TOW #3 - Visual Text "Liking Isn’t Helping. Be A Volunteer. Change A Life"

     The 21st century has become known as the age of technology. While the advancement in this field has allowed great innovations to be made, there have also been some drawbacks.  People are connected better now more than ever, but the strong network has not necessarily translated to positive progression. In an advertisement produced by the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), a non-profit humanitarian aid organization, a powerful image clearly depicts the modern day issue with technology. The CRS attempts to persuade Americans into volunteering those in crisis rather than just watching the ongoing issues on social media without taking action. By appealing to the audience's emotions and using satire, the organization conveys a dynamic idea to millions of United States' civilians.
     The Catholic Relief Service presents a bold image of a helpless child wrapped around the body of his mother to effectively spread their message. The organization directly captures the interests of Americans and touches their hearts through the use of pathos. By appealing to the audience's emotions, the CRS makes Americans realize the urgency of the humanitarian issues and persuades them to take action. In addition, the monochromatic coloring creates a more depressing mood, which makes the audience sympathize to a greater extent. Ultimately, the heartbreaking image influences viewers to go and assists people in need, such as the frail boy in the poster.
    The use of satire also changes the perspectives of Americans and convinces them to volunteer. A sense of stupidity and ignorance is highlighted by the pointed up thumbs surrounding the feeble boy. The thumbs represents the iconic "like" button on social media, but more specifically, it signifies the lack of consideration by the American population.  By ridiculing its audience through this symbolic image, the CRS persuasively convinces people to stop lingering and start helping deprived individuals. Hence, the utilization of pathos and satire in this compelling advertisement effectively spreads a meaningful message to countless Americans.
 

Link: http://www.demilked.com/social-advertisement-powerful-ads/

TOW #2 - China and North Korea: Nuclear Tests Highlight Complex Relationship

     Dictator Kim Jung Un and his country, North Korea, has induced tension to the rest of the world once again with the recent nuclear bomb tests. The latest experiment done on September 9th was the strongest-ever nuclear test in the nation's history. With the heighten tensions, North Korea and its bordering neighbor, China, displays the complicated relationship between the two nations. China is one of very few nations that have the ability to influence North Korea, yet the Chinese government is not denouncing the recent activities in Pyongyang. If China condemn the nuclear tests, the country would be supporting its opposition, the United States. However, China also cannot allow for continuous experiments to take place due to safety issue. Cassandra Vinograd, a reporter for NBC News, clearly illustrates this convoluted tie between China and North Korea to the American pubic through metaphors, similes, and rhetorical questions.
     Throughout her article, Vineograd utilizes figurative language to exhibit the aforementioned unique relationship. The author connects the two nations in the beginning of her article stating, "Beijing is the isolated nation's lifeline" and later on writing, "the relationship characterized by some former Chinese leaders as 'close as lips and teeth'". Rather than describing the connection between North Korea and China in a literal sense, the reporter employs metaphors and similes to vividly illustrate her claim. The purpose of her article is to 'highlight [the] complex relationship', and the best way to achieve this goal is to create a representation that the readers can easily understand. The use of rhetorical devices not only creates a clear image of the difficult situation, but also assists readers to comprehend the topic better.
    To further strengthen her purpose, Vineograd asks rhetorical questions over the course of her text. The title of the sections in her articles read "Who's provoking who?", "What are the options?", and "So now what?".  The author intentionally titles the section in this manner to make her audience connect back to the reason she wrote this piece.  By asking these broad questions, her readers dig deeper into the article and understand just how complicated the relationship is for themselves.  Hence, Cassandra Vinograd effectively informs the American population of the foreign affairs through the use of various powerful rhetorical devices.

Link: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/china-north-korea-nuclear-tests-highlight-complex-relationship-n648691

TOW #1 - The master plan behind Apple Airpods and iPhone 7

The notorious company, Apple, has made a tremendous leap in the technology industry once again. On Wednesday afternoon, the corporation revealed the much anticipated iPhone 7. Matt Weinberg, the tech reporter for Business Insider, recapped the significant reveal of the new device in his recent article, The master plan behind Apple AirPods and iPhone 7. The biggest headline that came out of Apple’s announcement was the removal of the traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack and the creation of “AirPods”, a wireless Bluetooth headphone. The innovative technology that Apple has incorporated in its new devices is a huge risk for the company; nevertheless, taking a chance has allowed better features to be added to the newest iPhone. Weinberg effectively captures the interests of the millions of tech enthusiasts around the world by organizing the article in a coherent manner and relating to his audience in his writing.

To organize his article, Weinberg divides Apple’s “master plan” into four main ideas: AirPods are the Key, Siri is Everything, Our Science Fictional Future, and Barriers Ahead. He purposely enlarges the four labels and bolds the text to make each section stand out to establish coherence. By structuring his writing this manner, the reporter allows the readers to easily navigate through the text and understand specific details that they are interested in learning.  For instance, if the readers are interested in learning about the drawbacks of the new technology, they can easily find the "Barriers Ahead" portion of the article and locate the desired information. The structured writing ultimately allows the author to convey the new information efficiently and effectively.

In addition to the organization, Weinberg also establishes a relationship with the audience to make his writing more engaging. When describing the new features on the iPhone, he notes, "Siri lets you use your apps without taking your phone out of your pocket or checking your Apple Watch". The author employs the pronoun "you" and "your" numerous times throughout the course of the article to create a close connection between the tech fanatics. Rather than utilizing third person pronouns such as "one" or "he or she", he directly speaks to his readers to make his writing more appealing and relatable. Overall, Matt Weinberg does an excellent job giving a synopsis of Apple's reveal date through his effective writing technique. 

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-7-airpods-master-plan-2016-9

IRB Post

For this marking period, I will be reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. I chose this book because I have previously seen the movie that came out in 2014. I have heard that the book is actually better than the movie, so I purchased a copy from Barnes and Nobles.