TOW #23 What I Never Knew I Needed to Fight RSD

Katie Searfoss, a 22 year-old college student, writes a blog, Chicken Soup for the RSD Fighter’s Soul, to support people who suffer from RSD, like she does. Her blog is followed by many people with RSD, but also their friends and family along with some of her own. Often her message is about finding the positives in the pain, however, in her post “What I Never Knew I Needed to Fight RSD,” Searfoss addresses her varied audience and questions her readers in order for her post about difficult personal experiences to have he greatest impact.

            This post pinpoints specific parts of Searfoss’s journey, so she begins by explaining her intended audience, which allows for the message to be received by the right people. She communicates that “this won’t be universal, ” to help readers deduce that the meaning will only truly be understood by people with RSD. She additionally includes a message to “my non-RSD friends” leaving them with a message of hope before she addresses her real purpose. By establishing this information in the first few paragraphs of the essay, Searfoss not only filters out those who would not understand, but also shows the fighters the importance of this post.

            Following the introduction Searfoss details her real message to the readers about what a fighter really needs in this situation, using questions. Throughout the post she constantly relates her own feeling to the reader with inquiry. In some questions she makes emotionally provoking statements about frustrating experiences, with others who do not understand, she knows we have all shared: “’Sunny day-pain free day?’ WHAT?” and other questions are more serious: “ We all need the armor to wear when we fight that battle too-not just the weapons. What is included in your armor?” By using this method, Searfoss makes her audience process the ideas. First she established a connection through shared experiences. Then she gives fighters tools to help on the pain journey and allows them a serious outlet to think about their purpose.

            The impactful message in Searfoss’s blog post succeeds in reaching her specific audience by using questions. Her effective post provides a support for those who suffer with RSD and help them feel connected to other fighters even just through touching words in a blog post.

Goal: Add context to the essay about the post 

Tow #22 eos Advertisement

Flipping though magazines, teenage girls are influenced greatly by the products they see. The clothes and makeup displayed are the ones that appear in bedrooms across the country. An effective eos advertisement appears where the lip balm poses as fruit. In the center of the ad multiple eos flavors are placed in a blender; surrounding this are baskets of fruit. The advertisement uses symbolism to show the lip balm’s flavor and quality that is then explained in the text.

Metaphorically, the picture in the advertisement tells a lot about the product and helps the customer understand its strengths. Fruit is juxtaposed to the lip balm to help potential costumers realize the sweet flavors of the product. Cleverly the company associated their product with strawberries, raspberries, and blue berries. The picture also symbolically publicizes that eos is natural. The fruit evokes thoughts of wholesomeness that then applies to the product. In addition, the colors in the picture highlight the freshness of the lip balm.

After the impactful picture the reader’s attention is directed to the small paragraph in the corner. The text develops the ides presented in the picture for clarification. Although the eye-catching image interests a reader flipping through pages of a magazine, the paragraph provides details so that there is no misinterpretation.

Together these elements create and advertisement perfect for a teenage audience. The use of a gasping picture for those just flipping through and text for those more interested creates a well-rounded advertisement. The fruity eos lip balm is characterized symbolically and literally. 

TOW #21 Thinking About Cutting Back on Soda? Try Monday by Diana K. Rice

Many people are aware of the amount of sugar in soda. However, too often people believe that eating fruits and vegetables makes them healthy and forget the consequences of this seemingly innocent poison. The article “Thinking About Cutting Back on Soda? Try Monday,” Diana K. Rice uses deductive reasoning and scientific research to convince her audience that this Monday would be a perfect opportunity to begin lowering sugar intake.

            Divided into sections, the essay outlines the importance of a healthy lifestyle and soda’s negative effects allowing the audience to quickly understand Rice’s conclusion.  The syllogism presented creates a seamless argument that prevents counters to be presented against it. First Rice recommends that, “We limit our intake of added sugar to less than 5 percent of total calories in order to reduce our risk of developing chronic diseases.” (Paragraph 2). By then showing data that proves one can of soda has almost double that, Rice establishes her major premise. Following this she explains, “Monday is the day people are most open to health changes,” and provides evidence to support this claim too.  Her smooth argument leads from one point to the next making the reader feel as if they had the brainstorm themselves. By the conclusion of the article Rice has convinced the reader to begin cutting soda out of their diet at the start of each week.

            The support to the argument acts as a strong persuading factor in Rice’s article. Her use of research and facts provides a convincing backbone to the structure. She includes, “A study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that consuming the sugar in that entire can of soda daily is enough to increase your risk of death from a cardiac event by a third.” This evidence helps support her major premise. The organizations Rice cites create more credibility by showing that she is very knowledgeable on the topic. The facts substantiate a very logical argument.

            Rice excels in persuading her audience to lesson their sugar intake by drinking one less soda every week, beginning Monday. Her strong facts and methodically organized argument make this proposition easy to comprehend and accept. Rice’s article reaches out to her audience and helps many people establish healthier lifestyles. 

Tow #20 Baby with Logos

Advertisements influence daily life and many decisions a person makes. They have encroached upon all aspects of society for people of all ages. This striking photograph uses an emotional image with cultural memory to spread a message about society’s immersion in advertising.

Babies are eye-catching symbols that create warm and happy feelings. Often, people think of them of as precious and naïve, as they evoke thoughts of soft skin and purity. However, this picture shows a baby covered head to toe in common logos. Captured smiling, the baby does not even realize the marks on its skin. In the center of the baby’s stomach, the author depicts a Miller Light logo. This displays one of the many faults in society’s current situation, as adults may not even realize children’s exposure to advertising far above their maturity level. The photo portrays how submerged people are in the world of advertising and how they no longer even notice its wrongdoings. The emotional pull that babies foster works to grab the audience’s attention, which has been distracted by the world of advertisements, so it can illustrate its message. Society has become painted with consumerism, just as this baby has.

This photograph uses logos that are common to people of all backgrounds, gender, and age to show how immersed everyone has become. Appealing to people’s cultural memory allows everyone to understand its dominant influence. The picture portrays how advertising controls what people eat, drink, and use, through the household brand names it includes. Society has yielded to the immense power of advertising and this image allows the audience to see that it continues constantly to impact the current and next generation.  

From an early age, we all encounter advertisements daily. We are surrounded by popups on the Internet and commercials on TV, which diminish our ability to make personal decisions. In a campaign showing how advertisements have gone too far, this picture depicts a baby’s perfect skin blemished by logos. Companies are competing for our money and attention and ignoring necessary boundaries that allow people to have control. The baby juxtaposed with common logos, shows the overpowering contribution of advertising on society. With one powerful image, the photographer succeeds by fusing an innocent baby with disturbing consumerism. Children and adults are bombarded by the constant messages that corporations send lessening the control people believe they posses.