Final Paper Reflections

                 Paper two and three both were very different concerning the writing process. Paper two was much easier for me to write than paper three was. I think the main problem I had with the third paper was trying to research sources that I felt I could trust, and that made sense to use within the context of my paper’s topic. I also had a hard time digging through the source material to find what exactly I wanted to use to support any claims that I was making in the paper. I had a much easier time searching for ads and source material for the second paper, and I liked how the formatting of the second paper allowed me to be much more fluid with my writing. I feel like my third paper is definitely not as good as my other two, but I cannot seem to find a better way to write it without completely restarting with a new topic. I was excited to start the third as much as I was with the second, but my enthusiasm waned as I continued writing. The third paper is more formal and less personal than the second, and I prefer to make my papers warmer or to add more of my voice into the writing and I didn’t feel like I could with this paper. It was very frustrating for me to write the third paper, and it was a very different experience from the second where I was very comfortable and confident with what I was putting on to the page. Still, I value the experience that I gained from writing the third paper even through the struggles. It was made clear to me through the writing that this is obviously something I need to work on, and without this paper I would still be unaware of my lack of skills for a position essay. It was great practice, and I hope to be able to improve much further past the final product that I was able to complete. 

Riley Zook

Sonia Begert

English 101

02 December 2015

Women’s Education is Still Suffering from Gender Bias

           As we entered the twenty-first century, women in America were profiting in both monetary and emotional gains from the struggles of past generations. Women are allowed to vote in major elections, we hold positions in Fortune 500 companies, and Feminism is making its third comeback, with its largest group yet. One thing some might take for granted however, is education. Although college may still be a lofty dream for the average person, an education from kindergarten to twelfth grade is expected from every student. As students, we all share this common experience, but are our experiences identical? Are we all given the same chances to learn, are our accomplishments valued the same, does our work hold the same value? The short answer is no, but why? And how? The answer to the former question is incredibly complex, but at least part of the discrepancies can be attributed to gender. The latter, just as complex as the first, can be attributed not to women, but to the gender bias that permeates the field of education. It is these two factors, gender and gender bias, that intertwine and lead to the continuing underachievement of women in education.

           

           To understand the contributions that gender bias is making to this inequality, we must first know what the term means. “Gender Bias” is a sort of umbrella term that includes many forms of gender-based discrimination including macro aggressions like rape, or micro aggressions like gendered slurs and stereotypes. The best way to see how these aggressions, especially stereotypes, affect the education of women, is to look at how the people in power act towards women versus men in the classroom. In most cases, both female and male teachers interact more often and meaningfully with male students than their female counterparts (Duffy 591). This tells us that as a whole, male students are garnering more attention from their teachers than female students are. Face-to-face interaction is absolutely vital to the learning experience, and is why so many schools strive for low teacher-to-student ratios. As you decrease the amount of students in the classroom, the teacher is able to give more individualized teaching based on the student and their needs. What happens then, when female students are lacking interaction from their teachers, not because of large class sizes but their gender? Where does this gap come from? One answer may be gender based stereotypes. Teachers will call on male students more often to combat what they believe is a general lack of focus or interest that comes along with being male (Duffy 591). Unfortunately, the extra attention devoted to keeping the male students participating and learning, detracts from the female students in the class, and a gap is created.

           This gap can also be followed into the way that the educational achievements of male and female students are viewed. The differences in the education of women and men become especially clear when considering this topic. In general, female tend to attribute their failures in math to a lack of ability rather than effort, while for males, the opposite is true (Tiedemann 50). This trend continues to the teachers, and even parents of the students. The juxtaposition of these two views is shocking. Effort, or hard work and determination is seen to be the cause of most female students achievements, while with males, it is their ability. In this case, males are seen to be natural achievers who do not need to try in order to succeed. Not only does this downplay any actual work that male students may have done, but it also sends the message to female students that they have to try harder than males to succeed, because the ability is not natural for them. This subtle form of degradation can be a contribution to the underrepresentation of women when considering educational success. Would you want to try and achieve something if you knew automatically that the praise would be “Wow, you must have tried so hard”? This leads to even the simplest of tasks being presented to women as complex and difficult. What is even more concerning, is that confidence and achievement are linked, as confidence decreases, so do achievements (Tiedemann 50). While female students are not only losing confidence because of the way that their achievements are viewed, their actual educational accomplishments decrease along with it.

           We see through examination of these two aspects how the education of women may suffer from the effects of gender bias. We can also see the effects in test scores and performance. Although female students excel past male students in academics through high school and college, the test scores for women have historically always been lower than men. Here, in college admissions tests, are where we see the largest effect of gender bias in education. When looking at the SAT the scores of women are, on average, 33 points lower than males on the math section (FairTest). This score gap exists with students that take the same math course and attain the same grades. On the GRE, Males scored higher than women on all three separate portions of the test, with the largest difference of 97 points taking place in the quantitative section (FairTest).

Clearly, there is a problem with the tests if even the closest match of students has a difference of 33 points when taking gender into consideration. One reason we may find for this is shockingly, in the questions themselves. In the SAT, women scored higher than males in the verbal section, but lower on the math section. Seeing a discrepancy, the test makers changed the questions in the verbal section to better suit male test takers. After that point, men have consistently scored higher on than women on all portions of the SAT (FairTest). In this case, a discrepancy was fixed to allow men the same opportunity to answer the questions correctly. The math portion however, was never altered to allow women the same. At this level, where the tests may decide the outcome of our college education, it is acceptable for students to score lower only if those students are female. Not only do the questions themselves contribute to this problem though, but the format (Multiple choice vs. long-answer), timing, and guessing penalties partake in the larger issue in the same way (FairTest).

            Some educators and test makers however, do not attribute these differences to gender. For example, the gaps are sometimes explained away by the larger percentages of women who take college admissions tests versus men. Unfortunately, because of the way percentages work, if there were 1,000 women taking a test who scored an average of 33% lower than 1,000 men, the same would still be true if there were 1,000,000 women taking the test. Percentages fluctuate with the total, always holding the value as a part of the whole. You can have 33% by having 3.3/10, and also 33/100. The explanation behind this gap is unfounded in truth, and the gap between male and female test takers hold consistent even as the amount of women increases or decreases (FairTest).

            Another argument is that there is a gender bias in education, but most people simply are not aware of it to call for a change. In a recent poll out of 26 respondents, most respondents believed there was an overall gender gap in education that leans towards the benefit of males (Zook). Although the survey is small, it gives a valuable insight into actual students and past learners view on education and how it differs gender-to-gender from a first person perspective. As we see, people can be aware of a gender bias in education. What we cannot know however, is how much of it they are aware of. Are they aware of how it affects test scores? Do they know that is goes as far as perception of achievements? This lack of understanding may be what has led to the lack of any call to action against this.

            The continuing difference in the performance of women in educational settings even when presented with similar context, is what leads to the conclusion that gender bias has to play a part in the underachievement of women in education. The treatment of achievements, the interactions between teachers and students, and even tests that are supposed to be an unbiased look at academic standing of students, all show signs of being tainted by gender bias. These discrepancies not only help to widen the ever-expanding gap between men and women in academics, but also serves as an example of how gender bias specifically, leads to the suffering in quality of the education of women.

Jacob S. essay

1.       What is the claim?

a.       The main point the writer is trying to make, is that starting school later would benefit students, parents, and teachers.

b.      The thesis is clearly stated and there is no suggestion to dig through to try and find the thesis. The thesis is stated clearly at the end of the first paragraph.

2.       What support does the writer offer for the claim?

a.       Reasons to support the claim include teenager’s need more sleep than adults, a later start would lead to increased overall performance, and even safety benefits.

b.      Evidence used to support these reasons are testimonials from educators, and statistics in the form of percentages.

c.       The reasons are plausible, but might not be sufficient or sufficiently sourced. The writer is still lacking a third source.

3.       How evenhandedly does the writer present the issues?

a.       There are mentions of a counterargument, specifically one for cost, and the author acknowledges this argument and then gives an option to fix the problem while giving more support to his main argument.

b.      ^

c.       The author treats counterarguments respectfully, and explains their point of view sufficiently, allowing the reader to form an opinion about both sides.

d.      The writer does engage in generalizations without sources, and creates reasons that, while contextually appropriate, are not supported by evidence.

4.       What authorities or sources of outside information are used?

a.       The author uses each source to support reasons stated in a way that utilizes the subject matter appropriately. Each source is matched with a reason that makes sense, and there does not seem to be a disjoint in the sources and the reasons.

b.      The sources are credible, but the psychology today more so than the other from USA today.

c.       Each source is current, occurring within either this current year, or 2014.

5.       How does the Writer address you as a reader?

a.       The writer assumes that the audience is familiar with the experience of being a student in either high school or college.

b.      The language used by the writer mainly excludes the audience as they mainly use I, instead of we, but they do include the reader at certain areas that are appropriate.

c.       I do feel like the author and I share beliefs regarding the start time of schools. It is fairly clear how the writer feels that the start time of schools should be later for high school students especially, and I definitely agree with that stance, and how the writer states that a later start time would contribute to an overall better student performance.

Patrick K. essay

1.       What is the claim?

a.       The point the writer is trying to make is that video games do not cause violence.

b.      The thesis is stated clearly and firmly in the first paragraph.

2.       What support does the writer offer for the claim?

a.       The author gives reasons including how cooking in a game does not make you a chef, or acting as a lawyer in a game does not actually make you a lawyer, how when a popular game is released the players are actually playing the game and not outside committing violent crimes, and how game ratings should be taken into consideration and become more respected by parents when buying games for their children.

b.      The evidence provided by the author to support these reasons are visual elements like graphs, and testimonials by authorities.

c.       The reasons are plausible and sufficient, although the last reason concerning parents and appropriate game ratings feels disconnected partly, and may need some editing.

3.       How evenhandedly does the author present the issues?

a.       The author mentions a counterargument, but does not give any real specifics concerning the other arguments.

b.      The author mainly acknowledges that there may be a counterargument concerning a specific point and then goes on to refute the claims with reasoning and evidence.

c.       The author responds to counterarguments respectfully.

d.      The arguments are qualified and relevant especially with the current trend of gun violence in the United States.

4.       What authorities or sources of outside information does the writer use?

a.       The author uses each source in a way that relevantly ties them into the writing as a way to support each reason for the overall claim.

b.      Two of the sources are recognizable by name and are credible, while two others are more obscure and cannot bring to mind anything associated with them either positively or negatively concerning their credibility.

c.       Each source is extremely current, all from within the current year.

5.       How does the writer address you as the reader?

a.       The writer seems to assume that the audience or reader already has a position on the topic leaning towards disagreement with the author’s main claim.

b.      The language used by the author mainly excludes the reader, using mostly “I” rather than “we”. The argument reads more as a personal defense for video games rather than an unbiased collection of sources to support a claim.

c.       I don’t know though, if the author and I share any beliefs or attitudes toward the subject as I am inconclusive of my own position towards the topic, although I do tend to believe that games like “Grand Theft Auto”, and “Saints Row” contribute to violence and violent attitudes toward women and specifically sex workers. 

In the online publication Gender Bias in College Admissions Tests by FairTest, reviews of three separate college admissions tests are used to show a clear gender bias in each of the tests, with males consistently outscoring females. The writing then goes on to explain how there is no single reason for the gender bias in testing, but more a culmination of several different factors. It continues to dissect the tests and explain how each part contributes to the gender bias they already showed through data, including test questions, format, guessing, and “speededness”. the article then includes material from test makers who try to explain that the gap can be caused by the amount of females that take the tests, although as FairTest points out, the differences would be the same if looking at it from a percentage vantage if this was the case.

In the publication Attributional Gender Bias: Teachers' Ability and Effort Explanations for Students' Math Performance, published in the Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, the authors focus on the different attributions associated with achievements based on gender. They state that the attributions for females tend to be focused on effort, versus ability for males. The publication also goes on to study the teachers attitudes towards different genders and how they try to compensate for the discrepancies.

In the Publication Classroom Interactions: Gender of Teacher, Gender of Student, and Classroom Subject, published by Sex Roles, the authors focus on the genders of the teachers and students, along with the classroom subject, and how differing genders alters the interactions between the teachers and students. They also focus on how even though males were not more likely to create an interaction, teachers of all genders were more likely to interact with males.

Works cited

Duffy, Jim, Warren Kelly, and Margaret Walsh. "Classroom Interactions: Gender of Teacher, Gender of Student, and Classroom Subject." Sex Roles 45.9 (2001): 579-93. ProQuest. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Espinoza, Penelope, Arêas Da Luz Fontes, Ana,B., and Clarissa Arms-chavez. "Attributional Gender Bias: Teachers' Ability and Effort Explanations for Students' Math Performance." Social Psychology of Education : An International Journal 17.1 (2014): 105-26. ProQuest. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

“Gender Bias in College Admissions Tests” 20 Aug. 2007. FairTest.org. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Things About Sprigg’s Essay We Noticed

• Spriggs addressed the other points of views well and gave a bit of evidence even supporting the other side.
• She proved the evidence wrong, which built up her credibility.
• Sprigg’s argument didn’t have very solid facts, since her idea that she wanted to discuss is not something you can prove or disprove.
• Sprigg’s pictures added a good contrast for the farms.

Things About Our Essays We Noticed

• In Jacob’s essay, his author had a phD which made the author a bit more credible. His phD was in psychology (we think).
• In Jacob’s essay there is evidence and facts. There is a lot of solid facts, since the topic of school starting later is a tangible idea.
• Jacob’s essay had a very small counter argument. Same with Chloe’s. Same with Corben’s
• Corben’s essay was a very opinionated review, and there really wasn’t a counter argument for his paper. The counter argument would be not to buy it, but so far there hasn’t been a counter argument.
• Chloe’s essay didn’t have pictures, but if you had pictures of the topic “animal essay” it might be too graphic and scare people away.
• Riley did not have an essay, but has created a survey to collect personal responses.

Hey everyone. I recently made a survey to try and collect responses regarding the intersection of gender and education. It would be really helpful if you could take the time to respond and share your thoughts. It is pretty short, only 10 questions, so it wont take up a ton of time. Thanks.
 SURVEY LINK

AT&T commercial discussion

Both Corben and I watched and summarized the same ad.

• Both agreed there wasn’t really an appeal to logos, but mainly pathos.
• There was really only one example of ethos in this video, which is the police officer as he is in a position of power that most people respect.
• we both agreed that it was powerful because the interviewees were the family of the victims and in one case an actual victim impacted by distracted driving.
• we both watched the video and wrote the summary at the same time. Taking inspiration from what had been happening at the time in the video.
• we both thought that this would be the best way to write the summary as we would be able to capture the emotions and feelings that first came to us.
• Corben also said that it was interesting how the company that created the commercial was actually a phone carrier.
• I wrote about how the music in the beginning sets the scene for the rest of the video and almost foreshadows the tone of the ad.
• we also discussed how the last images of the relatives and victims holding up the last texts before the accident was powerful because of the clear negative effect that these simple messages had on the lives of these people.
• we both agree that it was an ad telling the audience and viewers not to text and drive and they support their position by giving examples and stories of how distracted driving can lead to accidents and deaths.

Album Covers:

            What do they suggest?

●     The female album cover is sexually suggestive, while the male album covers are more physically intimidating. In the male cover, the pictures almost have a cold and closed off feeling, while the female cover invites you closer.

            How do they suggest it?

●     The female album cover has a woman staring at the camera, but slightly upwards, giving the viewer the impression of being looked up at. This establishes the power balance between the woman on the cover and the viewers, with the woman being submissive and the viewer being dominant. After establishing this, the album cover suggests a sexual element by having the woman’s hair fall messily in front of her face, having her shyly peek out from behind it. It also has the woman placing her fingers into her mouth, touching her lips. This draws attention to the mouth and creates a sexual undertone in the cover.

●     The male album cover shows the men being the focus of the cover. Both are standing in the center, staring forward. Unlike the female cover, the men are not looking up at the camera but either directly at it, or downwards. This creates the illusion that the men are either on the same level as the viewer or up above, putting them in a position of power. Neither men are being portrayed sexually, but as stand alone people, without connection to the audience at all. The men seem to be dismissive of any audience, with the left covering his eyes and puffing his cheeks outwards, making himself bigger and harder to connect with, and the right has his mouth closed tightly, with his chin slightly turned up as if he was challenging the audience or viewers. Both sides are lacking in an invitation to come forwards like the female cover had.

            Which elements of each image work on the viewer in various ways?

●     The lighting, and shadows of the image captures  the viewer’s attention to the ideal stars.

●     The left rap cover album shows a more intimidation factor when looked at. The monotone colors and stark contrast create an essence of fear.

Rolex & Hello Kitty watches:

            What do they suggest?

●     The Hello Kitty watch suggests childness, though it is not limited to children it is aimed at a child demography.

●     The Rolex watch suggests being elite.

●     Both suggest an easier way to keep track of time.

            How do they suggest it?

●     The Hello Kitty goes about being childish by having simple designs that are more friendly. With the cartoon character on the watch face and circular, round edges suggest a more friendly appearance. Hello Kitty is a TV show about a friendly cat looking character, it is meant for children like the watch is meant for children.

●     The Rolex suggests it because there are many diamonds in the watch, and you have a good view of it’s fancy and expensive features. If you can buy such an expensive watch you are in an elite group of people.

●     The fact that they are advertising a product for watches usually suggests that people want to keep track of their time.

            Which elements of each images work on the viewer in various ways?

●     The angles of the watches are important, because the Rolex watch being more front facing is showing off all of it’s components while still allowing it to look professional.

●     Hello Kitty watch is tilted more to the side and standing so it looks more “fun,” if a watch could be considered fun. It is a simple watch, so that angle brings most of the attention to Hello Kitty itself and not the other parts of the watch, since Hello Kitty is the selling point. Hello Kitty is also a fun character, and is a cartoon character and cartoons mainly represent fun and non-seriousness.

Brief Outline Album Cover:

Thesis: The images convey a message about the objects by using strategies to tell the consumer about their product, and why they should buy it.

Introduction: Give necessary background info, like the history of each person and then begin to describe the covers.

Body paragraphs:

Female album cover: How her position draws people in. How the cover uses sex to sell. Where the girl is looking, and how that asserts dominance.

Male album cover: How their positions make them look interesting. How the cover uses power to sell. Where the guys are looking, and how that asserts dominance.

Compare and contrast of the covers: physical aspects and how the covers impact people. If allowed more research, which album sold better and the possible connection to the covers.

Counterargument: How a different conclusion could be drawn and what the argument would use as support. How it’s valid, but not as effective or complete as the one we are making.

Ending: Tie in the most important parts of each body paragraph into the conclusion that draws from the thesis and intro paragraph. Make a closing argument that uses a summary of the evidence stated, making sure to have addressed each part of your thesis.

Brief Outline Watches:

Thesis: The images convey a message about the objects by using strategies to tell the consumer about their product, and why they should buy it.

Intro: The Rolex and Hello Kitty are on opposite sides of the watch spectrum. With Hello Kitty being the fun side of having a watch, and the Rolex shows that having just a simple tool to tell the time can be turned into more of a fashion statement and a status statement. Watches have become more than just something to tell the time with they have become a way to express your status, whether it's young and fun, or elite and serious.

Body Paragraphs

Rolex- Rolex is stating that to be elite is to purchase one of there watches. By having jewels surrounding the clock portion, and a metal band all around we see that the watch is trying to argue that you can’t be as fancy unless you have this watch.

Hello Kitty- Consider the consumer that they are trying to sell this watch to. It would be amined at a younger audience that is more familiar with the cartoon show Hello Kitty. Kids want stuff that has something to do with their favorite show. Having Hello Kitty on the watch face is a celebrity endorsement. Consider how this would affect the consumer and how this is effective or ineffective.

Both Watches: How both watches have things in common in their strategies to sell the product. discuss why they might have these in common. Both watches have in common that they are specifically aimed at a certain group of people. Though the consumers are different, one being kids and the other wealthy adults, the products are still geared toward a certain audience.

Counterargument: How another conclusion about the two images might have been drawn and how. Acknowledge this, and also tie it into your own argument, using the failings of the other to help support your own, which also creates a more effective air of authority.

Ending : Conclude your argument, addressing every part of your thesis and drawing the argument back into the introduction. 

Reading Sources Critically

~What arguments does the author make?

●     The argument that white people and people of color who are not black should not use the n-word

●     The argument that there are two separate conversations by black people and white people and as white people, we should not have anything to do with the conversation that black people are having about the n-word.

●     The author argues for a clear position against the usage of the n-word by any group of people who are not black.

●     The argument is not ambiguous or long enough to call for an in depth analysis. The author is extremely straightforward in his reasoning but he does use personal anecdotes as justification and evidence for his argument.

●     The author makes the argument that even beyond use of the n-word, terms such as “redneck” or any possibly racist slur shouldn’t be used by people outside of the “family.”

~How persuasive do you find the argument?

●     I think the argument is quite persuasive because it is very open, and only really displays facts and the author's opinion. The author is trying to persuade you that he is right, and he backs up his own personal opinions with facts and ideals that are current to the argument of racism.

●     The speech is void of any exact sources or links because of it being an oral presentation. Though the speaker himself is quite credible due to his extensive background in anti-racist writings and speeches since 1995. He also has been updating teachers about how to teach kids un-racist and anti-racist topics.

●     The argument is persuasive because he backs up his opinion well through facts and widely accepted ideas that cannot really be challenged without the challenger being considered “racist”.

~What is the author’s stance?

●     The author objectively describes how the use of the n-word should be only be used by colored people in contrast to a white person because otherwise it would be considered racist.

~Does the publisher bring a certain stance to the work?

●     In this case, there was not a publisher attached to the work. However, the argument was originally published in a book by the author, “White Like Me”. When just discussing the video, we have no publisher to consider. If we turn our focus to the book, we may find a stance that was brought by the publisher.

●     If you consider YouTube the publisher, the author had the ability to turn off comments (which he did), and that itself brought a support to racism and their claim, because since it is the internet it is guaranteed someone would have started a debate and been racist in the comments.

~Do you recognize ideas you’ve run across in other sources?

●     Technically not a source, but in my everyday life I have found this controversy a lot, from music the word is used in, to improper use. For me personally (Chloe), I have always had an issue with the idea of “I’m from ___ race, I can make fun of them!” and I think that this source helped better define this idea in a non-racist way.

~Does this source support or challenge your own position -- or does it do both? EVERYONE SHOULD ANSWER

●     Chloe: This source supports my position and makes me believe even more strongly in how people should not use racial slurs such as the n-word. However, the idea that people can depreciate their own people groups is an interesting way to state that, because before this source I didn’t agree with it (as mentioned in the last question).

●     Jacob: This source definitely supports my position. Right before viewing the video I knew the n-word was inappropriate to use in my vocabulary, and by watching the video it furthered my knowledge on why it’s wrong. It showed a unique perspective on how the word should only be used in its own color group, but even then it still seems like it dehumanizes the value of a given people.

●     Riley: This source supports my position. I agree with the arguments being made by Tim Wise in that the use of the n-word by white people like myself and other non-black people of color is inherently racist because of the historical context behind it. As a people, whites have used the word to continually dehumanize black people, whether it is through slavery, micro/macro aggressions, or even large scale institutionalized racism.

●     Corben: This speech supports my own personal opinions on racism. I believe that white people don’t have the “rights” to the n-word and trying to make it okay to use in “politically correct” context is not something good to do. Just leaving the n-word to colored people to use how how they see fit is the best option, we as white people used and abused the word and now we should have no say in the matter.

~What can you tell about how the intended audience and purpose?

●     As a white person this spoke to me on high levels. The purpose of the video was to inform the audience that the use of the n-word is not funny business, or cute, but in fact a still modern racially charged term that shouldn’t be used by white people.

Think About the Genre: In class lab

Examples of times I have taken a position on anything:

·         What pie I think will be the best for thanksgiving

·         What movie I think sucks and which one I want to see

·         Why insurance companies are bad

·         Why we should have universal healthcare

·         Who the best presidential candidate is

·         Why we should have better access to reproductive healthcare

·         Why we need to have an equal rights amendment

·         Why “meninism” and “meninists” are exactly what is wrong with this planet

·         Why we need more women in congress

·         Why we need more women of color in congress

·         Why we need queer and people of color representation in media

·         Why we need trans-oriented bills for protection of rights

·         Why we should have gender neutral bathrooms everywhere

·         Why feminism is important and necessary for everyone

·         Why islamaphobia exists and is a real problem

·         Why reverse racism isn’t real

·         Why we need to fix the wage gap

·         Why trans-exclusionary and sex worker-exclusionary feminism is not feminism

Examples of times people around me have taken a position on anything:

·         A woman in my sociology class takes a position on how the Hijab is “oppressive”

·         My mom takes a position on which nail polish is better

·         My dad takes a position on which pie would be the best for thanksgiving

·         People everywhere take a position on the presidential candidates

·         People take a position on Benghazi during Hilary Clintons testimony

·         People take positions on if tattoos and piercings are professional in a traditional work place setting

·         People in my class take a position on which ads are the best to use for an analysis essay

       First Ad- “If You Wouldn’t Wear Your Dog…Please Don’t Wear Any Fur”

1.       The publisher for this ad was PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

2.       This ad was intended for people in Europe, as it was the first ad of its kind in Croatia. It would be for a general audience as it was posted on billboards and leaflets.

3.       The ad was originally posted on billboards and leaflets in Europe.

4.       The ad seems to be working towards ending animal cruelty and more specifically ending the fur trend.

5.       They use mainly emotional appeals as people tend to be attached to their pets. They use a statement that makes the consumer question why it is okay to wear fur from certain animals and not others.

6.       There is a picture of a person and a pug staring directly out from the picture, along with text that reads “If You Wouldn’t Wear Your Dog…Please Don’t Wear Any Fur”.

Second Ad – “For Luxuriant Hair”

1.       The publisher of this ad was Freedom For Animals

2.       This ad was probably intended for people who regularly use beauty products that involve animal testing.

3.       It is a fake ad for a hair product with a conventionally attractive woman in the forefront with some type of abrasion on the side of her face. It also has a caption on it stating “For Luxuriant Hair”, and then another saying “This is how 300,000 lab animals suffer each year”.

4.       The purpose is to get people to stop buying products from companies who abuse animals

5/6. They seem to be using emotional appeals by using a visibly hurt woman to show the damage that is normally caused to animals, making us sympathize with her, and then indirectly, the animals.

Third Ad – “Do You Support Cruelty To Animals?”

1.       This ad was published by Mercy for Animals.

2.       This ad was intended for people who shop or work at Walmart.

3.       The ad says that Walmart supports animal cruelty and asks if you, the audience, also supports it.

4.       The purpose of the ad is to persuade people to stop supporting Walmart because it supports animal cruelty, and to try and get Walmart to stop using cruel practices on their animals.

5.       They seem to be trying to end animal cruelty by showing a pig staring directly out from the ad between the bars of a cage. They are appealing to emotions by trying to gain sympathy from the audience for the pig that is in a situation where it is being abused.

6.       The evidence comes from the text on the ad and the picture that lays in the forefront of the ad.

Fourth Ad – “My Name Is Dee Dee”

1.       The ad was published by the ASPCA

2.       The ad was intended for any people who were looking for a pet and wondering if adopting from a shelter might be the best route for them, or for people who don’t want a shelter dog.

3.       The entire ad is a picture of a dog holding a ball in its mouth, mid-playtime. The text also tells a story of a dog, Dee Dee, who is waiting to be adopted by a family who understands her abused past and is willing to love her.

4.       The purpose of the text is to try and get people to adopt abused animals from shelters instead of breeders.

5.       They are once again using emotional appeals to spread their message, personifying the dog, and having the text in the point of view of the dog, as if Dee Dee is the one saying it. They are also pulling on emotions by saying that the dog is waiting for somebody to love, and implying that you could be that person.

6.       The evidence from the text would be the picture of the dog, and the story like text being displayed over the image.

All Ads – Group Statement.

7.       As a group, all ads are trying to end animal cruelty and promote the better treatment of animals using heavily emotional appeals to work towards their main purpose.

Corben and Riley