Is your name on a coke bottle?

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/is-your-name-on-a-coke-bottle-find-out-here

Remember when Coca Cola bottles had our names on it? I personally don't like Coca Cola or soda in general, but every single time I went to Target or Walmart I would search through all the bottles to see if it had my name on it, and every single time I would buy it. I would go home, put it in my fridge and never bother to drink it. I just, for that brief moment that I found it in the store and saw the name 'Julie' on that label, felt a connection between me and that bottle (sounds weird, but it's true)

This is exactly what the advertisers of Coca Cola were aiming for. They used the pathos appeal with the name recognition so that we would feel a connection to that bottle, even though there were hundreds and thousands of other bottles with different names on it.

And as if that wasn't enough that just my name was on it, they also promoted 'Share a Coke with a friend'

http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/packages/history/share-a-coke/

So now that every time I went to the store, I not only looked for my name, but my sisters, or my dads, or my best friends. So I would walk out of the store buying a bottle for me, my friends and my mom. This new slogan appealed to me in a way that sharing soda would make me happy and help me make friends.

#makeithappy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibgvkXm9Qkc

When I was thinking about things to post on this blog, I thought of advertisements. How do companies portray their product? What do they focus on being their selling point?

I came across this Coca Cola ad. The focus of this ad was spreading happiness. In the ad, it seems that Coca Cola solved the hate in the world and instead spread happiness. I doubt that Coca Cola thinks that spilling soda on electronics can solve all the bad things in the world, but they can at least pretend.

At the beginning of the ad, negative words, angry and sad people take up the first few seconds. After the Coca Cola spill is presented, it seems to make the difference and negative words turn into positive words and the background music that plays is peaceful and can't help provoke feelings of happiness. As you can see, this ad relied heavily on pathos to get people to attract customers.

Now that Coca Cola has got their audience to feel good and happy, the idea is that this promotes their product and now a bunch of people are going to buy the soda.

Rhetorical Analysis of Grey's Anatomy

With the release of one of the most intense episode of Grey's Anatomy last Thursday, I decided to examine this show more closely with a rhetoric point of view.

This show, created by Shonda Rhimes, first aired in 2005. With 11 seasons, and still going. A TV that follows fictional surgeons, their surgeries and the drama that comes with it. This show is popular among adults and young adults alike. But what is the appeal? Why are we so drawn to this show and continue to watch it week by week?

Although there are different ways to rhetorically analyze this show, I'm going to focus on 'pathos'.

The 'pathos' appeal is all about the emotional reaction of the viewers, and connecting it back to their values. Although I'm not pre-med, or even had a major surgery, I'm still very interested in this show and find myself connecting to the characters in every episode. The drama in this show is essential, and even though unrealistic and a little over the top, it gives the show it's biggest appeal. The romance and betrayal in this show is primarily what the non-pre-meds seem to be drawn to the most. Without it, would just be medical terminology that only med students would understand and there's nothing suspenseful about that.

Even though the life of a real life surgeon isn't as glamorous. dramatic and ideal as the show makes it out to be, but that's what makes this show stand out.

Disney's 'Frozen'

Many of you may seen Disney's latest movie, Frozen. Released last year, kids and even teens raved over the movie and it was considered a success. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, the main character, Anna, teams up with a mountain man, Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven. They are on a journey to find Anna's sister, Queen Elsa, who has frozen their kingdom in an eternal winter.

As I was reflecting over this movie, it made me wonder why it was so successful and what the appeal of it was. Using rhetoric, and ethos, pathos and logos, I concluded that the reason this movie was such a success was that it was a Disney movie, a love story, and the highest grossing movie of 2013.

The ethos appeal was the fact that this movie was a Disney movie. Most (or all) of us has seen at least one Disney movie in our lifetime and they never disappoint. Disney is recognized for it's classic movies that instill good values and positive messages.

'Pathos' is used in the love story aspect. Even though this movies (spoiler alert) didn't end like your traditional movie, and showed that the love between sisters can conquer anything, it still managed to get an emotional appeal out of kids, teenagers and even adults.

The last appeal, which is logos, is demonstrated in the fact that this movie was the highest grossing movie in 2013. And that wasn't just a coincidence. With that fact, it shows that there is obviously something about this movie that is attracting people and is a must see.

Interfaith Immigrant Legal Services

Over this past weekend I volunteered at a buffet for the group Interfaith Immigrant Legal Services. While volunteering at the event I was able to learn about the organization and what they do. It is an organization with the purpose of helping immigrants get the formal paperwork they need, whether it be to get authorization for work, or to become legal. The only goal of this organization is to help people. They rely greatly upon donations and volunteers to do all of the amazing work that they do. The greatest take away that I received from this buffet and fundraiser was how illegal immigrants become classified as refugees once they are already here. At the end of the event a video was played. This video was a once illegal immigrant from Mexico who became legal after appealing to the courts. It was a very touching video, and quite astonishing at what she went through. To become a legal immigrant and many others besides her, to become refugees, they had to appeal their reasoning to the courts. By this, I mean that they needed to present the situation they are in and why they should be classified as refugees. In this presentation the use of rhetoric would be greatly beneficial. By using rhetoric these people would be able to present their points persuasively and using ethos, logos, and pathos. This would greatly benefit the appeals because they would be able to present the direness of their situation better to the judges. Overall rhetoric greatly benefits many people.

Group Discussions and Dialogue

When deciding for housing last year I was talking with my roommate and we decided to join a living learning community. We looked at them and decided to join the living learning community, Leadership and Social Change because it was not related to either of our majors and something we were both interested in. Going in I wasn’t really sure how I would enjoy the learning community. I am a rather quiet, reserved person and don’t really take a big part in group discussions. Back in October the week following midterms my learning community held a group discussion in the lounge on my floor. The discussion was taking place because of the sit ins happening on campus during mid terms weeks. My RA is Jonathan Pulphus and he was leading the sit in. We had the chance to come together and share our views, use mediating language and comment on other people’s views. The point of this was to bring out a dialogue and allow people in the learning community to understand different viewpoints. This discussion was slotted to last for an hour but ended up lasting for three hours just because so many people had so many different points and wanted to share. A great deal of rhetoric was being used that day and in many discussions to follow about the same topic and different topics. Rhetoric is the art of persuasive writing or speaking. While we were not necessarily trying to persuade each other, we were always arguing for or defending our points of view. Using rhetoric and logic was very useful in these discussions because it allowed me to better defend and make my points.

Rhetoric in Cover Letter Writing

In the past few weeks I have been writing multiple cover letters as I apply for numerous summer jobs. In a cover letter, the goal is to display the parts of your personality that set you apart, as an applicant, which your resume just cannot do. The cover letter makes you more human to the person reviewing your application. In order to do this effectively I have found myself moving away from telling what I am and more to rhetoric. In my most recent cover letter I had two pages to tell the hiring manager about myself. Instead of telling certain traits like, I am hard working or I want to constantly improve, I told stories that demonstrated the traits I wanted to present for myself. I argued, but without really arguing. I tried to persuade without being to persuasive. I used rhetoric and logic to make my points and make myself sound how I wanted to sound. Not only does rhetoric help my writing in cover letter writing by allowing me to make points without telling, but it also makes my writing better. I feel like my writing flows more naturally from point to point when I use rhetoric. Throughout this course I have found that I am able to use the devices we learned in the beginning of the course to my advantage. I try to use rhetoric every time I write now. It is a better way to write and make points.

Speaking of Transplants...

April is national Donate Life month and as it is a subject close to me, I thought I might as well make a post arguing the importance of joining the cause (Rhetoric, right? This totally relates to class.)

For those who have never heard of it, Donate Life is an alliance dedicated to increasing the donation of organ, eyes and tissue nationwide.  Their ultimate mission is to get as many people as possible to sign up as donors--basically to save lives.  Often, organ transplantation is a greatly overlooked niche of healthcare, despite just how many people it affects. In 2013 alone there were 28,953 transplants performed. 

I'll start with a little bit about transplantation itself.  At this moment, more than 120,000 people in the United States are awaiting a transplant.  This situation is subjectively a very tedious and usually very trying one.  Simply to make it onto the list one must be extremely ill--there is no pre-list or just-in-case insurance.  Just to make it into being considered for a place on the wait-list, the life of a person must already be severely impeded by the illness affecting them, enough so that a board analyzing your case will find you a worthy candidate.  When that point is reached, the patient must then undergo the lengthy process of appealing and preparing, which is generally a multi-day all-day process in which the already very ill patient visits between various doctors who analyze and prepare them for the transplant (hopefully) to come, in great detail.  Once the patient has been awarded a spot on the wait-list and have undergone the lengthy preparation process, all that is left to do is quite literally wait on the ring.   Patients can wait anywhere from months to years to receive an organ, growing sicker and sicker all the while--and some never do.  Go back to high school, when you applied to college.  Imagine all the stress surrounding every application filled and sent, the exhausting thrill of spending day after day visiting potential school after potential school--and then remember the anxiety that weighed you down day after day waiting to hear back, not sure it would even be good news.  This is the closest comparison I can make to awaiting the call that says they have got an organ for you--except instead of worrying about whether or not you'll get into your dream school, you are worrying about your life.

So what can you do to help?

Often, transplantation is overlooked because of the lack of education about it.  While a few organ donations can be made from living donors by volunteering (kidney, or a portion of liver, lung, intestine, pancreas), signing up as a donor simply means that when a person dies, they give doctors the opportunity to use their organs to save the lives of still-living people who need them to remain alive.  Many people are uncomfortable considering their own mortality and that is normal--but it makes organ donation a hard thing to discuss.  The importance however, is unchanged.  Death is hard to consider, yes--but by signing up for organ donation you can find comfort in the fact that it will bring life to many more people (and yes, one organ donor can save up to eight lives--and up to 50 if tissue and eyes are donated as well).

There are many misconceptions about transplantation as well--questions of things such as religious correctness and who can donate.  The most important thing to know is that anyone can donate, regardless of age or other medical conditions.  There is almost always a way you can save someone else, and transplant doctors are specifically trained to make certain that the organs used for transplant will not harm the recipient.  Additionally, there are very few religious traditions that condemn transplantation, and ultimately only do in the most orthodox settings.  It is also important to note that if you are a donor you are not considered such until you are deceased.  This may seem clear, however more often than not people forgo becoming a donor because they fear this status will make their lives less valued when they are admitted to a hospital.  This is simply untrue--a doctor's first priority is always to you. 

This may sound over-exaggerated and cheesy, but the simple fact is that organ donation saves lives and anyone can do it.  I hope this cleared up some facts and misconceptions and I am happy to answer any that anyone has been left with.  You don't use your organs once you are gone, but someone else can.

If you are interested in registering to become a donor, click here.

Sources:
http://donatelife.net/
http://www.transplantliving.org/community/patient-resources/frequently-asked-questions/

First Ever Head Transplant

Today in class we talked about how the first ever head transplant is going to take place in as early as two years from now. I found this to be really interesting because of how dangerous this procedure would be and just overall how they plan to do it. In doing further research on head transplants I found this won’t be the first one ever attempted. With the amount of failed attempts, I am surprised they still have not had a successful head transplant.

In 1954, Soviet surgeon Vladimir Demikhov attempted the first head transplant on a dog. A puppy’s head was transplanted onto the body of a larger, older dog. Demikhov had attempted this many other times after but the longest survival was only six days. Many died after two. In 1970, a somewhat successful head transplant took place in which one head was replaced by a different head led by a man named Robert White. This took place at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. Robert White did this head transplant on a monkey which after the transplant was able to breathe with artificial assistance. After 9 days the immune system rejected the head and the monkey died. Many head transplants have been attempted since and with how technologically advanced we are today, we are just years away from the first successful had transplant.

 In the year 2013, a man named Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neruomodulation Group in Italy, proposed we do the first human head transplant. Through surgical procedures, he wants to extend the lives of people whose muscles and nerves are degenerating, or people whose organs are infected with cancer. According to Canavero, the most difficult part of the procedure with not be the head transplant itself but instead fusing the spinal cord and preventing the body’s immune system from shutting down after rejecting the new head. He predicts the surgery could be ready as early as 2017.

Sergio Canavero plans to announce his plan to attempt the first human head transplant at the annual conference of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons (AANOS). This conference will be help in Annapolis, Maryland, in June 2015.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/human-head-transplant-two-years-away/
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530103.700-first-human-head-transplant-could-happen-in-two-years.html#.VUEPPu90zmQ

Rhetoric in Speech

As a medical scholar, I have been preparing for my medical school interview coming up shortly. I've noticed certain aspects of my preparation that relate to this class. For example, I use rhetoric in my speech rather than my writing to convince my interviewer that I am a strong candidate for medical school. It is interesting to see the connection of rhetoric on paper compared to talking. Devices of rhetoric that I use for my interview include talking about relevant and significant experiences that show the type of person I am. Instead of saying things like, "I am caring" or "I want to be a doctor", the use of rhetoric allows me to show this through different stories I share. Another important aspect of rhetoric in talking that cannot be seen on paper is the fluctuation of voice. Through the voice of an individual, qualities such as passion can be heard in your voice. This is very important because it is an effective persuasive technique to use for an audience. This relates to my multimedia project and the presentation we gave in class. We had to turn the words on a paper and use rhetoric to convince an audience of the argument we were making using our voice. This can also relate to other aspects of jobs and employment because it is important to show your employer why you are good for the job. Whether an individual knows it or not, he or she is using rhetoric to do this by utilizing different techniques to persuade an audience.

Can Film Trailers Ruin their Films?

Trailers are an advertisement preview for a film that will be shown in the future in theater. Trailers for films have existed for decades. This relates to class to because trailers are supposed to be like an introduction in an essay. The introduction to anything is supposed to get a simple explanation about the topic. The main point of a trailer is to get the auction interested in the film and to highlight what type of film it is going to be. The recent film trailers have been either spoiling major plot point, show a cliff note version of the film, or they are falsely advertised. A few past examples of trailers that showing too much information about their films is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Terminator Salvation, and The Amazing Spider-Man. The Hobbit trailers showed play by play of everything that happens in the film. Terminator Salvation showed that one of the main characters was a terminator and it was supposed to a twist. The Amazing Spider-Man is the best example, as showed a major character death, things that are not in the final film, and scenes that set up the next film. A few examples of trailers that are misleading is Drive (2011 film) and Hercules (2014 film). Drive was marketed as an intense action film when it was more of a neo noir film. Hercules showed about the first 20 minutes of the film, but after that it was becoming different film than expected. One of the best trailer that was released recently was Interstellar as it peak my interest and give me a basic idea of it is going to be about and do not spoil anything.

Link: http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/15/5-reasons-why-trailers-are-ruining-movies-4941834/

The Importance of Feedback.

I recently went to writing services to go over my draft, and found it very helpful. This gave me the idea to write about the importance of reviewing your draft and getting feedback.

I think feedback is like constructive criticism. When you review your own paper, you are less likely to find mistakes in your writing, possibly because you have a bias towards your own work. Having someone else look at your paper could help your find these mistakes that you overlooked.

Feedback helped when we did our PowerPoint presentations. Before we gave our presentation, we did a peer review. Before the peer review, my PowerPoint was a mess. I found that the feedback I received was very helpful as I was able to understand what I needed to improve in my PowerPoint, and what was effective in my PowerPoint. After our Presentation we were asked questions about our proposal. These questions could help us understand what points need to be made clearer in our research paper.

When asking for feedback, the most common question I ask is “is this point clear” or something similar to that. I think that this is an important question because when you are evaluating your own work, almost everything makes sense to you, because you are the one wrote it, and understands it. When you ask someone who has just seen the project you have been working on, you will get an unbiased view on the clarity of your work. 

The Importance of Annotation

While reading a passage or article, many people will use a skill called “annotating” to help them improve reading comprehension. Writing an annotation helps the reader get a deeper understanding of the reading because he or she is engaging in conversation with the author. Writing an annotation allows you to ask questions, make arguments, point out important details, find the thesis statement, and identify writing which requires further research. It also pushes the reader to think critically, focus on key points, and read with a purpose. There is a difference between annotating and taking notes. Unlike notes, the information is composed of fewer pieces in order to keep it organized. Annotations are more specific and directly to the point opposed to searching through pages of notes. Through annotations the reader gains a deeper understanding of the text. There are many benefits of annotation. For one, it makes the reader an active participant in the context. It also helps the reader understand the flow of the writing. It helps the reader compare their own ideas with the ideas of the writer. You are challenging, connecting, appreciating, and amending the context. Most importantly, you’re taking the authors context and transforming it into your own text and thoughts because annotations can be a guide or a pathway to your own writing. Writing an annotation can be more beneficial than reading a review, or using SparkNotes, CliffNotes, etc. A high level of critical engagement with the context is expected of college students, but for any level of reader, annotation aids in comprehension and analysis. Annotations make an excellent study tool and will be beneficial to students in the future.

Reference:

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1960.

Using Rhetorical Analysis and Writing Conventions In My Major

Earlier today I came across an article called “Rhetorical Analysis and Nursing Writing Conventions” and found it to be interesting because I can relate my major, nursing, to our English class which will be beneficial to me throughout these next three years here at SLU. A rhetorical analysis is not a summary of a source of writing but is identifying the components of the style in which the author is writing. These components are made up of many different factors such as conventions, audience, purpose, and context. This is what makes up a rhetorical analysis which relates to the nursing profession. If you’re wondering what conventions are, they are general agreements about basic principles or procedures. Organization, formality, Informality, accuracy in data, correct grammar and mechanics, and understanding of medical terminology, are all examples of conventions. In nursing one of the most important things is being able to effectively communicate with patients. The average person reads at a 5^th grade reading level so medical terminology and medicine dosage could be hard for the average American to understand. Throughout the semester we have learned the importance of knowing who your intended audience is. A nurses intended audience can be anyone working in a hospital setting (nurses, doctors, therapists, surgeons, etc.), patients, families, and community resources. We have also learned about purpose and context in our English class. Purpose is making sure that your intended audience understands what you are saying and trying to get them to gain knowledge on the topic you are informing them about. Context includes all the cultural, social, and historical factors that go into a piece of writing. It is important to look at every aspect in a broader sense when writing in nursing in order to ensure patient safety and the best possible care. This also allows nurses to provide holistic care which allows nurses to accurately record information and report back to other health professionals.

References:

Black, B.P, & Chitty, K.K. (2011). Professional nursing concepts & challenges. Maryland Heights, Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
Kolin, P.C., & Kolin, J.L. (1980). Professional writing for nurses in education, practice, and research. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Company.
Webster, M. (n.d.). Conventions. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conventions

What Makes Music Powerful?

   This idea has been on my mind for quite sometime now and I think I have the answer but I won't reveal it until the end. Based of some ideas from this class, there are a few factors that I can think of that would make music more powerful.
   First off one of the more talked about topics on the blog, originality, seems to have a pretty big influence on the power music has to some people. For instance dubstep appeared to hit its peak when there were very few artists that were mastering the new genre. They created something different that all of the sudden took a large audience in at a rapid pace. The reason why some individuals begin to bash the genre now is because most of the music sounds very similar, and thats most likely due to the fact there is not many other different ways to recreate the sound that was made in the beginning. Originality is kind of hit or miss though as some indie artists are never really recognized and their music does not have a huge impact on those who are more into the mainstream.
   Speaking of mainstream, another factor that seems to carry a great deal of weight in the music industry is the artist that lies behind the music. Knowing that you are listening to one of the most popular music artists and that maybe you have grown up listening to them most of your life would definitely give that artist a boost in musical pathos and ethos. Individuals who get emotionally attached to singers or other musicians are most likely going to have those same feelings towards their music.
   So while these two factors are rather important to music power, the one that I have put at the top of my list is nostalgia. It kind of goes along with the idea that emotion is a very powerful aspect in music. Essentially what I personally believe is that music that can bring an individual back to a certain happy place or time is the most powerful. Music that can conjure up pleasant memories as well as good times in the present resonate the most with me. Maybe I'm just an old man at heart, but that is my take on the power of music. Obviously there are other influences that determine the power of music, but I for sure cannot cover them all here. What do you think is the most important factor? Is it the rhetoric associated with the artist? Our opinions probably differ since everyone has unique tastes in music.

Fan Fiction and Originality

Not long after our discussions about originality, I came across this intriguing article and bookmarked it to talk about later.  The article itself is a discussion of a form of writing called “fan fiction,” which the author defines as stories that makes use of characters and settings from other professional creative works.  This definition is greatly expanded upon throughout the article, but most basically, it is a fan-written extension of a creative universe that is not strictly their own.  This of course raises the question of originality and copyright and whether this creative outlet is acceptable—just as we have discussed in class.  Like the NPR broadcast we listened to, the author, Lev Grossman, raises the question about art originality.  He asks, “Is art about making up new things or about transforming the raw material that's out there? Cutting, pasting, sampling, remixing and mashing up have become mainstream modes of cultural expression, and fan fiction is part of that” (Grossman).  It was at this point in my reading of the article that I made the connection between the two, and I found it to be just as thought provoking in the article as it was in the broadcast.  

For me, it raises a question of where exactly the line falls.  No one makes money off of fan fiction; another point made in this article—and many well-loved authors support the form of expression, including JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyers.  It is written and shared purely for the enjoyment of the fans who read and write it.  It is compared to music quite a bit—bands play cover songs because they enjoy the music and wish to share it.  Which again—leads to copyright.  The author says that in the US, copyright is checked by “fair use,” which has several qualifying factors.  Most basically, these factors include whether or not the work competes with the original work for income and whether it is “transformative.”  There are of course authors who are against fan fiction, who do believe it is an infringement of their copyright, or argue that emotionally the characters are theirs, and they are uncomfortable with them being appropriated.  

In perhaps the most interesting part of this article, Grossman comes to the conclusion that neither side is actually wrong.  Historically, fan fiction has been a part of writing.  Examples given include Shakespeare who borrowed his characters from history and Virgil who took his from The Odyssey.  Even today fan fiction is a prevalent part of our pop culture, present in shows such as ABC’s Once Upon a Time, which quite literally expands upon the fairy tale universe created by Disney and German tales.  And again, it comes back to originality; is this a reflection of the lack of it in today’s society, as noted by Mark Ronson in the NPR broadcast? And is it necessarily worse than or different from the sampling and sharing of music? I think that fan fiction is often tabooed by its nature in more traditional English settings; however, I also believe it brings an interesting and complex argument to the table that should be discussed.  What thoughts do you all have on this topic?

The Importance of Setting Goals

As the school year comes to an end, it is important that we remain focused and push ourselves even harder when it comes to our school work and studies in order to end up with the grades we want. I know that as summer gets closer, all I can think about is getting the school year over with but it will be very beneficial if I set goals and stick to them for these next few weeks.

According to Wikipedia the exact definition of a goal is, “a desired result a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.” Ever since I was a little girl, my dad has told me that in order to achieve anything I have to set goals and really work for it. Goals are what help us take that next step forward in life. There are many reasons why setting goals for the rest of the school year will be beneficial to you. One of these reasons is they help you stay focused on what is important. You can have all the potential in the world but without staying focused on what you want to achieve, your plan is useless. Another reason is that goals help you measure your progress. It is important to see how far you have come because it will motivate you to work harder, and feel good when you have eventually achieved your goal. Next, goals help you remain undistracted. Instead of trying to balance too many things at once, you can focus on one or two things. Lastly, goals help you overcome procrastination and give you motivation. It gives you something to put 100% of your effort into. These are some of the reasons I think everyone should set goals and work hard to achieve them these next few weeks.

Reading for 4/14

This link is your reading. Sorry it's a bit late.

Rhetoric is life

While contemplating what to write on this blog, I came to a realization: rhetoric runs lives. It's all around us, and it defines who we are as people. As people become more connected, it is only becoming more prominent in our lives. Rhetoric is constantly used by politicians, businesses,  non-profit organizations, and many other groups to convince us on their cause or to buy their products. The rhetoric we allow to affect us impacts all aspects of our lives, whether it be family, economic situations, or simply one's perspectives on life.  This rhetoric we are constantly being bombarded with dictates every aspect of our lives. 

I think it is good to be conscious of the rhetoric all around us, the same rhetoric which at times takes advantage of our emotions, our logic, and our ethics. We can all be wiser and smarter people once this is done. This is definitely one thing I am glad this class made me realize. 

Rhetoric in Fast and Furious 7 (Spoiler Alert)

The tribute to Paul Walker at the end of Fast and Furious 7 reminded me of different rhetoric devices we have discussed in class. It also reminded me of how these rhetoric devices apply directly to a multimedia presentation of a video. The tribute contains many metaphors and powerful images that stand as a remembrance for Paul Walker. At the end of the movie, the character of Paul Walker, "Brian O'Connor", is seen with his wife and son happily playing on the beach. This image portrays a strong sense of foreshadowing because it shows that Brian will most likely not continue in the rest of the franchise. Another rhetoric that is used is when Vin Diesel drives away from the beach and Walker catches up with him. Both are stopped at the stop sign and Brian asks, "You're gonna leave without saying goodbye?" Vin Diesel replies and says, "No matter where you are whether its a quarter mile away or halfway across the world,you'll always be with me and you'll always be my brother." The rhetoric of this dialogue is vastly important because it has further implcations that Paul Walker is not with Vin Diesel on this earth anymore but will always be in his heart. This is greater emphasized then by the following scene which shows Walker and Diesel driving off into two separate roads meaning that they are on two separate paths now. Additionally, the music choice was the song "See You Again" which played during the tribute. This reminded me of different rhetoric especially for a video because of the powerful choice of words, songs, and images to appeal to the audience through pathos.

Can we change the world?

We're in college.  We are researching all of these problems that afflict our local communities.  Sure, were doing all of this for a grade, but we are doing legitimate work towards forming viable solutions to the problems that we are trying to tackle.  We have put in hours of research, and have prepared presentations where we actually pretended that our audience was the policy makers that we would need to convince.  Sure, we are in college, but we are doing the things that anybody would do when faced with the kind of problems that we are studying.  What does this all mean?  It means that while we might be doing this work for a grade, we have the power to actually make a change in the world. 

What if we took our presentations to the policy makers that we had in mind when we prepared them? Would they laugh at us?  I don't think so.  We have logical arguments, and we have put in the work that is required to convince an audience that what we are saying is right.  Now will we take our proposals in front of a group of policy makers?  Most of us probably will not, and that is fine, but it is important to note that we have the ability to do so.  All of that knowledge comes back to the things that we have learned in class.  Rhetoric is something that existed off my radar before this class, but I now find myself applying the concepts that we talk about for work I do in other classes.  We might not be changing the world today, but we have the skills to be able to change the world tomorrow.

Importance of Research Papers

I did a research paper in high school over climate change. The paper was a lot of work and it took a lot of time, but looking back I think I gained a better understanding of climate change doing the paper than I would have if I were to have been taught it high school.  The project also increased my interest in the topic. Before the project, I knew what climate change was and was kind of interested, but after I did all the research over it, I found it more interesting. I’m sure everyone can relate to this in some way in the research project we are doing now.
 Another reason why I think that doing a research paper is useful is that it teaches you how to research. In many careers, especially careers in science research is a vital skill.Being able to do a research paper allows you to demonstrate a greater understanding of a topic compared to taking tests. You could take a test which you study for by memorizing a bunch of facts, but in the end you only demonstrate ability to memorize. If you have a good memory, you’ll probably do well in school, but that doesn’t always mean that you understand what was being taught, rather you remembered things in class. Writing a research paper requires you to understand what those facts mean, and to be able to apply them in your argument. 

Here are a couple of hints for 4.1 from some of your emailed questions.

Here's a good way to think about the beginning of the paper:

Introductory paragraph (overview of the paper) which ends with the 

Thesis Statement and is followed by the

Background of the Problem which you will address in your

Supporting Arguments

 

Here's a good way to think about sources:

 

Your 12+ sources should either combine to co-support an argument or form sub-points of the major arguments. 

If your argument was:

Students in this class are excellent students and should do well. 

And you have 7 sources for that argument, which, for instance, are 1-2 "There are students in this class" 3 "Students in classes should do well" 4-5 "Students who are excellent should do well in classes" 6-7 "The students in this class are excellent". All of those sources are slightly different, but would each contribute in part to a single argument.

 

Using Rhetoric in Everyday Life

A basic definition of rhetoric is language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable. There are many different uses of rhetoric which can be found in day-to-day life due to the fact that one, there are always going to be people trying to convince other people of something and two, people want to make their point in an argument or convey an idea they have. Two of the most common places you can find rhetoric are in advertisements are political speeches. Advertisements are constantly influencing us in magazines, newspapers, television, and pretty much everywhere on the internet. Ads use arguments to convince people of an idea which use basic elements of rhetoric. These include critical thinking, assumptions, counterarguments, types of appeals, logical fallacies, and audience. They also use metaphors, hyperboles, and anaphora to make the idea seem more attractive to the audience. Likewise, in political speeches the uses of rhetoric get the audience to agree with the points and ideas the speaker is making. They do this without offering information with any intellectual value. An example of rhetoric in political speeches is that the speaker will try to convince the audience that the other person running against them is unintelligent and doesn’t deserve to be elected, or is not fit for the position. This gives the other person a negative connotation but with no fundamental meaning. They use this strategic type of communication for one main reason which is agreement of their target audience. These are just some of the ways rhetoric is used and seen in everyday life.

 

Sources:
https://edurhetor.wordpress.com/about/rhetoric/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhetoric

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/32181.html

 

Are New Ideas Fading?

   I'm watching the Walking Dead season finale right now and from watching all of the previews of new movies and video games it seems like most of the visual entertainment that arises nowadays are either sequels or spinoff series. Now i know that from the podcast that originality is defined by re-inventing ideas from the past, and by that definition sequels and spinoffs are not a crime against originality by any means. Yet, what does this mean for fresher, newer ideas?
   Of course while talking about fresh ideas its probably necessary to define what exactly constitutes a fresh idea. I can see why some individuals may see fresh ideas as any idea, but what if I proposed that a fresh idea is not the least amount of past inspiration, but the most amount of past inspiration. When individuals are creating sequels and spinoffs their primary inspiration comes from the world that was already created for them or by them. The rest of the story is of course taken from their own minds creation, which is a whirlpool of ideas gathered from their past. So take out the primary inspiration of the previously created world and what do you have? A complete work of art that is the product of the mind's unparalleled capacity to take the vast experiences of the past and make it into an extraordinarily unique universe.
   In my mind it seems like the prevalence of unique universes are fading. Do you think I'm right by saying this? It may be a rash statement since I'm basing most of what I said here from a 90 minute T.V. watching experience and only my own knowledge. However I would like to hear your opinion on what makes a "new idea" and if these are indeed fading.