Introduction:
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “You have the power to save a life?” Do you think of doctors, firefighters, superheroes, or even something as simple as a donator of blood? Technically, all of those answers fit the criteria of the phrase, and that is what the American Red Cross might be trying to do. Whether it was directly helping people in times of need such as war and natural disaster or donating blood to those who need it, the phrase, “power to save lives” can apply to many forms of volunteering. This civic artifact makes use of various lenses to appeal to viewers and to help motivate them to participate in whatever event the Red Cross holds. For example, this artifact connects to the third UN SDG: Good-Health and Well Being, as saving lives can be commonly attributed to healthcare. At the same time, another artifact, Dawn’s “Mother’s Love” ad that Emma Bauer is analyzing, relates to the Red Cross’s artifact as both use saving lives in their rhetoric. Using lenses such as pathos, representation of many people through saving lives, systems thinking, commonplaces such as volunteering, and the rhetorical situation, it will be possible to display this artifact and show how it makes use of rhetoric to convince the viewers to partake in this organization.
Body Paragraph 1: Pathos and Language Choices
- words/phrases “power” and “save a life”
- History of slogans building up to point
Body Paragraph 2: Representation and Intended Audience
- History of Organization
- Areas of world that are targeted
Body Paragraph 3: Rhetorical Situation and Commonplace
- Global situations
- Natural disasters, pandemics
Body Paragraph 4: Systems thinking and levels of Volunteering
- Volunteering opportunities and how it connects to “saving lives”
- Which areas of world use which volunteering opportunities
Body Paragraph 5: Civic Artifact # 2
- Definition
- Compare and Contrast with Civic Artifact #1
Conclusion:
I like how your hook ties into the slogan of the Red Cross. I feel that your thesis could be more specific about what commonplaces you are using and what you mean by representation. Additionally, you only discuss one artifact in your intro, so I would like to know what your second artifact is? Looking at your speech outline, it seems like you are focusing on the Red Cross as an organization and not specifically the slogan and logo themselves to see what choices are made to persuade people to join the Red Cross.
I really liked your hook!!! I think it exemplifies pathos perfectly and creates a sense of sympathy by the audience. I would suggest switching paragraphs 3 and 4. I think your argument is strong and valid. I especially liked how you will be including the history of organization prior to analyzing the artifacts.