Prewriting

Prewriting

Connections between sources
So far, the sources that I have seen are connected by their support for Michael Phelps despite his recent run in with the law. A couple of sources have called this a “non issue” and are trying to get it put in the past as quickly as possible. I have seen a little bit of denial within the community as well through these sources. Some sources are saying that the photo was “allegedly” taken and that he may have been pictured with drug paraphernalia but was not actually smoking pot. Most of the sources are making an attempt to keep this issue as small as possible and not let it get out of hand.

Summary/Controlling Idea
The media is supportive of Michael Phelps, despite his recent photograph with a marijuana pipe, and most would like to see the buzz fade around this issue rather than see it get even larger. They are trying to encourage the general public that the issue with Phelps is not a big deal.

Organization

Order of Sources

*Intro* introduce the way we view athletic heroes/superstars, responsibilities that come along with that, tell the story of what happened (could use the statement source here), concerns this might raise in the general public, get into the media’s viewpoint

1. Olympic Hero in Times Square (showing original view of Phelps, post Olympics)
2. Phelps Sorry for Regrettable Behavior (original statement)
3. Phelps Backed by Sponsors (little change in view of Phelps)
4. Additional Source in support of Phelps (either the pastor or police commentary)

*Conclusion* Review the ways in which the issue was presented within each source, do a bit of analysis of how affective the media’s argument has been in the lives of the public.

Justification of chosen organizational methods

I will organize my paper sort of like a narrative. The story itself has developed over time and our view of Michael Phelps has developed overtime as well, so by writing the paper in this same way, I will be connecting it to the bigger picture. I think that it will work well to describe how he was viewed pre-incident, describe the incident itself using his statement, and then go into the reactions of different sources to the incident. The sources themselves are pretty similar. They are all in support of the athlete, but they portray the incident in slightly different ways.

Transitions

The transition from source one to source two will be one reminding the reader of how the media and public viewed Phelps going into the incident.
The transition from source two to three will be one that makes the reader interested in how Michael’s sponsors reacted to his actions.
The transition from source three to four will be one that makes the reader interested in seeing another point of view on Michael’s actions.