Name: Anne Claudia G.

Holen ENG 201

Professor: Sara Whitestone

(Writing Center - )
The Relationship Between Happiness and Exercise
(Speech)

Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming.

A few weeks ago I interviewed three people for my English class, and asked them what

is something that can make anyone truly happy? All three of my subjects equate happiness with

having or being with someone who loves them, understands them, and supports them. However,

not all people have that special person in their lives, have a good relationship with their family,

or have a good circle of friends. Also, peoples actions are unpredictable, so putting your

happiness in someone elses hands might not be a good idea; it can be dangerous and

unproductive.

Because I got almost the same answer from all three interviewees, I then decided to ask

some other friends of mine what they think makes people happy. Most of them said the same

thing as my subjects, and others gave me answers that involved making their parents proud,

receiving gifts, shopping, money, etc. However, not everyone has someone to give them gifts, or

money to buy whatever they want. So, I asked myself, how can an individual, who doesnt have

any of that be happy? Or even better, What is something that anyone can do right now or at any

moment that would make them instantly happy, just as if they had taken a happiness pill?

So, I asked these questions again to all my friends, and since they are mostly young

adults who use the acronym Y.O.L.O way too much and their definition of having a good

time mostly involves drugs, their answer was, not surprisingly, drugs. But that wasnt the
answer I wanted. If I was to find something that would increase happiness levels in a matter of

minutes or even seconds, I wanted something that would benefit the individual in the long run.

A few days later, I came across a New York Times article entitled How Exercise Might

Keep Depression at Bay, by Gretchen Reynolds, and it automatically sparked my curiosity. The

article talked about how exercise can be an effective treatment for depression and also a way to

prevent it. In order to find out whether physical activity can be used as a treatment for

depression, the researchers used data from twenty-five studies in which people who were

diagnosed with depression started exercising. After a while, these individuals saw marked

improvement in their mental health.

So I thought: if exercise might prevent depression and improve mental health, then it

might consequently increase happiness levels. But since I wasnt sure, and I had to do more

research because otherwise, you would be here listening to me talking about my theories and not

facts.

Then I found the article The Effect of the Selected Exercise on Male Students

Happiness and Mental Health, by Teymor Ahmadi Gatab and Sara Pirhayti, that discussed

about an experiment conducted by two researchers who acknowledged the relationship between

physical activity and mental health. In the experiment, eighty male students volunteered and then

were divided into two groups. One of the groups played soccer for eight weeks, while the other

didnt. After eight weeks, the group that played soccer showed a huge increase in happiness and

well-being. The other group that didnt do any physical activity didnt show any significant

changes.
After reading that article, I was convinced that I had found my happiness pill. People can wake

up, exercise for at least thirty minutes and automatically increase their happiness levels. But how

does it work? Does it really work like a pill, or any other drug, which makes our body release

certain types of chemicals or over-activates certain parts of our brain?

In order for me to answer that question, I had to spend a little bit more time researching

in order to understand how my new happiness pill actually works. Thats when I found a TED

Talk, entitled Health, Fitness and Happiness & Rules to Give You All 3. In this video, the

presenter, Tony Horton, shared a few things he did that changed his life and that he now uses to

change other peoples lives as a personal trainer. These things are variety in fitness, exercising

five to seven days per week, tracking progress, and eating healthier.

To my satisfaction, he also talked about the chemicals that are released in the brain once

we exercise, which are norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and brain-derived neurotrophic

factor. These chemicals help increase mental and physical health by improving self-esteem,

enhancing mood, decreasing stress, and consequently the level of happiness and well-being. I

was proud of myself; I had now answered my question.

Last week, my best friend called me saying that he was devastated. His girlfriend had

broken up with him, and he felt as if his life no longer had any meaning. I very confidently asked

him to wait two minutes, which was enough time for me to open my computer, search through

my files, and e-mail him all the evidence I found in the articles I just told you guys about. He,

completely clueless, asked me what the e-mail was for, and I, very much aware of what I was
doing, told him that it was the answer to his problems. Exercising is something that anyone can

do, at any moment, that would increase happiness levels.

He actually went to the gym that day and called me saying that he felt much better.

I said to myself, mission accomplished.

 Sources Used

Gatab, T. A., & Pirhayti, S. (2012). The Effect of the Selected Exercise on Male Students
Happiness and Mental Health. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46,
2702-2705. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.550. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ez.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S187704281201679
5

Horton, T. (2013, January 13). Health, Fitness and Happiness & rules to give you all 3: Tony
Horton at TEDxYouth@SantaMonica. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQupiauyZYE

Reynolds, G. (2016, Nov. 16). How Exercise Might Keep Depression at Bay. The New York
Times. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/well/move/how-exercise-mig
Ht-keep-depression-at-bay.html
 English 201
Writing Evaluation for Multi-Genre Papers with Research

Name: Anne Claudia Granato Holen

Title of Paper: The Relationship Between Happiness and Exercise

Directions: How well did you understand, and incorporate, the mores and expectations of writing
in this genre? Please evaluate yourself by answering these questions below, discussing both your
strengths and what you can improve. Give yourself a score for what you feel the paper deserves
in its present form.

Genre of Paper

a. What style did you write in and why? (5 pts.)

This paper is a speech, and I decided to write in this style because I think its fun. When writing
a speech, the idea is that the author is directly accessing the readers, or perhaps actually
presenting the speech. Because of that, I believe that this style is much more personal and direct
than the other styles, which is something I like.

b. What areas did you need to pay attention to specific to this genre? (5 pts.)
When writing a speech, its important to pay attention to the language. Informal language is
preferred because the goal is to make the audience pay attention, and keep them entertained.
Also, the speech has to be written as if it were being read out loud in front of an audience. When
it comes to citations, theres no need to include them; however, it is important to have a
bibliography ready in case someone in the audience asks for it.

c. How did you take into account your audience? (5 pts.)

I made sure that my speech was informative but at the same time entertaining. Also, I believe
that my speech can be read or presented to any person who wants to learn more about exercise
and happiness, and not just academics.
Process

a. How have you taken yourself through brainstorming, researching, and drafting over a
period of time? (5 pts.)
First, I did some research and looked for sources that would help me prove my theory. After that,
I set up my annotated bibliography, which made the process of writing my speech much easier.
When I was brainstorming for this paper, I used my annotated bibliography to find a source that
had the evidence I would need to back up my claims. After I had a good outline, I was able to
create my first draft and make the changes necessary to improve my paper.

b. What are the strengths of your process and what you could do better for a future paper?
(5 pts.)
One of my strengths was creating a good annotated bibliography, filled with good information,
and summaries that were well written. Also, I did a good job finding articles that gave me
enough evidence to prove my theory and complemented my paper. However, I believe that I
couldve done a better job managing my time so that I couldve taken my first draft to the
Writing Center. But, I did take my final draft to the Writing Center and I feel much more
confident about my paper.

Research

a. Have you used at least 3 credible sources? How did you find them? How did you decide
to include them into this particular paper? (5 pts.)
I used 3 credible sources. At first, I wondered if I shouldve used more but then I realized that I
had enough sources to write a good paper. I found my sources using the library database, which
was a little bit stressful but after some research, I was able to finally find them. After I had
written down my brainstorm, I decided that what sources had the information that I would need
to prove all the points I wanted to make in each article.

b. You use quotes only when the power of the original words requires you to do so (less
than 25% of your source material). All other information or ideas that are not your own
are either paraphrased or summarized appropriately. (10 pts.)
I am proud of myself because in the past I would use a lot of quotes, but I barely used them in
this paper. As I said earlier, when writing my annotated bibliography I did a good job
summarizing my source, so I barely had to edit my summaries before including them in my
paper. The quotes I did use added important information to my paper.
c. Is the way you cite your sources appropriately both in-text and at the end for the
discipline? Remember for journalism there are no end sources, but often there are
embedded links within the article. For law there are footnotes. For psychology there are
in-text citations as well as a works cited page. Did you use MLA, APA, or some other form?
Why? (5 pts.)

****Warning**** Cutting and pasting or any other improper formatting from any source
will result in failure of the paper.

I believe I cited all my sources correctly. I choose to use APA because it is the form that I feel
more comfortable using. Because my paper is a speech, I dont exactly need in-text citations, but
I included the title of the articles as I presented the audience with the evidence because I believe
it didnt interrupt the flow of my speech. However, I have a bibliography page in case someone
in the audience asks for it.

Purpose, Content, and Structure

a. What is your purpose? (5 pts.)

My purpose with this speech is to find a happiness pill, something that can help most people
increase their happiness levels almost instantaneously. Also, I wanted to inform my audience
about the benefits of physical activity and encourage them to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

b. How well have you communicated your purpose through your inquiry, argument, or
thesis to your audience? (5 pts.)
I believe I communicated my purpose very well. In my speech, I basically explain the steps I
took in order to find my happiness pill and why I wanted to find it. I clearly stated that I
wanted to find something that would increase happiness levels in a matter of minutes or even
seconds but also something that would benefit the individual in the long run. So I do believe
that my purpose was well communicated.

c. What methods of creativity (especially in the opening, but also throughout) did you
employ? (5 pts.)

I thought it would be interesting to open my speech by telling the audience about the interviews I
conducted and break the idea that having someone that loves us is a safe way of finding
happiness or perhaps increasing happiness levels. Also, I really like the way I ended my speech,
which was by introducing a personal experience, something that maybe the audience wasnt
expecting.

d. Did you end strongly or in an interesting way? (5 pts.)

Yes. I believe I ended strongly because I proved my theory, that exercise increases happiness
levels, with a good amount of evidence. Also, by telling a story to the audience, after presenting
all the evidence and the steps I took to find my happiness pill, I was able to end my speech in an
interesting way.

e. Is your paper is well organized and in accordance with the discipline? Explain how you
chose to organize your paper. (10 pts.)

I also choose to write a speech because of the way that this genre is usually organized. Because a
speech will be read out loud in front of an audience, there are not many rules. However, I still
organized my speech in paragraphs, each of them talking about a specific step I took to prove my
theory. Also, just because there are not many rules when it comes to the structure of the speech,
it does not mean that it is not important to pay attention to grammar and punctuation.

f. Have you supported your thesis or inquiry with examples and details both from your
research and with your own creative thinking? Talk about this in detail. (5pts.)
Yes. I used citations to support my inquiry, but I also used my personal experiences and opinions
about the topic. Whenever I had to prove a claim, I would use scientific evidence from the
sources in my annotated bibliography. But I also used my own creative thinking when trying to
find the answers to my research question, or when explaining something that didnt require
research. For example, I wrote, peoples actions are unpredictable, so putting your happiness in
someone elses hands might not be a good idea; it can be dangerous and unproductive.

g. Have you used interesting and well-thought transitions? (5 pts.)

I believe I used interesting and well-thought transitions. I wanted each paragraph to introduce the
ideas I would be addressing later on, and I did that by including what exactly I wanted to find out
next. For example, after writing So, I asked myself, how can an individual, who doesnt have
any of that be happy?, I was able to introduce to introduce my actual research question and start
talking about my theory.
Mechanics

a. Do you have solid sentence structure and variations to your sentences? (5 pts.)
Even though I wrote my speech as if I was reading it out loud, I was careful with run-on
sentences, and weak sentence structure. I believe I was able to write clear and solid sentences
that allowed my speech to become interesting.

b. Have you read your paper out loud to find grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors?
What other methods have you used to edit and proofread your work? (5 pts.)
I did read my paper out loud to find any errors, I used a grammar checker online, and I also had
two other people read it. For my last and final draft, I went to go to the Writing Center so that I
could feel even better about my paper.

c. Have you used strong and effective vocabulary? (5 pts.)

Yes. I believe I used effective vocabulary when writing my speech, allowing not only academics
but anyone who wants to learn more about my topic benefit from the information I presented in
this paper.

Total score 98 out of a possible 100 points

Notes about what you have learned: In comparison to the other paper I wrote (Psychology),
writing a speech is so much fun, and it is also easier. I was able to tell a story about what made
me want to find out more about my topic and also include some personal experiences. When
writing a speech, theres the need to take your audience into consideration so that the right
language can be used. Citations dont have to be included in the speech; if included, I believe
that it should be in such way that it wouldnt disrupt its flow. Also, it is important, just like when
writing in any other genre, to have all the evidence necessary to back up my ideas. I went to the
Writing Center to make sure that there are no grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, so I feel
confident to give myself a higher score on my final paper.