The picture for my draft

Real Beauty

Doves Campaign For Real Beauty is a campaign that helps raise money to help young girls and older women to build their self-esteem. With the media being presented everywhere it has their description of what beauty is and not everyone fits that image, we all have flaws and imperfections. With the help of imagery and video they are able to capture a young girl thoughts about her own beauty and what she defines as beauty.

Dove is raising this campaign for girls all over the world, as soon as you enter into their website you can choose your country and the language that is usually spoken there will be presented on the website. The other countries have different web pages once you enter onto their website. For instance in United States the first webpage has the Wall of Beauty, where you can post a picture and leave a comment of what you know beauty is and in Austria it has a video of evolution, showing how we change beauty through Photoshop, and that our perception of beauty is distorted. Although Dove is advertising in different countries, they use different tactics to capture their audience in that area.

The Campaign for Beauty is so essential here in the United States to little girls and adults because they go day to day, looking at what the media presents them such as magazines, billboards, and they have an 'image' of what beauty should be, and it makes girls feel pressured to look and be a certain way. The ironic part to this campaign is that it shows the negative side of girl’s self-esteem. It shows a girl stating how she wishes she were blonde, when she has brown hair. By the end of her experience she is able to accept her natural beauty, and the same goes for everyone else.

The campaign really appeals to Pathos, it has many life changing experiences, and the give the girls chance to feel better about themselves. Girls have the opportunity to write about their feelings about what the think beauty is and what they think about themselves on Doves Real Beauty Wall. Some girls even post short videos of them stating what beauty is. The Real Beauty Wall, is basically a blog for these young women, and helps them feel better by leaving a little testimony of themselves of real beauty.

The campaign has their target audiences, which are mostly younger girls and women. The campaign makes seem as if it is only females who are affected with self-esteem issues, because its what they mainly show on their webpage is girls with self-esteem issues. When its clear that males have self-esteem issues too. This limits their audience.

Doves Campaign For Real Beauty helps in every little way that they can to help someone’s self-esteem rise and you can tell through the tone of their videos and messages. The campaign’s website has tips and helpful advice to help you out in your self-esteem issues. Doves campaign really sets the caring tone through this way.

This campaign is making a difference to young girl’s and women lives and perspective on beauty. It helps them realize what true beauty is and helps them accept their own. Helps them care less about the media and focus on what true beauty is and that is themselves.

New roads to advertising

We live in a world that is run by computers. Everyone in this country comes across a computer run object at least once a day. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the internet is fast becoming one of the most popular ways of communicating, advertising, and scamming other people. In order to reach more people and sell more products, businesses have taken to advertising on the internet. This is how website owners make their money, by selling advertising spots on their website. The more popular the website the higher the cost to advertise your product on it. With this in mind, You Tube has become a popular advertising tool because it costs nothing to upload a video on this site. Therefore some companies have uploaded series of videos all about their product. One such company is blend Tec. Blend Tec has a series called “Will it Blend” on You Tube and also on its own website www.willitblend.com. The will it blend series convinces its viewer that the blend Tec blender is the best blender out there by using humor, style, tone, and many more tools of rhetoric.

On the website willitblend.com, Tom Dickson stars in the series “will it blend”. The site was founded in 2007 and is a link off the blend Tec website. This attracts people who are looking to buy a blender to this particular site. The potential buyer is then shown all the random things that a blend Tec blender can blend. This show how durable they are and how reliable in hope that the viewer will then be sure of their decision to buy this particular blender.

The target audience for this site is anyone who likes to view cool things. The website holds your attention from the very start by using dry humor. Before every episode, Tom Dickson repeats the question “will it blend?” He then proceeds to blend an assortment of household items such as a coke can, an ipod, and some marbles. Basically if the company can make you believe that a blend Tec blender can blend anything then you will automatically want to buy one.

I belive that the company is effective at reaching their audience because this website is connected to the Blend Tec main website, where you will get your serious buyers, and it is also connected to the popular website You Tube, where you will get viewers who could potentially be buyers. You tube has a variety of different people on it at any one time. So in order to reach the maximum amount of those viewers, the company had to use a variety of different tool and appeals.

One of the main appeals that is used is humor. Tom Dickson uses dry humor by cracking jokes the entire time the blender is running. This appeals to the audience and captures and holds their attention the entire episode. Humor works well in this situation because the viewer will just watch one episode and then will want to watch all of them just to see if there is anything this blender can not blend.

Another tool that is used is the font. Although many people do not even think of this as a tool, it is. The “Will it Blend” website uses big bubbly fonts to make the page more pleasing to the eye. If the entire page was filled with time New roman font and just listed out the items the blender could blend, then the company would probably lose a lot of its clientele because the site initially looked boring. Instead the company used bright colors, happy fonts, and short paragraphs to create the feeling of excitement about this blender and to make the site look less daunting to read. This tool works because from the very first glance of the website, the viewer is captivated and wants to learn more about the blender, so they start to click around on the site.

This website also uses the tool of Tone. During each episode Tom Dickson has an excited tone when he is speaking about the blender and what it can do. This keeps people watching the entire episode justb to see if maybe this time the blender might not work. When people watch the entire episode, this helps the company to achieve their goal of selling more blenders because the viewer then will know of the power and quality of the blend Tec blender and will want to buy one.

This site is kairotic for its time because blenders are always useful. People will always want to buy a blender because they can be used for so many of your kitchen needs. Every newly married couple buys a blender. Anyone can run across this website off of youtube which is another big hit with people of all ages. This is a website that will attract all ages because of the funness of the series.

The way to freedom

It needs work on organization and other stuff!

Democratic change to a nation that is considered to be a dangerous threat to the world because of nuclear weapons, is highly favored in the world and has no better time or place for political support. Democratic nations are seen as the leaders of humanitarian aid, and natural rights advocates . They are like the older brothers maintaining peace among the younger sibilings. Fathi and Mackey address in their article about the oppression of the Iranian government upon their people, but more specifically towards: the university students.Writing about this topic of student protests' in Tehran, show to people globally that there are people that want to bring forth change in Iran, leaving behind a strong hold to religious context and moving towards a more free interpretation and nation. This message of freedom is mostly targeted at the Iranian government, but also is informative to the . These two authors get there reasons across through the statements of facts, quotes of political leaders, and a persuasive essay called:"Why is the Islamic Republic Afraid of the humanities?"

To make the audience get a feel for what these protests are like, there is a video posted showing students walking around with green balloons and ribbons, holding up the peace sign. The video's recording, is to be seen as if you are marching along with the students; you are joined in their cause. They use the video to connect us more to the protesters.It shows to us that they are protesting in a very peaceful and democratic way. There is no arms, fires, or fights with the armed forces in sight as is usually seen like that in Middle Eastern countries.

The images shown throughout the article of students covered with green bandanas as if trying to cover their identity, shows by the authors that they are that they do not want to be recognized by the authorities because of punishment for defiance.

In the beginning of the article and throughout the paper, diction is used vividly to show the desire of the students to have greater freedoms. The authors do this by including in the text slogans that were used in the student demonstrations like "Death to dictator!," referring to President Amaginejad and "Ahmadi, Ahmadi, this is the last message, the green movement is ready for uprising. Through the wordings of "cleanse" in connectin with the Islamic Republic government attempting to remove as a whole and discredit the field of study of humanities in universities. And by including quotes such as "lack of faith" by Ayatollah Khamenei, a former country leader to describe those of whom study in that particular field. These statements legitimize what these authors convey as injustices to the Iranian people as to not allowing them to choose in what to learn.

"Teaching the theories of the humanities in Iran's universities had been a factor leading to waste and destruction of public property after the recent election."By using these types of overstatements of the government leaders toward the study of humanities, the contrast is even more enlarged.

These uses of diction from the beginning of the article, help set up the tone of the article. Instead of including different slogans used by protestors, the authors with this tool help set up the contrast.They set the students and the Iranian government on opposites sides of the spectrum.They Iranian Government as evil; the students, as defending their natural rights. They do address the views of the opposition but mainly focus on the reasons that the students have to protest. The government doesn't want them to study sociology, political science, philosophy or law. They legitimize this by mainly adding a rhetorical essay of a student entitled "Why Is the Islamic Republic Afraid of the Humanities?" An excerpt of the essay notes that the Iranian government has tried to place much of the blame of the post-election protests on the universities and in specifically, the teachings of the humanities.

"Teaching the theories of the humanities in Iran's universities had been a factor leading to waste and destruction of public property after the recent election."By using these types of overstatements of the government leaders toward the study of humanities, the contrast is even more enlarged.

The authors summarized very well the issues at hand, but I think that it would have had greater impact if the article would have been published internationally rather than in the United States only. Most people reading this article, already agree with their actions as to why they want their voices to be heard, they understand the situation. On the main targeted audience, there was not much of an impact except a cancellation of a speech that was supposed to have been given by the Iranian President.

So Much Irony!!! - Draft

The Onion is the premier web site for news satire. This means that the site uses satire and irony to get their point across to their viewers. The Onion is meant for people who are at least 18 years older, as evidenced by the disclaimer on the bottom of the web page saying that the content is appropriate for people 18 and older. In general, the Onion is also aimed at readers who are well educated, intelligent, and follow current events well enough to understand the humor behind the text.



The text that I analyzed was a satirical article titled, “Heroic PETA Commandos Kill 49, Save Rabbit.” As the title suggests, zealous PETA members kill an exorbitant amount of people to save one measly rabbit. Even the title of the article resembles a title one might come across when finding news regarding tragic deaths at a shooting or battle from war.

So, to be a bit more specific than before, this particular article is targeting people who already think that PETA members have gone off the deep end. Those who think this will thus be able to fully appreciate the irony used in this article. On the other hand, those who support PETA will not be satisfied with the negative and extreme portrayal of PETA.

Before more analysis is done on this article I think it is important to preface it with some background information. When it comes to animal rights, the first thing that comes to mind is most likely PETA, which is short for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; and right or wrong, PETA has connotations with an organization that is crazy, overzealous, and blinded by their goals. People also believe that PETA members would rather draw attention to themselves than the actual issue they are fighting for when they are protesting. The article, as stated before, works off of these connotations by sharing a news report that is so outrageously violent and appalling that it represents PETA’s connotations at its strongest.

Irony is a strong component of satire, and it is subsequently used effectively several times in this article. First, there is the irony in the article itself. By simply reading the title, the main ironic point is understood: PETA killed 49 people to save one rabbit. JUST ONE RABBIT! One would argue (most correctly) that not even one human life, let alone 49, is worth the life of a single rabbit. Although PETA should value life on all fronts, PETA attempts to stick to its literal goals by preserving animal life at all costs! However it is ironic because humans, by definition, are also animals.

The news report also ends with an ironic twist. The animal that PETA saved with the cost of many human lives ends up getting viciously eaten by a fox the moment it is released into the wilderness! Not only is it ironic because the rabbit that PETA went out of their way to save ended up being killed, and was in fact safer in the hands of the so called barbarians than in the wilderness; but this ending was also very funny.

Another reason why this article is so effective in poking fun at PETA is because the story goes over the top with its already outlandish story. After the many deaths at the research facility, PETA attacks again at the funerals of the deceased. Claiming that the holes being dug were ruining the environments of moles in the area, PETA commandos struck once again, spraying machine gun bullets into the procession, killing more innocent, or not so innocent lives. One would expect the atrocity to end at the research facility attack, but the article surprises yet again with another related shooting incident! At this point the reader is willing to accept any other outrageous actions by PETA.

This false news report also makes PETA’s views on where they value life very clear by changing their diction and tone when describing both the rabbit and the humans. Whenever the rabbit is brought up, it is described very cutely and preciously. For example, the rabbit is described as being, “floppy-eared, having speckled gray longhair with an adorable pink nose.” Meanwhile the researchers are dubbed “filthy barbarians” and “hairless, human, animal-hating scum who so richly deserve to get their skulls smashed in with the back end of an automatic weapon.”

The article makes the contrast even more effective because the vulgar descriptions of the humans immediately follows the warmer description of the rabbit, or vise versa. In one instance, a PETA commando continues to comment on the cuteness of the precious bunny that was saved while she is described as, “walking past the charred and dismembered bodies of its captors.”

This also makes PETA members seem oblivious to the fact that the costs outweighed the benefits in this “rescue.” Either that or they value animal life much, much more than human life. Whichever the article implies or whichever the reader infers, both possibilities are terrible.

Although news should be unbiased, based on the way the writer describes the rabbit it is safe to say that the author is also sympathizing with the rabbit, to a degree. The PETA commandos may have been very descriptive in their cute analysis of the rabbit, but more importantly, the journalist also describes the rabbit cutely too. Basically, anytime the rabbit is mentioned it must be followed with words to reinforce the fact that it is precious and cute.


The strong imagery that is utilized in this article also reinforces the humor in the story. The article goes as far as to describe the killings of the research facility workers in the most vivid and gory way possible. As described by eyewitnesses, the victims were, “first immobilized by gunshot wounds to the knees before being shot execution-style in the back of the Head.” The rescued rabbit was also described in the cutest way possible to display the juxtaposition of affection between the rescued rabbit and the heinously murdered facility workers. The writer reported that the rabbit, after being fed a carrot, had its, “adorable pink nose wiggle up and down, up and down as it chewed, making cute little chewy-faces.” The violent attack that transpired was so gruesome that one person who was interviewed even made it comparable to the Korean War.

If the vivid descriptions weren’t enough, the article also came with two images to reinforce the ridiculousness of the article. The first image has commandos holding guns and the rabbit to illustrate the raid of the research facility. The second picture refers to another PETA raid made on another research facility. The building looks burned down and destroyed; and there is a rabbit sitting outside of the demolished building.


The essence behind this particular article, as is the same for everything on The Onion, is satire. The article imitates a normal news report made by the Associated Press and reports a false story. One cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of the story. The use of irony and imagery of the terrible scene is used in such a beautiful way as to make the reader cry tears of laughter and agreement - if one thinks PETA is crazy, anyway.

Cake....To Eat or Not to Eat?

Cake,in its original form, is a favorite dessert for millions around the world, so why wouldn’t it be a favorite in the digital form either? Author Jen of food blog “Cake Wrecks” has discovered this same love for cake in her blog about cakes gone badly. Just like after taking your first bite of cake it’s hard to make yourself stop, this blog has attracted much of its readers by letting them take a nibble, hooking them, and watching them come back for more! Jen has an uncanny skill for using modern speech and rhetorical tools in such a casual manner that many of her readers do not realize the addiction that has formed for this physical and visual desire for cakes. Without a target audience, Jen has allowed this blog to become an activity that is enjoyable for people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and situations. In searching through her blog, it is easy to see that Jen’s diction, presentation, and ultimate love and passion for what she does has created a strong dialogue between herself and her readers that keeps people coming back for more.
Filled of wit and charm than one of the beloved belly cakes displayed on “Cake Wrecks,” is Jen’s consistent use of dynamic humor. It seems that when pictures and comments couldn’t get any worse, or any funnier, than they are, the author finds a way to sneak attack and get the reading rolling on the floor with laughter. Besides the already comedic use of regular blogs and updates each day, Jen has been able to unveil some of the most creative writing of all time. Giving you the option to divert yourself away from the main page that is updated almost daily, the audience can also choose to go onto separate sections or categories away from the main page called “fan faves” and “the classics.” While some of these receive more attention than the others, once you read the titles about what you can go to, the temptation is almost too much to resist. Jen even finds ways to interact with her readers simply through entertaining titles, for example: The Oh-So-Gross Foot Cakes, When Gangsters Go “PC,” Naked Mohawk-Baby Carrot Jockeys, and When Brides Have No Budget (or taste) to just name a few. How could anyone fight their curiosity against this well used skill of connotation?

As the reader continues it is not hard to feel Jen’s lighthearted tone and good humor is what helps to solidify her use of kairos. By being aware of her readers, Jen has focused on making her blog very up to date. Using this blog as a casual form of journal, the readers are able to connect with the author on a more personal level, almost as a friend. Speaking candidly, and showing no mercy to those wrecks presented on her blog, Jen has created a form of entertainment for people of situations. The thing that was most appealing to me as a reader was the fact that there was no vulgarity, and only some innuendo, that allowed a feeling of comfort to me when sharing this with others. Evident through some of the pictures of little kids present on this blog, the audience can sense that there is no need for censoring or editing to make this appropriate for even young children.

Much of the success of this blog has come directly from Jen’s use of diction. A true proficient of interaction through her blog, Jen creates relationships with her readers through her various forms of humor. One of the most evident tools in her humor is the overstatement used in introducing the topics, witty titles, commenting on pictures, or even making fun of herself the sarcastic comments define her as an author. Playing a sort of guessing game with the readers, Jen posted a bunch of pictures of cake wrecks that were supposed to represent Texas (in the form of longhorns in cakes, pictures, and unknown objects) hoping to tip the reader as where she was; however, It wasn’t until that final picture that we experience some of Jen’s overstatements, “what, nothing? Tch. Look, I don't see how this jumbled mass of shotgun shells and strawberries could make it any clearer. [head tilt] Well, unless maybe you held them up to a mirror. Heh. Yeeeah.” This more subtle form of humor gives Jen even more interaction with the readers because it’s not enough that she is teasing the actual person who wrecked the cake, but she goes on to make fun of the reader. The best part about it is that she has made it so that the interpreted humor isn’t offensive, it actually just makes the readers laugh harder.

Another section of her blog that truly takes an immature point of view to find entertaining is called “oh poop,” where the use of imagery is quite vivid. When describing what was supposed to be hamburgers cooking on a grill, but were unfortunately not so realistic in their design, Jen was quick on her feet when saying, “Let's kick things off with a zesty selection of grilling poo, shall we?” Now if that doesn’t create a mental image, or stand as a rhetorical question, I don’t know what will! Similarly, Jen goes on to make some grammatical corrections from other bakeries that include notes on orders that weren’t supposed to be there or don’t have punctuation in proper places to give it proper emphasis. One of those cakes presented on this site is written “glad your ‘here’” all in sloppy cursive, as if that were going to make it better, and not only was the “your” misspelled, the quotations completely changed the meaning behind the cake. Jen commented by saying, “Is this person really glad you're "here"? No, of course not. Just look at the signs!” What a nice cross between her overstatements and rhetorical questions to add to the already bad display of cake décor.

Although Jen has a great knack for rhetorical tools, she also relies greatly on the visual appeal of her blog. If her blog was not visually appealing, and didn’t suit the type of blog she was creating the readers would not be intrigued as quickly as they are. Having dark backgrounds with bright writing and big titles help to bring the focus of the readers to the writing and pictures, proving that fonts and images are the key elements of her blog. With an easy to read font, tabs, organized categories, and just overall fun aspects of the site allow the reader to have freedom over whatever they want to do! Readers can find humorous cakes in almost every topic, each of them having their own witty title and pulling the reader from one section of the blog to the other. It’s amazing to see how quickly anyone could really get caught up in this blog because of all of the various things that the authors have been able to discover!

One of my favorite visual elements of this blog is the contrast of pictures. In our minds we have an image of how things should look when certain words or topics are being said; however, through the skills of many talented “wreckers” some of these words are bringing on all sorts of new meanings. In the multiple sections about bridal cakes we see the largest interpretations of the connotation behind words, and the contrasting visuals of what some brides had originally ordered but were unfortunate enough to receive. Some examples include an organic style cake shaped like a tree stump, but delivered looking more like a pile of mud that was dropped several times on the way there. Or there was the cake in the shape of a bride, but delivered without any appendages and looking more like a decapitated chicken! Once more, I don’t know where this woman is able to find these unfortunate excuses for cakes, but without a doubt they are the best at contrasting what should be a good cake and what constitutes a complete “cake wreck.”

Ultimately, without Jen’s sensitivity for quality humor and keen eye for “cake wrecks” we would all be wandering around wondering why anyone could make those simple mistakes or hideous decisions when creating things that are supposed to be both physically and visually appealing. Jen has been able to use all sorts of imagery on her blog both in creative designs, but mostly in her great commentary that brings a fun and light-hearted tone for the readers to enjoy. By applying all sorts of rhetorical tools, Jen has been able to attract readers of all sorts without having to force her blog onto others. Recognized for her great skills we also see that she has received awards for the funniest blog, as well as the best food blog! Obviously this girl knows what she is doing, and what the audience wants or she wouldn’t be as successful as she is and we wouldn’t love it as much as we do. I can only look forward to future postings of “cake wrecks,” and learn those things I need to do to avoid any unfortunate “cake wrecks” of my own.

MLK?

Rhetorical Analysis Draft

Intro

To study the reality, we study truth. This is the basic concept of history. To learn and analyze what happened in the past, which was reality, we study truth, the facts and data that we have today. However, only when the entire truth has been looked at, only then can the history studied be presented as reality. In the website http://martinlutherking.org, it states that this website gives the audience “A True Historical Examination” of Martin Luther King Jr. This technique is an example of the connotations that comes with precise choice of wording. The word ‘True’ from the website heading says that the website is true and therefore a good reference for whatever the audience needs. But, that quote implies that all other resources, books, historical literature and other websites as well must be false. To explain further, if martinlutherking.org’s statement is true, then all other sources must has the statement of “A False Historical Examination.” Therefore, as shown in the example above, through the use of literary and visual techniques, the writer manipulates the audience by presenting itself as a legitimate academic resource; which in turn meets the writers goal to try and reformulate the audiences’ past preconceptions of Martin Luther King Jr.

Image talk 1.

The visual techniques used in this website are basic yet informative of what the author is trying to do. The first thing one notices is the picture of Marin King Jr. in the center of the page. His picture, the icon of the Civil Right Movement, is positions so that when the targeted audience first comes into the page, they see his face. This will automatically give a positive feeling on the website since it will focus on Martin King. Another visual technique is the use of formality by the repetition of content. Shown through the use of the links which have titles and subtitles like, “The King Holiday: Bring the Dream to Life.” This heading again causes the audience to think positively of this website as an informative, therefore, factual website, before looking at any content. The formality of the website is also shown by the lack of designs on the page. It is filled with words rather than pictures or a glamorous background. This again, gives it a formal look and establishes its credibility.

Image talk 2

http://martinlutherking.org/images/king4.jpg

As one looks at the content of the website, there are many links that the audience can choose. They can choose to click on things like, “Civil Rights Library” or “Historical Writings.” This technique of choosing gives the user a nonlinear feel, or the ability for the audience to pick and choose what they want to learn. Which in turn has the gives a positive emotional effect on the reader in which they are not forced to learn any of the content, rather they are choosing to learn what they want. This again gives the author of the page authority and credibility in what they will have to say when the user clicks on the link. Also, at a first look it seems as though there is a lack of a author or heading of the group that created this site. Which also focuses the audience’s view on the content rather than who made the website. But looking to the bottom of the page, this is where the author places the sponsor of the website. Stormfront. This group is a white supremacist group. Seemingly like an informative site, as stated before, Stormfront, uses its website address and its relatively specific subtitles to give it more credibility. By not giving away its political position straightaway by locating the sponsors logo link at away from the main sections of the website.

Lit talk 1.

After the website image has established its credibility though the use of its focus picture and alignment of information, the author uses an array of different literary techniques to imform or persuade the audience to accept the given information. Since this website is written by a white supremacist, it is rational to say that the information will be skewed in one direction. And as seen in the content, the author, rather than disputing the assumed knowledge the reader has, gives new evidence and attempts to prove it. If a audience member clicks on the link “The Death of Dream: The Day King Was Shot” they will read about the day before and the night he was shot. Then it gives evidence quoted in Newsweek magazine,

There FBI bugs reportedly picked up 14 hours of party chatter, the clinking of glasses and the sounds of illicit sex--including King's cries of "I'm f--ing for God" and "I'm not a Negro tonight!”

This shocking evidence that author has quoted is revealing and probably new to the audience. But even though it looks to be quoted, the author does not give a credible reference or link to where the audience can find this article. Also, it claims to quote out of "And the walls came tumbling down," by Rev. Ralph Abernathy, but it again does quote a age number or direct reference. This use of the technique of narrowing the facts again proves that the author is trying to manipulate the audience by focusing on the negatives, attempting to change the audience preconceptions of Martin King.

Lit 2.

***Association of King to Communism***

***King to plagiarism, use of proof***

Conc.

The intended audience is the unsuspecting public. After reading what they have read, the website’s makers will have fulfilled their goals of putting questions about Martin Luther King in people’s minds. From the advertisement at the bottom of the page, it seems that the website has not been updated for half a year, but going to its sponsor’s website, it is a forum for the White Supremacist group, where individuals post daily. After the writer has established his credibility and allowed the audience to like the site due to its free use, the audience will then look at the content. Even if the audience is revolted and closes the website after reading a small amount, the author and the website has accomplished it goal. That is, to place questions into the audience’s mind of what they thought they knew about King.

Making the IOC a Laughing Matter DRAFT

the order and transitions are really sketchy... but the ideas are there.

In today’s economy, it seems like money has found a way to the center stage of almost every major event in the world. The election of the location for the 2016 summer olympics is definitely no exception. Major countries from all over the world spent millions of dollars just to be considered for the bid. With such a troubled world economy, is that kind of spending worth it? This is the question that Jim Caple, a senior writer for ESPN.com, raises in his article “Bidding war? What is it good for?” He effectively uses a relaxed and humorous tone to relate with his audience of sports enthusiasts and athletes. He then uses this connection to spark debate about whether or not it is worth the money and effort to move the olympics to a new location every 2 years. By using mixed media and including an interactive box where readers can post comments about the issue, Jim effectively creates an alluring page that keeps the reader actively engaged in the issue. He argues that it is not worth the money spent and that the olympics should be held at the same two locations every time. While he does suggest a solution and defends it, he does admit that there will probably be no easy solution to the problem.

One of Jim’s most effective tools was the tone that he chose to use throughout the article. Using jokes, humorous allusions to scandals of past olympics, and clever figurative language, he was able to relate perfectly to the common sports fanatic. To open the article he says, “Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics reached its peak this week when the most respected, influential and famous person in the United States traveled to Copenhagen to make the Windy City's case before the International Olympic Committee: Oprah. Oh, and President Obama will be there as well.” He also says, “Attending an Olympics is the most rewarding experience there is for a sports fan, especially if you can get inside the Dutch Heineken House.” By keeping to this light, joking tone, he not only relates better to his audience, but he also gives the whole issue a humorous, even ridiculous shade. By keeping the article funny and almost in a mocking attitude, he was able to increase the effect of his argument that the bidding war has become, in itself, ridiculous.

Part of the humor that Jim incorporated into the article used allusions that referred to controversies in the sports world both past and present. He mentioned that Sochi, the location for the 2014 Winter Olmpics, might spend $33 billion dollars on the Olympics and parenthetically joked saying, “what, are they using the same folks who built Yankee Stadium?” This reference will be effective for those who remember that the Yankee Stadium cost nearly 1.5 billion dollars to build, the second most expensive stadium in the world. This linked his argument with a past, but relevant, controversy. Many of his intended audience would be familiar with this and would get a good laugh from it, further helping him connect with his audience. He includes multiple allusions similar to this one. Whether it be a reference to the Tayna Harding incident in Lillehammer, Norway, or to the human rights violations in Beijing, he found ways to keep the article in a comical light.

As a suggested solution to the issue, Jim proposed that the Olympics should be held in the same two places, eliminating the costly competition of countries vying for the IOC bid. To support his position he argues that hosting the Olympics really isn’t worth it. He supports this statement throughout the article by applying different connotations to words and makes it obvious to the reader that he is doing so by using quotation marks around the word. At the beginning of the article he says, “sending your head of state to the IOC is considered as much of a prerequisite in an Olympic bid as a well-placed ‘contribution.’” He also uses quotation marks around words such as “volunteer” and “honor” to sarcastically emphasize his point that hosting the Olympics isn’t worth the cost, both financially and logistically speaking. He also uses irony in a few instances to further convince the reader that hosting the Olympics isn’t worth all the money being spent. Referring to the cities that are not chosen to host the Olympics, he writes, “These cities are the winners. The loser is the city chosen to host the Olympics.” By convincing people that hosting isn’t worth it, he supports his argument that it would be better to keep the Olympics in a set place; if people don’t mind not having it in their country, they won’t mind keeping it in the same place either.

Just keeping the article humorous and informative would not have been enough to start any real sort of debate however, and Jim realized this. He chose to incorporate a box at the bottom of the website that would allow readers to comment on the article and express their opinion. This made the article fluid in nature--it changed every time someone would visit the page. In essence the page was inviting people to start talking about it right then and there.

As with most ESPN.com articles, Jim also incorporated a short video clip at the top of the article showing part of a commentary about the issue. It included different authorities in the sports and olympic world giving their opinion on why President Obama should or should not back the effort to bring the Olympics to Chicago. It argues some of the same issues that Jim argues. Namely, is it worth the trouble for the honor of hosting the Olympic games?

Overall, Jim’s major appeal was to pathos. He effectively creates within the reader an emotional response to how much money and effort is going in to merely selecting the location of the Olympics. While he does use humor, the main response he tries to create is that of shock. He mentions that in the process of choosing the location for the 2014 Winter games Russia transported an entire skating rink to Guatemala as part of its bid for consideration. He used facts such as this to paint a picture for the reader of just how much money goes into this process. The kairos of the issue makes these facts all the more effective. In the middle of recession, should we be spending this kind of money? Also, at the time the article was published, the IOC was making it’s decision for the 2016 Summer Olympics, further adding to the maturity of the kairos. Naturally ethos and logos were in play as well. His appeal to ethos was mainly that he was a senior sports columnist at a world renowned sports network and that he had covered multiple olympic events over the years. His appeal to logos was evident his his explanation of why it would be better to keep the Olympics in the same locations.

While he was successful starting debate among his audience and bringing people’s attention to the issue, if he truly wanted a change to occur, he chose the wrong audience to convince. Convincing the average sports fan that the olympics should always be held in the same place will do to create awareness of the issue, but the members of the International Olympic Committee (i.e. the people he would need to convince) are far from being the average sports fan. They consist of military leaders, royalty, influencial members of major corporations, and political leaders from all over the world--a group not well represented among avid ESPN.com patrons. So if his purpose really was just to inform the sports fan community of the issue and to start a debate, then he was effective in his purpose. If he actually wanted to persuade people to change the way the Olympics are organized, he needs to aim a little higher.

How to be Interesting using Rhetoric

The definition of the word “interesting” is arousing or holding the attention; inspiring interest; absorbing. What makes something interesting? How can something interesting be more entertaining, more enjoyable? In today’s world, many people use blogs—online sources of communicating to a particular audience—in order to keep in touch with family and friends through stories, updates, news, and other forms of communication. In an article about blogs by Jonathan Morrow, entitled “How to Be Interesting”, Morrow gives advice and tips to his audience—bloggers—on how to be more creative at crafting blogs in order to promote an extraordinary blog for their readers to enjoy. The overall effect of this text on the blogging audience of the country is to appeal to their motivations to improve the way they construct their own blogs. This is accomplished through the use of a friendly, sarcastic tone, use of overstatements, and the use of metaphors and other forms of figurative language.

Throughout the entire article, Morrow keeps a friendly and approachable tone in order to allow his audience to become immersed in it and to hold their attention until they finish reading it. For example, Morrow says to his bloggers, “Yes, you’re the blogger…you’re the one with talent…you’re the one working your tail off.” In this case, Morrow talks his audience as if they were his friend. He employs a colloquial language to further appeal to his readers in order to give them the impression that he is not just an average, boring teacher of improving blogs. What Morrow uses is very simple, yet very effective because his readers can more easily connect with what he is telling them. Furthermore, in telling his audience to be honest in their blogs, Morrow states, “Be so honest that you’re scared to click the ‘post’ button. Be so honest that no one knows what to say in the comments section. Be so honest that your lawyer tells you to stop.” Morrow connects to his audience here because he understands how his readers feel “scared” to post extremely personal or surprising information. He also incorporates some humor concerning the readers’ lawyers which creates a more lasting impact on the reader while giving them something to laugh at. Finally, Morrow advises for his reader to “Unleash your inner dork.” Readers of this part of the text can relate to this tip because deep inside, everyone has his or her inner dork present. This approachable tone lets the reader delve into the material rather than shy away from it. In conclusion, Morrow’s use of sarcasm and an amiable tone glues the reader to his article and keeps them stuck there.

Morrow relies on his use of overstatements to amplify his rhetorical purpose as well as to reinforce the humor present in his article. For example, in encouraging his readers to “be wrong” in their blogs, Morrow says, “The world is full of people trying to do the right things. It’s become so common that many of us are bored by it.” Obviously, not everyone is indeed looking to do the right thing. What about the people who have landed in prison due to murder? Morrow uses this overstatement to add to his aim in getting his readers to be perturbed by doing what’s right, and instead, to do something wrong for a change. Furthermore, Morrow teaches his reader to “make people laugh”: “Bloggers are far too serious. We’re so busy trying to teach that we forget to entertain. As a result, large portions of our readerships fall asleep.” Virtually nobody is ever going to fall asleep due to boredom over someone’s blog post, and Morrow understands that. Not everybody is posting blogs full of boring lectures and serious content. By utilizing this certain overstatement, Morrow’s rhetorical purpose is strengthened because of his use of over-dramatic words such as “fall asleep”. Finally, Morrow uses an overstatement and imagery to enrapture his readers’ attention on how to sophisticate blogs by telling them, “Many bloggers crank out posts the way slaughterhouses crank out chickens. They’re ugly things, fit for nothing but consumption.” Morrow heavily over-states the situation of the blandness of bloggers’ posts. While this may or may not be the case in the blogging world, Morrow’s overstatement is effective because of the incorporation of figurative language, comparing posts to how “slaughterhouses crank out chickens”. This is a bold call to action that his blogging audience should strictly stay away from boring, bland posts by spicing their blogs up in some way. As evident in these examples for his article, Morrow’s overstatements aid in his purpose to make bold assertions on blogging in order to extremely motivate his readers to improve their blogging ways.

Finally, Morrow uses some figurative language to add vividness to his lessons as well as to cause a memorable impact in his readers’ minds. For example, Morrow employs the use of a metaphor stating that his bloggers should “offer [their] readers an aspirin” and also telling them, “Your reader has a headache, you have a cure, so you offer them that cure in the form of a blog post.” Here, Morrow hopes to create a vivid image in his readers’ minds which will help them to remember that blogs should be used to treat an attention-deprived mind. This particular metaphor allows for an exciting read and helps the reader to understand Morrow’s point more easily. Morrow goes on in his figurative language using a simile for his readers: “Many blog posts are like miniature textbooks; they’re instructive, well-organized, and put you to sleep with their lack of enthusiasm.” By drawing the comparison between blog posts and textbooks, Morrow hopes to instill in his readers that a boring blog is just as good as any old used Chemistry textbook. His readers can apply this in their blogging exploits and avoid writing textbooks, but rather, writing something fun, enthusiastic, and entertaining for their audiences. Also, Morrow uses a personification as well as more imagery in exhorting his blogging readers to make an impactful story which sticks, telling them, “I’m not talking about the little anecdotes that pepper the blogosphere. I’m talking about the story that haunts you on your deathbed.” By using a combination of imagery and personification, Morrow’s exhortation of bloggers telling an extremely memorable, thoughtful story sticks strongly within the minds of his audience. It is apparent that Morrow wants his fellow bloggers to craft thought-provoking stories, not just little “anecdotes that pepper the blogosphere.” By using these forms of figurative language, Morrow’s audience can become deeply enveloped in what he has to say, helping immensely with his underlying rhetorical purpose.

The article “How to be Interesting” is indeed full of many interesting rhetorical tools used to get Morrow’s aim across. Because of the large amount of people communicating through blogs today, this article is extremely kairotic and relevant. Not only is this article intended for just bloggers though; it is available for anybody who wishes to expand on their own writing and even speaking. Morrow realizes that there are many bloggers and writers out there and, in turn, develops this article to appeal to them. It is important to recognize the rhetorical devices present in Morrow’s article in order to discover why and how they work for his intended audience. By use of an inviting, sarcastic tone, overstatement, and some forms of figurative language, Morrow successfully motivates his audience to improve their blogs in a fun, easy, yet fully developed format.

"Personalize Your Wedding" Draft

Personalize and Perfect Your Wedding

The Daily Universe publishes a magazine called the Bridal Guide. This magazine is seen around the BYU campus with a beautiful bride is a cream-colored gown and simple bouquet in her hand. Because the BYU campus is drowned in the dating attitude, this captivating cover draws attention to this magazine. But the Bridal Guide isn’t just for looks. The Bride Guide gives quality advice on many concerns in a wedding. It provides information to act on the advice it gives, namely through local advertisements. The Bridal Guide inspires each soon-to-be bride to personalize her wedding by advertising many options for the basic wedding elements: cake, dress, decorations, locations, photography, rings, and more. This magazine benefits brides, grooms, mothers of the bride and groom, bridesmaids, and nearly everyone involved in a wedding.

The Bridal Guide appeals to the audience in two different ways: through ethos, pathos, and logos, and through tools and appeals. I think that tools and appeal are a form of kairos, but addressed and handled more specifically.

Ethos:

The publisher of the Bridal Guide is the Daily Universe. The Daily Universe compiled advertisements and articles to create this magazine. The credibility of the authors flows together. Each author goes along the same line: A perfect wedding that’s your very own personality and that allows you to be happy. The credibility of the advertisers is sometimes hard to find. These advertisers show websites and phone numbers. Some advertisements say, “Chosen Provo’s Best.” Publishing their information shows credibility because if their advertising works, someone is sure to contact them and expect what they advertised. The Daily Universe has credibility because it’s been around forever. People assume the Daily Universe is a reliable source.

Pathos:

The intended audience of the Bridal Guide is obviously the soon-to be bride. Each bride pictures her wedding as the perfect day with the perfect dress, cake, and decorations, just to name a few. It’s shown in Hollywood fairytales how perfect a wedding can be. Every bride wants to be the princess of that fairytale. But the perfect wedding is not easy to plan. The Bridal Guide addresses almost every subject associated with weddings, from dresses to changing the name on a driver’s license. Planning a wedding, let alone a perfect wedding, can be extremely overwhelming and stressful. But with each concern laid out in one place, in this one magazine, it’s easier for the bride to be organized and less stressed. Not only is this magazine a stress-reliever, it’s fun to look at! The pictures and snap shots of couples and brides help each bride to imagine her own wedding. Each woman thinks of herself in her own princess gown with her own prince charming. The author appeals to the emotions of the audience by displaying images that relate to the audience.

Logos:

The logical appeals of the Bridal Guide to the audience are shown in a lot of the pictures. For example, there is an article that talks about picking out the engagement ring. It gives the different kinds of diamond shapes, colors, and carats. It gives advice on what to look for in the best ring. The advice this articles gives is logical because it says, “When a diamond is well-cut, every facet will reflect upon it.” This statement is logical because every bride wants a beautiful to show off to her friends, and every man wants to be macho and buy a nice, expensive ring for his bride. Another example of logos is shown through pictures of different cakes. Each wedding must be altered to fit the personality of the two people getting married. Even the cake has to show personality. In this magazine, there are two pages of different styles of cake including traditional, modern, whimsical, and even a groom’s cake. It makes sense that, as a wedding style changes to fit a personality, so must the cake.

The Daily Universe compiles articles and advertisements that display rhetorical tools. Rhetorical tools put things in a new context for the audience to have a greater understanding of the intent. These tools allowed the audience to better relate to the subject. The Bridal Guide uses many rhetorical tools, all in different ways. Here are some of the ways these tools are being executed:

1. Tone - "Ten things you should know before buying your wedding gown" This is a subtitle to the article, “Here Comes the Bride.” The article is about doing the necessary consequential steps to finding the perfect princess gown for a bride’s wedding. You have to have the right attitude and mind set for finding the perfect dress.

2. Diction - "Choose a cake that fits your personality" The author of the cake article is trying to communicate that cakes can have personality too. A cake has to go along with the theme of the wedding, and must be exactly what the bride and groom deem important.

3. Connotation – “Fairy Godmother’s Bridal” Cinderella is the epitome of princess. With her most beautiful gown for her wedding, the connotation of the title of this shop is that in here, you will find the most beautiful gown – just for you.

4. Imagery - "The Skyroom's breath-taking views and delicious menu make it an ideal location for your wedding celebration." I immediately imagine the perfect scenario of my wedding with my favorite food in a beautiful romantic atmosphere. I bet every other bride is picturing her perfect scenario as well. These words help spark images into the minds of the audience. I also noticed that in the magazine, there are two full page advertisements for Skyroom Wedding Celebration but they look completely different. All the same information is on there, but the placement and style of the two pages is totally different. I thought it was interesting. I wonder how many people look at one ad without ever seeing the other.

5. Over-statement - "The Perfect Bridesmaid: A happy bridesmaid makes a happy bride" A happy bridesmaid DOES NOT guarantee the happiness of a bride. I think this is definitely an over-statement. But one’s BFF who never ceases to serve as a bridesmaid can contribute to the happiness and stress-maintenance of the bride.

6. Denotation - "Weddings on a Budget" Here at BYU and many other colleges, I imagine the majority of people getting married are tight on money. So the phrase “Weddings on a Budget” takes on a new meaning. Everyone wants the best wedding they can afford. I think this article draws students into it. All students are looking to save and earn money.

7. Figurative Language - I actually used a picture for this. There is one picture of a very happy couple. I imagine myself with the person I love, and it makes me happy! I would want to keep a portion of that feeling wherever I go by having a picture of it. Everyone knows that a good photographer is vital for good memories and snapshots. So the figurative language of this picture is that a wedding needs a good photographer.

8. Personification - "Fun and flirty, this cake can go for any shape and color." Can a cake be flirtatious? I don't think so. But looking at a cake that is well designed can evoke personal emotional, which affects how you think and act.

Without ethos, pathos, logos, and rhetorical tools, I do not think there would be any such thing as a rhetorical analysis. The Daily Universe uses all of these methods to capture the audience with exquisite photographs, wedding gowns, and different styles of cake, just to name a few. The Bridal Guide inspires each soon-to-be bride to personalize her wedding by advertising many options for the basic wedding elements: cake, dress, decorations, locations, photography, rings, and more.