RA Reflection

I believe I deserve an A on my rhetorical analysis because I did make an insightful claim about what makes the article persuasive and not persuasive. I identified various rhetorical tools and fallacies used while carefully explaining each one. I focused on how the author created an effect on the audience rather than summarizing and reverting to personal opinions. My analysis was well written and I blended my quotes effectively. My analysis was unified because each paragraph supported my thesis. Transitions sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph were effective and each paragraph had a focused analysis based on my topic sentence. If I had another chance, I would go into a little more depth with each analysis. I believe I did a fair job, but I think I could have expounded upon it a little more to bring the reader to the same page I was on. My biggest challenge with this paper was talking about a specific audience. I didn't know how to incorporate a more specific audience and relate the author's tools to how they would effect them specifically. I found a way though, and I believe I did a decent job of it. My greatest strength, I believe, is identifying rhetorical tools the author used. I found plenty of examples of devices Malcom Gladwell used, such as irony and juxtaposition as well as various fallacious arguments including false dilemma, oversimplification, red herring, and straw person. I included these and explained their effectiveness versus the author's intent.

Debate

Rhetorical Strategies:

Obama mentions it's his wife's anniversary. It's a red herring fallacy used to distract from the argument and pathos to make the audience sympathetic.

Romney congratulates Obama on his anniversary and jokes about how romantic it is to be there with him. This connects the audience with Romney in a way

Romney tries to make eye contact with Obama when he is criticizing his policies. It makes him feel somewhat victimized and on the defensive.

I got five boys. I’m used to someone telling me something and repeating it, hoping I’ll believe it. This is an analogy that compares Obama to a boy.

Romney uses a rhetorical question when he asks "Why lower the rates?"
Obama alludes to Donald Trump and his idea for small business. 

When Romney brings up the guy from St. Louis with a small business, he uses asyndeton to list the types of taxes that man has to pay.

"Is the program so critical, it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? This is another rhetorical question used by Romney.

Romney addresses Obama as Mr. President and says it’s with all due respect. This shows that he’s not trying to attack Obama personally, just trying to make his arguments.

Romney alludes to the Bull Simpson Commission

Romney says, "Middle income families are being buried and crushed." This is imagery used for pathos.

Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted

     Malcom Gladwell directed this article toward the new generation of social activists. He sees a problem in the method being used to garner support for a cause. Rather than convincing others to protest and make a change through physical communication, it's much more common for people to use social networking. He believes that social networking is only effective when you're not asking a lot of someone. He found this a problem, because it will not result in any great changes in our society. He wrote this article to convince us, this new generation, to steer away from allowing social networks to prevent us from making a difference.
     He employs irony when he says, "No one seemed to wonder why people trying to coordinate protests in Iran would be writing in any language other than Farsi." This is a logical argument of why social networking is not beneficial in revolution. He appeals to the reader's emotions in his inclusion of direct quotes from the first four students who sat down at the lunch counter. They describe the fear they felt, and the author goes on to describe the methods their opposers used to instill terror. This allows the reader to understand the level of courage it would have taken to stand up for this cause. Gladwell juxtaposes this story with others in which much less is asked of participants, such as signing up for a donor registry. Things like that may take some time, but they do not require the same level of strength of will.
     I consider this an effective argument. Gladwell makes a good point when he contrasts the social networking protests with the protests that result from direct communication. We are much more likely to participate in a cause that puts us at risk or requires a lot of us when we are face to face with someone who we share a strong tie with. Any time we're asked to do something through a social network, we are more reluctant to participate. We may be convinced by their argument and we may believe in their argument, but without the direct contact, the likeliness of our participation would generally drop significantly.

Errors

ERROR 1

• Original Sentence: "And I go to BYU."
• Problem: Sentence Fragment.
• Rule: Sentences cannot begin with "and".
• Solution: I go to BYU.

ERROR 2

• Original Sentence: "So as missionaries, there are things we can do to help these investigators, our neighbors, friends, classmates, be converted to someone just a little better than they were before."
• Problem: Comma usage.
• Rule: When introducing a list, without a verb or preposition before, a colon must be used rather than a comma.
• Solution: So as missionaries, there are things we can do to help these investigators: our neighbors, friends, classmates, be converted to someone just a little better than they were before.

ERROR 3

• Original Sentence: "As Elder Holland said, Zion is wherever the church is. It is not where we live; it’s how we live."
• Problem: Lack of quotations.
• Rule: Quotations marks must be used around direct quotes.
• Solution: As Elder Holland said, "Zion is wherever the church is. It is not where we live; it’s how we live."

ERROR 4

• Original Sentence: "And service is one way we can draw others toward Christ."
• Problem: Sentence Fragment.
• Rule: Sentences cannot begin with "and".
• Solution: Service is one way we can draw others toward Christ.

ERROR 5

• Original Sentence: "What they are called to do."
• Problem: Sentence fragment.
• Rule: Complete sentences must include a subject.
• Solution: It is what they are called to do.

Number Two

MR. COLLIN'S PROPOSAL

Ethos:

1. In the beginning of the proposal, Mr. Collins states, "almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life!" This builds his ethos because it shows that he is confident and that her truly believes that it is meant to be.

2. Then he says, "my situation in life, my connection with the noble family of de Bourgh, are circumstances highly in my favour." This builds his ethos because it shows that because of his situation, he is capable of providing for a wife and it also connects him with the noble family of de Bourgh, which he believes is significant because he puts them in such high esteem.

3. At the very end,  he says "I am persuaded  that when sanctioned by your excellent parents... my proposals will not fail of being acceptable." This builds his ethos because they both know her parents will be on his side because of the importance in this society of daughters being married so as to not be a burden to the parents.

Pathos:

1. He uses flattery to appeal to her pride when he says "your modesty adds to your other perfections."

2. By relating to her Lady Catherine de Bourgh's idea of the type of person he should marry, saying she should be a "gentlewoman," "an active, useful sort of person," he is implying that she is what he believes can be described in this way and means it to flatter her again.

2. Even after she's rejected him three times, he says she is "uniformly charming," opening the door for her to change her mind and to accept his proposal later on.

Logos:

1. He reasons that it is "a right thing for every clergyman to set the example of matrimony in his parish." So he is saying that he is doing it because it is his duty.

2. He reminds her that he is to inherit her estate after the death of her father, so he says "I could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a wife from among his daughters." So in this, his reasoning is that it's only right since he is to inherit the estate that he marry into the family of those that currently own it.

3. His strongest argument I believe is when he says that "it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may be made." In their society, there is so much pressure to get married and if Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collin's proposal, it's likely that she will never get married.

MY OPINION EDITORIAL

Ethos:

1. I’m from Texas, so I understand both sides of missionary work.

2. I have experience in both cases and personal examples of how we can be missionaries specifically in areas like Provo, Utah.

3. I am a freshman and I am new to this type of missionary work, so I can offer a fresh perspective.

Pathos:

1. I went to clean up after a mudslide this weekend, and as I was working, I felt as if there were so few people that the work would never be finished. Then, as I looked over the hill, I saw literally what looked like a sea of volunteers working in a particularly damaged area. This relates to Provo not because it is damaged or needs fixing but because there is work to do here and when you come here from out of state or see the work that is going on, you see that so many people are involved in the work at hand and it gives us hope that we are not alone and while there is so much to do, we are all working together to do it.

2. I was walking to a girl named Emily’s car so we could go to a big dance that was happening. I had just met Emily, but she had offered to give me a ride to the social because she knew that on foot it would take about a half an hour for me to reach my destination. Though it was a simple act of kindness, it made all the difference for me and it was an example of how someone can use their resources to help others.

3. A girl that spoke in my ward on Sunday shared story about how she and her family would go to the temple in Washington every week. They loved to go to the temple and do work for their kindred dead. She told us that it took two hours from where she lived to get to the temple but regardless, they went every week. She testified of the joy she felt doing work for those who can’t do it for themselves and the gratitude of those we are serving must be so immense that we can’t even begin to comprehend. It is a simple thing that we can do, but we are doing so much good and we have a temple right around the corner, which seems like quite an upgrade from having to drive two hours there and two more back.

Logos:

1. Serving others helps us to grow as we do it, while it also will help the Provo community and our smaller communities within it to grow together.

2. We all need to go through a personal conversion, and we are not yet perfect, so by being missionaries, we can help those who are struggling make it to the path they need to be on, simultaneously doing the same for ourselves.
3. We are promised joy if we bring others closer to Christ.

Proposal

For my editorial, I want to write about how we can be missionaries at a college full of Latter-Day Saints. Sometimes when you're around so many people of your faith, you forget that there are still those that watch you and are affected by the way you act. There may be people struggling, who we can help to shift towards the straight and narrow path by being missionaries. I believe that being a missionary does not always mean baptizing people into the gospel. Whether we are born into the church or a convert, we must all be "converted." Some people's testimonies may be solid while others are floundering. We, as Latter-Day Saints, can be missionaries to help others "convert" to the gospel and work together to build our testimonies while we are at BYU. My assumption about my BYU audience is that the majority is LDS and a lot of us come from areas with a smaller LDS population, so moving to an area full of Latter-Day Saints could cause us to believe our positive influence will not be as significant to others or our accountability is lessened because we are no longer one of the sole representatives of the church. And for the other part of the BYU population, who is accustomed to being surrounded by Latter-Day Saints, this editorial will remind them that they can make a significant difference in the lives of those around them and encourage them to be better and to serve others.

Introduction

My name is Michelle. I am from Allen, Texas, and I'm the sixth of ten kids. I was a varsity diver all four years of high school and I love gymnastics and running. I also love watching all kinds of sports, especially football, baseball and soccer. I like drawing and all visual arts. I'm undecided on my major, but I'm considering graphic design. I can also eat a whole pie.