DWRL Lesson Plans - Pathos

The (Selling) Powers of a Good Cry

lazhu — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 05:31:18 +0000

Author:

Image Credit:

Brief Assignment Overview:

Students will look at a series of popular, “sad” advertisements and discuss the ways in which certain commercials have successfully tapped into elements of rhetoric specific to viral videos. Through this, students will expand their understanding of argumentation to include the very relatable perspective of consumerism.

Type of Assignment:

Class Discussion

In-class Exercise

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Citation

Writing Process

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Audio

Multimedia

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

This assignment acts as a transition point from Unit 1 (summary) to Unit 2 (analysis), ideally introduced the day Paper 1.2 is turned in. Since this activity functions primarily as an introduction to Unit 2, students will be expected to apply Unit 1 concepts – such as summary and kairos – with an additional, analytical dimension. Though not all students studied rhetorical analysis in high school, a brief overview of ethos, logos, and pathos will suffice for this assignment. They will be paying particular attention to intended audience and the ways that it might impact choices in rhetorical strategies.

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

As long as the instructor has access to a console/projector, that should be enough.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

Mid-Semester

Full Assignment Description:

This can be both an informal or formal exercise depending on the instructor’s preference.

I split the students into two groups and showed students two video advertisements with vastly different strategies. Half of the class focused on visual rhetoric and the other half focused on verbal, written, and aural rhetoric. Each student was given a table where they would cite a piece of evidence from the text and then explain, in detail, how it contributed to the company’s persuasive effectiveness based on intended audience. Students presented their findings in a back-and-forth fashion between groups and eventually came to understand that rhetorical strategies often work as a cohesive unit rather than measurable, separated components (whether that’s ethos, pathos, and logos working together, or visual, verbal, and aural interactions).

The first advertisement was Chipotle’s high-budget “The Scarecrow.” The ensuing discussion included not just the ad itself, but Chipotle’s situated brand, its parent company, and the smartphone game app associated with the video. In addition, there is an edited version of this same advertisement,“Chipotle Scarecrow (Honest version),” which critiques the hypocrisy and consumerist qualities of the original; this commentary is a nice complement and is a good example of the analytical thinking necessary to writing Paper 2.1.

The second advertisement (“Giving is the Best Communication”) is from Thailand, funded by a massive communications company (True Move H) and contains very little dialogue and text, but makes great use of lighting, music, camera angle, etc. Students have to think a little more creatively to truly analyze it. Many of the students enjoyed viewing and discussing this one and even offered suggestions for further videos to dissect, including “Silence of Love” – a Thai advertisement for life insurance. Life insurance is obviously a sensitive topic which makes this commercial even more interesting. Be warned, half of my class teared up/cried after viewing it.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Watch through all of the commercials so you have a sense of what overlapping strategies are used, how cultural relativism may tie in, etc. There are too many points to cover with these commercials, so be sure to prepare and pick out what you think is most important and relevant to your syllabus.

Instructions For Students:

Watch and take notes on each commercial.

Decide on the intended audience

The notes should be detailed and organized as follows:

Evidence from the commercial – corresponding analysis

Prepare for a discussion about the advertisements’ effectiveness based on audience/kairos

Evaluation Suggestions:

Participation and/or worksheet completion

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Students really took to this, which is unsurprising. The advertisements chosen above went viral because they’re engaging to watch. This eventually grew into a larger conversation about advertisement tropes (in particular, those involved in car commercials).

Course Type:

Introductory Writing Course

Course Description:

Rhetoric 306 is a course designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of research and argumentation. They are asked to research a controversy, summarize and analyze the arguments of the major stakeholders in that controversy, and then develop their own arguments.

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Teaching Rhetorical Pathos through Playlists

Streusand — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:06:14 +0000

Author:

Deb Streusand

Image Credit:

Deb Streusand -- Screenshot of Spotify

Brief Assignment Overview:

A fun way to teach students the power of rhetorical pathos using multiple media. Students create Spotify playlists to accompany a short persuasive essay on a topic of their choice.

Type of Assignment:

In-class Exercise

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

One-Two Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pathos

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Required Materials:

Computers are required, but the lesson plan could be adapted for a non-computer classroom if students are able to bring in laptops.
Headphones are also required for the students to listen to the playlists.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Mid-Semester

Full Assignment Description:

This lesson plan can be used to teach rhetorical pathos through the making of playlists. It was created for a computer-enabled classroom, but could also work for a conventional classroom if students were able to bring in laptops.

Students must first acquire accounts on Spotify.com, a free music streaming service. This can be done at the previous class meeting, or, with instructions, as part of homework.

To prepare for this class, students write short persuasive essays on a topic of their choice and create Spotify playlists to accompany them, with the purpose of inducing emotions that will help persuade the reader to agree with the writer of the essay.

In class, the students listen to the playlists. One could combine any activity that wasn't overly distracting with listening to the music. I let them listen while doing whatever they would typically do on the computer while they listen to music -- allowing Facebook, Twitter, etc. This activity provides a sort of neutral starting point for the students as the playlist works on them, while alleviating the boredom that might come with solely listening to the music. Next, the students read their partner's persuasive essay. They then write a brief response describing how the playlist made them feel and how the essay used those emotions to persuade them. They email this response to the partner and the professor.

For homework, the students revise their persuasive essays to incorporate more emotional language, playing on the same feelings as the playlist songs.

Students enjoy making and listening to the playlists, and they also absorb the idea of inducing emotion in an audience as a persuasive tactic.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Ahead of time:

Become familiar with Spotify, so as to be able to answer student questions about how to use it.

In the class before the pathos activity:

Allow students 5-10 minutes in class to acquire Spotify accounts, or in, a non-computer classroom where they will bring laptops the next time, send them home with instructions on how to do so.
Assign the following homework:

Write a one-page persuasive essay on a topic of your choice.
Make a fifteen-minute Spotify playlist intended to induce feelings that will make a partner agree with your opinion on the topic.

In class:

Allow students 15 minutes to listen to the Spotify playlists.
Allow students about 45 minutes to read and respond to their partner's essay.
Assign students to revise the essay for homework, using language that plays on the same emotions the partners mentioned as effective in their responses.

Instructions For Students:

Joining Spotify:

Go to https://www.spotify.com/us/signup/
Fill in the information to create a free account
Click on "Sign Up" at the bottom of the page.

Homework to prepare for this lesson:

Write a one-page persuasive essay on a topic of your choice.
Make a fifteen-minute Spotify playlist intended to induce feelings that will make a partner agree with your opinion on the topic. Think about things like the tempo of the music, the content of the lyrics, the instrumentation. How do you want the music to affect your partner?
Bring your headphones with you to class next time.
[Non-computer classroom] Bring your laptop with you to class next time.

In class:

Listen to your partner's Spotify playlist. During this time, you may do whatever you normally do on the computer whie listening to music.
After you are finished listening to the playlist, read your partner's essay. Think about how you felt listening to the playlist and consider how it affects the way you read the essay.
Write a response to your partner's essay, detailing how the playlist made you feel and how it affected your reading of the essay. Consider what emotions were or were not effective in persuading you. Give your partner feedback on this so that they know what emotions to use in revising the persuasive essay. This is not the place to critique their opinion; your job is to help them argue more effectively.

Homework:

Revise your persuasive essay to incorporate emotional language as part of your persuasive technique. Consider the feedback your partner gave you about the emotions your playlist evoked and how they did or did not help persuade your partner to agree with you.

Evaluation Suggestions:

I did not evaluate this assignment, because the grade percentages on my syllabus did not include points for in-class assignments or homework, but only major writing assignments. In a course where homework counted for points, I would probably give a completion grade and feedback on the revised essays.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Students enjoyed making and listening to the playlists. They seemed to absorb the idea of using emotion to persuade, but sometimes struggled to incorporate the feelings evoked by the musical media into their text. If I were teaching this lesson again, I would spend part of the preceding lesson analyzing how one or two texts used pathos. That way, students could have a better understanding of how pathos operates in texts before trying to use it themselves.

Course Type:

Introductory Writing Course

Course Description:

Rhetoric & Writing is a course in argumentation that situates rhetoric as an art of civic discourse. It is designed to enhance students ability to analyze the various positions held in any public debate and to advocate their own positions effectively. Students' work in this course will help them advance the critical writing and reading skills they will need to succeed in courses for their majors and university degrees.

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Evaluating Satire With Rhetorical Analysis

Sloan — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 17:20:25 +0000

Author:

Casey Sloan

Image Credit:

Tete-a-Tete provided by Lacy B Timeless via Flickr

Brief Assignment Overview:

This assignment asks students to locate a product ad on their computers, and evaluate its use of ethos, pathos, and logos given its goal and target audience. It then asks students to write or visually construct a brief parody of the advertisement, share it with the class, and explain their own use of ethos, pathos and logos in relation to their goal and audience.

Type of Assignment:

In-class Exercise

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

One-Two Class Periods

Multiple Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Genre

Imagery

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Style

Thesis Statements

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Mid-Semester

Full Assignment Description:

This assignment has students evaluate a product advertisement using rhetorical analysis, construct working definitions of satire and parody, and experiement with writing and analyzing satires for their chosen ads. Ideally, these steps will help students solidify an understanding of ethos, logos and pathos, as well as attend to the wide range of genres using rhetoric to make arguments. The creative wring required introduces an engaging hook to keep students interested in the analytical process, and evaluating the success of their own satires helps them develop close-reading and peer-review skills.

They will first individually locate an ad (static image, audio or visual commercials, textual). If you have a technology-based classroom, you can have students conduct this step in class. If not, ask them to locate an ad ad bring in a copy or a detailed description of the video/ audio stream for homework. After finding an ad, students will write up an evaluation its use of ethos, logos, and pathos in relation to its goals and its target audience. This should take up one class period.

Next, discuss parody and satire with your students. I showed a makeup commercial followed by a commercial parody. We discussed how each used ethos, logos, and pathos to achieve its distinct goals and to relate to its target audience.

Next, ask students to type up or construct a visual parody of their selected ad. Since students can get overenthusiastic about using visual software, I asked them to use only thirty minutes of class time to accomplish this goal instead of assigning it for homework, but it could easily be achieved on their own.

Finally, have students trade parodies and evaluate the use of ethos, logos and pathos in their classmate's parody. Have them construct a brief thesis statement about whether or not the use of rhetoric accomplished the satire's goal in relation to the target audience.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Decide which steps should be conduct inside and outside of class. I had my students perform each step in class because I was in a technology-based classroom, but asking them to bring in ads for homework would enable students to explore print materials as well as web sources. I also had my students develop their creative satire projects in class, but this could easily be accomplished at home.

Instructions For Students:

Before this assignment, students should be familiar with rhetorical analysis, have been introduced to ethos, logos, and pathos, and have a working understanding of how to construct a thesis based on source goals and audience. This assignment can be stretched out for multiple class periods depending on how much outside work you ask them to bring to class.

1) Have students locate or bring to class an advertisement.

2) Ask students to list incidents of the use of ethos, logos and pathos in the ad, then construct a thesis: Does the ad successfully accomplish its goals in relation to its audience using rhetoric? Why or why not?

3) For the next class, introduce students to satire and parody. I showed several videos to familiarize my students with the concept, but there are many sources of satire that could be used. As a group, discuss how your chose satire uses rhetoric to influence its audience and accomplish its goals.

4) Either as homework or in class, have your students construct a parody of their chosen ad. I gave my students the option to draw their parody by hand or pull images from Flickr and doctor them in Photoshop.

5) Finally, have the students exhange parodies and perform a rhetorical analysis of their classmate's work. Ask volunteers to share parodies and evaluations.

Course Description:

I used this assignment in Rhetoric 306, an introduction to rhetoric course.

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