Visual Rhetoric

            Visual rhetoric is a part of our everyday lives. Whether we know it or not, the way we dress is a way in which we represent ourselves. Rhetoric in writing is the “language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience”. Just like writing, visual rhetoric through the way we dress has an “impressive effect on its audience”. No matter what we are wearing, people around us (our audience) will gather information and interpret what we are like. Are you tidy, organized, artistic, creative, sporty? Having knowledge of visual rhetoric and knowing what we are saying through our clothes and appearance is important. For instance, if you were to go to your brother or sister’s wedding, you would not just show up in an old stained t-shirt and ripped up jeans. That sounds like a nightmare! Why? Because the way you present yourself is important. Proper dress shows respect to who you are with and says a lot about who you are as a person.

            There are all sorts of different clothing for a reason. Dresses, suites and tuxes are for special occasions when it is important to impress who you are with and/or show signs of respect. You may need to wear them for interviews, weddings, dances and other important events. Jeans and a t-shirt are for occasions that are more laid back and do not require the same degree of professionalism. Choosing the right attire is important to understand because it has an effect on its audience. As much as we would like to think first impressions should not determine you fully as a person, it often does. Poorly written papers that do not grab their audience’s attention often do not get a second chance. Our dress and appearance is often the same way. If we do not impress an employer, for example, we often do not get a second chance. By understanding what we are saying through our dress, we will be able to represent our abilities, personality and show signs of respect in a short amount of time.

            Not only does the type of attire say a lot about us as a person, but so does the color of our dress. For example, my brother is an intern at Goldman Sachs. At this prestigious financial business, the color of your tie and suit says a lot about who you are and your rank in the company. As an intern, there is an unsaid code that prohibits him from wearing dark colored suits and power-colored ties. To show professionalism and signs of respect for his superiors, he does not wear an expensive black suite and a red tie because he has not earned that right and status.

            In conclusion, understanding visual rhetoric is important because it is a part of our everyday lives. It helps us say the right things about ourselves and shows others a little bit of our personality in a matter of moments. 

Visual Rhetoric

Extra Credit Blog Post

Meg Kelly

            Using visual rhetoric is apart of everyday life, and is can be useful to recognize the role that it plays. For me, I use visual rhetoric every time I get dressed in the morning when I put on an outfit that I would like to represent myself in. I put on clothes that people can take me seriously in, and that I can respect myself in. It can be challenging to find what clothes accurately represent one, and it is a process that one has to go through in order to find a unique style.

Another way I use visual rhetoric is shown in the way I organize my schoolwork. I want all my assignments to be visually pleasing, and this can happen when I am writing a paper or sorting my assignments. When writing a paper, I have to show rhetoric by either following a previously set guideline, such as MLA or APA. When I complete a paper the way a professor wants me to, I am using visual rhetoric to show that I understand the assignment and take the instructions that are given seriously. When I am not given a writing format that I need to stick to, then I have to be sure to format my paper in a way that is presentable and organized, once again showing that I am taking the assignment given seriously. When organizing my schoolwork, I use visual rhetoric by making sure I have a place for all my assignments, and that those assignments are in their place. This example benefits me more than anyone, because it allows me to find my assignments easier, and gives me a peace of mind that I know were everything is.

When I am in my dorm room, my use of visual rhetoric is ever present when I look at my walls, bed, and desk. I use visual rhetoric in these places by keeping everything organized and clean, and on the walls I have used visual rhetoric by putting pictures and posters up, and by arranging them in a way that is pleasing to the eye. When I do this I am calmer because everything is neat, and I am happier because I enjoy looking at the things on my wall.

Visual rhetoric is an important thing to practice and be aware of. By using visual rhetoric in our everyday lives, we are able to present ourselves in a positive manner, become more organized, and develop a peace of mind. If we can learn to use visual rhetoric effectively, then it will be beneficial in the way others perceive us, and the way we feel about ourselves.

Visual Rhetoric (Extra Credit)

                Visual rhetoric is used much more than we recognize.  Most notably, it is used in dress, appearance and mannerisms.  Developing skills to recognize and understand these rhetorical devices come with time and experience.  Most commonly, however, come naturally as an innate ability.  The knack to understand and read a person based on their visual rhetoric is a very valuable skill in many facets of the world.  From situations in relationships to business ventures, understanding the feelings of others is a necessary part of life.  By picking up and paying particular attention to clues given in visual gestures this can be used as a great strength in many aspects of human experience.

                As an LDS missionary, understanding visual rhetoric was essential to success – and to avoiding awkward situations.  Typically, within the first three seconds of introducing ourselves to people we could determine their interest level.  This was particularly important because of our time restraints.  In the business world, salespeople are taught to sell to those who are either favorable or impartial toward the product or service while ignoring those who are unfavorable or hostile toward the business.  Although missionaries are not instructed to ignore any of God’s children, similar principles apply.  Those who convey soft, inviting mannerisms are typically more humble and willing to accept the gospel.  In opposition to this, those with a rugged appearance are usually less likely to listen to the message.  This tactic is not always flawless, and singular second judgments do not always turn out to be true, but it is an effective way to decipher the initial feelings and reactions of others toward the message and the messenger.
               I recognized this most pointedly during my mission when we were authorized to teach via Skype and Facebook.  At first, we were overwhelmed with the excitement surrounding the possibilities of teaching people worldwide.  Eventually, we became very frustrated with the lack of success we were seeing online.  Due to the lack of visual rhetoric, it was difficult to know what to testify of during lessons over instant messaging.  During Skype lessons, there was a small lag time in between our comments and their response which became problematic due to our dependence on the reaction of the investigator.  Some are better at hiding their emotions than others, but it is human nature to react at least briefly in the instant that we hear or learn or something noteworthy.  Visual rhetoric is a large part of human life and can greatly impact the way that we interact and treat others.

Extra-Credit: Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric not only allows you to express a persuasive opinion via photos or videos but it helps you capture your audience attention at a much faster rate. I do believe that visual rhetoric is something to be aware of. I would agree that learning it would be great as well but considering how many people are constantly blogging or on some sort of social media, I’m pretty positive they already invest in making visual rhetoric without even realizing it.

I like most typical girls keep some sort of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and a blog. I believe that my personal blog displays most of my visual rhetoric. On my blog I tend to post a lot about my personal life, photos, and/or videos that exemplify the life I live. It is through my blog that one can get a true genuine sense of who I am as a person. Though I try my hardest to keep my blog updated it’s getting a bit more difficult to do with school and finals.

Moreover, I also use visual rhetoric by the way I dress. Most days (key word here being most) I try to dress girly and nice—by dressing well I feel like I send off the message that I am a girl who is well put together and tends to have things correctly organized. While other days I will wear jeans and a hoodie due to the fact that I either slept in or did not want to put effort in how I look. The way one dresses or presents themselves shows not only their mood but also how they feel about themselves. For example when dress real bummy (sweats, hoddie, hair up with no make-up) probably will mean I’m having a bad day and that I do not feel good. These are the days to avoid me haha. In all seriousness though, I believe that we send out some sort of visual rhetoric about ourselves/our lives through the way we dress and what we post on social media each day. Therefore, visual rhetoric is very important for our every day life.

Feed the Future

 I have narrowed my Issues Paper topic by focusing on the effects of the policy in the United States. The policy I have chosen is the Feed the Future program. This program seeks to help developing nations to become self sustainable through agriculture growth, specifically through promoting healthy, nutritious, and locally grown food. This policy is strictly for other countries. The supposedly parallel policies for the United States are not enough. In my paper, I will try to focus on how these policies can be improved to better assist those in need. While these policies are very broad, I want to limit my policy proposal to helping impoverished families get the balanced diet they need. To do this, I have narrowed my research to studies regarding the lack of nutrition for those in poverty.  My target audience is primarily those who make policies such as lawmakers and those in the bureaucracy. The secondary audience is United States citizens who should all be informed about the governmental policies. I would craft my argument to  specifically target this primary audience by focusing on thoroughly supported research, plausible solutions and real examples. I have found many examples of research which has found that there is indeed a real problem in the United States with impoverished people who have low quality diets. My argument will be based mostly on logos. I would lay out that there is a problem before suggesting possible solutions. My argument will be more effective as I suggest solutions because that are plausible. If solutions are real and useful then the readers are more likely to implement them and make real changes. The solutions would be changes to the current policy to make it applicable to the United States. I would propose that the policy not be changed too drastically because the current policy is not too far off. My argument would also rely on real examples of how this policy would be effective. The policy to help individuals to help themselves needs to be improved. The Feed the Future program has stories and examples of how these policies have worked. This will help provide evidence that the policy is effective overseas and it would be effective here in the United States. My biggest concern with this topic development is if I can fully support my thesis. My thesis would be quite complex because it is based on existing policy and how to improve it. I am concerned that my research would not be adequate to show how the policy can be improved and be applied to those who are in need here. More research will need to be done to make sure I fully supported my whole thesis. 

Art Education and its Effect on Student Achievement

There are so many subtopics and questions I want to address in my paper, but I am trying to narrow it down to how having art education available in schools affects and benefits the students. I want to compare different art education programs in different places around the globe. I have found several articles about art education and its benefits that take place in other countries. I want to talk about the ABCs of art: Academic, Basic, and comprehensive, how art can increase a students reading, language and math skills. Art can increase one's thinking and social skills and gives them more motivation to learn. The Arts have been such a huge part in my life and I find art so incredibly important, I want others to know and realize how much is gained from the arts.
Through my research, I have found that a large percentage of students and parents agree that art is a crucial part of education, and yet, art programs--if offered at schools--are hugely under supported and budgeted. I hope to address members of the education board who can make changes happen. From experience and things I have heard, education boards are not easily persuaded, so I hope to address my audience using facts, percentages, studies and real life examples to prove the importance, worth and necessity of art in education.
I feel like I have found a decent amount of sources (I have found more since turning in the annotated bibliography) and they support my claim, but I am having a really hard time putting my thoughts together into coherent paragraphs (which you can probably tell by my lack of analysis above). I feel very strongly about my topic and I know that there is much I can and want to say, I am just having a really hard time putting it all together. I am afraid that in an attempt to write 10 pages, I will end up rambling, repeating myself or saying things with little to no importance.

Domestic Violence

The topic I have chosen to write on for my issues paper is Domestic Violence. The way I plan to narrow this topic is by focusing on the effects such a crime has on the children whose parent’s are a victim/predator of domestic violence. In doing some research I have come to see that not only are kids exposed to brutal abuse but the internal effect that is caused will affect not only their adolescence but also their adult life. In addition, it has been noted that when women become physically, verbally, and/or emotionally abused the child is at a greater risk of being abused. Furthermore, later on life effects such as anxiety and/or depression are more likely to occur for these individuals. Thus, by narrowing my topics in this manner, my targeted audience will be law enforcers and professional physical/psychological doctors who ignore the fact of what domestic violence has on the health of a child. Sure awareness can do amazing things to help prevent domestic violence from continuing it’s evil cycle but awareness should not be for only the women but also the child watching this occur in their home. Though, since many may agree that awareness can end up doing more damage than good I also plan on addressing that side of the issue. There is a saying my younger brother always told me “better be safe than sorry” so why hide from talking about sensitive topics such as these? Talking and spreading awareness is what is going to help keep us accountable as a nation and what is going to help reduce the amount of violence that occurs within the home.

I feel pretty confident about the sources I have been able to collect due to the grand amounts of evidence and studies that have been done to prove the effects on children. My only main concern is spacing out the information retrieved so that it can be less citations and more of my own analysis. I am mainly concerned about writing what is real and factual. I am also concerned about whether or not I will run out of material to write about since many times I like to just get straight to the point. It is going to be a challenge for me to space out my writing while being consisted and factual. All in all, I plan to write about the effects domestic violence has on children and the women who have been battered.