Bill Clinton tries to salvage his term.

RA: Speech (Bill Clinton)

November 20, 2010

Emily Krebs

Word Count: 360

1.     Argument: Bill Clinton is a good religious man and should remain in office because of his sorrow that he feels and the forgiveness he desires.

2.     Audience: The American people, in particular religious people and compassionate people.

3.     Goal: To convince the American people that Bill Clinton is a man with religious values who makes mistakes just like everyone else and needs forgiveness of those mistakes.

4.     How:

a.     Ethos:

b.     Pathos: Bill Clinton really appealed to the compassion of people in this short explanation. He apologizes for not being contrite in his first statement, and then admits his wrongs in a religious way. He even references the bible to prove that he is a religious person.

c.      Logos: The way this speech is organized is very logical. He first addresses the problem people had with his first statement: that he wasn’t contrite enough. And then he admits that the people are right (appealing to their ego and to their logic) and expresses his sorrow in hurting the people. Then he goes on to explain that not only sorrow on his part is required-genuine repentance and a broken spirit must also be present. Here he appeals to the faithful people as well as logical people who believe he must do more than just feel badly.

d.     Sufficient: Clinton doesn’t have any concrete evidence that he genuinely feels badly or has genuinely repented, hence the reason for this second statement. Though he expresses emphatically his sorrow, it is difficult to believe because of previous statements.

e.     Relevant: I feel like the evidence that he does give is very religious, which is extremely relevant to the mistake he has made. However, the audience he is addressing includes people from all different backgrounds, including people who are not religious, so it won’t reach people in the same way.

5.     Effectiveness: I felt like this speech was relatively effect. Because there was so much mistrust in Clinton already, it was difficult to eradicate that feeling, but he did a decent job of expressing how he really felt about the situation. It allowed him to be acquitted, but of course, he was still impeached.

"I agree with those who have said that in my first statement after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned. It is important to me that everybody who has been hurt know that the sorrow I feel is genuine: first and most important, my family; also my friends, my staff, my Cabinet, Monica Lewinsky and her family, and the American people. I have asked all for their forgiveness... But I believe that to be forgiven, more than sorrow is required - at least two more things. First, genuine repentance - a determination to change and to repair breaches of my own making. I have repented. Second, what my bible calls a ''broken spirit''; an understanding that I must have God's help to be the person that I want to be; a willingness to give the very forgiveness I seek; a renunciation of the pride and the anger which cloud judgment, lead people to excuse and compare and to blame and complain..."

The Health of Our Future Nation

RA: My Paper A

Emily Krebs

November 6, 2010

Word Count: 274

1. Argument: Current physical education requirements in Kentucky negatively effects elementary school students future health because inadequate physical education class requirements for KY elementary school students not only limits the amount of physical activity of students, but also prevents them from learning healthy exercise habits, thus jeopardizing their future health.
2. Audience: Kentucky Department of Education
3. Goal: To convince the Kentucky Department of Education to implement the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Institute of Medicine who suggest physical activity daily through physical education classes daily.
4. How:
1. Ethos: I use multiple peer-reviewed articles and well-known institutions to support my evidence, which gives me authority.
2. Pathos: I begin and end my paper with a tragic story about a young girl who is suffering from obesity and obesity-related health problems that began with physical activity. This evokes sadness and compassion from the reader, and hopefully makes them wonder how to change that problem.
3. Sufficient: I use a sufficient amount of evidence to support my claim through peer-reviewed articles and studies that prove my point.
4. Typical: The type of evidence that I use is evidence that the Kentucky Department of Education is used to seeing. This type of evidence is the only type of evidence that they would accept because it is from well-known and acclaimed researchers and institutions (such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
5. Effectiveness: I hope my paper is effective! I feel like I support my argument well and address counterarguments well, to at least convince my audience to consider changing the way that they implement their curriculums. 

Mmmm Guacamole.

RA: Encounter (Farmer’s Market)

October 30, 2010

Emily Krebs

Word Count: 300

gourmetguac.org

1.     Argument: Gourmet Guac is the best guacamole to buy because they sell it in order to produce income for charities and non-profit organizations.           

2.     Audience: My husband and I (and anyone else who comes to the Farmer’s Market in Pioneer Park) who believe in service and who like guacamole.

3.     Goal: To sell their guacamole.

4.     How:

a.     Ethos:

b.     Pathos: Their argument mostly used pathos. They tried to help us feel connected to a cause, to make us feel involved if we were to buy this guacamole. By explaining the story of how they started their business, they made us feel empathy for them as well as feel charitable by contributing to their business.

c.      Logos: They said that their guacamole was the best because it was for a good cause. They used logic by saying that if you’re going to buy guacamole, you might as well be helping the community have educational resources while you were at it.

d.     Sufficient: They told us the entire story about how they came up with their business and why they did. They explained that they were being highlighted by the Utah Mayor at a non-profit organization meeting and why.

e.     Accurate: All the information they gave us was helpful in understanding WHY they sell guacamole, but they didn’t give a lot of information on how the guacamole is made and why it has the best taste compared to other guacamoles. This was the only thing that I wish they had told us more about.

5.     Effectiveness: I felt like they had a good argument that was relatively effective. My husband and I didn’t end up buying any guacamole because it was a little expensive, but overall I think their argument was persuasive and we might end up buying some online!

The new teen heart throbe.

RA: Music Video (Justin Bieber, Baby)

October 23, 2010

Word Count: 293

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4

1.     Argument: To attract people to watch Justin Beiber they argue that watching Justin and listening to him we can get the person we love because he gets the girl he loves in the end by persistence.

2.     Audience: Music lovers who like rap and pop music (mostly young adolescents and teenagers, and apparently college students).

3.     Goal: To attract as many young adults to watch this music video and to get them to continue listening to Justin Beiber’s music.

4.     How:

a.     Ethos: This video includes Ludacris, an extremely famous rapper.  By featuring Ludacris, the music industry attracted people who listen to Ludacris, trying to get another group of people interested in Justin Beiber.

b.     Pathos: By showing and telling to story of a young boy’s attraction to a girl who isn’t totally interested, we feel connected to this music video.  Many people can relate to this story and those feelings.  It appeals to our emotions of first puppy love through nostalgia.  For the younger crowd, it appeals to their desire to feel loved and their attraction to the opposite sex.

c.      Sufficient: There are plenty of scenes that show Justin trying to convince the girl to like him. We even get another story from Ludacris about his first love.  It shows us how to accomplish this goal as well.

d.     Typical: They use many scenes to show Justin Beiber trying to get the girl to like him.  They use situations that are appropriate to the age of audience.  Younger kids at a bowling alley and an arcade.

5.     Effectiveness: According to the number of views on youtube, this video is very successful in attracting its audience. Plus, my husband really enjoys watching this video. It's catchy song and cute video is sweeping the nation.

Prophets are good sources I'd say...

RA: Source for Paper B (“Whom Shall I Marry?” Thomas S. Monson, New Era, Oct. 2004, 4)

Emily Krebs

Word Count: 293

October 16, 2010

https://new.lds.org/new-era/2004/10/whom-shall-i-marry?lang=eng

1. Argument: That the Lord will guide us in our decision of who to marry if we seek after it righteously.
2. Audience: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are preparing for marriage (youth as well as returned missionaries).
3. Goal: To help the youth of the church find the right person, become acquainted with them, keep an eternal perspective, move forward with courage, and seek guidance from those they trust and from the Lord.
4. How:
1. Ethos: A message from the First Presidency always receives more attention than other articles in the New Era. The fact that the then 1^st counselor in the First Presidency wrote a message about marriage, a topic about which many youth worry, makes this article very important to those who read it.
2. Pathos: President Monson has always been famous for his stories.  He begins his talk with the story of how he met his wife, the right person for him. This story brought his audience into the topic in an emotional and humorous way. He appeals to our nostalgic sides by telling a story and appeals to our humor and feeling of love and happiness.
3. Sufficient: President Monson gives sufficient evidence of each topic, sharing either a scripture, a personal experience, or a story from literature.
4. Typical: Everything that President Monson uses is acceptable to his audience. Using the scriptures as well as stories from his personal life are powerful ways to convince his audience.
5. Effectiveness: President Monson is very effective in his argument. He uses ample evidence and his position in the church makes his argument strong.  Anything that comes from the Presidency of the Church generally is something that all members pay close attention to. 

Who Is Salt?

RA: Film trailer (Salt)

October 9, 2010

Word Count: 343

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/salt/

1.     1. Argument: Watching the movie Salt, will let you solve a case and figure out who Salt really is.

2.     2. Audience: Young adults and adults who enjoy action movies.

3.     3. Goal: To get the audience to come see the movie Salt.

4.     4. How:

a.     Ethos: By having good actors in this film, including Angelina Jolie and Live Schreiber, the trailer demands attention from the audience.  People are more likely to go see movies with high status actors than movies without them. 

b.     Pathos: This trailer appeals to curiosity of the human mind.  By using the question, “Who is Salt?” the advertiser is pulling at our curiosity and desire to solve problems.  It is a very effective “teaser” that convinces the audience to see the movie, just to figure out the answer.

c.      Sufficient:  The trailer gives just enough evidence to heighten our curiosity, but not enough to deter us from seeing the actual movie.  I think they do an excellent job of showing the action and representing Angeline Jolie as a mysterious “mole” type character.  The sequences of actions and the order in which they were arranged were both thrilling and mysterious, very fitting for this movie.

d.     Typical: While there was sufficient evidence to convince us to go see the movie, some of the film clips were not representative of the film itself.  There were two “risqué” film clips of Angelia in the trailer, but there weren’t any sex scenes in the movie itself.  This may have been just to draw a bigger crowd, but was clearly misrepresentation.  The other clips were pretty representative of the movie.  The trailer, in the choice of film clips, set the audience up for an enemy for the US, rather than a loyal US CIA agent who was framed.  While it was misrepresentation, it heightens the twist in the actually movie itself.

5.     5. Effectiveness: I thought this ad campaign was very effective.  Asking the audience a question about the character drives the audience to find the truth for themselves.  AND I really enjoyed the movie J

"Crying Shame"

RA: Song Lyrics, Word Count: 426

Emily Krebs

September 24, 2010

1.     Argument: The government is out of control because the war in Iraq is built out of fear and isn’t accomplishing anything.

2.     Audience: Anyone who will listen to Jack Johnson.  His audience is probably more earth-loving, government-hating Americans.

3.     Goal: To convince the American people that war is ineffective and that the American people should stand up for what they believe in. His goal could also just be to express his frustrations about the American government.

4.     How:

a.     Pathos: Jack uses mostly emotion in his song to trigger the American people to see the fallacies of war.  The emotions that he targets are: shame/guilt (i.e. “By now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows”) for supporting war, shame/guilt (“We could close our eyes its still there”) for being neutral, and empathy (“A number of people are numbers who ain’t coming home”) for lost soldiers.  He tries to draw attention to the idea of shame and guilt, even in the title.  In this way, he calls his fellow Americans to action, since he makes them feel guilty for either supporting or not caring about what is going on.

b.     Logos: Jack also uses logic to convince his audience that we should care more about what is going on in the world today.  He calls our government “a tired game” and that even though we call it “a war for peace, it’s the same old game.”  He asks a question near the end, “Who we gonna blame now?” which is poignant and logical.  He argues that war is an ineffective way to communicate or to improve our own situation. He calls attention to the number of people lost in the war and calls it “a terrific price to pay” for essentially nothing.

c.     Sufficient: Jack doesn’t provide any real evidence, while he alludes to real situations.  Almost no song quotes statistics or sources, which weakens their argument to a personal opinion. 

d.     Relevant: Jack’s argument and evidence is clearly relevant to his audience considering when this song was written (2005).  He focuses on war in general and the situation that America is currently in.

5.     Effectiveness: I think his argument is effective in it’s own way.  While he doesn’t use any real sources, it is heavily weighted in pathos, which works very well as a song.  He asks us to look at our own opinions and see what we can be doing better.  I think that as a rather lukewarm citizen, it could sway personal opinions and could call someone to action. 

 Crying Shame, by Jack Johnson

Its such a tired game
Will it ever stop
How will this all play out
Upside out of my mouth

By now we should know
How to communicate instead of coming to blows
We're on a roll
And there ain't no stopping us now
We're burning under control
Isn't it strange how
We're all burning under the same sun
By now we say its a war for peace
Its the same old game
But do we really want to play?
We could close our eyes its still there
We could say its us against them
We can try but nobody wins
Gravity has got a hold on us all
We try to put it out
But its a growing flame
Using fear as fuel
Burning down our name
And it wont take too long
Cause words are burning same
And who we gunna blame now?

And oh, Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame, shame, shame

By now
Its starting to show
A number of people are numbers who aint coming home
I can close my eyes its still there
Close my mind be alone
Close my heart and not care
But gravity has got a hold on us all
Its a terrific price to pay
But in the true sense of the word
Are we using what we've learned?
In the true sense of the word
Are we losing what we were?
Its such a tired game
Will it ever stop?
Is not for me to say
And is it in our blood?
Or is it just our fate?
And how will this all play out
Upside out of my mouth
And who we gunna blame?
On and on
Its such a crying crying crying shame
Its such a crying crying crying shame