Elements

Today, make sure you read "Elements of an Effective Layout." What's the analytical tool in this article? How do the different elements apply to the ad you chose? Are there any that you don't quite understand? Which ones seem to be the most important? Least important? Now that you're thinking about these things in terms of layout and their effects, does that just ruin advertising for you altogether—like seeing the Mickey Mouse backstage at Disney World with his head off? Only maybe less life-scarring.

The analytical tool is to attract attention. One obtains attention via balance, proportion, movement, utility, clarity, and emphasis. The ones that are most important are emphasis and clarity/simplicity. An advertisement's goal is to sell something so if there are many contrasting features, the consumer will pass it up. I think balance and movement are less important because if it's an advertisement you want it to stick out in someone's mind, you just don't want them to be able to smoothly read through it like a book. An ad makes someone impulsive. (Yes, it's supposed to be somewhat smoothly read in a since that they can easily access the appropriate information.)

Advertising is what pays for all of our television so it's not ruined for me! When I have money, I love reading through the ads and looking at materials that I don't need but know that I can buy if I want them. Black Friday ads are my favorite! However, I will not subject myself to standing in a line for hours for an object...I would much rather be enjoying all the food I can think of stuffing my belly with or taking a nap.

Democracy of Goods

We're going to put those ACT Reading Comprehension skills to use today. Read "The Appeal of the Democracy of Goods" (on Angel). What is the analytical tool (or thesis/main point) that's being talked about (read the Analysis Overview for more information on finding the analytical tool)? How is it applied to advertising today? How can it be applied to the ad you chose to analyze?

 

The analytical tool is eliciting equality no matter how wealthier one person is. The way in which they elicit equality is through Cream of Wheat. It is an uncostly item and most can afford to consume. You don't have to be rich nor do you have to be poor. It can be applied today via computers/laptops/netbooks. Most people in the United States have a computer-operated system of some sort. A smart phone even has the capabilities of a small computer. The emphasis of equality is that nearly everyone has one-you don't have to be rich to have one. It can be applied to the ad I chose to analyze to be sure to incorporate something that is interesting for everyone and not just a certain population.

Advertising

For today's blog, I want you to talk about an ad—on TV, in a magazine, on the radio, on the internet, etc.—that you find particularly effective. What makes it effective? Did it use humor? Was the product/service showcased well? Did you end up doing what the ad wanted you to?

Similarly, what's an ad that you think is especially ineffective? What stinks about it? Did it turn you off the product altogether?

 

For me, the food advertisements get me-if the price is right. Olive Garden's all-you-can eat soup, salad, and breadsticks or pasta bowls get me everytime. Chili's and Applebee's 3 for $20 gets me. They don't really use humor to sway me. It's the reasonable and affordable price that lures me in. I want to get the most for my money, as any consumer would. Thus, if the price is right, I will do what the ad wants me to do.

 

The ads that are especially ineffective to me are ones that have corny humor like Progressive commericals, Arby's "good mood food", Sonic commercials, Burger King, and many more. The commercials aren't really informative at all-they are pointless. They just want consumers to see their name flash across a screen (maybe as a subliminal message) to entice the consumer to want to get in the car and drive to Sonic or wherever right away. Some of the things that they advertise are for things that are cheap but incredibly unhealthy (aka huge burgers that are filled with thousands of calories, hot dogs that have all kinds of weird crap on it, etc.). That turns me off. If I want to buy junk food, I will just go do it-I don't need to see an advertisement for it. Now, on the other hand, if it's for something healthier for a decent price. I did go to Sonic when they started their frozen yogurt promotion and it was delicious, but a little more than what I wanted to spend.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive Essay Summary

For your blog post today, I want you to provide a brief summary of your persuasive essay. What is your thesis? What are your main arguments? What are your counter-arguments? If you've written a strong thesis statement and topic sentences, this should be a fairly easy post. If your essay is still pretty rough, this post will help you clarify the points you are trying to make.

 

THESIS: The most efficient choice in which to obtain a Bachelor’s degree is through a public, four year institution.

 

MAIN ARGUMENTS: Private school is not efficient because it's extremely pricey. Junior college is not efficient because there are transfer dilemmas that lead into other problems.

 

COUNTER ARGUMENTS: Private schools are more prestigous and have a small student to faculty ratio. Most college students can get out of private schools within 4 years if they take a full schedule. Junior colleges are more affordable and more convenient. (However, with juco's, one must have it exactly planned out on what classes they need to take before transferring to a 4 year college to avoid transfer dilemmas.)

MLA

For today's blog post, I want you to just provide an MLA-formatted list of the resources you are using for your persuasive essay. This is a pretty easy post for the day AND it helps you prepare your works cited page for your essay.

Works Cited

Grove, Allen. "5 Reasons to Consider Community College." About.com. About.com, 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2011. <http://collegeapps.about.com/od/choosingacollege/tp/Community-College.htm>.

Grove, Allen. "The Hidden Cost of Community College." About.com. About.com, 2011. Web.

24 Oct 2011. <http://collegeapps.about.com/od/choosingacollege/tp/hidden-cost-community-college.htm>.

"A Breakdown of College Education Costs." Guide To Online Schools. SR Education Group, 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2011. <http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/articles/financial-aid/college-education-costs>.

"Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences, 2009. Web. 24 Oct 2011. <http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=77>.

"The Pros & Cons of Community Colleges." Scholarships.com. Scholarships.com, 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2011. <http://www.scholarships.com/resources/college-prep/choosing-the-right-school/the-pros-and-cons-of-community-colleges/>.

Style

Style

Read Section II in The Elements of Style, "An Approach to Style (With a List of Reminders)" (pages 66-85). Just as exciting as the last ones, right?

OK, so which of these are helpful tips? Which ones make you say to yourself, "I never thought of that before, but it really just makes sense," like you should have known it all along? Which parts seem counterintuitive to you—the ones that go against what you think about writing? How will they help you in revising your paper (due Monday, btw).

 

Overwriting is a flaw of mine. I think it's because I'm used to writing in APA format so we are taught in our classes to explain our topics in that someone has never been introduced to a particular topic before. So when I write about something else, it becomes overkill.

 

Revising and rewriting is something I hate doing, but must be done. I will never ever handwrite a paper again. I get to typing and don't stop-that's how my papers get done. Therefore, by the end of the paper I don't want to look at it anymore-I just want to be done with it already. I find it best to have someone else that has experience with writing papers (perhaps more education than I) help me.

Effective Argument

Read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in your yellow Seagull Reader book. It's kind of a lengthy one, but it's a good read, I promise. Go ahead—I'll wait.

Done? Ok, now that you've read it, I want you to do some analytical thinking. Who's he addressing? What is he addressing? What is the tone he's using to address these people? Taking all that together—audience, purpose, tone, context—what in it is effective? What's ineffective? Where does he utilize logical fallacies (they're in there, I promise) and where does he make sound logical arguments? How does he balance the ethos, pathos and logos parts of his argument?

And, perhaps most importantly, how can you utilize any of this in your paper?

He's addressing more than just the titled clergymen. He's addressing the whole human species. He makes references to Thomas Jefferson stating that "...all men are created equal"; Abraham Lincoln about segregation; etc. The tone that he is using a diplomatic and objective tone. He isn't speaking only with his heart, he's speaking logically and politically correct. He speaks with factual information and leaves out unnecessary information. He could easily cuss out the whole white race, but he simply wants them to understand and visualize what they are doing to the minority. The effective speech derives from how he is directly speaking to the clergy about biblical phrases and stories. He is what we call "calling them out" on their own fallacies.

He is ineffective when he speaks of the Negroes being there before everyone else and wondering why they are exploited out of the church and society. Yes, they were there and there's no argument for that, but what society is doing now and how to reach a solution is what's important.

He utilizes the three appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos when talking about the church. The church is supposed to be the most non-judgmental place one can go and in the South in that time period-it wasn't.

Logos.

refute, and should make up the bulk of your argument. WHEN HE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT BIBLICAL STORIES.

Appeal to logic. An argument based on facts and reason. This is the hardest type of appeal to

Ethos.

everyone subscribes to the same belief system, thus making determination of what is “right” and

what is “wrong” very subjective and harder to assert successfully. WHEN THE CHURCH WAS TURNING THEIR BACKS ON THE BLACK POPULATION.

Appeal to morals/ethics. An argument based on what is right or wrong. Remember that not

Pathos.

pull readers in and make a connection, it is less persuasive and much more subjective than logically

based arguments. WHEN HE WAS SPEAKING OUT ABOUT HOW THE NEGROES WERE THEIR FIRST DOING ALL THE "DIRTY WORK".

I can utilize all of these things in my paper, but the most important aspect is to remain objective instead of subjective. Appeal to emotion. An argument designed to play on the reader’s feelings. While good to