Unit 4: Post 26

Rhetorical Strategies in Our Visual Argument:

Well, we are planning to utilize several rhetorical strategies in our presentation. We are bringing in logos through the statistical information on the prices of the various housing options here at TCU compared to off campus possibilities, such as Orion at Oak Hill. The facts are staggering...it costs at least $900 a month to live in any of the oncampus apartments and only $700 a month for a townhouse! My hope is that these facts will also bring emotions to our audience, the TCU students and administration. Another way we are going to use pathos is by including pictures that better illustrate the comparison between the housing. I personally love the picture included on our T-shirt. It is of a TCU frog that is walking around carrying his stuff cus he is homeless like many of us students.

TCU has a housing crisis. Our group has a lot of ethos as, between the three of us, we have one homeless frog, one frog whose hopped the pond to a better option, and one frog that does have an overpriced home. My main hope is that people's eyes are opened as to how messed up the housing system is. I think there are students that suspect there is an issue, but they don't know just how screwed the system is. Granted, the three of us probably won't be able to really enact a large change, but maybe we can at least sow some seeds of change that might make things better for the frogs to follow us.

Unit 4: Post 25

Fastwriting for Group Roles

I tend to like to be the boss of the groups due to my organizational skills. I am not super creative, so I tend to leave that part up to others, but I can get a job done when I need to. While I am not creative, I do like designing PowerPoints and I have designed one website. Once the information is there, I can put it together pretty easily. I guess that has to do with my mad organizing skills.I don't have a particular fear of talking in front of others so I don't mind having an aspect of the presentation, not the whole thing mind you, but part of it. I liked the idea of splitting the presentation into different parts with each member of the group taking one aspect of the presentation.

Unit 3: Post 24 (April 27, 2009)

Author's Note: Portfolio

My topic was on the expansion of Hwy 29 in Georgetown, TX and its affect on my home and the beautiful environment around it. The letter to the editor focused on an article I found dealing with the proposed expansions, it literally was the only article I could find dealing with my topic. My main things I pointed out were the faulty information included in the article and also the lack of information on how this expansion would affect the Hill Country environment. The op-ed was written with the idea in mind of getting people to feel connected to the problem and to try and convince them to speak with their congressman and county commissioners. I really wanted to appeal to their ethos and their pathos. A lot of people are losing their homes...I wanted this fact to be known. This ties in to the humorous argument I did. I depicted a bulldozer representing the construction people and those that wish to destroy this scenic view surrounded by a circle of giants that depicts the people that live in this area. They are saying "We are More" in order to convey that we do outnumber those that want to destroy the Hill Country. This is the second doing of my humorous argument. The first one was even less humorous, but it did show pictures of the area that is in jeaporady and I really wanted to include that...

Unit 3: Post 23 (April 22, 2009)

Author's Note: 2nd draft of humorous argument

I did a total revision of the humorous argument. Literally, everything was deleted and this product is totally new. I still believe I lack humor, something that I tend to lack normally, so any input on this would be great. I used the format I did to try and represent the fact that the residents on Highway 29 outnumber those that wish to irrevocably change it. I do believe this point came across in the "We are more!" statement, but let me know if it wasn't clear enough. I am very open to any suggestions you might have on improving the humor and on changing the format.

Unit 3: Post 22 (April 20, 2009)

Author's Note:

Well, this draft is by no means the final product. I am not a very humorous person and the lack of humor came across pretty clearly in the cartoon I attempted. I really have a lot of concerns mainly because I don't think that this is going to work at all. There is a decided lack of humor and it doesn't make a lot of sense. I did like the inclusion of photographs taken from my home community because it gives life to the problem of them ruining all of this beauty. The final draft of this will be very different and hopefully will be funny.

Unit 3: Post 20 (April 11, 2009)

Author's Note for Op-ed:

Hey you guys, I figured I ought to go on and get my author's note posted for you guys. This is a definite first draft of the op-ed. I seriously have no idea what an op-ed should read like, so it is very probable that I have missed the mark. My main concern is just that it makes sense and seems like a pretty decent op-ed. I think I put quite a bit of information in it and am not sure if it was overkill. Any suggestions would be really appreciated!

Unit 3: Post 19 (April 08, 2009)

Prewriting: Op-ed

• Read several op-eds from your chosen venue. What are the general tone and assumed audience in this venue? What is interesting or unique about these pieces?
• Community Impact Newspaper
  - The op-eds I’ve read use a lot of logos and statistics to appeal to the audience’s logic. There is a touch of pathos in them as well. A lot of the ones I read dealt with the economic situation and the sight of the closed businesses. Others spoke about the traffic situation in the growing areas of Williamson County. The assumed audience for this newspaper would be the residents in the community. They are the ones affected by many of the issues spoken of in the paper.
• Decide one specific, identifiable issue or question for your focus. It needs to be related to your overall topic for this unit, but try to target a specific aspect of that topic. Describe your choice of specific topic.
  - Highway 29’s expansions will take away the Hill Country, semi-rural feel of Georgetown and Liberty Hill. The road will cut through the San Gabriel River multiple times and also cuts multiple ancestral ranches and homes in half.
• Choose a specific course of action or approach to be taken to addressing that issue or question. Don’t just say that a policy or situation is bad. Tell your readers what should be done about it.
  - I’d like readers to speak out about these road expansions. Possible courses of actions include attending open houses, writing to the commissioners, posting comments in the multiple forums that exist for this purpose, and also filling out forms off of the city’s website.
• Determine what rhetorical appeals will be most effective for your audience (ethos, pathos, logos, style). Discuss what appeals you will use.
  - I believe, since this proposed expansion is cutting into people’s homes and often their livelihoods, pathos is the best way to go. I have some ethos in that I live off of 29, but I am, in the end, just a simple college student. Emotions and passion will work best with the audience which mainly consists of activists and residents of that area. I would also include logos in providing facts about the multiple ancestral ranches and goat farms and everything that will be affected by this. Some other facts I’d include would be about the insanity of a road that will cross the San Gabriel River twice. That river is very prone to flooding; in fact, in 2007, the river rose over 18 feet. Luckily, not too much was damaged because not too many things are built that close to river.
• Write about what will best support your points for the rhetorical situation (facts, hard evidence, personal experience, anecdotes, referring to other authorities, etc.).
  - I plan on using facts and personal experience more than anything. I have lived in Cimarron Hills for over 6 years and have seen the changes in Georgetown and Liberty Hill first-hand. Also, I have walked on the ranches that line the road, fed the goats at my friend’s house, and went floating down the San Gabriel River. The facts I plan on having would concern the history of that area and how we should be figuring out how to preserve that beautiful Hill Country instead of destroying it.
• Is there any research that you need to do?
  - Yes, I need to get more information on all the wonderful things that will be destroyed by this road. There are acres of rolling hills and hundreds of longhorns, deer, and goats. The ancestral homes and ranches I also need more information on.