24. Nonsense in American Politics

Find a commercial for any American political campaign and describe the rhetorical strategies they use that are described in our Nonsense book. Name the strategies and provide a brief description of how the commercial's creators used them.

Stephen Colbert's super PAC against Mitt Romney:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aix7tQMdJ3s

The Red Herring: Literal interpretation of figurative remark

00:10 “Corporation are people, my friend.”

The video took Romney’s figurative interpretation of corporations being people literally and then goes on to say how he kills people/corporation.

Non-sequiter

00:26~00:35 “If Mitt Romney really believed that ‘Corporations are people, my friend’, then Mitt Romney is a serial killer.”

This cause and effect relationship does not follow. It would make more sense if it said “If Mitt Romney really believed that ‘Corporations are people, my friend’, and he kills corporations, he is a serial killer.” Even then, the video does not provide evidence to support the conclusion.

Name-calling/Humor

00:34 “He’s Mitt the Ripper”

The ad gives Romney a humorous yet negative label. People are more likely to accept it because it is funny and the label might stick.

Tone/Sound Effects/Repetition

00:13 "...are people, my friend."

The video changed Romney's voice to make it sound evil. It used repetition to make an impression on the video-viewers.

23. Nonsense verses Argument: Textbook Evaluation

Although I do prefer the Nonsense book, I think both of the books we are using in AP English to teach rhetorics contains really useful information. The main difference in those books lie mainly in its organization. Thank You for Arguing has a more conversational and casual style. Though the tips at the side can be really helpful, I think it makes it harder to take notes on. It takes away from the organization and logical flow of the book. I like the summary at the end of each chapter. It allows me to review the important parts again. I also do admit that the example in that book has more connection to everyday life and makes it easier o connect with. However, some of the examples seem to be a bit of a stretch (not very logical and sometimes confuses me). I really like how the Nonsense book organizes its information. It is much more like an actual textbook. There is also a lot more information from that book. The list of rhetorical techniques on the back of the book also help me take good notes and make sure I didn't miss anything. The use of the two books together is really nice because they are books of opposite styles writing on the same topic. It offers us different perspectives in rhetorics.

22. Journal: Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out - Barry

Are you ever baffled by the behavior of members of the opposite sex - or members of your own sex, if you often find yourself behaving differently from most of them?


I find it truly curious how there can be so many typical differences between male and female.  Like what Barry have written (and this is just people in general), women tend to care more about cleanliness and men more about sports. I wonder why there seem to be this trend between people of the opposite sex. Male and female seems to be the two groups that is divided most commonly. In the ancient times, it is even (faultily) believed that only men can hold rational thoughts. Even though there are faulty cases of differences, many of these differences actually have scientific proof. Women tend to be more sentimental and more perceiving in the sense of smell and taste. Men are better at three-denmentional thinking. There are just so many differences that I am beginning to think that men and women have different thinking patterns. Maybe that will explain why men would sigh and say they don't understand women (and vice versa).

21. Journal: Neat People vs. Sloppy People - Suzanne Britt

Write about the opposition you use to evaluate people.


I am going to write about an opposition that is close to my heart. Tall people vs. short people. My family tend to be on the short side and have always wished to grow taller. Here are a few advantages of tall people. They get more fresh air. Because they are above most people, they get the air on the top. Tall people can reach things easier. Also, popular culture portrays tall people in a more positive light. Most models are tall and skinny. For men (luckily this does not apply to me), it looks better if their girlfriends are shorter or around the same hight as they are. It maybe be true that love is blind and hight may not stop people from falling in love, but it just isn't as pleasing to the eyes for the other people. This gives taller men more women to match with. 
However, because I am short, I must also show the advantages of being short. Even though we don't get the fresh air, there is a joke/saying that says short people don't fall as much because we are closer to the center of the Earth. Short people also tend to be more flexible. Lastly, short people have a higher chance to win in hide-and-seek because it is easier for us to fit into smaller spaces.