TOW #23: DHL Advertisement

Have a “So What?” conclusion

Relate the major and minor premises to my analysis for an advertisement

Strong transition sentences

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Though irrelevant, DHL claims that both came in second, behind DHL’s first place speed. DHL uses logical fallacies in its advertisement to show that DHL is the best delivery service because of its speed. DHL uses symbolism to catch the attention of viewers of the advertisement and an analogy to achieve the purpose of the ad.

DHL uses symbolism to achieve the purpose of gaining the attention of viewers. DHL’s logo consists of a color scheme containing red and yellow. By keeping the advertisement’s main colors consistent with the logo’s colors DHL catches the attention of the viewer of the ad. It is unknown where the advertisement appeared, but since it consists of bright and familiar colors, it is very difficult for a viewer to pass over. The colors also allow the viewer to see that the advertisement is a DHL ad without even having to make the logo very large. The symbolism of DHL’s logo draws the viewer into the advertisement.

By using an expression that is common to many, DHL also creates a humorous analogy that is the major premise. Many people wonder, which came first the chicken or the egg? DHL’s answer to this question is neither, because DHL is “always first”. This analogy between the chicken and the egg and DHL’s speed shows the major premise that claims that it is important for a delivery service to be fast. Since DHL claims that it is always first through its analogy, the advertisement’s minor premise is that DHL is always first. The analogy in the advertisement has the effect of showing that a consumer should pick DHL because speed is an important factor in a delivery service, and DHL is the best choice because it is the fastest.

            When choosing a delivery service, it is important for the consumer to determine what characteristic is most important. DHL believes that the speed of a delivery service is the most important factor of a good delivery service. DHL uses symbolism to draw attention to their advertisement and connect it to their name, and an analogy to humorously show the speed of DHL. DHL finally has the answer to a commonly asked question.

TOW #22: "Into Thin Air", Hannah Beech and Nikhil Kumar

In a world in which any phone can be tracked, and people can easily be spied on, how is it that a plane can go missing? Ever since March 8^th, many countries have been searching large areas that relate to many experts’ theories of where Malaysia Airlines flight 370 could be. Hannah Beech and Nikhil Kumar wrote “Into Thin Air” in The New York Times to question how it is possible for a jetliner to get lost with today’s technology. Beech and Kumar use analogies and references to achieve their purpose.

            To understand how unusual it is for the plane to be lost with today’s technology, Beech and Kumar use analogies to explain the perplexity. They describe, “The world’s intelligence agencies can watch and listen to millions of us as we go about our lives. Even us nonspies have plenty of tracking technology at our disposal. Pull up a web browser and with a few keystrokes we can locate our lost iPhones, track satellites as they circle the earth, use Google Maps to explore far-off lands.” By describing the easily accessible technology that is available to a common person that can track even the simplest things, a reader than can understand how odd it is for the plane to be missing. The use of allusions allows Beech and Kumar to ask the question, how is it that experts are not able to locate a large plane?

            Beech and Kumar also reference aviation experts to further their questioning. They quote Robert Benzon, who spent 25 years as an aircraft-accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, “In my business, there’s what they call a tombstone mentality – to get things done, you have to have blood or dead people.” Benzon is referring to why planes, including Malaysia Airlines flight 370 do not have the most advanced technology on board. By referencing Benzon, Beech and Kumar have the ability to question why the passengers’ safety onboard airplanes is put after economic concerns, even after events like 9/11. If it is possible to improve the safety of people why would it not be done? This helps explain the need for questioning by Beech and Kumar to not only explain why this plane can not be found, but also improve requirements that may prevent a situation like this from ever occurring again.

            It is hard to believe that with all of the technology readily available that experts were able to lose a plane. Hannah Beech and Nikhil Kumar use analogies and references in “Into Thin Air” to question how it is possible for a plane to be lost. Not only do they achieve this purpose, but they also open the idea of making requirements that would prevent an event like this from reoccurring. 

TOW #21: "Are Malls Over?", Amy Merrick

As technology becomes more advanced, it changes the ways that many people live. Not only is technology changing the way that people communicate, but it is also redefining how people shop. No longer do Americans trek out to outdated malls to do their shopping, since they are able to make all of their purchases online comfortably in their homes. Amy Merrick, writer for The New Yorker, wrote “Are Malls Over?” to describe the decline of popularity that Americans have with malls. Merrick uses anecdotes as well as analogies to show how malls are becoming less popular and how malls must be reinvented in order for them to not become obsolete.

Merrick uses an anecdote to provide the background of the typical American mall. Merrick recalled, “When the Woodville Mall opened, in 1969, in Northwood, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, its developers bragged about the mall’s million square feet of enclosed space; its anchor tenants, which included Sears and J. C. Penney; and its air-conditioning—seventy-two degrees, year-round!” She then describes how this same mall is being demolished this year along with many other malls due to their outdated qualities. By providing this anecdote Merrick is showing how malls were once the hot new trend in America, but are quickly becoming outdated and unneeded. After proving that the typical American mall is becoming less popular, Merrick’s anecdote than allows her to suggest the idea of reinventing the American mall.

Merrick’s analogies allow her to show the opportunity for success if malls were reinvented. “As any cubicle dweller knows, people like natural light and fresh air and, when deprived of them, feel oppressed. So are people alienated by those older malls, with their raw concrete, brutalist architecture and fretful, defensive air?” By comparing a cubicle dweller to a shopper, Merrick is able to determine the key details, like natural light and fresh air that may reinvent the mall. Her comparison allows her to then provide others’ research and draw to the conclusion that outdoor malls with more than just shopping experiences may reinvent the mall, and make the mall popular once again.

            Today, many typical American malls are being closed. In order for malls to thrive once again, they must be able to adapt to the new technology and appeal to the shoppers. This is why Amy Merrick uses anecdotes and analogies to show how the typical American mall is becoming less popular, and needs to be reinvented before malls become obsolete. Developers need to pin point the desires of shoppers that will make a mall desirable to be frequented by the shopper to help malls thrive once again.

TOW #20: "Big Score", Elizabeth Kolbert

What does SAT even stand for? After reading “Big Score”, an essay written by Elizabeth Kolbert in The New Yorker, the reader learns that the letters SAT stand for itself and no longer have a meaning. The reader learns this through the author retelling a mother’s journey to retake the SATs as an adult, and the process that she goes through while completing the task. Kolbert uses anecdotes and metaphors to show through a mother’s experience how the SATs are more difficult today than they were in the past.

            Kolbert uses many anecdotes to retell the history of the SATs while she explains the task to prepare for them. Kolbert adds an anecdote about the founder of the SATs, “Brigham intended the test to be administered to students who had already been admitted to college, for the purposes of guidance and counseling. Later, he argued that it was foolish to believe, as he once had, that the test measured “native intelligence.” Rather, he wrote, scores were an index of a person’s “schooling, family background, familiarity with English, and everything else.” Kolbert shares this to show how the more that the SAT is evolving, the more stressful it is becoming for students. Since the SAT has a different intent than was originally thought to have by the founder, than it may not be the best test for determining whether or not a student is smart enough to get into college. This anecdote allows the reader to understand the stress that is put on people preparing for the SATs because it tests more than just one’s intelligence.

            Kolbert also uses metaphors to help the reader understand the mother’s experience. She starts off by telling how when she took the SATs in high school, she was not successful. Despite, her unsuccessfulness, she managed to become a successful publisher. She uses a metaphor to explain how times are not the same for her son now, as they were for her when she was in high school. “The land I would be sending my little tadpole into was a different place.” This metaphor shows the pain that parents feel for their children who are taking the SATs. The SATs are not only more difficult than they were in the past, but there is also a lot more competition out there. Students can no longer rely on getting a good job out of college. This is why it is important for students to do well on the SATs so they get into the best college, and have the best opportunity to get a good job following college. Today’s competiveness only adds to the stress of students, and makes the current SATs more difficult than they have ever been.

            It is hard for parents to understand the stress that students have when taking the SATs. The test is much different than it was in the past, and that is why Kolbert retells the story of a mother trying to retake the SATs as an adult to help other parents understand the difficulty of the current SATs. Kolbert uses anecdotes and metaphors to prove how today’s SATs are more difficult than they have ever been.

TOW #19: $10.10, Peter Coy

Writing/Reading Goals

-Have strong introductory sentences and transition sentences between paragraphs

-Have an extended conclusion “so what?”

-Read an essay with unfamiliar terms

-Provide more analysis that leads to more effects of the specific device

-When close reading try to find devices that I usually do not find

-Have conclusion flow with the rest of the essay

President Obama’s recent State of The Union Address has caused fierce debate after he proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10. Many politicians have taken different sides of the debate without conducting sufficient research. Peter Coy, a writer for Bloomberg Business Week wrote “$10.10” to share his research and views on the proposed raise of minimum wage in the United States. Coy uses juxtaposition and quotes from others to prove how raising minimum wage may not be the solution of how to end poverty.

Peter Coy uses juxtaposition to help the reader understand the significance of an income. To create a juxtaposition, Coy provides examples of the average wage for jobs in the U.S, wages of unskilled workers in other countries, the poverty line, prices of goods, and Obama’s proposed minimum wage of $10.10.  The juxtaposition enables Coy to effectively prove the point that there is no way that one can survive off of minimum wage in the United States, especially if a Starbucks Frappuccino costs $5.93, only $1.32 more than the current minimum wage. This comparison allows the reader to understand how little people are currently making off of minimum wage. From Coy’s juxtaposition, the reader also learns how much smaller of an income a skilled American worker may make compared to an unskilled worker in Denmark who makes $20.88 an hour. By comparing this fact to the proposed minimum wage, the reader can understand why Coy believes that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 will not fix the economy if workers in other countries are making much more for unskilled work than skilled American workers are making. By providing all of these examples, Coy effectively shows the difficultly of living off of a minimum wage income, and how raising minimum wage will not be the solution.

Coy also quotes economists to show how raising the minimum wage will not be enough to fix the economy. Coy quotes Amy Glasmeier, a MIT professor who made a “living wage” calculator to determine the income needed for people to live efficiently. Glasmeier provides an example of a Mexican immigrant living in Minnesota who makes $8 an hour cleaning floors of a department store, and cares for her four children. Glasmeier’s calculator found that a parent living in the same town with three children needs a living wage of $33.28. With one less child, this is still no where near the current income of $8 or the proposed new minimum wage of $10.10. Clearly for the woman in the example, raising the minimum wage would not be nearly enough for her to live efficiently. Since this example is just one of many, the reader can see how many people are living off of much less money than they need.  Coy’s use of quotes with research that supports his claims not only shows how raising the minimum wage will not help the economy to the extent that is needed, but he also creates credibility for his argument.

As both parties debate whether or not minimum wage should be raised, Peter Coy takes a different approach to prove how even if the minimum wage is raised the problem of poverty will not be solved. Coy proves this through his use of juxtaposition and quotes. Coy exemplifies how many people have been loosely thinking about minimum wage, and suggests that the United States may even be a step behind other countries when it comes to the economy. 

IRB Intro #3: Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

For my IRB for the third marking period I am reading Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer. It is about a man named Christopher Johnson McCandles who came from an affluent family, graduated from Emory University and then gave away everything he had to go into the Alaskan wilderness. His body was later found by moose hunters, shortly after Jon Krakauer was asked to write an article for Outside Magazine about the events. Krakauer was so fascinated by the story that he decided to do enough research to write a book. In the book I can expect to find uses of imagery and other forms of figurative language in order for me to connect and form emotions to the events in the story. I expect to learn about human instinct when put on the brink of death. As well as human emotion that causes someone to take such a dangerous risk as spending your whole life savings and traveling alone to the forests of Alaska.

TOW #18: The 80's called... they want their store back; Radioshack Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5i91rOlFMY

As technology is improved and evolves products daily, the stores that supply the products need to evolve as well. Knowing the need for their advancement, Radioshack aired a commercial during the Super Bowl to show how they are evolving with the time. In their commercial, Radioshack uses sarcasm and symbolism to show how they are improving for the twenty-first century.

Not only is Radioshack faced with outdated stores, but they are also running business under an outdated name. This is why in their commercial they use sarcasm to make humor of their name. They use the common joke of “The 80’s called and they want their store back” to make joke of their name. Since it is known that their name is about a product, the radio, an outdated technology it is fitting that they use sarcasm to provide humor for their audience and themselves. By using sarcasm to make fun of their name, Radioshack makes the commercial memorable not only because of the humor that is in the commercial, but also because of the fact they are making fun of themselves. This shows that Radioshack acknowledges that they needed to improve for their customer, and now that they did, and the customer will know that they have the latest technology.

Radioshack also uses symbols of the 80’s to add to the humor and joke of the 80’s wanting their store back. The commercial has icons that almost anyone can relate to as 80’s entertainment. By having these icons walk into the store and take all of the technology that is also associated with the 80’s adds an element of humor, as well as shows how Radioshack is emptying out to update their stores to the current expectations. Radioshack then shows products by well-known brands such as Beats and Samsung to show the viewer that their stores have all of the most advanced products that they would want. 

Radioshack effectively uses their Super Bowl commercial to show how even with a name that is associated with an outdated product, they are updating all of their stores to be one of the most up to date stores with the most advanced products. They are able to show this in their commercial through their use of sarcasm and symbolism that also adds humor, making their commercial memorable to every viewer.