My E-Portfolio

I am currently a freshman and an aspiring Paterno Fellow at the Pennsylvania State University.  I am pursuing a double major in Psychology (B.S.) with a neuroscience option and Biobehavioral Health with a minor in Spanish (B.S.).  After college, I plan to further my education by attending medical school in order to study psychiatry.

When I first enrolled in LA 101H in the beginning of the semester, I was not sure what to expect. I understood that it would be a combination of public speaking and writing, however, it proved to be much more.  Through this course I was able to improve my communication skills daily. I have learned many techniques for communicating effectively and have had the opportunity to utilize them in class throughout the semester.  Whether it be blogging, writing a paper, or preparing a multimedia project, I was constantly being challenged.  Through the weekly readings, I have seen rhetoric in many different lights and understand the importance of good communication skills.  

Not only have I acquired skills in public speaking and writing, but also technological skills.  Through the multimedia presentation, I have learned several different ways of getting my voice heard.  Blogging has also taught me how to voice my opinions.  Writing weekly has helped me to explore my creativity and broaden my communication skills. 

The first day of class  my professor asked, "What is rhetoric?"  At the time, I didn't really know.  But after this semester, it's rewarding to know that I have learned exactly what rhetoric is through constant writing, reading, and communicating.  The skills achieved in this class can be applicable not just to academic communication, but also daily communication.  LA 101H pushed me to keep my eyes open for examples of rhetoric, and soon I realized that it's not very hard to find. 


Katelyn M. Dowling E-Portfolio

Today's the Day: Happiness for the Long Run

We tell ourselves, "I'll go to the gym tomorrow because_________."  We've become experts at creating an excuse well enough to hinder interest in our goal.  But the truth is... now is as good a time as any.  For some reason we believe the future is this place where we have all the free time and dedication in the world.  But, the truth is tomorrow you probably won't want to go to the gym as much as you don't want to go today.  So give up the excuses, because excuses only get you further from your goals.  This picture shows a runner, a perfect example of commitment.  If you're a good runner than you don't simply run sporadically because you would never improve without first whipping yourself into shape.  It involves hard work and a goal you know you want without question.


Commitment is a great feeling.  But it doesn't always feel good in the moment, for example, when you're passing a Mcdonalds to go to a Saladworks because you told yourself to start eating healthier.  Think of it as an investment by comparing it to the college experience.  When attending college, you commit yourself to four hard-working, expensive years that yield (hopefully) a long-lasting career that will provide happiness longer than those four years it took to achieve it.  But on graduation day, you feel accomplished and proud.  And suddenly those late studying nights, finals weeks that you thought weren't humanly possible to survive through, and boring textbooks readings have indirectly brought you more joy that you thought possible.  Then you experience that great feeling that it was all worth it.  Committing to anything, big or small, can be looked at in this way.  Each little moment that makes you want to give up on your goals, (like purposefully avoiding the street with a Mcdonalds on it) just suck it up and know that the future lying ahead will be more satisfying in the long run.


Last year I used to run every day, sometimes twice a day.  However, with the new stresses of college I have resorted to this new "excuse-making" strategy.  But thinking back, I remember how happy I was.  Not saying I'm not happy now, but I remember how running put me in a great mood because it was my thing.  It was the thing that made me a dedicated person, not only in running but throughout my daily life. You may have one goal that you set yourself on, but sometimes that goal opens up a bunch of new goals.  That was what running did for me.  It made me realize that I can push myself more than I thought I could.  With each day I'd challenge myself to run better than the day before, and I have to say I miss that challenge a lot.  That's why today I'm going to make a change.  Not just a sparked interest, but a full-on commitment.  A commitment not just to running again, but a commitment to bettering myself.


A commitment can't just be something you hope will happen, you have to know that it will happen with hard work.  Motivation is also a factor that assists in making your goals a reality.  So don't just pick a goal, understand why you want it.  And through this understanding, spark an interest that turns into a life changing commitment.  So stop making excuses because everyone has the potential to be better, the hard part is committing.

With Knowledge, Comes Responsibility

With the presidential election coming up, persuasive speaking is utilized widely.  Candidates work hard to present their ideas in a relevant, justifiable manner.  This idea of persuasion affect people through conviction.  Although I believe myself to be a democrat, after watching this ad on Ron Paul, I found myself being convinced that many of his ideas are valid.  They were presented in an organized and fluid way which held my attention and allowed me to understand his perception.

In this ad, the history of war in America is explained and discussed on a level that is understandable to the average person.  I never paid much attention to politics, but I realized that was because my preconception of politics is that they are above me.  I felt that there's nothing I can do and it's too complicated to read into.  But ads like these simplify it for people who were naive to it before.  The ad answers American's need for clarity about current events and foreign affairs.  It gives situations, presents a plan for action, combats possible consequences of the plan, an then supports the plan through historical examples pulled from America's timeline of war in order to show that this plan will work.


A quote from Daniel Hannan, a British member of Parliament, states, "On of the really appealing things about Ron Paul is that he understand the importance of history, he understands the importance of seeing where you're coming from."  This is the exact reason why Ron Paul is persuasive.  Ron Paul gives us credibility, trust, and evidence to support his claims.  Credibility is what America wants in a president; someone who backs up their claims with evidence so that we feel safe in our decision to make him president.


The video presents statistics and shows our military debt compared to other countries in order to show us that this is a problem, and that Ron Paul can fix it.  In the middle of the video Ron Paul's plan is presented through short statements: Defend this country, restore our economy, secure our borders, end foreign aid, lead by example and not by force, and consequently be a safer, stronger America.

"We as a group now have a greater moral responsibility to act than those who live in ignorance, once you become knowledgeable you have an obligation to do something about it."- Ron Paul


Ron Paul says this statement, which provides exigence to America.  Through this statement, he unifies his audience and appeals through pathos by providing the audience with the pride that they now have knowledge, which comes with responsibility.  Before the act I lived in ignorance of foreign affairs, but now I have a responsibility that I will keep by gaining more knowledge on the topic in order to make an informed, proactive vote so that I can say that I did my part in helping the future of our country.

Typography

Typography is the art or technique of arranging type in order to to make language visible.  In the example above, it is suggesting that letters can hug, which obviously is not true.  However, through typography this idea is conveyed with a deeper meaning; that letters are stronger than texts or emails.     

The picture conveys pathos in the face of the "letter man" and also with the idea that most people have received a loving letter and can relate.  Without even reading the text at the bottom, this picture shows that words represent a lot.  If you read the beginning of the letter it says "I know it's difficult not being able to see each other.."  This also adds to the pathos behind this picture.  This embrace shared between the letter and the woman is more than what it looks like.  This woman is collapsing into the letter's loving embrace, allowing it to comfort any sadness she feels due to the absence of her loved one.  Typographic pictures bring words to life, just like a letter can bring emotions to its reader more effectively. 

Advertisements always find ways to grab the attention of customers.  Whether it's an interesting picture or a catchy slogan; ads have a way of being clever.  Dyson, a vacuum cleaner company, took the clever approach of typography.  Certain arrangements and fonts of language capture our attention in different ways.  Companies seem to know the write fonts and arrangements to attract the eyes of customers.  Color, image, and font all play a big part in the effectiveness of this simple Dyson ad.


The subtle pun of the filled in letters in "others clog" playfully puts Dyson ahead of other vacuums.  Also, the grey font puts "others clog" in the background and pushes "ours doesn't" into the spotlight.  The font of this ad is simple and clean, focusing more on the color and clever pun.  By looking at this advertisement, a potential customer receives a glimpse into the Dyson experience: sleek, clean, and stylish.  The bold yellow color and sleek letters exemplify the modern cleanliness that a Dyson vacuum can bring to your home.  Dyson shows that font makes all the difference in grasping someone's attention.


Both of these pictures exemplify a brilliant way of writing stylistically.  Instead of just filling an ad with information about their product, Dyson gives the customer one of the main benefits to focus on.  The picture persuading people that letters convey more than texts or emails, is appealing and provokes emotion.  Typography gives words a new meaning while being fun to look at, easy to understand, and a great attention-grabber.

Obama Expands His Campaign

With the election coming up I've been paying more attention to the newspaper and current events in order to make an informed vote.  Today while reading the New York Times I noticed an article about Obama's campaign.  This article informs readers that Obama has taken a new approach to campaign advertisements.  Rather than a 30 second ad, Obama's campaign created a 17 minute ad which was released yesterday.  

Not everyone is updated on current issues in our world today.  Therefore, presidential campaigns must think of persuasive ads to grasp the voter's attention.  In this ad Obama uses pathos to come down to the level of the middle-class.  He tells them that he can relate to many of these middle-class issues.  For example, he says that he wants health care for everyone because he knows what it's like to watch a loved one pass away knowing that there could have been procedures to prevent it.  Obama talks about how his mother passed away of ovarian cancer, which could have been treated.  

While some people may feel that Obama hasn't done much, other's understand the amount of economic trouble that was handed off to him and his efforts to improve our country.  Obama explains his presidential stand point.  He wants to let America know that although it hasn't been easy, he has made a lot of productive change but that there's a lot more change to be done.  This video showed me everything Obama has done for our country in a 17 minute ad.  Through this ad Obama receives credibility so that people know that if elected again, more change is to come.  I think this is a great way to approach voters so that controversial issues don't seem so unsolvable.  Obama stresses that when our country comes together, we can do a lot.  

"It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today." -Barack Obama

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama

Get the Picture?

They say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Well how much is a video full of pictures worth? In this video, pictures are combined with music and narration in order to convey an inspirational message: "If you've never failed, you've never lived."  We all face times when we want to give up.  When things get too hard, or we've been rejected one too many times.  Well, this video suggests that that rejection is want makes success.


Lucille Ball, The Beatles, Ulysses S. Grant, Michael Jordan, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, and Abraham Lincoln- all different kinds of success, but one thing in common: they've all experienced moments of defeat that would've made other give up.  But not these renowned names, because they accepted the challenge.  Whether being fired, cut from a team, or given a discouraging note, these legends overcame the downfalls which came to fuel their success stories.


The images utilized by the video contribute to its pathos.  When talking about each legend, the appropriate pictures come up- a basketball for Michael Jordan, and a stage for Lucille Ball.  This reminds the viewer of what their success was which provides clarity.  The music in the background of the narration is thought-provoking and in sync with the narrator and images which makes the video seem more fluid.  Along with the images and music, certain words are displayed when talking about each legend: "turned down," "failed," "cut."  These words are words that average people experience throughout life.  This makes these legends seem relative to our own lives, and our own defeats.


Discretely, a bandage is shown on a child's knee as the narrator says, "If you never failed..."  Followed by a child riding a bike saying, "you've never lived."  The bandage represents failure, or being wounded from rejection.  The child on the bike represents the success of learning how to ride a bike.  After falling and getting back on the bike again, success eventually comes.  This metaphorically represents challenges that everyone faces throughout life.  When we fall, we must get back on the bike in order to fully experience the road ahead.


After losing your fiance, failing in business twice, and being defeated in 8 elections, you would not think you could ever appear on a penny.  Well, Abraham Lincoln probably didn't think so either.  With these examples, anything seems reachable.  Through the use of images in sync with music and narration, this video successfully conveys a powerful message of never giving up.  When being rejected, you may feel that you don't have what it takes to succeed, but this video shows that everyone has what it takes- the difference is if you believe that.

State Patty's Day

"State Patty's Day is an event created by students and designed with the intent to consume alcoholic beverages."  


I don't know if anyone else finds this statement a little funny.  It's almost ironic because the writer is writing very formally to reach an informal audience.  I found this annoying and thought that it'd be more productive if she attempted to relate to us, rather than basically saying "Don't do it."  Administrators should try and think of productive ways to appeal to the audience of the students in order to make them not want to participate.  Rather, than simply attempting to kill this tradition.  Most of the advertisements I have read about not participating in State Patty's Day are poorly written.  They have no meaning.  No motive to not participate in the holiday.  How do they think those advertisements are appealing to the students? 


Everywhere you go around campus there's something saying that Penn State does not support this holiday.  Whether they support it or not, rather than trying to stop it, they should make other fun events on that day for the people who don't want to participate.  I've seen events about doing volunteer work instead.  What audience is that appealing to? Certainly not the students who are excited for this day.  They should come up with fun activities rather than saying "Hey don't have fun, oh and do community service."

"No more than one guest on State Patty's Day."  Rather than making rash rules, administrators should take time to analyze the audience being affected  by these rules.  Careless things may happen on State Patty's Day but silly rules like "No more than one guest" aren't helping.  I found that the more productive route Penn State has chosen is by attempting to interest students in other events.  This is a more proactive way of attempting to get young people from being irresponsible, rather than implementing rules.

While these rules may be effective in keeping alcohol out of the buildings, it won’t keep it out of the hands of the students.  Therefore, administrators should try to understand the audience who they're trying to reach, and consequently make productive changes rather that making rules rashly.