Nuclear: America’s Future Power Source
Cover Letter:
For my re-mediation project, I chose to challenge myself by making an evaluation argument in the form of a brochure for a tricky type of audience based on my rhetorical analysis topic. I was writing my printed brochure for a non-captive audience that was not very knowledgeable on my topic of nuclear power. Today, people are unsure of whether or not nuclear power is a viable energy source for the future and my argument is to evaluate that notion. To tailor my brochure for my type of audience, I had to keep my information short and sweet as well as use a type of language they could understand and avoid the jargon of nuclear physicists. In the end, the purpose of my argument was to simply inform people about a subject they may not be very knowledgeable about. To make my evaluation argument effective, I used concise language, catching imagery, and an easy to read layout.
My first rhetorical choice was to use concise language. I could have written long essays about each of the clearly stated criteria for my evaluation, but for my medium of a brochure this type of writing would not be effective. This is where concise language was key. When discussing the reasons in the criteria, I was very clear with simple examples of why nuclear power was the future. I went into enough detail to make a short convincing argument and nothing more. By using two to three sentence logical explanations for each of the categories, I was able to keep my argument fast paced and hard to put down which was key for my particular audience.
The second important choice I made was my use of images. When making a brochure, the images are what do most of the arguing on the part of the writer. I chose to use “green” images as well as a backdrop of a bright blue sky. These images make my argument on this topic appear to be environmentally friendly and given the context of modern day energy production, green means good. My images give an emotional appeal to the audience making them think that nuclear power is a good alternative to help save our fragile environment. This also was an important tool I used to keep my non-captive audience interested in my brochure.
A third tool I used was my choice of layout. I chose to layout my brochure into three basic parts. On the leftmost side I had a catching title for my brochure. The middle contained the meat of my logical argument as well the criteria for my evaluation. On the rightmost side, I finish with a conclusion about the future of nuclear power. This well-organized left to right layout contributes to my effort in making my brochure easy to read. If it were not organized, my non-captive audience would simply put it down and my argument would not have been made. I also chose to keep my font size and colors consistent with their importance. I used bigger fonts for titles that made the organization of the brochure clear. Green sans-serif fonts make my writing both easy to read and reinforce the idea that green means good. This choice of layout is the key to establishing my ethos as a writer. By making my argument easy to read and pretty to look at through layout, it makes it much harder for a reader to put down.
To keep the attention of a non-captive audience, the choice of language, imagery, and layout are critical in regards to a brochure. I made specific choices for my audience that made my argument effective. By using short concise language, I was able to present a logical argument that my audience would understand and not get bored of. By using effective images, I made an emotional appeal that my stance on this issue was environmentally friendly and green. Finally, the well-organized layout made my ethos as a writer strong. All of these choices make my brochure an effective evaluation of the future of nuclear energy.
Works Cited
http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/greenhouse-gas-emissions-avoided.aspx
https://www.iop.org/activity/groups/subject/env/prize/file_52570.pdf
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/electric-generating-costs-a-primer/
http://www.uraniumseek.com/news/UraniumSeek/1175092156.php
http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2014/03/25/what-did-we-learn-from-three-mile-island/#sthash.kSnzL7eD.dpbs
http://www.clker.com/clipart-green-treeline-over-white-background.html
http://www.lanlinglaurel.com/sky-image/3892148.html