Blog 8 (Week 4) (Editorial) ~HaLlOwEeN~

Article: "Death Row in Pennsylvania"

Source:  NYTimes Editorials Page

Published: October 28, 2011 

    Though simple and concise, this editorial expresses the authors opinion towards the civility of Pennsylvania through the faltering "death row" system. Lawyers in Pennsylvania do not get paid enough to defend the cases of the said criminals and so there are 208 women on death row but no one has been put to death since 1999. He feels that death row should not exist because one) it is too expensive for nothing, and two) he believes it is barbaric. 
    It is not credible because it is an editorial piece and not an informational piece, therefore the information is bias and is only information needed to back up this specific view point.  This means not all the information is there to back up all the factual back ground that would need to be known in order to understand the whole story. 
    The context of this piece is that this is a current issue which the author clearly felt as if it needed to be addressed.  His purpose was clearly to inform his audience (people in general, or citizens of pennsylvania) about a current issue in the justice system or to sway them to believe in the same thing he does.  The author does achieve his purpose because this editorial was published in the NYTimes a nationally well known newspaper. 


Rhetorical Devices: 
  - Statistics; he uses statistics to further establish the credibility of his argument...
  - ethos; goes hand in hand with the statistics. 
  - memory... when reading this editorial it appeals the audience's memory of what death row is, of what lawyers are/what they do, and the justice system of pennsylvania.

Blog 7 (Week 3) (Visual.. Commercial) 10-24-11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2VZgJ4AoM
(Link to Brooke Shields Calvin Klein Jeans commercial from 1981)


          In journalism class sophomore year we were learning about controversy in the media, especially in the involvement of commercials.  I chose to do my AOW on this commercial in particular because it really stood out to me and I thought it would be a good commercial to analyze.  
         The focus point of it is to promote the product of Calvin Klein Jeans.  Brooke Shields is only 15 years old in this commercial, yet she holds herself in a way that makes her seem as if she was in her early twenties.  The context of this commercial was that the 80s was an era of fashion and new trends.  Calvin Klein saw her youngness as a variable they could play with in a commercial. Although she is young, they have her sitting in a stance that almost alludes to sexuality or seduction.  Since the company's target market in this case was the younger population they used her in the commercial to reel in customers.
      The purpose of the commercial was for Calvin Klein to gain more customers who were in their early twenties and their teen years... which is also their target market (or main audience in this case).  The goal was to have more juveniles see the commercial even though the audience is still everyone who watched TV back in the 1980s.   I believe the commercial is not credible because the company created the commercial just to sway the minds of anyone watching it.  They want as many customers as possible, whether the jeans are as amazing as Brooke Shields claims they are or not, the commercial does not prove either way.  Therefore it is not a credible source of information regarding Calvin Klein jeans. 
    The creators of the commercial did achieve their purpose because this commercial went viral, it caused years of controversy, and is still well known today... even though it is 30 years later.  The commercial became famous and it DID bring in customers for Calvin Klein.


Rhetorical devices used:
        - logos.. The commercial uses logos to express the "logical" act of buying Calvin Klein jeans, "Brooke Shields is wearing them, so obviously YOU need to buy them as well"
        - exaggeration - when shields says her line in the commercial she exaggerates how much her jeans mean to her by saying nothing comes between her and the jeans  (this also coincides with her seductive tone she uses when expressing her love for CK jeans)
        - simplicity - the commercial is simple, short, has one line, and then it ends.  It draws enough attention to it for a viewer to watch it and understand the point of the commercial without waiting for a big introduction to end or for the "plot" of the commercial to hit the screen. 




  
         

Prompt on "Books Bound in Human Skin?" article

Prompt:

Read the following excerpt, "But here's the secret: the book is bound in human skin. A number of prestigious libraries - including Harvard University's - have such books in their collection". The idea mentioned in the excerpt is that years ago some books were bound in the skin of humans and the books are still displayed to this day in public places. In a well written essay, develop a position on the ethics of human skin bound books being displayed in public places today.  Support your position with evidence from your reading, observation, and/or experience.

Blog 6 (Week 2) (Article) 10-17-11

Title: Armless, Legless Man to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro 
Author: Courtney Hutchison
News Source: ABC News (website)


   This news article is about a man who was born with no arms or legs, but has climbed one of the hardest mountains in the world.  Mount Kilimanjaro has been his dream and he proved that even a disabled man can climb a mountain. The context is that this man was able to achieve something great and has given hope to people who have lost limbs through war or are in a similar situation as him.
  The author's purpose was to get this achievement out to the public to show the miracles that can be achieved through determination.  The audience in this case is the general public, or maybe people in the same situation as this man who are disabled. This article could give them hope.   
  The credibility is established through the news source because ABC news is a well known public news channel as well as a website that provides truthful information for the nation.  I feel the author did achieve it's purpose because many people read ABC news and this story is becoming more well known.


Rhetorical devices used:
   - Pathos (readers are pulled in through the story.. an emotional miracle for a disabled man)
   - Quotes from the man himself, ethos (the credible information from the primary source)
   - Diction (use of words to describe the mans appearance/other descriptions, creates imagery)

Unit 1 Reflection Questions

Essential Question:


What makes an effective Argument?
   An effective Argument is comprised of a few essential elements.  It includes a claim that MUST be an arguable statement that will be proved through clear and credible evidence as well as a stable support for this evidence.  Using invention strategies to gather good support and evidence makes for a good Argument.  Analysis also plays a role in the development of an Argument, the writer must analyze what they are claiming to be true based off of their opinion. Through this analyzing process and using invention to obtain evidence one must use available sources (intuitive or systematic) to build the most effective argument.


REFLECTION OF Ess. Q: 
       At the beginning of the course I had had a basic understanding of what Argument is, and how it is used in a formal essay.  I have learned how to form a proper thesis as well as how to use my inner knowledge to connect with available outside sources to form different supports to my evidence in my Argument.  At first I was unsure of what invention was, giving the word a different definition in the point of view of a rhetor was hard to grasp.  Yet now I am able to depict what intuitive information I am able to gather as well as various sources to create my Argument.  I also have gained experience in the ability to write a proper claim, one that is arguable and one that has a strong view point that has a strong support system to provide an essay full of persuasion and credibility. 




Assignment Question Reflection Question:
       The assignment thus far that has helped me the most in AP English was the period in class where we spent the whole time analyzing the Pablo Picasso painting called "Guernica".  This assignment helped me a lot because it was a class activity that was interactive and got everyone involved and it taught me how to analyze visual work as well as anything else I would like to analyze.  For example, I was confused for a while on what "context" was. I had people explain it to me but for some reason the idea did not take root in my head, but doing this assignment in class really helped me distinguish the different parts of an analysis and really showed me what context was as well as figuring out purpose, subject, and picking out rhetorical devices.  It was also intriguing to hear what my classmates had to say about their analyzations because not only did I learn from my own analyzation but I learned from my peers as well which really helped me get a better understanding of how to analyze and pick out context. 


   

Blog 5 (Week 1) (Article) 10-10-11

Title of Article: "Research on Bleeding and Heat Could Help            Soldiers and Outdoor Workers"

Author: Susannah Jacob

Source: New York Times

This article is about a new medical miracle involving the control of blood and temperature in order to cure soldiers, policeman, and other workers who might have suffered internal bleeding.  The process involves using a wooden box to "pool blood" using pressure, into the legs in order to decrease blood flow to the most important organs which are in the torso area.  They then increase the temperature of the upper half of the body in order to eliminate the possibility of hypothermia and damaging the vital organs.
This article was written in the context of the war that is going on in the Middle East where thousands of soldiers are dying from blood loss every day. Now there is a new treatment to aide them as well as workers in our country itself who are suffering from similar injuries.  The author's purpose of this article was to inform her audience (the general public) of new possibilities for the safety of our family and friends over seas and who work with difficult jobs in the US. 
This article is credible because the New York Times is a world known published newspaper, an article like this that is full of facts and statistics HAS to be proven true before publication.


Rhetorical Elements:
   - Statistics
   - Logos
   - Ethos
   - Arrangement (of quotes, information, structure...)
   - Anecdotes of other people
   - Organization
   - Audience
   - Point of View (Objective)


The author did fulfill her purpose because the NYTimes is a nationally read newspaper, the public is bound to come across this article.  

Blog 4 (week 4) (article) 10-3-11

Article: Occupy Wall Street Protesters: We Are Americans
Author: TJ Winick
Source: ABC News (online)

    Hundreds of people have been arrested for protesting in New York City concerning the corruption of our democracy and the loss of human rights. This website ABC News is credible because there is a video with pictures from a primary source photographer that shows what actually is happening as well as this website is an established news source credible nation wide.
   The article was written at this time because the protesting has been going on for the past few weeks and is still going on while also spreading to different cities.  It is a current event with our current government which makes this article lush with present information about our country.
   After I had read through the article and watched the two minute video about this event I came to the conclusion that the author's purpose was to inform the nation of not only what the police have been doing, but of what and why citizens all over the country have been exploding with anger towards our government.   The audience the author was trying to connect with would be the general public because this information is needed by everyone in the country.

Rhetorical elements:
 - Logos
 - ethos
 - exact quotes

  The author accomplished his purpose because some of the footage from the video has gone viral on youtube and more and more people every day are becoming aware of these protests.