AOW #27- "What's Your Secret?"

"What's Your Secret?"
by Holly Eagleson for Seventeen Magazine (April 2012)

This article was about a new trend that is spreading on YouTube. It is where teenagers post videos of themselves with their "secrets" written on index cards. The article highlights a few specific videos; a girl who watched her mom commit suicide, a Christian lesbian, and a girl who was sexually assaulted.

The context of this piece is when this new trend is sweeping the nation as so many people are doing these new videos.

The purpose of this piece is to discuss this new trend and explain the reasoning behind it.

The audience of this article is largely teenage girls, as they read this magazine the most.

Rhetorical Devices:

• Quotes- This article is filled with quotes from the girls in the videos. These quotes greatly add to the article because they allow the reader to connect with the stories that are being discussed because such a personal touch is added.
• Highlights- Throughout the article, there are many highlighted sentences. These sentences clearly stick out the most and are mostly quotes. This adds emphasis to the most important topics and concepts of this article.

I think that the author accomplished her purpose greatly. This is a trend that I was acutely aware of before reading this article, but after reading it I realized it is so much more than it appears to be. After reading the article, I actually went on YouTube and watched several "secrets" videos.

AOW #26- IRB A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was a twentieth century writer known for his tough works. He wrote about his experiences as a former journalist and World War I ambulance driver, as highlighted in A Farewell to Arms. 

This book is about an American ambulance driver in World War I. He meets an English nurse, and they quickly fall in love. The story follows him through his adventures on the war front, a horrific injury in a bomb explosion, and the unexpected pregnancy of his love. 

The context of this book was during the twentieth century, post- World War I era. 

The audience is anyone interested in books about war or romance. 

The purpose of this book is to tell an entertaining tale of love and war.

Rhetorical devices include:

• Sentence Structure: Hemingway uses a contrast of long run-on sentences with overuse of "and" and short, blunt sentences. 
• Imagery: There are a lot of details, describing everything about the war. The setting is especially descriptive.

I think the author accomplished his purpose. This book is so far pretty good. I am not a huge fan of war stories, so it is less entertaining to me than it might be to someone who is a fan of that type of writing, but it is absolutely a well-written story and a very good love story.

AOW #25- "Is Kony 2012 Good for U.S. Foreign Policy?"

"Is Kony 2012 Good for U.S. Foreign Policy?"
by Lionel Beehner for the Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lionel-beehner/kony-2012-video_b_1336839.html

This article was about the possible positive and negative results and aspects of the Kony 2012 campaign that is sweeping the nation through social networking. It is a semi-biased analysis on some aspects of the campaign and how it is and is not effective.

The context of this piece is when this new campaign has quickly and widely spread, appealing so much to the younger generation that usually doesn't have any interest in these foreign affairs.

The purpose of this piece is to debate the possible positive and negative aspects of this new campaign.

The audience of this article is any one who is aware of the Kony 2012 campaign.

Rhetorical Devices:

• Compare/Contrast- The article compares and contrasts the positive and negative aspects of the Kony 2012 campaign. It debates the points of the campaign and how they are good and bad.
• Opinion- This article contains a lot of the writer's opinion. It seems kind of biased because the author really writes about what he thinks is good and bad about the campaign.

I think that the author sort of accomplished it's purpose. It gives an interesting perspective on the aspects of this campaign and how they can be both beneficial and harmful. It was very interesting to read though.

AOW 24#- KIA Commercial

KIA Commercial- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOmqv6V44Sk

This commercial was of a guy dreaming. He dreams of himself driving a KIA car. While he is driving it, first he sees this beautiful model. Then, he drives past Motley Crue playing a show. The commercial then shows hundreds of pretty girls in bathing suits screaming for him.

The context of this piece is during the 2012 Super Bowl so there is an extremely large audience.

The purpose of this commercial is to advertise the KIA car as being a manly car, and one that will attract good-looking girls.

The audience of this article is anyone viewing the Super Bowl, particularly appealing to men since they make up the majority of the Super Bowl-viewing audience.

Rhetorical Devices:

• Comedy- This commercial is really comical. It makes the viewer laugh because it plays on all the stereotypical things that men like: good-looking girls with little clothes on, rock and roll, cars, etc. 
• Juxtaposition- The commercial starts with a calm, slow song to set the mood of the man sleeping. Once he is in the dream, the mood greatly changes to being loud and energetic. There is loud rock and roll music, and even the sound of the car's engine is emphasized.

This commercial accomplished its purpose because it is appealing to the audience so it sticks in their mind. It could do a better job emphasizing the features of the car itself, but it does a good job showing the general point that the car is manly.