Persuasive Appeal

Question 1

Instructions: In class we discussed a range of different emotions that can be incorporated into an emotional appeal and tips for doing so effectively. For this activity, you will find an emotional appeal, identify why it is an emotional appeal, and explain whether it is effective (i.e., persuasive). Refer to class notes from Unit 7 (Pathos & Emotional Appeals) as well as the Nabi (2012) reading to help you complete this activity.

Find an example of an emotional appeal online. It may be an advertisement, commercial/video, PSA, campaign, newspaper article, etc. Based on the emotional appeal you find, address each of the following:

(1) Provide the link for the emotional appeal.

(2) In one sentence, describe the purpose of the persuasive appeal. In other words, what was the appeal trying to persuade people to do/think/believe?

(3) In one paragraph, describe the persuasive appeal in detail. (E.g., what images did it use? What words did it include?)

(4) What emotion did the appeal attempt to arouse? Provide at least three specific elements from the appeal that support your claim.

(5) Was this appeal effectively persuasive? In other words, did it persuade you? Explain why/why not (and if it did not persuade you, what could have been added/improved to persuade you).

Question 2

Identify how faith in reincarnation appears in three different works, each from a different Humanities discipline (visual art, music, dance, poetry, prose, theater, film, religion). For instance, you could choose a poem, a painting and a scene from a film, all of which express and represent the theme of anger. Or, to be even more specific, if you choose the emotion of “love,” the final paper could analyze and discuss love as it is expressed in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 147 (literature), Boticelli’s Birth of Venus (visual art), and in the ballet Swan Lake (dance).

Write one short paragraph (3-5 sentences) about each of your selections in which you:

• Choose reliable and appropriate examples (a good-quality image, recording, video, etc.).
• Identify and cite the source, including the artist, creator etc. as well as where you found the example.
• Explain why you find the example relevant for this assignment and mention one tool from the class materials and discussions you might be able to use to talk about it.