Post 6

Grant-Davies’s essay “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents” provides an analysis of rhetoric similar to that described in “Backpacks vs. Briefcases.” Grant-Davies points out the key ingredients for rhetorical messages: rhetor, exigence, audience and constraints.

The author differs slightly in his explanation of exigence by establishing three questions when evaluating it: 1. What is the discourse about? 2. Why is the discourse needed? 3. What is the discourse trying to accomplish? For this image, the exigence is telling us that journalism is losing focus on newsworthy information and the very purpose of its formation. It suggests that tabloids and celebrity gossip are tainting the news feed of our pop culture and overshadowing more important social, political and economic issues. We live in a society that is so influenced by celebrities that we lose sight of real problems and topics.

The intended audience for this image is those that understand the value of traditional news and reporting. It is the people who do not get caught up the gossip of public figures and can separate what is relevant from what is nonsense. This audience seems to be more educated as citizens and news seekers.

A constraint with this image, and with the media in general, is what constitutes news? There are so many different definitions of what is deemed “newsworthy” that, to some people, this information about Russell Brand and Katy Perry could be considered worth media attention. However this photo challenges the belief that celebrity action, especially in this miniscule act of un-following someone on Twitter, could be dubbed “newsworthy.” 

Post 5

Being an advertising major, I found “Backpacks vs. Briefcases” to be very relevant to me in particular. It addresses the overall basic format for developing and implementing advertising campaigns, something constantly reiterated to us studying this discipline. Although we repeatedly evaluate and criticize things such as appearance, personality and media based on our preconceived notions of societal, cultural and personal definitions and connections, advertisements tend to be the most overwhelming and intrusive sources of rhetoric. We are exposed to an immense amount of ads in a given day; as an aspiring advertiser, it is my goal to create the most salient and effective message as possible.

This process can be better explained by looking at a television commercial for example. Each commercial has a specific message or reason for being broadcasted. Reasons could include the launch of a new product, a company’s attempt to reposition or rebrand themselves in the consumer’s mind or to build awareness or support of a specific cause. This is what Carroll calls exigence. In order to effectively reach the audience emotionally and rationally, the exigence of an ad must be clear and compelling.

In order to achieve the most profitable results, companies target specific audiences on which their ads are to focus. This is done by comparing the values of your brand, the market shares, the psychographics of consumer segments and finding a group that is most beneficial to communicate with. For example, many pharmaceutical and medical ads are shown during game shows and other daytime TV to target elderly people. These products are meant to assist this audience, and this audience is known to be watching television during these specific programs at their designated times thus enhancing the overall interaction between brand and audience.

When developing an ad, there are many constraints to consider. The most hindering constraint is money or budget. Not every company can spend $3 million for a Super Bowl spot. Therefore, agencies are forced to strategically plan spending to augment reach and results. Another restraint is trying to convey a sometimes complex message in a short 30 second TV commercial or a one page print advertisement. It is the challenge of the company’s advertising agency to figure out how to overcome these constraints to build successful campaigns.

Post 4

James Porter's essay, "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community," raises important points regarding the composition of written materials and the interpretations of different audiences. All written documents are the products of multiple predetermined ideas and intellectualities. Imagining writing as isolated or individualistic would be limiting the vast diversity of information compiled to form one new document.

Porter also addresses the idea of discourse communities and the language and communication forms displayed by these separate groups. He claims that in the broad scope “readers, not writers, create discourse.” The context of certain words, phrases and definitions can vary significantly across different discourse communities. This is why writing not only comprises a multitude of previous theories and ideas but also evokes an extremely diverse reader interpretation depending on the reader’s community.

When reading a sentence, the wording tells the reader of implied information sometimes independent of the sentence’s intended meaning.  The essay gives the example sentence, “John married Fred’s sister.” This implies that there are two beings, Fred and John, who both exist, and one being, Fred, has a sister.  This adds to the depth of writing as more than an individualistic act.

The author identifies two main problems with understanding the intertextuality of a written piece: limited range and unclear context. People generally have trouble reading outside of their designated discourse communities thus giving them limited range to interpret. Readers also have trouble with relating the original documents to the context of their time, again causing dissonance in the literary understanding of a work.

Post 3

Both Greene's and Kleine’s articles discuss strategies in writing well-written research essays. Greene points out in his article that he prefers what he calls the conversational inquiry approach based on argumentation analysis and design. Kleine takes a different approach, which he describes as being a heuristic hypothesis relying on hunting and gathering research.

Greene suggests that we should engulf ourselves in conversation in order to formulate effective writing and arguments. The key is to find relevant issues up for debate and fully understanding the facts surrounding these issues. According to Greene knowledge is built on other knowledge, so the proper research must be completed to comprehend the issue and its context. By knowing the evidence for both your argument and opposing arguments, writers are better able to construct a more concise and persuasive reasoning.

Kleine sets out to discover the logic mainly students have when writing research papers after his experience of observing a group merely copying information from textbooks and encyclopedias in a library. Kleine differentiates between two ways of collecting information inspired by primitive survival techniques: hunting and gathering. A hunter knows exactly what he/she is looking for and will focus narrowly on finding that information. A gatherer takes a broader approach and sifts through a large amount of data to uncover whatever he/she can find.

Greene seems to be addressing college students in his article, while Kleine’s article appears to be tailored to professors and educators. The latter part of Kleine’s article title “How can we get students to join us?” provides evidence that it is intended for teachers. Greene’s article could be for both students and instructors; it provides more of a general overview of arguments to the readers.

Post 2

Based on previous academic writing courses, my opinion of Wikipedia as a source was very skeptical. A vast majority of my previous instructors discouraged all of their students to even think about citing Wikipedia. However after reading this essay and hearing about the benefits Wikipedia can offer, my formerly cynical view of the website has improved significantly.

I initially thought of Wikipedia as a website where anyone could just log in and change any information in a negative way. As I have learned, it is much more elaborate than just a falsified encyclopedia. The information given on a Wikipedia page all must be cited, giving the material more credibility to the reader. I also never knew that you are able to view every edit ever made to any article. This can again help readers determine the validity of the facts and help editors and revisers know what changes have been made.

Although sometimes citing a Wikipedia page as a source can be questionable, using the citations provided by an article can be a very useful database to get more insight on the topic. This makes Wikipedia a great starting point for research-based writing.

The acts of reviewing, conversing, revising and sharing give Wikipedia contributors actual experience in research-based writing. These procedures were the staples of academic writing since its beginning. Authors have been revising and building upon other authors’ writings for centuries. Now, people are able to share knowledge with others easily and efficiently by editing posts and adding content on Wikipedia.

Post 1

My name is Kyle Patrick Ranally, and I'm a junior in Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Although my major is journalism, my main focus is advertising. I also have a minor in psychology. I chose advertising as my major because I see it as a combination of journalism and psychology, my two favorite subjects. When I graduate, I hope to move to Chicago to work either in an ad agency or at a music label working in band marketing, promotions or publicity.

I am from Willoughby, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. As a Cleveland suburbanite, I am obligated to associate myself with the immensely depressing franchises known as Cleveland professional sports. I am a huge Indians, Cavs and Browns fan. However my love of these teams is constantly tested due to their pathetic seasonal play. This love/hate relationship has caused my to develop an affinity for underdogs- and in some cases losers.

Along with sports, music is a huge passion of mine. I have played drums since I was 11-years-old. Throughout high school I played in an assortment of garage rock bands and continue to play occasionally with friends.

I enjoyed my experience in English 151. I enjoyed having the freedom to write about topics that interested me. It made me a lot better at writing introductions and also recording in-text citations. I didn't enjoy most of the reading assignments. Many of our assignments involved basic writing principles that were pretty boring. The novel we were required to read was terrible as well.

This course seems to offer a lot of variety compared to previous composition classes. It seems more analytical in looking at language and communication. I think the Wikipedia archive and the discourse assignments sound really interesting.

I am excited for some of the assignments, like the two that I mentioned earlier. In 308J, I want to improve my writing and communications skills and be better at analyzing language that is both written and non-written. Since some of the assignments are unlike most other assignments in composition classes, I am slightly worried, but I think I'll be able to figure them out.