Group Project Ideas

1. Booklet on current concealed carry laws
2. Newspaper on "Rising Tuition Costs"
3. Photo Essay on Greek Life

I think a photo essay would be very interesting, and would work well for the "Greek Life" essay. It would also work for a number of other subjects as well. I think it would take 3-4 people at most to make a good photo essay. A photographer, maybe a person to write a short subject line for the pictures, and a person to put it together in some way; as a book or even a slide presentation.

God Grew Tired of Us (Short Write)

One of the main issues that was interesting to me was the way the Lost Boys were happy to accept the American way of life, as well as American culture. They had never seen the technology that we take for granted every day. They had never been on a plane before, or been on an escalator, or even thing we find as basic necessities such as indoor plumbing. They become used to working in factories, shopping at grocery stores, and living in their own apartments. They had to learn a new way of life, and were accepting of the changes. This stuck out to me because I tried to think about putting myself in the same situation. I don’t think that Americans would ever be open minded enough to live how the Lost Boys had lived in their camps in Kenya. We may not be as accepting of other peoples cultures, as they are of accepting our culture.

As humans we should have a general willingness to help each other in a time of need. That being said, I don’t think any one particular country is obligated to help clean up a mess that another country starts. After a natural disaster, I think it’s necessary that other countries help out a victim when they cannot help themselves. Some countries do not have the resources needed to carry out a full recovery mission after a large, widespread disaster. Other countries should organize together, and help out as a team. In many cases, this does not happen. One country (such as the United States) is automatically volunteered to help out singlehandedly. We should not have to act as the “world police.” We have a lot of problems of our own, and spending money on helping weaker countries creates more problems in our own country. We tend to make more enemies than friends in these desperate times.  Even if we try to help out of our own kindness, the victim countries may despise our occupying their homeland, or they may be begging for more than we can give. Either way, it still makes us look like the bad guy when we are trying to help. Trying to stay isolated in this modern and globally driven world is increasingly difficult. In the event of natural disaster we should lend a helping hand. But in other situations such as war, we may not need to get involved. We should not play as a referee in the middle of other people’s fighting, because we will get caught up in it and do damage to ourselves and would be taking sides and making more enemies.

This film is a persuasive document. It tries to get its audience to think about global problems in an open-minded way. It attempts to argue that we should do something to help the people struggling in Uganda and Sudan. The Lost Boys formed try to form a group so that their voice would be heard in the American government. They are trying to convince us that we should help to stop the warzone in Sudan. They want aid from the U.S. government to help their families back home.

Dodge Challenger Commercial Analysis

Eric Oswald

Mr. Brett Strickland

English 111

1 October 2010

Dodge Challenger Commercial Analysis

With more people buying imported cars, the American automakers had to step up and convince people that domestic cars have something to offer. This Dodge Challenger commercial attempts just that. It tries to restore the respect the All-American cars once had. The Dodge Challenger represents a modern take on the muscle car. This car symbolizes power, as well as engineering and manufacturing excellence. This T.V. advertisement makes its audience realize the pride and effort it took to make these machines.

The ad begins with the images of a British Revolutionary War soldier. He is running through the woods in a panicked state. He looks back as he’s running as if something is chasing him. There is a quiet sound of violin music in the background. Eventually he makes it back to what looks like a battlefield where the rest of his regiment is standing in formation, looking like they are ready to defend themselves from an impending attack. He begins to speak with his officer about what he had seen. The viewer cannot hear what is being said, but they can imagine what is happening. The British soldiers remain in formation, and raise their rifles and take aim at what they know is coming. Then all of a sudden, you hear the roaring of a HEMI engine. The faces of the Redcoat soldiers are that of undeniable fear. The sleek, shiny, black Challengers come speeding out of the woods and onto the battlefield. Dirt is being thrown from the tires, and clouds of dust surround the backs of the cars. An American flag is being flown from the window of one of the Challengers. The British soldiers begin to break formation, and run for safety. Just then, you see an in-car shot of George Washington behind the wheel. Some of the Redcoats are bucked off their horses as the horses become frightened from the sound of the cars. The ad then cuts to a scene of George Washington standing proudly next to the new 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT-8. An announcer then says “Here’s a couple things America got right: Cars…and freedom.” The ad ends with the background of the black and red striped Dodge flag, and simply the words “Dodge Challenger.”

Any T.V. commercial is usually trying to sell the audience something, whether it’s a product, or just an idea. This ad in particular tries both. Dodge wants people to drool over the new HEMI Challengers, and hopefully, some people will go to their local dealership and buy one. But this commercial goes a bit deeper. Not only are they trying to sell cars, but they also want to sell people their idea of “buying American.” They believe that their cars are far superior to imports. This commercial has some symbolism to support this. The Revolutionary War motif is a play on the auto market. The Yankee soldiers represent the domestic car manufacturers. The British Redcoats are a symbol of foreign cars. The commercial shows how the competition should fear their new American-made beast of a car.

This ad is aimed towards the older American motor-head crowd. Dodge is focusing on the people who remember the muscle car days, and long for a chance to own a muscle car once again. The new Challenger is a “modern-retro” car. The new Challengers are made to look like a modern interpretation of the classic muscle car from the early 1970’s. The Challengers in the ad are top of the line SRT-8 models that feature Dodge’s 6.1 Liter HEMI motor. This engine duplicate’s the original 426 cubic inch Hemi. Both have the same 425 horsepower. These cars try to appeal to the Baby-Boomers who are looking for their mid-life crisis. The muscle car image of the ad tries to evoke the memories of the audience of the muscle car era of the 1960’s and Early 70’s.

The quote near the end of the commercial has the only spoken words in the length of the advertisement. The rest of the ad quietly plays soft violin music that reminds you of the Revolutionary war era. The commercial wanted to accentuate the sounds of the cars engines in the background. The roaring sounds of the HEMI engines are being used to show the power of the Challengers, and to strike fear into their competition. The ad wants to aim towards the consumers who care about the performance of a car, and not necessarily the gas mileage that would appeal to the smaller import car buyers. The ad focuses on the power of the car, and fails to mention the thirteen miles to the gallon fuel economy.

The quote itself says, “Here’s a couple things America got right: Cars…. and freedom.” This tries to finally tie in the themes of patriotism and the ideas of buying American products such as the Dodge Challenger. It attempts to make the audience feel that the American cars are special and connect it with the pride the audience has toward their country. Dodge was trying to play on the people’s feeling of pride in American automobiles. The people in the muscle car era grew up driving domestic cars, and Dodge is hoping that with this commercial, people will not want to change from driving their American car. They also want to appeal to the people who have been driving foreign cars, but feel that their performance is lacking. Dodge is hoping to sell the Challenger to the widest array of people in America possible.

At the very end of the commercial, a black flag with two red stripes is shown in the background, along with the words “Dodge Challenger.” This simple ending seems to show how they feel nothing more needs said. They don’t give any specs about the car, don’t show a price for their product, and don’t say where you can buy it. They expect the audience to already know. As the audience, they want you to be left with a feeling of incompleteness, and make you want to go out on your own to find out more about their car, and hopefully walk into a Dodge dealership.

The timing of this commercial was also very thought out. It premiered during the world cup soccer match between the U.S. and the U.K. It was used to try and appeal to the American crowd who would be watching the game. In this way, it tries to establish a sense of patriotism beyond the obvious theme of the Revolutionary war. The ad wants to bring pride back into American car companies. They use images of one of the most recognizable people in American history, George Washington. The commercial says nothing about exactly who is driving the car, but the audience can instantly know who he is. He acts as the “celebrity testimony” in this ad by the images of him standing and looking proud next to the American cars. By him looking proud of the car, Dodge is trying to sell people on the idea that this kind of car is what George Washington would have wanted people driving. He would have been proud of the American ingenuity and design of this American car.

This T.V. advertisement is a good example of how rhetoric is used to persuade the audience in multiple ways. The Dodge commercial is trying to sell the Challenger cars, but also tries to sell its audience on the idea of “buying American.” The commercial doesn’t show this directly, but through analyzing it, a message can be interpreted. The focus of the commercial is on the raw power provided by the car, and the sense of patriotism throughout the ad. It is a strong instance of the way the Dodge wants its company to be looked upon, showing their strong performance and the respect given to fellow car enthusiasts.

Sources

Link to the Advertisement video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk0e1VL80o

"Dodge - 2010 - Challenger - Muscle Car, Performance Car, Sedan." Official Dodge Site. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.dodge.com/en/2010/challenger/>.

3 Rhetoric Analysis Ideas

1. 2010 Dodge Challenger Commercial

This commercial, like almost any T.V. commercial, is trying to persuade you into buying a product. In this case, it is a Dodge Challenger. In a car commercial, there has to be a lot of rhetoric to have any effect at all on the audience. In this commercial, the are very few words, but strong messages are sent through the images and sounds. There is an obvious sense of emotion and patriotism in the ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk0e1VL80o&feature=channel
2. Ping G15/I15 Irons Commercial

In this T.V. commercial, A golf pro helps out another man having a rough day on the golf course. The pro gives the man a new set of Ping Irons, and he instantly has a better game. They are trying to sell these new clubs as "game improving." They use rhetoric with the celebrity testimony, as well as expert testimony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0hco6qvxe0
3. John F. Kennedy's "We Choose to go to the Moon" Speech

In this famous speech, JFK tries to persuade the public that funding the space program is necessary. He also tries to explain why it is important to explore and learn more in the fields of science and technology. He uses many facts and statistics as well as emotion to gain your acceptance.

http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/

Miami Essay Rhetoric Final Draft

Eric Oswald
Mr. Brett Strickland
English 111
9 September 2010

Miami Essay Rhetoric
The deadline for my Miami application was looming over my head. I knew I had to get started writing my essay soon, well before it was actually due. Miami was my first choice college, so I started by writing essays for other universities, and saved this one for last. I had a few given options on the application of what to write about. As I had expected, they were the standard “write about a situation that changed you” or “write about someone who taught you something.” But neither of these was good enough for me. I had to stand out against all the other students who were also applying that year; all 3,000 of them. I decided to go with the option I figured was the least picked, the “other” option. It gave me the freedom to write about anything I wanted to.
But with this new freedom came a problem; what direction should I take this essay? I began collecting my thoughts and outlining some main points I wanted to cover. I finally was able to pick a topic. I was going straight to the point, and answer the question they would be looking for. Why am I a perfect fit at Miami? Why should I be accepted over other applicants? Another problem was that I didn’t know who all would be reading this paper. I figured it was a panel of admissions officers, but I didn’t know anything about them. But, I knew they would be very connected to Miami, and have a strong passion to the campus. I used this little fact the best I could.
In my essay, I began with how familiar I was with the campus, and told them some of my memories when I was five or six years old and visited the campus on reunion weekends with my grandma. I was really trying to paint a picture in their minds, and play on their emotions. After reading it over again now, I can sense the feeling of desperation I had at the time I wrote it. You could tell by just reading the paper how much it meant to me.
I also tried to establish why I was good enough to attend Miami. I wrote about what I wanted to do when I got to college. I made sure to sell myself as a worthy engineering student. I tried to assure them that a major in mechanical engineering was a perfect fit for me, by telling them I liked taking a “hands on” approach. I also showed that my first job in a metal fabrication shop allowed me to experience what mechanical engineers would do every day. I wrote about how I thought Miami would be a great place to study engineering.
This is where timing came into play. Miami had just built the new engineering building a couple years earlier, and I used this to explain how I would try to help the engineering program at Miami grow. Miami isn’t known as an engineering school, so I knew they would probably be looking for more engineers to help expand their Engineering and Applied Science program. I also expressed my interests in hockey, and told stories of how I had played hockey as a kid at the old Goggin arena, which had just been torn down. The engineering building now stands in the footprint of the old Goggin. I used these memories as well as good timing to try and get an emotional response from the reader.
I tried to pack in as much emotion and feeling as I could in just a page and a half. The paper must have had some sort of effect, because I’m here at Miami today. Without even knowing what I was truly doing, I was using my writing to sway the opinion of the reader, and try to persuade them into thinking my way. I had attempted to capture my voice in the paper, and it all worked to my advantage.

Miami Essay Rhetoric First Draft

Eric Oswald

Mr. Brett Strickland

English 111

3 September 2010

Miami Essay Rhetoric First Draft

The deadline for my Miami application was looming over my head. I knew I had to get started writing my essay soon, well before it was actually due. Miami was my first choice college, so I started by writing essays for other universities, and saved this one for last. I had a few given options on the application of what to write about. As I had expected, they were the standard “write about a situation that changed you” or “write about someone who taught you something.” But neither of these was good enough for me. I had to stand out against all the other students who were also applying that year; all 3,000 of them. I decided to go with the option I figured was the least picked, the “other” option. It gave me the freedom to write about anything I wanted to.

But with this new freedom came a problem; what direction am I going to take this essay? I began collecting my thoughts and outlining some main points I wanted to cover. I finally was able to pick a topic. I was going straight to the point, and answer the question they would be looking for. Why am I a perfect fit at Miami? Why should I be accepted over other applicants? Another problem was that I didn’t know who all would be reading this paper. I figured it was a panel of admissions officers, but I didn’t know anything about them. But, I knew they would be very connected to Miami, and have a strong passion to the campus. I used this little fact the best I could.

In my essay, I began with how familiar I was with the campus, and told them some of my memories when I was five or six years old and visited the campus on reunion weekends with my grandma. I was really trying to paint a picture in their minds, and play on their emotions. After reading it again now, I can sense the feeling of desperation I had at the time I wrote it. You could tell by just reading the paper, how much it meant to me.

I also tried to establish why I was good enough to attend Miami. I wrote about what I wanted to do when I got to college. I made sure to sell myself as a worthy engineering student. I tried to assure them that a major in mechanical engineering was a perfect fit for me, by telling them I liked taking a “hands on” approach. I also showed that my first job in a metal fabrication shop allowed me to experience what mechanical engineers would do every day. I wrote about how I thought Miami would be a great place to study engineering.

This is where the timing came into play. Miami had just built the new engineering building a couple years earlier, and I used this to explain how I would try to help the engineering program at Miami grow. Miami isn’t known as an engineering school, so I knew they would probably be looking for more engineers to help expand their SEAS program. I also expressed my interests in hockey, and told stories of how I had played hockey as a kid at the old Goggin arena, which had just been torn down. The engineering building now stands in the footprint of the old Goggin. I used these memories as well as good timing to try and get an emotional response from the reader.

I tried to pack in as much emotion and feeling as I could in just a page and a half. The paper must have had some sort of effect, because I’m here at Miami today. Without even knowing what I was doing entirely, I had written my paper using rhetoric. I tried to capture my voice in the paper, and it all worked to my advantage.

Rhetoric Audience

I am going to write about how I used rhetoric in my Miami essay. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I definitely tailored my essay to appeal to my audience. My audience was a panel of admissions officers. I didn't know exactly who they were, but I assumed they would prefer a more professional style of essay. I did play to one of my advantages though. I knew they would have a strong connection to Miami, so I tried to use that to help "give them what (I think) they wanted to hear." I tried to tell them of my own personal connection to Miami. It must have worked, because I'm here at Miami now!