ENGLISH ESSAY

Application Paper, 10 points

Select a theory from Chapters 1-3 and apply it to any persuasive message that has elicited a large audience. The persuasive message can come in the form of an adversarial tourist site, campaign, speech, commercial, song, etc. Please note, however, that since we can’t always assume the authors’ intention that some of these messages aren’t meant to be persuasive. Therefore, if persuasive intent is not made obvious, you will want to select a theory about its overall persuasiveness. In this case, you might say “his outfit and his PowerPoint presentation slides were peripheral cues that perhaps increased his credibility” and avoid statements like “he chose this outfit and PowerPoint to make sure that he accounted for peripheral cues that appeal to listeners that are distracted by aesthetics.”

Steps:

· Select a theory from Chapters 1-3.

· Select any persuasive message that you believe illustrates the persuasive theory you have selected. I should be able to look the persuasive message up online if I have a question about the connections you are making between the theory you have chosen and your persuasive message.

· Write a 3 page paper analyzing the persuasive message you have chosen from the perspective of the theory you have chosen.

Requirements:

· 1 inch margins

· Double Spaced

· 12 point font, Calibri or Times New Roman

· Staple

· Type your name, date, and class in the upper right corner of the first page

Format:

INTRODUCTION-A single paragraph indicating:

1. The name and a description of your persuasive message

2. Identify and define the theory you plan to apply to your persuasive message

3. a description of the main ideas in the theory, what 3, 4, or 5 aspects are you examining?

4. a justification explaining why this theory is an appropriate choice for analysis

BODY-3, 4, or 5 paragraphs-1 for each section of your theory or principle

1. The body of the paper should be more concerned with how the theory applies to specific examples within the persuasive message

Do not simply recount what happens in the persuasive message. I am more interested in your ability to explain the theory by using examples from it to illustrate the theory in action.

For example, one of the stages in Knapp’s relational theory is called “Initiating.” In the film “When Harry Met Sally,” the two main characters engage initiating behaviors as they are identified in our textbook. You may want to describe the nonverbal communication and insert the dialogue from the movie to evidence that the two characters are in fact a good illustration of the theory. At times, the movie will actually stretch our understanding of a theory, which you may also want to explore to deepen your analysis.

With some theories, it may be necessary to “group” the principles into 3, 4, or 5 more manageable main ideas. For example, Knapp’s theory has 10 parts. You probably would not be able to develop 10 points well in a paper of this length. Some of the points may be more appropriate than others for analysis, so pick and choose. It might also be a good idea to see if the parts of the theory can be grouped together.

CONCLUSION-A single paragraph including:

1. a summary of the main ideas that you have covered in your paper

2. a description of what you learned from viewing the film for this paper in this manner

3. a explanation of how you might apply this information to your own life

4. a assessment of what others might learn from your analysis

Tips:

Select a good quality persuasive message that you can access and see a couple of times.

Select a few angles to analyze to structure and deepen your analysis.

Incorporate the slogans, dialogue, or thick descriptions from your persuasive message to evidence the connections you are making.