First of all, I have to make a comment that is really completely unrelated to the rest of my post. I was looking at publishers' websites earlier today, and remembered that my freshman comp teacher once asked me if he could use some of my work in the book he was writing. Inspired, I did a google search and soon figured out that the book in which my writing might appear is Writing and Community Action by Tom Deans and published by Longman. You can see it online at http://ablongman.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0321094808,00.html. I think the project about the Manhattan Boys and Girls Club listed in the table of contents is mine.
Okay, sorry for the unrelated comment. I thought it was cool.
As I was thinking about the prompt on the schedule of assignments, I realized that a large part of the argumentation I am exposed to comes in the form of junk mail. I started sorting through my recycle bag and found some interesting examples.
Some try making their point by using shock value. One letter I recently received has big orange letters proclaiming "Orphans in Crisis!" splashed across the top. After the salutation, the first sentence of the letter reads, "Every 15 seconds, a child in Africa dies of a hunger-related disease." This strategy is indeed memorable, but I think that it runs the risk of being ignored as overly dramatic.
Another strategy is demonstrated by a letter I received couple of weeks ago, which was enfolded by a piece of cardboard. The cardboard envelope was supposed to reinforce the message inside that many homeless people have to resort to living in boxes in the winter, despite freezing temperatures. It seems to have worked, since I still remember the letter; the tactile quality of the cardboard reinforced the message inside.
Use of visual aids seems to be another popular way to reinforce these arguments. All of the pieces of junk mail in my extensive sampling make use of pictures to reinforce their message. The letter seeking funding for orphans shows a few serious-looking children; an advertisement for "Friends Journal" has the word "simplicity" superimposed on a photo of a peaceful-looking farmhouse.
These are some of the primary strategies I noticed. Actually, I'm rather intrigued now. Perhaps there are some job opportunities in the junkmail industry...
5 comments:
Your post got me thinking about advertisements. All day I've been thinking about the stupid banner ads on the side of my Hotmail page and such. I often find myself wondering for whom those flashy and garish things are actually persuasive. Who really clicks on ads with three pictures that say, "Which of these is Jessica Simpson?" or similar ridiculousness.
Who, for example, can see those disgusting toenail fungus ads with the gross yellowed toenail that keeps lifting up so that a lumpy, crudely drawn creature can snicker about how he's under the toenail and think, gee, I want to buy that product? Blech.
Are such things ever persuasive? I mean, they must be, but seriously! Why?!
Anyway, I suppose this was nothing to your carefully calculated discussion of persuasive junk mail with corrugated cardboard to signify homelessness, but it's what I thought of.
--Bri
Bri and Leta,
I think both of your posts raise interesting ideas about the persuasiveness (or lack thereof) of certain arguments. In fact, it might even work well in the classroom to bring these ideas into play. Many of the English 1000 students I’ve encountered in the Writing Lab seem confounded at the mere idea of an argument in an essay. Most seem to envision the archetypal essay as one with three-part structure designed to basically outline an idea. I really like the idea of posing this question of argument to my own students. Plus, any time I bring in visual aids (i.e. one of your junk mail letters, Leta or maybe one of Bri’s fungus ads!), it seems to really engage students. This very basic sort of discussion might jump-start some students into considering their own style of debate. It might also help to begin at that very fundamental level, instead of taking for granted that any given student is comfortable with the concept of an argument itself.
Also, Bri, I think you're underestimating the gross-out factor of such fungus ads. It's persuasive because it's just that unpleasant. Consider how many times, as children, we heard "This is so gross! Smell it!" I don't think we ever really leave that phase. Or I haven't, at least.
Liz
I agree (Leta) that the visual aids seem to be really effective. This goes along with the shock value (Bri) of that disgusting toe fungus beast — I know that ad! Is "memorableness" a goal of persuasive advertising in itself? Also, does it matter that I remember the ad if I don't remember the product?
And I also think (Liz) that these types of persuasions/arguments can be used in English 1000. I was thinking of incorporating a microtheme about an ad and what it "really" sells. I think I saw an essay theme to this effect last semester in the Writing Lab, and it was really fascinating to see what different students thought these ads were selling...which (Liz) I think also goes back to your point about students perhaps not being comfortable with the idea of argumentation.
-KZ
Liz-
What kind of visual aids have you used in the writing lab or elsewhere? What you're all saying makes a lot of sense to be, but I'm not sure how to do this on daily basis.
I sat in on my mentor's English 1K class last semester and got to see a lot of really effective teaching. She had her students do an activity that really seemed to bring them close to serious analysis and argumentation. The instructor divided the class in half, and gave an (unopened) bag of candy to each group of students. Each group had to come up with three good, specific reasons why their particular brand of candy was better than the other group's brand of candy. Then they had to argue it out with the other group. They wound up doing good analysis, good rebuttals, and good argumentation. I was entirely impressed. I think the lure of candy helped, but also having a concrete, visible thing about which to argue allowed them to get further.
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