and invalidates a woman. Susie Orbach argues, "fat expresses a rebellion against the powerlessness of a woman, against the pressure to look and act in a certain way". Women who feel the goal of being thin is unattainable the rebel and produce an image that is the opposite. Women want to be viewed for who they are and not what they are suppose to look like.

picture(cm1.theinsider.com)- Shows how Faith Hill is altered and airbrushed to create a skinnier version for the media. This is an example of showing celebrities as "perfect" and creating ideal beauty for women to look at and size themselves up as not good enough.

Blog 3 (pg181 #1)

Yves Engler wrote an article called "Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations", in which he blames the capitalist economic system for largely rising obesity rates in America. He mentions the diet industry as one of the biggest of obesity risers. Doctors are prescribing deadly drugs that are used for weight loss. More and more Americans today are turning to plastic surgery to correct there obesity. Somehow spending tons of money on dieting and surgery are okay with Americans today and is accepted. Another point he makes how capitalist economy is serving up obesity is by spending large amounts of money on advertising their products in unfair ways to America. Children are a big target in this advertising by using cartoon characters and catchy songs. Also the food companies are promoting their larger sizes to be filling and not expensive. In the article Engler observes, "as of 1996, a quarter of the $97 billion spent on fast food came from items promoted on the basis of either extra size or larger portions." This means that America today has adapted to larger portion sizes. It is a fact that the more food you have in front of you the more you are going to consume.

Engler supports that, today so many young adults are not involved with sports or physical activity. A reason for this is the cutbacks on budgeting for gym classes or sports in the school systems. There is no one there to motivate them and show them that sports and physical activity is fun and good to be involved with. Also a point he makes is that work in America today is becoming more stressful. Automation is everywhere. This means that the number of hours worked should be reduced, but that is not the case. As Engler says in his article, "in the United States, where people are working 200 hours a year more than they did in the early 1970's." This means that there is no time for leisure activities, and more of a higher stress level. We all know that higher stress levels means higher food intake. Also today, industries have taken over cities in a way to rise obesity rates. They are building houses, fast food, and other industries over top of outskirt fields that could be used to grow vegetables or build parks. The rate of people who walk and ride their bikes has drastically decreased. This is because of unsafe roadways and lack of sidewalks or disconnected sidewalks.

In my opinion Engler is very persuasive in his argument. He pointed out some very good facts that I myself might not have ever realized if it weren't for his article. I can understand his point on how the capitalist economic system plays a major role in obesity rates and I agree with him.

8/28/09 pg. 38 number dos

In David Zinczenko's article "Don't Blame the Eater" he adresses the limited alternatives available to cheap and convienant fast food resturaunts. Zinczenko claims, "Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you'll see one of our country's more than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants. Now, Drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit." He goes on to insist that fast food restaurants are the only available options for teens to get an affordable meal. There is a statistic that contradicts his statements, in 2004 there were 85,000 grocery stores in the United States. Are you not able to buy a grapefruit at a grocery store?


In David Zinczenko's article "Don't Blame the Eater" he provides evidence that type two diabetes, the type caused from being overweight, in children has risen 20 percent since 1994. Zinczenko makes a point that when you go to one of America's 13,000 plus McDonalds there is no nutritional information being displayed or health risk warnings anywhere to be seen. Some fast food resturaunts supply nutritional information if asked but do teens and children, really understand how to interpret that? It doesn't help that commercials and advertising are becoming more and more directed towards children and teens. This brings up the issue of lawsuits against the fast food industry addressed in the article. Children suing McDonalds for making them obese is like suing alcohol industrys for making you an alcoholic. Zinczenko agrees in his writings something else must be done.

The two summaries from the same article provide different information. Summary one is about dissagreeing with the authors view of not having alternatives to fast food. If you dissagreed on the authors view on the alternatives and wanted to write an essay addressing that issue then you obviously wouldnt write the beginning summary, the "they say", about other things in the article that wasnt pertaining to the alternatives to fast food situation. You wouldn't write about the law suits, diabetes rates rising, or the lack of nutritional information displayed because that is off topic and doesn't help support your argument. Summary two was written from a stand point in which you believe the fast food industry is at fault for Americas obese children and teens. In this summary you would include facts from David's article which supported that America is overweight in fault of the fast food resteraunts.

8/25/09 pg.14 #2

The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to help organize your writing, making it more sophisticated. Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer help create structured writing. As the authors themselves put it, "a learning tool." Although some people believe it limits creativity in their writings, Graff and Birkenstein insist that it stimulates creativity and improves it. In sum, then, their view is that writing templates is a temporary learning tool to provide room for creativity and professional structure in your writing.
I agree with Graff and Birkenstein. In my View, the types of templates that the authors recommend are extremely helpful to amatuer writers and helps jumpstart the thinking process. For instance, i used a template to complete this essay and it helped wonderfully. In addition, you can add your own creative flare as you go. The templates are not there to tell you that it is a must that you write this and that, or that you have to follow it exactally. You can modify them and stretch them as you write and come up with more ideas on your own. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that it is not your own original writing and ideas. Yet at first, I was one of the believers that this makes everyone's writing "sound the same", but as i learned more about the templates and tried it out I understand that that is not true. I would argue that it simply helps creates and jumpstarts your ideas. Overall, then, I believe the templates are a positive learning tool- an important point to make given that they are not made to be used your whole writing career, only to teach you the writing structures you'll need in every writing piece.