Paper A: Achieving the “Glorious Goal:” Is More Really Best?

1. The goal of this paper was to get high school seniors to realize that BYU is not the only place they have to go in order to date or marry. It could, in fact, hurt those chances. If they go to BYU they should put the educational benefits as their first reason for going.

2. The argument is that by going to BYU, you could in some ways hurt your chances of getting married while in college. The reasoning behind this is that when we have too many choices, it can actually debilate us and prevent us from making a decision.

3. The audience is LDS high school seniors who are applying to colleges and think they have to go to BYU in order to get married.

4. The paper uses logos to make its argument, talking about the Paradox of Choice. It argues that because of how our brains work, it's logical that when we have too many choices, it will make it harder to make a choice. The paper also uses ethos because it presents facts from the BYU website itself, as well as the Paradox of Choice argument from a psychologist.

5. I think this paper could make people possibly think about the issue, when they otherwise wouldn't have considered the fact that it might not be all love at first sight and wedding bells. But as far as affecting someone's choice of college, I'm not sure it would have much of an influence.

STAR
I think the evidence was typical. A reaosnable/intelligent high school audience would accept this. It uses personal example, references from Church magazines, and a psychologist.
I think that the evidence is relevant, as well. It is directly connected to the argument. Most everything points towards the argument.

Word Count: 296

Movie Trailer: BABIES

1. The goal of this movie trailer is to get people to go see "Babies" in the movie theater so that they can fund their production costs and make a profit. They also want to demonstrate similarities between human beings by focusing on universal similarities and stages in human development, while at the same highlighting unique cultural differences.

2. The argument is that if you are concerned about human life, about the world, or merely interested in babies, you must see this movie. "The Babies Are Coming" it says. Therefore, you must go see them.

3. The audience is not necessarily the general public. I never saw this preview on television. It is an independent documentary and is only being released in select theaters. The producers are going to rely on word of mouth and selected channels for its publicity. They will want to target people who are culturally sensitive, globally minded, and interested in people. I heard about it from an International Relations major.

4. The trailer uses primarily pathos to get the audience to go and see it. The movie actually doesn't have any narration, it's purely music, as in the trailer. The music was carefully selected for the trailer because it portrays the hope of human life that these babies represent. At point in the song it says "All that he has given to the world is the joy that he will carry to the door." And babies in general generate a number of emotional responses, most always positive. The trailer also uses ethos because at about 47 seconds it shows the "Focus Features" shot, demonstrating that it is endorsed by a major motion movie studio.

5. I think it's an effective trailer. It will leave audiences intrigued. It gives away very little and immediately draws you into the lives of these babies. I definitely want to see it.

STAR:
I think that the trailer was typical to what it was about. It's about babies, so that was what they focused on. A baby was in every shot. It was representative.
It was also sufficient to convince people to go and see it. It didn't give a lot away, but it definitely showed enough to get people hooked. It's good to have intrigue in movie trailers.

Word Count: 379

Source A: Celestial Marriage

1. The goal of this talk is to persuade people that marriage in the temple brings greater possibility for happiness than does any other relationship, and that temple marriage is the only way for families to be together forever. Elder Nelson wants to persuade people to get married in the temple.

2. The argument is that only those who are married in the temple will continue as spouses after death and receive the highest degree of celestial glory, or exaltation.
He argues that the noblest yearning of the human heart is for a marriage that can endure beyond death. Fidelity to a temple marriage does that. Elder Nelson says that the best choice is celestial marriage.

3. The audience is members of the LDS church, since it was given at General Conference. This is evident in the beginning when he says, "Together we feel a profound sense of gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ." On a broader scale, he is reaching out to everyone. At one point he says that "members of this Church invite all people to learn..."

4. Elder Nelson uses pathos in his argument. He talks about the yearning of the human heart. He also instills a fear in listeners that if they are not married in the temple, they won't be with their families. For example, he tells the story of the couple, where because they had not chosen temple marriage, husband and wife were separated at death. He also uses ethos, because he turns to the scriptures as doctrinal proof of his argument. He uses, for example, D&C 131:1-3, talking about temple marriage and exaltation.

5. I think this talk is effective. On my mission we watched it with husband and wife investigators and their eyes were opened to the possibility of an eternal family, and then they became anxious to do it because they did not want to settle for less when they could have more.

STAR:
The evidence that Elder Nelson used is definitely accurate. He is speaking to a religious group (Mormon), who have already been taught the importance of temple marriage. He is not arguing anything that they didn't know about when they were baptized.

He is also using relevant evidence, because he's taking into account the scriptures, the Proclamation to the Family, and other Conference talks, things that people in the audience would adhere to when addressing marriage as a spiritual matter.

"Celestial Marriage": http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=9b964bb52a73d110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD#footnote7

Word Count: 403

Advertisement: I AM AFRICAN

1.       The goal of this advertisement is to get people to donate money to the “Keep a Child Alive” organization in order to buy AIDS drugs.

2.       The argument is that we all are the same (look! Gwyneth Paltrow is African). There are no differences. Because of this, we must help each other. We must help in Africa like we would help our neighbors here.

3.       The audience is the target audience of the magazine in which these ads ran. The magazines vary, but it would more likely be in TIME magazine than Automotive Digest. They are reaching out to an audience that is somewhat globally minded and culturally opened, people who would respond to a message addressing global social issues.

4.       They go about arguing their issue through using specifically ethos and pathos. Using a celebrity like Gwyneth Paltrow gives their cause credibility. If someone as famous as her is willing to put their face on the campaign, it can’t be a scam or an organization that would otherwise damage her reputation. Gwyneth’s face says you can trust the organization with your money. They also lean on emotional appeal. In the white print on the bottom it asks for help in stopping people from dying. It specifies family members – a child, a mother, a father. Everyone has families, so by bringing the family into it, instead of just saying “an African” or “a person,” they are connecting to the heart of the readers. Because of this connection, not giving could produce feelings of guilt.

5.       I think it is effective. They create empathy and make people on the other side of the world relate to problems in Africa. I don’t know how much money the organization actually receives, but if they have the support of celebrities (Paltrow is not the only participant), they must have quite the foundation.

STAR

Is the evidence sufficient? I think that for the purpose of this ad, it is sufficient. They grab your attention by saying “I am African” which lets you know that the problems are in Africa. And then they tell you on the bottom what is going on (people are dying from AIDS) and tell you that you can help save them by helping buy AIDS drugs. They also give the website and the name of the organization in case I want to help.

Is the ad relevant to the argument? Yes, I think it definitely is. The AIDS epidemic is raging most strongly in Africa, and the ad makes this clear. They want Americans to help, so they brought in a very American-looking movie star to say that she is African. Turning her African is very relavent to getting people to help in the campaign. And then the white text at the bottom is the heart of the matter, and is definitely related to what they are trying to argue.