Paper 4 Draft

Abstract

General Education courses are an incredibly important part of the undergraduate academic plan at Penn State University. The required 45 credits give students leeway to expand their knowledge outside of their desired major. They have the opportunity to branch out and become a more well rounded, diverse individual. The three aspects being considered during this general education reform are exploration, integration (themes), and skills. Exploration credits are an excellent way for students to embrace academic freedom and discover interests they may not have otherwise come across. Skills courses are also crucial to the program because of their ability to create a strong set of knowledge that can be applied to concrete professional situations. Themes and integration, while a great idea for some, should become an optional route for students to follow if they desire a more structured general education curriculum. These courses are imperative to establishing a strong academic career; therefore they should be reformed to be as beneficial as possible for students.

Importance of General Education

General Education credits are implemented into academic plans to allow undergraduate students the opportunity to become well-rounded and make the most of their studies. They are allotted a certain number of credits out of their major-related courses to expand their knowledge and make them more diverse students. While the courses within a specific area of focus are very important, general education courses can serve just as much purpose. They can enlighten students and open doors of interest that they never would have found otherwise. To some, these courses appear to be a waste of time or an inconvenience. Despite this opinion, these courses are crucial for the expansion of studies and establishing a strong knowledge base. General education courses can help students later on when it comes to finding a job and becoming a strong candidate for it. A student with a wide variety of knowledge is going to appear to be well-rounded and dedicated to their studies. A perfect example of this is Dr. Jessica O’Hara from Penn State University who had a strict focus in English, yet decided to take a marketing class. This class played a big role in why she was hired for one of her job interests. Her small background in marketing made her that much more qualified for the job. General education credits are so imperative to the undergraduate program, which is why they need to be approached in the best way possible.

 Exploration Credits 

Exploration serves as the sole purpose as to why these courses were implemented into the curriculum. There are hundreds of classes that students can take to obtain the required 45 general education credits at Penn State. This leaves room for them to take virtually any class they have an interest in. Ranging from classes focusing on African American studies all the way to music and theater. The variety is untouchable and gives the students so much freedom to do whatever they want. It is beneficial to students to have credits for exploration because they can discover their interests outside of their major. If they don’t enjoy a class they take, they have the opportunity to take a completely different one later on. Students have the chance to expand their horizons to courses that don’t have immediate instrumental value¹.

 Skills Courses

General education courses should be teaching students and giving them the education they need to thrive in the current economy. It is crucial for students to learn writing, reading, and speaking skills in order to be successful in professional situations. It is also absolutely critical to develop at least background knowledge about communicating through various digital and traditional methods. Lastly, they need to gain an understanding and learn how to process colossal amounts of data and information and apply that knowledge to advanced situations². Currently, students at Penn State are required to take English 015, CAS 100, and English 202 for their area of discipline to fulfill the need for obtaining writing, speaking, and reading skills. These courses work to push students and teach them how to present themselves well and professionally. The potential reform for these courses is to merge English 015 and CAS 100 together to create one year long course. This idea would be beneficial to students because they could develop writing, comprehension, and speaking skills all together. With the grouping of these classes, all of the necessary English components can be tied together, creating a stronger and more developed skills base. Aside from English credits, other skills courses should remain a part of the general education program. They show to be just as necessary and useful for real world application regardless of what major a student pursued. As Long stated in his interview, the priority of the general education courses is to provide students with a plethora of knowledge that can be applied and aid in living a fulfilling life¹.

Optional Themes

Themes and integration are a strong idea for the general education reform. Christopher Long expressed his concern that the general education curriculum is not really much of a curriculum at all. The idea is to establish more structure and generate a path for students so that taking these credits would have a curriculum feel¹. Grouping together different types of general education courses, such as humanities and social and behavioral sciences, with the same overall concept would be a great way to create a solid focus while also exploring various types of studies. For example, a student could pick a theme revolving around love and sex. Within that theme they could take Philosophy 014(GH): Philosophy of Love and Sex, Biology 117 (GN): Biology of Sex, and Psychology 422: Human Sexuality³. This creates a variety of studies while still retaining an overall theme in common. That being said, it may also take away from the freedom of general education that some students really appreciate. The opinion of this idea would vary from student to student, which is why this integration reform should be optional. From an English 015 in class deliberation, many students agreed that that themes should be implemented because of the focus they’d create for general education. However, a majority also decided that they would have no desire to choose a theme from a list and take the courses within that program. They enjoy the flexibility Penn State offers and feel they would benefit less from a structured general education program⁵. With themes and integration as an optional program, students can then make their own decision based on what they feel will benefit them most in the long run.

Conclusion

            The general education reform needs to be approached in such a way that will most benefit students. Allowing a significant amount of the 45-credit program to remain open for exploration purposes will allow the students to expand their horizons and obtain a wide range of knowledge. Exploration exposes students to new interests that they may not have found otherwise. Branching out into studies outside of a given major will help develop diversity in their knowledge, which can easily benefit them in the long run. The other very important part of general education courses is establishing a strong skills set. Learning and understanding different skills, such as writing, reading, speaking, processing data, and communication, is so imperative to the goal of empowering students to live a fulfilling life. Skills courses will benefit students in professional situations and prepare them for any situation they may face. The last focus, themes and integration, should become an option for students. This should not be mandatory because every student enjoys learning differently. If they desire the freedom of general education courses, it is available to them. However, if they’re looking for a more structured program, they will have the choice to pick a themed path to follow. Overall, general education courses are meant to create strong students that are well exposed to various studies and prepared for professional situations.

¹http://www.cplong.org/2014/04/general-education-reform-at-penn-state/

“General Education Reform at Penn State.” GenEd Matters, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cplong.org/2014/04/general-education-reform-at-penn-state/>.

http://gened.psu.edu/2014/02/15/penn-state-students-shed-light-on-gened/ 

http://www.cplong.org/2014/01/deliberating-gened-reform-at-penn-state/

http://onwardstate.com/2014/03/26/gen-ed-reform-at-penn-state-in-progress/

In class deliberation

Survey 

In my personal opinion, general education courses should be geared toward exploration and expanding an individual’s knowledge. These courses were made so broadly with the idea that a student can take something they’re really interested in, like Photo 100 or Linguistics. These classes are usually available despite what major they are focused in, which is why they are such an important part of the undergraduate education. The freedom of these general education courses allows for a biomedical engineer to take a course like Soc 019 simply because they’re interested in it. They add a variety to a student’s knowledge because they offer the opportunity to explore different areas of study. Originally, I thought the 30 credit theme idea would be interesting. It seemed like an interesting way to focus and group the general education courses. However, I believe that the true purpose of the courses is to explore without being tied down into one area of study.

Throughout your education, you are told to pick a major and occasionally a minor. These both require a certain path of study and courses that are specifically designed to expand knowledge in that area. Within a major and minor, there is a specific curriculum to follow. This means that an undergraduate’s classes are pretty much laid out for them, taking away the freedom of expanding your knowledge outside of that area. This is why general education courses are so crucial to the curriculum. As of now, there are very minimal guidelines to how to take these courses as long as you obtain the required credit amounts. You are given a list of hundreds of courses that range from African American studies to Theater. Basically, whatever you are interested, you have the option to take. This, in my opinion, is the beauty of general education courses. Exploration is the main purpose of making a student take a certain amount of credits. The thought here is that maybe they’ll take a course they’re interested in and then decide to declare a minor. Themes are very similar to a minor, however they’re smaller. They may be a good idea for some students, which is why they should be an option. I don’t believe that themes should be a requirement, nor should skills courses. I think they should be options to follow if a student has the desire to focus their general courses in this manner. Otherwise, exploration should remain at the core of general education courses.

Paper Option 3 Idea 3: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/ysbw7d/sports-illustrated-barbie

Stephen Colbert report about women and Sports Illustrated magazine. Barbie put on cover. Introduction Sports Illustrated is popularly known for their swimsuit addition, featuring attractive females with a relatively small amount of clothing. Degrading? The answer from the majority will most likely be yes. This magazine cover attempts to grasp the man’s idea of the perfect women, potentially belittling others than don’t look quite like her. They rarely have a flaw in their body, which makes men attracted to them and women insecure over them. There is a Stephen Colbert report about women and the Sports Illustrated magazine, specifically the addition with a Barbie on the cover. The report is absolutely filled with satire- utilizing primary strategies, commonplaces, and persuasive aims to create a strong piece. There are many strategies used in Colbert’s report about women and the magazine to generate the idea that the magazine can be seen as degrading and that it represents an unrealistic image of a woman.

Sports Illustrated releases an annual swimsuit edition featuring an attractive woman with very little covering her body. The magazine is dedicated to sexualizing women and presenting them as more of an object than anything else. The interesting aspect behind this magazine though is how they created a 50^th addition featuring a Barbie on the cover with the slogan, “#unapologetic.” Stephen Colbert spoke about this specific edition in a report during Women’s History Month, just to make a stronger point. He begins talking about the magazine and how it fully encompasses “how far women have come.” This immediately introduces his satirical stance on the swimsuit edition as a whole. To say women have come so far because they’re featured in a magazine dedicated to a male audience while wearing a virtually nothing is completely sarcastic. It is as almost to say that women are being more degraded and objectified more than ever.

To add on to the idea of the progress of women, Colbert makes a comment that Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit addition has “long been a bastion of civil rights from the occasional black model to the one that was under 5’10”.” This humorous approach is what Jay Heinrich, author of Thank You For Arguing, would call wit, or situational humor (Heinrich 100). Colbert uses this witty comment to make it seem like a women under 5’10” is some sort of minority in the eyes of the swimsuit addition. By breaking these barriers and putting “minority” women on the cover, he mocks that women are really making progress in terms of civil rights and respect.

The next “milestone” the magazine was said to make was featuring Barbie in the 50^th anniversary edition. This caused a lot of controversy due to the confusion of why a little girl’s toy would be put into a magazine that sexualizes women. A news reporter in the clip states that having Barbie on the cover “only serves to further sexualization of girls and objectification of women.” Colbert replies that this is not the objectification of women, but instead the “womification of object.” This tactic can be seen as a type of chiasmus, a change in word order that creates a crisscross sentence, as well as the invention of new words (Heinrich 218). The Barbie is dressed in a bathing suit, just like a regular featured model would be, which is why Colbert tries to twist the order of the statement. He jokes that women are not being objectified because of the doll, but that the doll is being “womified” because of how the audience will now see her after the edition.

He proceeds by making a witty comment about how Barbie doesn’t need him to defend her because she can do it herself with her glued together plastic fingers. The humor is taken even further when he pulls out a fake magazine article with a quote from Barbie stating, “It’s time to stop boxing in potential. Be free to launch a career in a swimsuit, lead a company while gorgeous, or wear pink to an interview at MIT. The reality of today is that girls can go anywhere and be anything.” This whole idea becomes a mockery due to the use of examples of swimsuit models having the opportunity to be anything they want to be solely because of the sets they’re working on. He says that Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is all about “achieving women’s dreams.” This is humorous because he then makes a mockery out of this by showing women modeling as desert explorers and astronauts. Heinrich would refer to this progression as a cliché twist, or more specifically a surprise ending, meaning that a cliché was started as normal but then ended differently (Heinrich 378). This is not the perfect example of how this rhetorical tactic works however it follows the same general idea with the use of a stereotype. He grouped all women into the idea that they can be anything they want to be, as long as they’re exposing their bodies or looking pretty. This was a surprise ending, but it made a humorous point that supported his claim about objectifying and degrading women.

            The Colbert Report touches on different controversial subjects in every episode while keeping the satirical aspect in tact for each. Stephen Colbert attacks the subject of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in this specific segment with special focus on the featuring of Barbie. Through rhetorical strategies, commonplaces, and fallacies, Colbert captures ideas of the objectification of women and how the magazine interacts with this issue.

OPTION 3: Rhetorically Analyze a Satiric Work

Write a rhetorical analysis of a sophisticated satiric piece. Stephen Colbert is an excellent resource, but there are countless other possibilities in print and broadcast media from which to choose. Your analysis should include a thesis about the primary strategies, commonplaces, and persuasive aims of the satiric piece. Your analysis should also draw upon terminology from Thank Your for Arguing regarding rhetorical devices, fallacies, figures, and strategies.

A strong rhetorical analysis of satire should include:

1. An argumentative thesis claim and strong topic sentences

2. A convincing analysis of the satirists’ rhetorical tactics

3. A compelling introduction and interesting conclusion

4. Strong organizational principles

5. Fitting diction and usage

Paper Length: about four pages, double spaced

Idea 1: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/uov6m4/outrage-over-military-budget-cuts

Stephen Colbert report about the outrage over military budget cuts

Idea 2: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/300ry4/black-history-month—laser-klan

Stephen Colbert report about a current event occurring during Black History Month

Idea 3: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/ysbw7d/sports-illustrated-barbie

Stephen Colbert report about women and Sports Illustrated.

Dear Dr. O’Hara,

For paper 1, I focused on analyzing an advertisement presented by TOMS shoes. The advertisement I chose held my attention for the whole course of the video and offered up a lot of topics to discuss in my paper. Even though I thought this would be easy to dig into, it wasn’t as simple as I thought. My first draft of this paper was very generalized and focused more on my interpretation instead of real evidence from the ad. My thoughts were slightly scattered and definitely needed serious touching up. I went back to this paper multiple times before finally becoming happy with it. I looked at each paragraph separately while listening to the advertisement. This helped me focus in on what parts of the ad would fit in strongest with each idea I originally came up with. This helped me to find solid evidence from the commercial to make my interpretations seem more factual. This definitely was a first experience for me. It really helped me learn about how to be more creative in my supporting arguments and really pull in detail.

Paper 2 was a lot more challenging than paper 1 in my opinion. I had a really hard time finding two articles that could actually hold my attention. I knew that if I picked articles that I would be bored reading, I wouldn’t ever be happy with the outcome of my paper. I ended up focusing on Shaun White at the Sochi Olympics. Similar to paper 1, I had to keep the two articles up in front of me while trying to fill in detail and evidence to support my writing. Honestly, at times I got a little frustrated with my topic of choice and questioned my ability to create strong enough arguments. During my editing process, I literally copying and pasted paragraphs and just moved them around. The structure of the paper was really difficult for me to get right. However, I think I pulled enough from the articles and dug deep enough that what I’m trying to get across made sense at the end of it all. This paper definitely helped me with my thinking and writing processes. I was really forced to think hard about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. If I phrased something wrong, it seemed to mess up my whole point, which is why my writing skills were a bit tested. Overall, I think this paper came together a lot better than I thought it was going to. I still think I could’ve made a stronger piece though.

-Melissa Stecklow

Interpretation is not simply black and white. The way networks approach news stories can vary heavily due to the grey area of interpretation. With the Sochi Olympic Games comes a lot of coverage from various networks that are bound to have different opinions. Although multiple networks cover the games, their unique choices of words that headline these stories allow for an opinion to shine through the cracks. ABC News and the Washington Post both covered the unfortunate event regarding Shaun White at this year’s Olympic games. The subject is almost identical, however the two networks demonstrate varying opinions on this event. ABC News’ headline demonstrates a sense of sorrow for White while Washington Post is definitely a bit less sensitive about the athlete’s mistake. Different networks possess unique values and opinions that are presented in the way the audience interprets their way of telling a story.

Shaun White is known to be a very strong, successful athlete-pretty much a shoe in to win the snowboarding events. This year, however, Shaun suffered a large error during his run, ruining his chances of taking the gold. White is a widely known athlete, which made the news of his mistake spread like wild fire throughout different networks. Similar to any other big story, reporters all experienced unique opinions about the subject and put their own spin on it through their writing. Some networks showed to feel bad for White while others decided he came into the event as arrogant so they didn’t feel sorry for the athlete.

When analyzing the ABC New’s article focused on Shaun White’s mistake at Sochi, it became clear that this network specifically felt more sorry for the athlete than most. They presented the story as a disappointment and an upset. The title, ” Shaun White Stunned in Sochi Olympic Halfpipe Final,” gives slight ideas that this was a very unfortunate event. As the article continues on, ABC News speaks highly of the athlete-discussing his success in previous events before breaking the news of his fall. They speak of the Olympic athlete in a positive light which demonstrates their appreciation for White. As this develops, it becomes more clear that the headline can be interpreted with feelings of upset and sorrow due to the athlete’s mistake during his run.

Washington Post showed to have a different take on this event through their article titled, “Shaun White, Olympic moments, and mettle without a color.” Immediately, this network shows to hold a varied opinion from the ABC News interpretation. They show to be more snappy and less caring about the athlete’s mistake. As the article proceeds, one of the first statements made is: “Shaun White had become too big for his snowboard bindings.” This is interesting because the other networks spoke so highly of the athlete before mentioning his fault at Sochi. Washington Post dropped hints of his arrogance and unreasonable independence before the event occurred. This leads to the interpretation that this network specifically does not feel sorry for the athlete’s lack of a gold medal. In fact, they went so far as to refer to him as the “descending diva,” saying he needed to be put back into his place.

With world news and big events, like Shaun White’s Sochi mistake, come varying opinions. These opinions are never going to be black and white. Networks present their unique perspectives through their words and headlines. Without blatantly stating their opinion, in most cases, the networks allow their opinions to shine through the cracks of their well-thoughtout word choices. By simply analyzing the headlines of a story, it becomes clear how one network feels compared to another. A pattern may begin to arise with this, showing that some networks are more conservative while others are straightforward and unwilling to hold back. Word choice is everything because it establishes the grey area of varying opinions.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/02/shaun-white-nearly-snaps-board-as-he-falters-twice-on-halfpipe/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/shaun-white-olympic-moments-and-mettle-without-a-color/2014/02/11/94fa0968-9354-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/02/shaun-white-nearly-snaps-board-as-he-falters-twice-on-halfpipe/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/shaun-white-olympic-moments-and-mettle-without-a-color/2014/02/11/94fa0968-9354-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

-The first article title seems to show more sympathy for Shaun White in his Olympic run. The second, as you start to read it, is more snappy and targets him more for having almost a little too much confidence coming into the games. They seem to be saying it was karma? ABC news seems to feel bad for White because they were aware of how devastating this event was for the athlete. The other article focuses on how he wouldn’t hang out with anyone else and was keeping to himself so much. They’re making the case that none of this worked in his benefit because he tanked his run.

Articles are coming out about this event day by day and there are so many. Keeping my eyes out for some different opinionated titles.

One for one. An eye for an eye. These popular phrases represent the concept of giving back: doing something for someone other than yourself. TOMS utilizes the concept of “one for one” as a way of enticing their audience and making their product seem very attractive. The promise that comes with buying these shoes is that another pair will be sent to a child in need. The advertisement for these shoes was created in a way that melts the average person’s heart. TOMS presents the product through a child telling his own story about how his life changed for the better just by receiving a pair of shoes. This was a very smart and persuasive move because who wouldn’t want to help a child in need? Who would want to say no to changing a child’s life and putting a smile on their face, especially when all they have to do is buy a pair of shoes to make it happen? By targeting commonplaces, rhetorical situations, and a heavy amount of persuasive appeals, the TOMS advertisement encourages the general public to help a child in need by purchasing their charitable product.

Everyone needs shoes to put on their feet. Whether one chooses to wear flats, heels, boots, or flip flops is completely up to them. However, no one can argue that shoes aren’t a necessity. The other commonality between humans is that a majority had this strong desire to help children in need. Generally, a significant amount of people populating this Earth are charitable and willing to give back. With these the need for shoes and this desire combined, TOMS shoes represent a perfect solution. Instead of buying a pair of flats from Kohls or DSW, one could opt to buy a pair from TOMS which would benefit someone other than themselves. By purchasing a pair of TOMS shoes, the customer is given the opportunity to give back while still receiving a cute pair of shoes. The product has broaden widely in their variety of shoes which gives even more opportunity for the consumer to get what they want while also fulfilling their charitable needs.

Pathos dominates the persuasive appeal behind the commercial TOMS created. The voice of a sixth-grade boy introduces the advertisement and proceeds to lead the audience through his journey. He presents himself with this big dream of being a basketball player, but never having the opportunity to make that game winning shot. Innocence in his voice targets the hearts of the audience, encouraging them to discover how TOMS changed the boy’s life. The story develops with his mother saying, “its incredible what a small act can do and how it can impact someone’s life.” As soon as the shoes are delivered to the boy in need, his life changes and he finally has the ability to fulfill his basketball fantasies. Joy fills his vocal chords, pulling on the audience’s heartstrings and making them see how the simplest of acts can change a person’s life. Filled with motivation to put a smile on a young child’s face, they make the decision to buy a pair of shoes: to donate a pair of shoes to someone in need. One for one.

Logos also plays a large role in TOMS persuasion techniques. Logos revolves around the central idea of pure logic. TOMS utilizes the logos argument through the commonplaces of the product. The producers present the product as one of the most logical, simple ways to give to children in need. To get a pair of shoes out of giving seems completely logical and beneficial to everyone in the situation. It would almost be illogical to buy a pair of similar shoes when the option of one for one is available.

One for one is a very strong, persuasive,  and logistical advertisement. It attracts the audiences attention and makes them curious about how giving back could also benefit themselves. TOMS shoes gives them the option to receive a good while also giving to a child in need. The commercial TOMS created targets the audience’s emotion which creates an incredibly powerful pathos appeal. The voice of the young boy telling his story about his desires to play basketball just pulls at the emotion of the audience, making them feel a deep desire to help more children like him. The commercial plays out that by simply getting a pair of TOMS shoes, the boy was able to fulfill his dreams of playing basketball on the court. TOMS shoes created the advertisement in such a way that their charitable product can be seen as life changing for a child in need.

TOMS advertisement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W83bQGclUP4

Thesis/ Introduction- different ways an ad pulls audience in, introduce rhetorical situations

Introduce TOMS as a product, give a brief explanation of the product and the advertisement – talk about “One for One” idea and how it gets people’s attention

Body Paragraphs- Commonplaces, Ethos/logos/pathos, rhetoric situations, ideologies, strongest point of commercial, why does it work..what makes you want this product over something else

Conclusion- restate thesis and touch on strongest points of body paragraphs.