After conducting a peer review exchange with my partner, I plan on making multiple changes to my rationale.  First, I will fix all the incorrect citations, and properly use the MLA format.  I also need to include a Works Cited page that cites all the sources.  Second, I need to edit my introduction and only focus on one specific aspect of illiteracy.  I raised many interesting concepts there which would retract and distract my audience.  Third, I need to focus on making sure the main message of the ad, aka the 32 million adults in the US can’t read, is very prominent and draws the most attention.  Fourth, I need to change the color of the million dollars text since green on green is hard to read.  Fifth, I will explain the fallacies and the effectiveness of the ad in the rationale.

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

Project 3 took our creativity and literary techniques taught in this semester, and asked us to apply it in a real world format.  It was a challenging and unfamiliar territory for me, however I am proud of the ideas/lessons learned through this process.

1. In this project, I quickly became aware that being clear and concise is an absolute necessity due to the limit in page count for the text.  In the past, I often struggled with finding the perfect balance of style and runoff, and this allowed me to cut trivial words.  In a real life context, people will not appreciate a 6 page watery paper that could be 1 page of solid material.
2. Never give up!  I understand this is a cliche statement, however I felt it classified my experience perfectly.  Since we were not able to use pictures from the internet, I believed I was hopeless because my attempts at using photoshop to draw my own artwork failed miserably.  However, I kept trying different methods, and finally found a way to hand draw the artworks seen in the ad.
3. As many people in this country, I was uneducated of the large segment of the population who were illiterate.  The idea of people lacking such a crucial tool in society was stuck in 19th century textbooks.  However, after working on this project, I was able to see the struggles and lack of attention illiterate adults face each day.  Hopefully, through more public awareness and governmental programs, we can provide all with those basic skills.

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

1. The podcast is a historical literacy genre because it incorporates history and real life examples in the concept of words and language.  Essentially, by taking an abstract concept of the role of words and decoding it through historical contexts including Nicaraguan deaf children, the deaf man, and the babies.  Research is crucial in this genre to provide factual support for their claims which is evident through their interviews of many scientists and scholars from the Harvard graduate to the Columbia Shakespeare professor.  It may also work as a science based podcast because it uses scientific examples and studies to clear points of language.
2. An advertisement tries to persuade people using certain fallacies such as appeal to authority or knowledge.  In the beginning of this podcast, I was confused as to how they were describing words as influencing actions and thoughts, however through their studies and proofs, they persuaded me to their notions.
3. Facts serve to provide real graspable knowledge that allows the listener to relate to.  This podcast incorporates a great degree of abstract thinking, and the facts help provide leaping points to string those ideas together.  Anecdotes are different than facts because there is a humanistic approach.  Those personal stories don’t provide the same amount of knowledge as facts do, but instead provide real world examples.  For me, the anecdotes were more persuasive, because it was much easier to relate to and understand.  I am a practical thinker and thus those anecdotes allowed me to see the physical effects of words on the deaf man for example.
4. I noticed when the interviewee would be asked a question that involved her retelling a memory, sound effects would be used.  For example, for the Harvard graduate, the sound of babies she would work with would be heard (ex: left of the blue wall, in a child’s voice).  Another example is the woman who worked with the deaf man, all the words he was learning were repeated as a sound effect.  They enhance the information presented because listeners can almost relive that memory by hearing the same sounds as perhaps that person did.  For me, however it detracted from the story telling because I was unable to imagine the memory myself with those spontaneous sound effects.  They also felt almost chaotic and repeating in a strange fashion.
5. Believe it or not, if my target audience for the advertisement was illiterate people themselves (it is not in my case), radio ads would work better because of the lack of visual words they have been introduced to.  I would probably try to use appeal to emotion by using various struggles that illiterate people often experience and thus would connect to.  For example, I would use different people explaining how they can’t get a job, or are taken advantage of, etc. to rouse their emotions.
6. I learned that only when babies are six years old, or are introduced to certain context languages, do they rise above rats in certain experiments.  I also learned that in the 70s, a group of 50 students were able to create a universal language for deaf people without even realizing it.  Finally, I learned that words have a much larger impact than I ever imagined.
7. I thought that the show was very interesting, the concepts they described were unique and truly influenced the way I thought about words.  I wish it was not so long because since it is so educational, it is tough to listen to the hour long podcast and process all the ideas as fully as I was able to do for the first half hour.  I enjoyed that there were two hosts so it felt like a conversation instead of a lecture, and the use of interviews provided needed variety.  Overall, I was impressed by Radiolab’s show!

 

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

After speaking with my partner, I was able to receive valuable peer advice for my advertisement.  Here is the top 3 ways I can improve my ad:

1. Make sure to use as many fallacies as needed to persuade people of the main message.
2. Effectively use color to draw people to the advertisement as well as highlight the most important portions of the ad.
3. Analyze each artistic decision and make sure that it has a specific purpose.

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

BEST AD- “Halloween GIM”

This ad decided to use the appeal of the popular horror It movie by adapting it to their advertisement.  The ad has a black background with a prominent yellow raincoat facing the It clown shrouded in darkness mostly visible by his murky red balloon.  The lettering for the ad is in the same type of unsettling scratchy font as visible in the It movie.   The ad also perfectly fit the theme of the horror flick because it was for a Halloween party at Baruch hosted on October 31st.  The likely intended audience was for Baruch students who would roam the halls and be persuaded to attend the party.  The purpose of the ad was to raise awareness for the party hosted by the club and increase popularity for the club as well.

Analysis

The explicit meaning of the ad is that there is a Halloween party on October 31st during club hours.  The implicit meaning is that the fear of the It movie will drive you into the Halloween spirit and if you enjoyed the movie, as millions have, associate those positive messages with the party and club.  The extended meaning is that horror movies can transcend to the physical world through imaginative themes such as parties at Baruch.  (A stretch, I know).

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WORSE AD- “Halloween Photography Workshop”

This ad was made by the Baruch Photography Club for their Halloween photography workshop.  There is a standard Windows 97 computer background stained orange.  In front of it is an error message stating the words Halloween Photography Workshop.  There is also a ton of white barely legible words in the bottom right corner providing details for the event.  The intended audience is anyone at Baruch interested in photography and computer editing.  The purpose was to raise awareness for the club and their event.

Malcolm X demonstrated the effect literacy has had on his life.  During his criminal period, he relied on slang and felt unable and discouraged to pursue anything else.  However, when he finally was able to self educate himself through the dictionary, he developed a freedom  to learn and speak to others, ironically in prison.

For my research, I focused on adult illiteracy and saw the harmful effects it can have on people’s lives.  They might be out in society, but they are not free- from unemployment to being unable to even read signs, their lives were drastically impacted.  I also noticed that the few people who were able to combat their illiteracy through studies did so because they had a particular motivation, much like Malcolm did.  Once they firsthand understood the practical applications literacy, they were able to embrace it and be free once again.

 

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

If anyone can provide any critique, that would be super helpful!  I am also considering changing the title from 32 to 32 million.   Which one do you believe works better?

 

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

“Adult Illiteracy (Distance Learning).” Whatwhenhow RSS, what-when-how.com/distance-                 learning/ adult-illiteracy-distance-learning/.

 

This article analyzes adult illiteracy in America through the definition of the word “literacy”, statistical information, historical attempts to address the issue, causes of adult illiteracy, solutions to the problem, and goals for their future development.  They argue that adult literacy is crucial to function in society, where illiterates are often cheated out of better jobs, proper healthcare, and schooling for their children.  Due to over a fifth of the population being classified as illiterate, this issue needs to be addressed through various solutions.

 

Cardoza, Kavitha. “Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class.” NPR, NPR, 31 Oct. 2013,www.npr.org/2013/10/31/241862699/turning-the-page-on-illiteracy-adults-go-back -to-class.

 

This article discussed two adults and their varying struggles with adult illiteracy, how this issue was caused since childhood, and the programs they participate in to learn to read.  The first adult, Shirley, never learned to read in school due to the lack of support in the special education programs.  She hid her illiteracy for 50 years due to embarrassment and thus was taken advantage of by her friends.  The adult literacy program has boosted her from a Kindergarten level to 2nd grade.  Jason, another illiterate learner, also felt idle in his special education classes at school and thus dropped out.  His career is at a stall because he cannot take the contractor’s license exam without acquiring the reading skill.  His two year training with a tutor has allowed him to write his own checks and even read a novel.  The point of this article is to prove that despite their past setbacks and struggles, adult programs allow illiterate adults another chance at life.

 

“Hidden Illiteracy: The Ignorance of Ignorance.” Hidden Illiteracy: Semi and Functionally Illiterate Definition | Applied Scholastics International, www.appliedscholastics.org/education-issues/hidden-illiteracy-the-ignorance-of-ignorance.html.

 

This educational source discusses what it believes is the most dangerous form of illiteracy- the hidden illiterate.  This person is ignorant of their own illiteracy because they are unaware of what they do not know, and thus hidden to the world as well.  According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, ⅔ of students are reading at a below proficient level, and most are unaware of their limitations.  This illiteracy transforms to broader areas such as health illiteracy, legal illiteracy, and more.  According to the late Hubbard, a literary scholar, the best method to combat this form of illiteracy is to clearly define words using the dictionary.  Without any confusion, the subjects are able to understand texts and continue to grow in their literacy paths to adulthood.

 

“What does it Mean to be Literate? | Silvia Tolisano- Langwitches Blog.” Silvia Tolisano

Langwitches, 28 Aug. 2010, langwitches.org/blog/2010/08/28/what-does-it-mean-to-be-literate/.

 

This article explains how the meaning of the word literate has evolved throughout time.  According to the dictionary, literary means read or write, however in this ever growing digital age; literacy has been transformed.  He uses an example of two monks- one monk uses scrolls, an ancient writing form, while the other monk uses the new technological form of books.  If the original monk refuses to write in books, does he become illiterate?  The author imposes this sample example upon the movement from printed literacy to digital literacy.

 

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle

Last week, I discussed the numerous types of fallacies that exist in advertising, however the bombardments of persuasion occurs in more than just the marketplace.  In light of the recent Virginia gubernatorial election, politics is a major area where people try to persuade the public.  From debates to speeches, politicians utilize many of the same strategies to induce votes.  From the bandwagon effect to the appeal to the emotions, politics is enamored with fallacies.

Another example is in a corporate setting.  Many companies hire motivational speakers to encourage their workers to improve performance and raise morale.  Whether they persuade people of their own potential or of the important role of the company, these tactics are enabled to persuade.  These speakers use tons of fallacies including: hasty generalization, false analogy, false cause, false dilemma, ad hominem, etc.

Simply from taking a macroscopic perspective on persuasion, it is hard to recount an area where we are not being convinced or influenced to make certain decisions or actions.

Lonelygirl15

Persuasion transforms to manipulation when a person is deceived based on false information.  In pop culture, if people are convinced of an idea based on truthful facts, then this is classified as persuasion.  However, when manipulation occurs, as in Lonelygirl15’s case; the YouTube audience falsely believed the show based on the fake narrative they provided.  To better understand these two concepts, it is important to analyze lies vs fallacies.  A fallacy is a tool that takes truths and repackages them to justify a claim, as opposed to a lie that completely makes something up.  For Lonleygirl15, there is no truth whatsoever- the people are actors, the bedroom a decorated set, and the drama scripted.  Audiences were convinced to follow this story when in fact it was a disguised manipulation.

 

Signing off,

Delectable Danielle