Author Archive
Paper 5 Assignment Plan
Issue: With government cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), all forms of cultural and artistic expression are suffering financially, including museums, theatres, music programs, historical sites, art exhibits, and public art education. In fact, many schools no longer offer dramatic arts programs to their students due to lack of funding. This will hurt the effectiveness of a child’s education. As our world begins to rely heavily on the importance of technological advances and the cyber-world, children may find less exposure to the medium that creates history, provides inspiration, and unites communities.
Specific Position: Without the support of the government in this public-sponsored resource(public education), there is little that low income areas can do to improve the quality of arts education; as a result, the low level of emphasis placed in music, visual art, and drama classes for students can begin to damper creativity. If this continues, citizens may begin to forget the importance of the arts to our students, no matter what their age may be. (When describing this importance, I will include some correlations to the experience of a student in a first grade music class to the skills applied by a managing executive at a large corporation- surprisingly, there are ties, which can be supported through research statistics)
Audience: I will be writing to Florida State Senator Lee Constantine, representative of District 22 (my home district). I will be utilizing my connections with Senator Constantine (He is a UCF honors graduate, was born in my hometown, and is an active member of the K-12 education committee. Yes, I was very fortunate.) He is very active in the protection of the environment, so I wish to thank him for his work, as this is something students like me still value at the University of Central Florida. Because he is an alumnus, I will also say that I place my trust in him to do all that he can for the better of our Florida education system.
Forum: This proposal will be written in a professional letter format. Lee Constantine is a member of the Committee on Education PreK-12, he is aware of the programs of focus in our public schools, so my focus can be directed onto the benefits of keeping funding for arts education, which will be supported by studies completed by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the U.S. Department of Education. I will also support my argument with personal experiences with the arts in my education and how it involved into a philanthropic event in my 12th grade year. I will apply an emotional appeal to my argument and maintain credibility from the studies compiled by education agencies, groups supporting the arts, and even people who do not see the importance of arts in education (counterargument).
Purpose: I want to gain his support for funding of arts education in our Florida public schools. I am also hoping that he can be a voice in the Republican party for the benefits of continued funding for arts in our publicly-run schools. I will not be talking about funding for other arts events because I want this letter to directly focus on children’s benefits of receiving a well-rounded education that has opportunity for creative outlet (My plan is to include some reference to studies I have accumulated that speak on behalf of underprivileged children and the correlation between their success rates and their exposure to expressive outlets in their education).
Some key points:
– The arts are essential to public education and the establishment of civil engagement
– It is estimated that the same amount of funding that goes into most state art programs could not even pay for 30 miles of highway construction (Ohio Arts Council)
– The NEA has served the public good for years by nurturing human creativity, supporting community spirit, and fostering appreciation for excellence and diversity of our nation’s artistic accomplishments.
– Communities of all types find ways to come together through participation, creation, and celebration of the arts and culture in their area.
– All forms of the arts- theatre, visual, and music classes for public school students- create social connections that extend way beyond community borders.
Thank you for any suggestions or comments 🙂
Sarah Thomas
My Plan for Paper 4
Assignment Plan 4
Purpose: Letter to a Florida Legislator on the importance of supporting arts funding, especially from governmental organization the National Endowment for the Arts.
Dear Mr./Mrs. Florida Legislator(still searching for the best recipient),
I request that you will hear my appeal for support of the arts in our Florida communities. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
As an undergraduate student in Central Florida, I cannot explain how much I appreciate the opportunities I have been given to embrace all forms of the arts through my education. It drew me in at an early age. Similarly, most students will never forget their elementary school art, music, and language classes; this opportunity for creative expression has become a necessary component in any child’s education. It is proven that the arts are not simply a hobby; children who participate in the arts are proven to have success in their education and other areas of their life. For example, a recent study of 25,000 middle and high school students showed that those more involved in the arts received higher scores on their standardized tests than those without this experience. Another research team in 2007 found that children who took four years of arts education would out-perform their peers who had less than a half of year of arts courses by 58 points on the verbal section and 38 points on the math section of the SAT. The numbers speak for themselves…
– Next paragraph: my experience owning/running a benefit theatre company. Lessons learned in management, creating community connections, and being a productive vessel towards a cure for Multiple Sclerosis(NMSS).
– Plans to continue with statistics and personal statements that show how the arts promote Florida tourism and economic sustainability (keep this aspect localized, as we are a big tourism center).
– Final thoughts will include the principle that legislators are meant to be role models for the rest of our state, so if they support arts funding as an important aspect of our community, citizens will respond to the need for donations(along with NEA support).
Thank you for anyone who offers their opinion on my plan, I appreciate your help. 🙂
– Sarah Thomas
Figurative Language: Orlando Sentinel
Stop Breaking the Bank: Universities won’t get control of sports spending without cutting pay for coaches.
An article written in the Orlando Sentinel on November 1, 2009 blames the enourmous paycheck written to college football coaches as the reason for out-of-control spending on sports programs. It uses the example of the University of Central Florida’s Coach O’Leary, who is reported to receive $1.26 million annually and has had many team losses in his past six years. While a panel from the Knight Commission is suggesting ways to lower expenses, such as shortening seasons or cutting travel, they continue to ignore the outrageous costs of their coaches and assistant coaches. The article included statistics on UCF’s tuition, job cuts, and sports records, all of which point to the importance of establishing fair wages.
Below are some examples of figurative language used in the article.
Simile:
– The economic model for major college athletics is collapsing like an overmatched offensive line under a relentless blitz.
Analogy:
– The presidents at these Division I-A schools fingered exorbitant salaries for football and basketball coaches as the main culprit. (personifies the salaries as culprits)
– Consider the University of Central Florida as Exhibit A.
– But the [Knight Commission] panel is ignoring the middle linebacker in the room: sky-high coaching salaries.
Metaphor:
– It’s ironic that university presidents would cite salaries for coaches as the biggest problem, yet do nothing about it. Until they declare a truce in their bidding war, athletics programs will be on shaky ground.
Personification:
– The [University of Central Florida] now leans on students paying [student athletic] fees — $12.68 per credit hour — to cover almost half its athletics budget… UCF joined other Florida schools in hiking its tuition 15 percent this year. It also targeted four academic programs for elimination and a fifth for suspension. (personification of the university; takes on human actions of “leaning” and “targeting”; also play on words with “hiking” as a football terminology)
– With the recession cutting into revenue for athletics programs — including ticket sales, donations and corporate sponsorships — universities are straining to make up the difference.
– It would pay him $5 million if he is fired before the pact expires. The school would be hard-pressed to justify swallowing the cost of [the] buyout [of Coach O’Leary], even in good times. (personification of school “swallowing”)
– If money weren’t so tight in its athletics program, UCF might not have to sweat so much over the prospect that it could lose an exclusive six-year, $3 million contract with adidas. (personification, “sweat”)
– For every school like the University of Central Florida, whose marquee teams generate big bucks, there were almost four bleeding money.
My Plan: Paper 3
Issue: With current drastic budget cuts from government and corporate sponsorship, the arts are losing funding. This includes visual arts, performance, concert series, and even school programs that raise artistic awareness. Barak Obama’s stimulus plan was debated in the Senate and originally had zero financial support to the National Endowment to the Arts, and finalized to provide only 0.0063 percent of its funding for artistic support and development. I plan on researching the benefits of government support the arts as well as the cons of this financial commitment.
Sources: My sources will come from the local newspapers, members of the artistic world, government websites, sites of senators who support or oppose this funding, and local institutions that are affected by the financial cut. I want to have an understanding of how art institutions would otherwise be able to increase funding without government aid, and learn about why the government should consider investing more into the arts. I have a strong emotional appeal for my argument because of my background in performance, and would like to add some facts and authority to my argument after viewing the opposing side.
Database: The x-axis will be a listing of my sources by title of the article and author. Going horizontally, there will be supplemental information about each source, such as summary of the article, stakeholder, argument/counterargument (if applicable), rhetoric strategies used, important data, and audience.
Rhetorical Situations: 1. A local newspaper submission explaining to citizens the reasons for pushing congress to aid the arts financially, accompanied by the facts from both sides and a brief background on the issue. 2. A persuasive letter to legislation giving my reasons for funding the arts, examples of how this will benefit education and preservation of our American history.
My googledocs account is sarah1twin@aol.com and my Delicious username is Sarah1twin. (I have been having trouble with my internet for the past few hours so I hope they are working now.)
“Trust Me, I’m a Doctor: New Dr. Pepper Commercial”
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A new commercial released by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group features their famously unique-tasting soda, Dr. Pepper, with the support of big-name celebrities known to the entertainment world by their relationship to the word “Doctor”. The new slogan, “Trust me, I’m a doctor”, ends the commercials endorsed by basketball player Julius Erving- “Doctor J”, writer of KISS hit “Calling Doctor Love”- Gene Simmons, and most recently, American record executive and producer “Dr. Dre”.
Dr. Dre’s commercial relies heavily on all modes of persuasion, and fools the audience of the celebrity’s authority. The commercial begins with Dr. Dre amidst a stylish, upscale house party in a very metropolitan area. The colors of the house are reminiscent of a night-club, and everyone there is wearing fashionable clothes in rich, dark colors. This alone is a drawl for consumers, who are interested in watching the commercial for its visual effectiveness. Dr. Dre begins his monologue with a command of the room and a charismatic way that even makes a young female bartender smile while she hands him a Dr. Pepper. He is charismatic and uses a vocal tone that is easy to understand and conveys the “smoothness” of a slow-pouring glass of the soda- this delivery is derived from pathos. He says, “Scientific tests prove that when you drink Dr. Pepper slow, twenty-three flavors taste even better.” This is misleading logos, as we are not sure if there really are scientific tests done on the drink unless cited in the commercial; some consumers, though not many, may question the authority of Dr. Dre in this statement.
The music celebrity continues to command the room as he walks outside to a dance floor. He pronounces, “For me, slow always produces a hit.” While watching the commercial, this logos does not jump out as a generalization of Dr. Dre’s success in the music industry, but it seems cool enough for the watcher to take his word because of his international fame. The outdoor party appears to the consumer as boring, and there is some humor added by a small, socially awkward d.j. that is dancing in the corner tables to his bouncy club music. Again, logos is used as Dr. Dre walks straight toward the d.j. and puts his Dr. Pepper on one of the turn tables. The music is immediately slowed to a song, and a multitude of chic dancers engulf the floor at once. This is a convincing way to show ethos, and the support of his statements add logos to the argument: “Slower is better. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”
Another fallacy of this commercial is Dr. Dre’s promotion of a unreleased album clip that is played in the background during the last scene. While being a distraction from the product being sold, this excites anticipating viewers and encourages them to watch the advertisement multiple times or tell their friends to view it. As a diversion, it leaves the mental connection between a cool new release song and the desire to buy Dr. Pepper products, which really has no correlation. The cool atmosphere supplied in the commercial cannot be bought by purchasing a Dr. Pepper, and the party goers’ response to the soda is because of actors and extras that are told how to react to the introduction of Dr. Pepper. Perhaps the greatest logical fallacy comes from the nicknames of the celebrities, referring to them as “Doctors”. Whether meant to suggest knowledge or remind people of taking a prescription from a health care provider, the name correlation gives consumers a sense of trust in the authority of a music expert to determine what soda products they should buy. Pretty big stretch- and yet, it works.
Rhetorical Strategies at Work, based on techniques in “Everything’s an Argument”
In Everything’s an Argument, pathos, egos, and logos, the three rhetorical strategies, are defined. A recent article on the OrlandoSentinel.com website displays all three strategies in a concise and efficient way. In this letter to the Editor, Jennifer Krebs, member of the Grey2K USA board of directors, hopes to ban dog racing nationwide.
She starts her appeal with an example of a recent dog track closure as a rebuttal to a previous article entitled “Protestors dog Longwood Track”; at this point, Krebs is using logos (logic) strategy and supplying the reader with some background on the argument. She explains that there have been more closings of dog racing tracks nationwide, most recently with the banning of dog racing in Massachusetts. With this, she points out that Florida is the state with the greatest number of greyhound race tracks and has the most power in preventing “thousands of dogs [from being] killed every year when they are injured or are no longer fast enough to be profitable”. In paragraph three, Krebs continues with more logos, showing that she has done her homework and knows statistics; for example, quoting the National Greyhound Association, “an estimated 5,000 dogs were killed in 2003 alone” adds to the enormity of her claim, raises the stakes, and gives a concrete visual that experts on racing and pet lovers can both understand. This piece of evidence in imperative, as she previously affirms that “Gary Guccine’s statement that only a few greyhounds are euthanized is false.” Without facts to back up this claim, Krebs would not be able to prove authority of the logos technique or supplement her frank statement with integrity of research.
Some of Krebs’ argument seems incomplete, but because I am attached to the topic, it may be hard for someone in my position to critique her words. Warranting that “the number of dogs retired from racing exceeds the number of adoptive homes”, while attempting to display facts, is not cited by any credible source, nor does she offer statistics to support her claim. Still, this statement offers plenty of pathos; readers do not have to be dog lovers to understand the magnitude of these circumstances.
Other strong word choices used to describe the lifestyle of racing dogs evoke more pathos. The sentences in Krebs’ second paragraph are short and continuously supply the reader with more information about their habitats, how they are treated, and the conditions resulting from their imprisonment. She explains that “racing greyhounds endure lives of constant confinement in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. While racing, many dogs suffer and die from injuries including broken legs, paralysis, cardiac arrest and heat stroke.” This technique is very affective, because she is talking from first-person point of view, meaning she has directly witnessed the occurrences. These sentences also create a bridge between pathos and logos.
As a member of the Grey2K USA board of directors, Krebs establishes credibility by her position, a common ethos technique, but as a reader, I am unaware of the significance of this “board of directors” job. More thorough research would be required to understand how she can be an authority of the previous comments. (After doing more through research, I found that Grey2K USA is an advocate group which has successfully closed down race tracks nationwide. They also help with adoption programs to save retired greyhounds.)
Honors Composition II 