RCL Revision Plan

To be totally honest I am not quite sure what is expected in a “revision plan.” I am just going to try to outline and plan my rhetorical analysis essay in this post. (I already completed a rough outline of my speech in a previous RCL post.)

My civic artifact is a video produced by the campaign “Rock the Vote.” It is intended to inspire individuals, especially teens and young adults, to register to vote and to want their voices to be heard.

Here is the link to the Rock the Vote #WeWill Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AeRFhwSYVQ

I really wanted to analyze both the pathos and ethos, kairos, and the use of repetition throughout the video.

I’m going to briefly explain my ideas for that list, but backwards.

Repetition: Hearing “we will” twenty times is so, so, so much more powerful than hearing it just once. The repetition makes the video successful, with respect to the fact that it leaves an impact on the viewer. “We will” is such a short phrase, which is great; that plays to the strength of the video. Short and sweet. It is all the creators needed.

Kairos: This video is all about inspiring people to vote, and considering the impending presidential election, the time to inspire votes is now. This is the opportune moment for this video to make a difference. The political atmosphere in the country is electric. It is the ideal point in time to be talking about voting and making your voice heard through the polls.

Ethos: I give half of the credit for the success of the video to the powerful phrase “we will,” but the other half must go to the powerful people present in the video. I was able to recognize six celebrities and I am the absolute worst person when it comes to celebrity names. (I know faces, I just don’t know names) For example, people like Miranda Cosgrove, Miley Cyrus, Neil Patrick Harris, Connor Paolo, Jane Lynch, even Vinny from the Jersey Shore! They tried to tell people, “Hey, your favorite celebrity is voting, you should to!” Credible, well-known, well respected people were critically used for this video.

Pathos: “We will” contains pathos. Those two words do in fact evoke emotion and we all know it. “We will” sounds a lot like “we are,” and almost every Penn Stater feels an immense amount of pride when chanting “WE ARE, PENN STATE.” It is amazing how two, short, not very exciting words can be so emotional. I plan to analyze this by comparing the phrase “we will” used in the video to the “we are” chant here at Penn State.

Second civic artifact: “We are, Penn State”

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On another note, this is the rough schedule I made for myself to make sure I get everything done in time:

I began writing my first draft of the rhetorical analysis essay. It isn’t complete, but it will be complete by Friday (9/30) the latest.

My scheduled conference with Professor O’Hara is October 4th, after which I will rewrite my essay.

I plan to write my speech along Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’ll use pieces from my essay draft for the rhetorical analysis aspect of the speech, while also adding in more relatable aspects and preparing a presentation to play alongside.

That’s is my plan.