Uncategorized – English 1105 @ Virginia Tech

Review of Rhetorical Appeals

Traci — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 02:48:34 +0000

Be sure that your paper labels the rhetorical appeals from the commercial correctly. You can find details on the reviews in the Persuasive Techniques in Advertising text in the Resources section of Scholar as well as in your WAVT textbook on pp. 20-22.

Here's a review of what each term means, with examples from this WWE commercial I shared in class:

Ethos: the appeal to credibility: In the commercial with WWE Superstar The Miz, the mother, father, and son are a model happy family that adds ethos to the commercial. The unspoken argument is that if this family loves these gifts, the viewer's family will too. The family provides credibility to the message that the toys will be fun for the whole family.
Pathos: the appeal to emotions or feelings: The surprise and excitement of the family and children at the birthday party in the KMart commercial appeal to pathos. The advertisers show viewers that the WWE gifts will bring happiness and joy to the receiver. The use of a family birthday party as the setting reminds viewers of similar celebrations they have been a part of and suggests that purchasing WWE Action Figures and other gifts will help them create such fond memories for a child they know.
Logos: the appeal to logic and fact: The WWE commercial includes few concrete facts, by the facts there are focus on demonstrating how shopping at Kmart is an economical, money-saving choice. The price of the Wrestlemania folding chair in the commercial appeals to logos by listing the cost of the chair in large numbers on the screen and its regular price in smaller print. The chair will cost a shopper only $79.99 with a $30 purchase of WWE merchandise. The regular price of the chair alone is $129.99. The savvy Kmart shopper can save $50 on the cost of the chair simply by spending $30 on WWE presents. Even adding in the required purchase, the viewer can still save $20 on the cost of the chair.

Ad Analysis Essay Tips

Traci — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 02:46:38 +0000

Add a title. Make it smart, attention-grabbing, and unique. Connect it to the hook in the introduction if you can.
Add the URL to your commercial under your title.
Apply the ideas from the presentations on Introductions and Conclusions.
Underline or bold your thesis statement.
Make sure you meet the basic requirements. Compare to the rubric to be sure you have everything in your paper.
Review the grammar presentation and check your commas.

Grammar and Punctuation Rules

Traci — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 01:45:04 +0000

I used some abbreviations for grammatical and punctuation errors that I encountered as I was grading your papers. We'll talk about grammar in class on Wednesday, but in the meantime, if you want to learn more about an error that I have marked in your paper, you can find the details in your textbook on these pages:

Colon	Use a colon when a list of items follows a complete sentence (an independent clause). See page 108 of WAVT.
Comma Splice	This is a comma splice. See page 112 of WAVT.
Compound	Use a comma before a Coordinating Conjunction that joins two independent clauses (e.g., a compound sentence). See page 109 of WAVT.
Conj Adv	Use a semicolon before and a comma after a Conjunctive Adverb that joins two independent clauses. See page 104 of WAVT.
Fragment	This highlighted phrase is a sentence fragment. See page 107 of WAVT.
Intro	Use a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause. See page 110 of WAVT.
Nonessential	Use a comma on either side of nonessential word groups (unless there is a period at the end). See page 111 of WAVT.
Parallel	Use parallel structure (words that have the same pattern) for consistency. See page 106-107 of WAVT.
Run-on	This is a run-on, or a fused sentence. See page 112 of WAVT.
Vague Pronoun Reference	Clarify the noun that the pronoun refers to in this sentence. See page 115 of WAVT.

10/04 Class Plans

Traci — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 01:42:29 +0000

Good morning! Today, you're sharing your rough drafts in class. Here's what you'll do:

Go to the Forums and under the Pop Culture Dictionary post, choose the Rough Draft Post for your class period.
Click the "Start New Conversation" button at the top.
Use your name and your glossary topic as the subject. For instance, my subject might be "Traci Gardner, NCIS Glossary."
Add your rough draft as an attachment.
Add any special notes or questions that you want the person who reads your draft to consider.
Post your message.

After the drafts are posted, find a buddy to exchange with. Read through your partner's rough draft and add a reply to your partner's draft with your feedback. Respond with the questions that are included in the Pop Culture Dictionary Post.

Your peer review feedback in the forums will count for your in-class writing for today.

Now the bad news, I regret to admit that I still have about 10 papers to grade. I'll have them all posted later this afternoon, along with some notes about grading abbreviations I used. Watch you email later this afternoon for the indication that I'm (finally) finished.

Welcome to English 1105

Traci — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 20:58:00 +0000

This course will focus on college-level composition, which includes the written word as well as visual and multimodal forms of communicating. We will spend time writing and talking about writing during every class period, so come to class with a well-charged laptop.

Most sessions will begin with writing. Next we will discuss what we have written and complete activities related to the major assignments in the course. The class will be highly collaborative, so you need to be ready to work with other class members as a team.

Course readings, activities, and all writing assignments will be published on the course’s Scholar site. I will provide feedback and send grades through Scholar as well. I endeavor to run a paper-free course, so there will be few, if any, handouts after the first day of course. You can always find the course materials online. If you like paper, feel free to print them out, but making printouts is not a requirement.

Generally, the information on this site is repeated on the course’s Scholar site. This website simply provides a backup of the information in a location that does not require a login. If you have a question about an assignment or policy, the syllabus and other materials here and on the Scholar site will almost always have the answer for you.