Source for Paper C

While researching for paper C I came upon a website for teens about body image and the media. http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/body_image/body_image.html
Audience: teens who struggle with the way they look and are influenced by the media.
Argument: The argument is that if you recognize that there are many influences in the world, you can learn to overcome them and have a healthy image of your own body which will help you to be happy.
Ethos: The website was created by a foundation for teens health so it has a certain credibility, drawing from parents, professionals and doctors. Visitors to the website would probably trust the information that is being given.
Pathos: Teens looking at this website are not talked down to. The information is presented in their kind of language and references situations and feelings they would be familiar with, which would draw on their emotions.
Logos: This relates to the main argument; if you are happy with the way you look and accept your body, you will be happier in general. This would seem logical to everyone.
Effectiveness: I think this website would be effective. It offers helpful information in a way that's relatable. The only critique that I have is that it may be a little too cheesy, and maybe not all teens would want to read it.

Speech: The American President

Audience: the American people,specifically Bob Rumsen,a man who disagrees with him.
Argument: The president is responding to a man who criticizes him and his views and actions. The president says that not only is America built upon freedom and free speech, but it's also about defending the free speech of a person who disagrees with you,someone who's beliefs you would spend your lifetime opposing.
Ethos: Since it is the president of the United States giving the speech, his position gives him authority. People respect him because of who he is and the status he has.
Pathos: The president makes reference to particular historic documents like the constitution and uses them to support his argument. The American people would relate to this and probably feel very emotionally connected to something like the constitution becuase of the values it represents to them.
Logos: After mentioning things like the constitution, the president continues by spplying it to modern day. He says that while we value free speech, it must be available to all, or it is not free. He makes a logical case for this.
Effectiveness: I believe this speech is effective because it draws from common beliefs and experiences and relates to all people and argues for a new way of thinking about things.

Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwFS69nA-1w

This is the music for the Bright Eyes song, First Day of my life.
Argument: The argument for this music video is similar to the song itself, but different in that it targets a larger audience and says more specifically that love is found in all people no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, age, or sexual orientation.
Audience: The audience is still Bright Eyes fans, but the music video makes it more applicable to all people because many different kinds of people are represented.
Ethos: This appeals to the idea that the audience can relate to the images of all the people in the music video because it is likely that they will see themselves in it.
Pathos: The images of the people in the video are all couples, or families, who are listening to the song for the first time and are reacting to it. You can see them reacting positively to the song and also how they are reacting to their partner. You can see in their expressions how the song is affecting them and how they feel about their significant other.
Logos: The logic of this video is that it uses real people who are listening to the song. By watching the video, you can see how others react to its message and see how the lyrics and melody affect them.
Effectiveness: I believe this music video is very effective because it appeals to a wide audience. By using real people, listening to the song in the video, we see first hand how others are affected and can relate our feelings of the video to it.

Bright Eyes- First Day of My Life

Audience: Bright Eyes' listeners...more specifically the singer's love interest.

Argument: The song is saying that love isn't always easy, but it makes life worth it and beautiful and so he's telling the person he wants to be with them.

Ethos: He is arguing that love makes him alive and makes him want to be a better person. He is also asking for forgiveness so he is appealing to the person's charity.

Pathos: He is flattering the person and making them feel good about themselves and seeing him as someone who makes them happy. He is appealing to their empathy for how important they are to him.

Logos: He is being realistic about the difficulties of love, and being honest with the person about his short comings. He is also reminding the person of feelings they have previously had towards him. He is suggesting that love is always hard so they should stay together because they won't find something that isn't.

Effectiveness: I think that this song is very effective. It tempers its romanticism with realism. It is believable. This song appeals to our desire to hope for the best and place faith in people. It appeals to our sentimentality for the past, it is apologetic. It appeals to its wider audience by articulating what they would want said to them by their significant other.

(lyrics) http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/brighteyes/firstdayofmylife.html

Paper A

The argument in my paper a says that cell phone use decreases our ability to make new friends because it inhibits our intereaction with the environment around us.
Audience: teenagers to early twenty somethings who frequently use cell phones and do not see a problem with it.
Ethos: My paper uses some examples from my life and also cites research and quotes that suggest cell phones isolate us from the world around us.
Pathos: There is not much in the sense of pathos. A lot of the argument is some what dry and probably wouldn't appeal to the audience's emotion. Maybe when I say how texting directly affects their friendships.
Logos: I use a fair amount of research to back up my argument, but it may not be the best to persuade my audience. I think I would need to do a better job at making my research and sources more credible.
Effectiveness: I believe my paper would be some what effective for my audience, but not as much as it could be. The tone needs to speak more to them and their interests. They would need to feel more involved with my paper, as right now it's more talking at them than with them.

Tracking in Schools

While researching for paper B, I found an article titled "Detracking in the Social Studies: A Path to a More Democratic Education?" It discussed how detracking social studies classrooms improved the quality of education for students of all races and classes because it allowed the share of information and experience that helped create well rounded citizens.
Audience: This was for an academic audience, sociology backround perhaps, who are interested in the affects of tracking.
Argument: Detracking schools decreases the unequal education students receive.
Ethos: The article is published in a major sociological journal so its findings are considered relevant and respected. The author's article is based on studies and researh so it is credible to the audience.
Pathos: The author stresses how detracking will lead more aware and responsible students and therefore a more democratic society. The audience would agree with these more abstract ideals.
Logos: This would correspond with the scientific studies and research that was done. The audience would find statistics logical would make sense to them.
Effectiveness: I believe that this article would be effective considering the audience it was intended for. It incorporated sociological theories that they would recognize and applied them to the author's findings. The only thing I would critique is that the audience would probably have wanted more quantitative research and maybe a larger sample size than a few classrooms.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/nickandnorahsinfiniteplaylist/low.html

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a movie that came out earlier this month.
Audience: The audience this movie is targeting is late teens to mid twenties who love music, and more specifically, less main stream, indie music and that life style.
Argument: It is a little unclear, but I think that it's showing how these kids are just like you (audience) while at the same time showing how their lives are appealing and almost glamorous at times.
Ethos: This movie would appeal to its target audience because the actors it uses, like Michael Cera, embody this kind of lifestyle in the movie as well as in real life. The audience would be able to relate to him and other actors because they would be familiar to them, while at the same time being a celebrity.
Pathos: The main appeal the emotion in this trailer is its use of music. Music takes a main role in the movie which would resonate with the audience who also takes music seriously. The singers and songs used would very much appeal to the audience.
Logos: I think that the logic in this trailer is the idea of "they're just like you". It is targeting a specific kind of teen/twenty-something, and they would, naturally, want to see something that they could relate to.
Effectiveness: I think this movie would be successful for all the reasons mentioned. The audience would appreciate music and actors they like and relate to. The movie emphasizes music, something that is important to them. The only thing that might now work is that it could be somewhat of a generalization of this group of people. Maybe not all would like it.

This piece is called "The Curse of Poverty" and I believe the argument is a call to action; to realize that poverty is a problem and needs to be addressed.

Audience: The audience would be Americans who feel a duty to aid in the fight against poverty.

Ethos: The painter uses ethos by using Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the main parts of the painting. Since he is such a well known person, people will recognize him and relate to him and his history. Also, the text in this piece are quotes and phrases from King himself. It is using his face, accompanied by his image. I believe these together are powerful. Also, having the text above, in a cloud like shape, symbolizes hopes and dreams, something to aspire to.

Pathos: This painting appeals to one's emotions by evoking a sense of duty. We have a historical figure and his famous words will call us to act. The subject, poverty, is also very emotional and would cause people to stop and listen.

Logos: This ties to ethos and pathos. By using such a famous and respected historical figure, it is logical to read and believe the words painted. The subject of poverty implies suffering and the need for help. Logically, another's suffering requires our help.

Effectiveness: I believe this painting is successful in getting its message across. It is drawing attention to a social problem, uses a famous figure recognizable to Americans, and call for action.

technology and alienation

While researching for my paper, I read an article about technology and alienation and what kind of effects technology has on mankind. It will be a good reference for my paper as I am writing about how personal communication devices such as cell phones and e mail separate us from our immediate surroundings.
audience: the audience for this article was clearly an academic one. The people would most likely be experts in the field and are probably reading with knowledge already.
argument: it seemed that it was saying that technology does alienate man, but there were some parts that were kind of vague. He was addressing counter arguments, I suppose, but the author sometimes made it seem that he was arguing for those instead. Not always clear.
The author appealed mostly by using logos, as most of his references were past researchers who have done studies in this field before. It was effective for his academic audience because they are likely to respond to this most.
effectiveness: I thought that this paper, on the whole, would have been effective. However, I think his lack of clearness on certain things, mostly the way he dealt with counter arguments, would be confusing to the reader.

Encounter in the Mall

I was walking in the mall one day when someone in a kiosk stopped me. They had a new product that they wanted to sell along the lines of "clean flix", it was a dvd player that filtered your movies according to violence, language, and sexuality.
argument: The salesman said that too many movies now a days have inappropriate content and many people would like an alternative: movie filters that cut out, skip over, mute parts of movies they do not want to watch.
audience: The audience he assumed he was talking to was probably a very conservative mormon. (I did not fall into this category. I thought his product was kind of silly; if you find a movie offsensive, don't watch it. He even said "why do I have to watch a movie just because the director says so?" A little ridiculous to me.)
ethos: To his assumed audience, he probably seemed credible, a mormon man who was knowledgable in his product, intelligent appearance.
pathos: He would probably appeal to the emotions of his desired audience because he made references to the mormon church and religion.
logos: This would go along with pathos. If you appeal to one's religion, it will seem very logical to them.
effectiveness: Again, for his assumed audience, he would have been successful. I did not agree with him, but I not as conservative as most and do not feel movies need to be changed. If you don't agree, don't watch it.

Out of Her League

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDZiMDhjYTU1NmI5Y2MwZjg2MWNiMWMyYTUxZDkwNTE=

The argument in this editorial is claiming that Sarah Palin is out of her league in regards to the campaign she is now part of.

Audience: Voters, maybe women mostly, who are or were once voting for Palin

The author is persuading voters by
ethos: She is using facts, quotes even of Palin's own words, that show she has a lack of knowledge about certain matters.
pathos: The author also plays on the desire for women to vote for other women and the drive for feminism but shows how Palin would not provide that for them. She knows what is driving voters and how they might be disappointed.
logos: This would mainly come from direct quotes and interviews.

The Star method is also applicable to this editorial and holds up successfully. The arugument is sufficient in that it uses facts and direct quotes. It is typical because this is a hot issues at the moment that people care about. I believe that the argument is accurate, although somewhat biased. The information is credible, but an obvious opinion is clear that may slant some information. It is also relevant, I believe, again because it is appropriate for the time and deals with issues, the campaign, that people are concerned about. The quotes and data she uses are also relevant and help to support her piece.

Kathy Lee and Slim Fast

Slim Fast TV Commercial
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/7048/


1. The argument in this commercial is that Slim Fast will help you lose weight which, in turn, will make you feel better about yourself and more appealing to your husband.

2. The audience for this commercial is middle aged women, mothers especially, who are trying to lose weight and maybe don't have the highest self esteem.

3. This advertisement persuades its audience by appealing to:
-ethos: Kathy Lee Gifford is a recognizable person to this audience. They, more than likely, watched her television show and trust her opinions and advice. They can also relate to her as being a mother.
-pathos: Kathy Lee says in the commercial that she gained weight during her pregnancy and didn't feel good about herself. This kind of testimonial would persuade the audience because it would appeal to their emotions. They would be familiar with this feeling.
-logos: By using Slim Fast for two meals a day, it would decrease the amount of food you ate and would, logically, lead to weight loss. Kathy Lee also makes a point to make it sound very easy and attainable.

4. I think that this commercial would be very effective for the audience it was aimed at. Middle aged moms would relate to Kathy Lee, trust her, and buy the product.

Marlboro Cigarettes Advertisement

1. In this ad, the argument is that Marlboro cirgarettes are for the outdoors kind of man. They are for the "man's" man. You don't have to change your lifestyle for these cigarettes, they already fit yours.

2. The audience in this ad is a smoking male, a "manly man", who may not already have a preferred brand of cigarettes.

3. This ad is persuading its audience by
ethos: The are using a picture of a rugged man in his natural element. He is out on the ice, snow shoeing. He personifies the working man, out in nature. The audience would identify with him because it is a good representation of those kind of people.
pathos: This ad appeals to the audience's emotion but putting the man in a nature setting, removing him from the world. This kind of audience would be drawn to that because it would relieve some stress of their jobs, and shows that cigarettes would help.
logos: The logic in this ad is that Marlboro cigarettes fit to your lifestyle and they show this by picturing a man in his element.
4. I believe that this ad would be effective for the audience it is aimed at. It would appeal to them emotionally because it shows the type of environment they would enjoy and how these kind of cigarettes would not only remove stress, but would be a natural fit to their kind of habits.