October 2020

In this YouTube video Celeste Headlee talks about 10 ways to have a better conversation. She states that all of the things we are use to hearing when it comes to conversation making is trash and we need to throw all of it out. She gave lots of tips that I would not have thought about before but they are all very true. All of the advice she gives is very useful but the one I think would allow me to have better conversations would be to use open ended questions. Most of the time when I am having a conversation I tend to use answers that are very short and it is hard for people to answer to that. If I start to use open ended questions I feel like it will allow me to learn more about that person but also allow them to think about the conversation also. Open ended questions will also give me insight to how that person feels and might allow me to think about the situation differently also.

I  would give the first student’s essay a letter grade of a C. I would give this student this grade because the introduction does not have a good hook. The conclusion also did not sum up the purpose of the essay. Although they refer to past times a lot it still does not show logical reasoning to why they think this. He refers to the past too much and does not talk about the current situation enough. 

I would give the second student’s essay an A. They have a very good hook at the beginning which makes people want to keep reading it. The introduction introduces the main theme of the essay. The writer then waits until the second paragraph to show what the essay is about. The student also sounds very educated about their topic and states why they think what they think. It was a very good essay and that is why I would give it an A.

https://twitter.com/RAMRANTS/status/930065838387863552?s=20 

 

This statement which turned into a thread, was posted on twitter by Richard Armande Mills, a conservitive who works with Turning Point USA. Mill’s organization helps introduce students to the aspects of freedom, free market, and limited government. His goal is to try to get students to understand these aspects and maybe even try to get them to believe what this organization believes. This thread which was posted by Mills shows that Mills believes that Joe Biden is an “open sexual predator.” By posting this tweet Mills wants others to bring light on the situation of Joe Biden and what he is actually doing. This thread of tweets has a rhetorical appeal to ethos, pathos, and logos. 

 

In this thread of tweets it is very obvious that this situation has a rhetorical appeal to ethos. Mill’s purpose of this thread is to help show people that Biden is not a good person like everyone thinks he is. He is trying to change people’s views on Biden by showing them his true character. Mills uses videos to prove his beliefs. All of his videos come from reliable sources like the news and other live footage from when these events have taken place. This shows that the sources used by Mills are credible because every video is live and they can’t change live footage. 

 

These threads of tweets also have a rhetorical appeal to pathos. Pathos is the use of emotions and affect to persuade. As you can tell in this thread that this is one of Mill’s main ways of proving his point. He uses the videos to provoke an emotional response which also allows the viewers to have compassion towards the topic. Mills also uses descriptive details in summarizing what is happening in the videos, which allows the audience to understand what is actually happening. The videos also show Biden grabbing and holding the children in inappropriate ways. Mill’s hope for this thread is to persuade the viewers to see the truth about what Biden is actually doing while using ethos. 

 

The rhetorical appeal of logos is also shown in this thread of tweets. Logos are shown by the descriptions of the videos. At the top of the videos Mills writes what is happening in the videos which shows why he believes that Biden is an open sexual predator. The videos also are objective reports so this brings credit to his beliefs. This is how the logic and reasoning of Mill’s thinking is shown. 

 

Mills has shown a use of all the rhetorical appeals in his thread. He has used credibility, emotional appeals, and other aspects to show what he believes and why he believes it. Although this topic is very controversial and could have many different views on it, he did a good job in showing why he feels this way and what made him feel this way. 

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Grant-Davie, Keith. “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents.” Rhetorical Review, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1997, 17.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In this article Grant-Davie suggests the steps that writers should take to analyze the rhetorical situations to understand why it is necessary. The author also explains that the writer should first learn what discourse is and incorporate it into their work, which will then allow the writer to understand the rhetorical situation better, which will help the writer’s work. The author also suggests the writer needs to work within the constraints of the rhetorical situation. This will allow the writer and also the reader to understand the concept of the writing and will allow them to connect to it more.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	“receptivity- ability to respond to the conditions and demands of individual situations.”
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This article connects to other articles we have read in class because we have also read other articles that also give information about rhetorical situations.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Have you recently put this advice to your papers, and if so has it helped you any?