Rhetorical Theory

Conor Sullivan, “Pathos in ‘Tips From Former Smokers,’” 1st Place ENL 257

Conor Sullivan, “Pathos in ‘Tips From Former Smokers’” Studying rhetoric provides necessary insight for crafting and evaluating arguments. It informs us of how others attempt to persuade us and how we may attempt to persuade others. To this end, one of the most important concepts within rhetoric is Aristotle’s three appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos.… Read more Conor Sullivan, “Pathos in ‘Tips From Former Smokers,’” 1st Place ENL 257

Stephanie Mireku, “As Convincing as a Baby’s Bottom,” 1st Place ENL 257

Stephanie Mireku, Spring 2008 Family. Healthy food. Laughter. There is a certain aura of feel-good emotions and positive character demonstrated in a joint advertisement with Cheerios and Pampers. In other words, there is a certain ethos, pathos, and logos that the ad communicates. Furthermore, there is a notion that the two companies have common goals… Read more Stephanie Mireku, “As Convincing as a Baby’s Bottom,” 1st Place ENL 257

Rachel Holliman, “Willie Stark: Master Rhetor,” 1st Place ENL 257

Rachel Holliman, Fall 2009 In the 2006 film adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King’s Men, politician Willie Stark solidifies his status as an attention-grabbing and effective orator. His powers of persuasion catapult him from a virtual unknown to the governor of Louisiana. After realizing that the people of Louisiana… Read more Rachel Holliman, “Willie Stark: Master Rhetor,” 1st Place ENL 257

Matt Tota, “Rhetoric: The Language of Action,” 1st Place ENL 257

Matt Tota, Fall 2011 When we think of war or unrest, we often picture stern-looking soldiers holding Kalashnikovs, frenzied dissidentsmarching through streets, and armytanks lumbering into war-torn cities. Such images come to mind because we are concerned only with theseaspects of the equation. In other words, we do not bother with what occurs in the… Read more Matt Tota, “Rhetoric: The Language of Action,” 1st Place ENL 257

Elise DePlanche, “How Willie’s New Style Creates Stark Contrast,” 1st Place ENL 257

Elise DePlanche, Spring 2010 At a pivotal moment in the 1949 film All the King’s Men, aspiring governor Willie Stark stumbled drunkly onto a state fair stage to give an address the town would never forget. While the audience expected the lawyer-gone-politician to present a calm, stately discourse full of figures and issues they didn’t… Read more Elise DePlanche, “How Willie’s New Style Creates Stark Contrast,” 1st Place ENL 257

Eileen Dunleavy, “The Art of Swaying a Hostile Crowd: Marc Antony’s Funeral Oration of Julius Caesar,” 2nd Place ENL 257

Eileen Dunleavy, Spring 2007 In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony pleads with his “Friends, Romans (and) countrymen” to lend him their ears in an effort to exonerate Caesar from false charges laid against him. The three main conspirators in Caesar’s murder, Brutus, Casca and Cassius portrayed Caesar as an ambitious tyrant to the Roman… Read more Eileen Dunleavy, “The Art of Swaying a Hostile Crowd: Marc Antony’s Funeral Oration of Julius Caesar,” 2nd Place ENL 257

Sloan Piva, “The Many Definitions and Great Functions of Rhetoric: A Poetic and Pragmatic Art Form that Moves the World,”2nd Place ENL 257

Sloan Piva, Fall 2011 Throughout history, those critical of rhetoric have dismissed it as a craft of empty talk.  Perhaps most famously, Plato condemned rhetorical discourse as “foul” and “ugly” within his 4th-century dialogue entitled Gorgias.  Centuries later, John Locke advanced such negative critiques of the practice, claiming that accepting rhetors is the same as… Read more Sloan Piva, “The Many Definitions and Great Functions of Rhetoric: A Poetic and Pragmatic Art Form that Moves the World,”2nd Place ENL 257

John Michael Bell, “Analysis of Google’s ‘Parisian Love,'”2nd Place ENL 257

John Michael Bell, Spring 2010 A good commercial needs to hook its viewers, convince them to watch it, make them remember it, and persuade them into thinking that its product will be valuable in their lives. Google’s Super Bowl commercial, “Parisian Love”, did all of these things, and through unusual means. Typical Super Bowl commercials… Read more John Michael Bell, “Analysis of Google’s ‘Parisian Love,’”2nd Place ENL 257

Keith Amaral, “An Analysis of Jim Valvano’s ’93 ESPY Awards Speech,” 2nd Place ENL 257

Keith Amaral, Fall 2009 The cancer epidemic is undeniably one of the biggest exigencies the world currently faces; statistics show that it is a leading cause of death in the United States (“Cancer”). Though progress has been made in the fight to end cancer, the cure remains elusive. While there are many champions for the… Read more Keith Amaral, “An Analysis of Jim Valvano’s ’93 ESPY Awards Speech,” 2nd Place ENL 257

Meghan Matheson, “To Build or Not To Build Controversy over the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero,'” 3rd Place ENL 257

Meghan Matheson, Fall 2011 The looming controversy surrounding the Islamic Center near Ground Zero has sparked debate throughout the nation. The Center is associated with emotional strain from both the supporters and the opponents. Each group, whether for or against, has very strong opinions and valid reasons as to why this Islamic center should be… Read more Meghan Matheson, “To Build or Not To Build Controversy over the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero,’” 3rd Place ENL 257