Tuesday, October 27

Today, in order to assess your progress, we began class by asking you to think about a claim, develop three criteria to define the relative term, and write a short logos-based paragraph supporting one of the criteria. The claim was "____________ is a good high school." To see a copy of the assignment, click on the link below:

Logos Paragraph IV

Next, we looked at an effective example of ethos in an advertisement:

Ethos Ad

We then introduced the first major project of this term: based on the situation just after the rebellion, we're asking you to "become" a public-relations firm that has been charged with countering the bad publicity that has been spreading throughout the land after the rebellion on Animal Farm. To accomplish this, you (or you and your partner) will come up with five specific advertisements that should each accomplish at least one of the following goals: making Mr. Jones seem like an unreliable source, and making humans feel positively (or at least neutrally) towards Animal Farm. To see a copy of the project requirements and specifications, click on the link below:

Animal Farm Public Relations Project

We then developed some criteria that would define an effective advertisement, and then applied them (and refined them) by looking at examples of past student works from this project. We discussed how well each example met the effectiveness criteria, and paid specific attention to the distinction between "funny" and "effective" -- noting that both can be true of an ad, but that "funny to be funny" will be entertaining but not ultimately effective.

Finally, you spent some time identifying various strengths and challenges (or abilities, motivations, and/or awarenesses) in one or two works from the semester thus far, in preparation for conferences this week.

Aside from your regular reading requirements, and whatever project-centered homework you need to begin, there was no homework assigned tonight.