Effective Persuasion

The Purdue OWL put out a very useful effective persuasion power point. I like how this power point goes in depth on many aspects of effective persuasion. First off, I found the genres of persuasion to be very interesting and correct. Junk mail was the genre that I found particularly interesting. While this genre can be rather annoying it can also serve as effective persuasion. Often junk mail will use colors to grab the audience or it will use bold large print to stand out to the audience. This power point also gives very useful information about understanding your audience. I liked the example questions it gave to think about your audiences perspective. It is important to recognize if your audience is interested in the topic and what their counterarguments might be.

Audience Analysis

The document from the Purdue Online Writing Lab about audience analysis has many good points. This article introduces the stages of audience analysis: development, reading, and action. The development stage is when you determine your target audience. Questions are given in this article to help the author identify their audience and their audience's needs within the developmental stage. These questions also get the author thinking about how to create an argument that will be best suited to their audience's needs and desires. Overall this article does a good job of explaining these three stages but I generally found that the flowcharts did not add to the explanation. The flowchart for the reading stage seemed to be cluttered to me and it was confusing and hard to read. Without the annotation I would not have understood what the chart was trying to illustrate.

Chapter 5

When it comes to writing a rhetorical analysis, this chapter will be very helpful. I like how this chapter gave details and numerous examples of how to examine all three aspects of an argument. Another thing that I found interesting was that visual arguments were included in the analyses seen in this chapter. One thing I found particularly interesting was the role that style can play in an argument. The chapter tells us that without even really knowing what style is, readers can still evaluate an argument based on style.An argument that is too formal might make a reader think the argument is above them and should not bother reading it whereas writing an argument in a more personal style can be just what will hook the reader and make them interested in the argument you are making.

Chapter 4

This chapter examined the logical part of arguments: logos. Readers like facts so when making an argument  it is important that you back up your points using facts. More than anything it seems to me that facts are the aspect of logos that will win readers over. Another technique that is useful is testimony. This can not only be logos but also pathos if emotions are used in the testimony or narrative. A testimony or narrative is a useful way to get a first hand perspective of something that happened.

Chapter 3

This chapter explains the role ethos plays in creating an argument. The main part of ethos, in my opinion, is to establish your credibility. I think this is very important so the reader trusts that the writer has built a reliable argument. Two other main things this chapter discussed were motives and authority. Both of these things, in my eyes, help to establish a writers credibility. If a writer reveals that his motives for writing an article were in bad taste, that is, meant to harm or defame some person or entity, a reader will pick up on that and realize that the writer might not be the most credible. Another thing that can make or break credibility is establishing yourself as an authority. If you sound knowledgeable and trustworthy on the topic, your audience will likely find you to be a credible author. In the end, establishing credibility can make or break your argument so it is imperative that a writer understands how ethos enhances an argument.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

I liked that this section went in depth on how to appeal to audiences with ethos, pathos, and logos. These are three key points in making arguments and persuading people so I think it is helpful. One of the most important things to do when writing is to determine your audience so you know what appeals to use to make the best argument you can. Sometimes when trying to persuade readers to donate to a humanitarian cause, using pathos, an emotional appeal, is more effective (33, 42). It seems to me that pathos is the most powerful of the three appeals. If a writer can evoke very strong emotions within a reader and then use ethos and logos to add a credible and logical basis for those emotions, they have created a very successful argument.  
Work Cited

Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything's an Argument. Bedford/St. Martin: Boston, 2010. Print

Arguments

After reading the assigned pages about arguments I have a new understanding of their wide use. The title of the book is Everything's an Argument and this chapter proves just how true that is. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz made me aware of something I never realized before; everything from clothing with a mascot on it to a simple street sign can be an argument (6, 9). I like the way this chapter detailed so many different types of arguments and purposes of arguments. One thing I found very interesting was that there are types of arguments to meditate and pray. These arguments are generally within oneself, it is an attempt to balance ones spirit (14). Another thing that I particularly enjoyed was the distinction made between argument and persuasion. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz did a good job explaining that argument typically tries to get a reader to discover what they believe to be true about a topic by using evidence, while persuasion aims to move the reader to take action on a subject (7).

Works Cited
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything's an Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

Rhetoric

The article A Basic Guide to Rhetoric did a very good job of introducing the idea of rhetoric and it's components. Two things were of particular interest to me: the elements of rhetoric along with the design plan. Ethos, pathos, and logos are not new terms for me but this article did a very good job explaining them. I particularly enjoyed that they related those three words to ones that are more common. The design plan was also something that interested me because I am a very logical thinker so I like to have a plan. I am certain that the plan outlined in the article will guide me as I create a rhetorical argument.

Dorris Goodwin case

After seeing the similarities between Dorris Goodwin's book and books previously published I would say that it is apparent that she plagiarized various works. I think the argument that her plagiarism was unintentional is invalid. While she may not have intended to plagiarize other works, copying other works too closely without proper citation is still plagiarism intentional or not. I think this is a very good example of how carelessness in writing can lead to mistakes in citations. Learning about Dorris Goodwin's situation is beneficial in that it opened my eyes to realize that even professional, published writers can be accused of plagiarism.

Chapter 19

I think this chapter gives very important and useful information about evaluating sources and doing smart research that will make citation easier. This chapter gives many tips for doing research that will be very useful for me other students. One thing I especially like are the evaluation methods for electronic sources. The internet is such a vast resource and  finding credible, up to date information is key to forming a knowledgeable argument. There were two tips that I especially like. Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz tell the reader to be mindful of the domain suffix since it can give you important information about the credibility of the creator (554). The other piece of advice I really like from the chapter was to check the date on the website. According to Lunsford and Rusziewicz, the credibility of a site may be questionable if there is no date or the date is long past (554). Overall, chapters 18-20 will function as great resources throughout this class and as we begin our first project.

Works Cited
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruskiewicz. Everything's an Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Print.  

Chapter 18

So far I really enjoy the way information is presented in Everything’s an Argument. I find the book very readable and enjoy the relatable references to popular culture. This book makes me think about how to cite information properly and what needs to be cited. Lunsford and Ruszkiewcz make the reader aware that carelessness can often lead to unintentional plagiarism and even that can cause the reader great punishment (543). The authors presented something else that peaked my curiosity; collaboration must also be cited. As Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz tell the reader, work done collaborative must give due credit to all members of the group (547). All of the ideas presented in this chapter will be a good resource for me as we begin our first project.

Works Cited

Lunsford, Andrea A, and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2010. Print.

chapter 20

From Chapter 20 I was reminded that there are two ways to format citations: MLA and APA. MLA stands for Modern Language Association. This style places the author first in a citation with the publication date near the end. APA, which stands for American Psychological Association, formats citations differently. In an APA citation, the author's name still appears first but that is followed by the date. In my previous experiences using citations, I generally was instructed to use MLA format so the APA format is relatively new to me. I found the style of the in text citation in APA format to be particularly interesting. It differs from MLA in that it generally uses the the date instead of page number along with the author if not mentioned in the signal phrase.