My Rhetorical Action Plan

This post is my planning for Project 3 using the questions on pages 412-413 of Writing Public Lives.

[The pictures are supposed to be funny. I'm sure this post will be helpful in writing Project 3, but it took me forever to write.]

Audience

1. What does the audience know about the topic, text or idea? Where do they get their knowledge from? Do they have certain predispositions or opinions about the topic that you will need to address? 

• Because this topic isn't difficult to understand or technical, most people are at least aware that spanking is a controversial method of punishment. 
• Whether or not a household uses spanking, most kids grow up with an awareness that some kids are spanked when they do something wrong. 
• The majority of parents feel strongly on one side or the other of this controversy. I will need to acknowledge the opinions of both sides to increase the credibility and reach of my argument. 

2. What do you know about the values, ideas, principles, or norms that members of the audience might hold?

• All parents want what is best for their children, so that is a piece of common ground that I can use to build my argument off of. 
• Whether or not a parent chooses to spank has little to do with social norms and more to do with personal beliefs about its effectiveness and the ethics surrounding it. 

3. What type of research or evidence do you think will be persuasive for your audience? How might you have to translate this research for them?

• The evidence/research on this topic isn't clear cut, so I will need to rely on another method to appeal my readers' sense of logic. 

4. What visual images or elements might your audience respond to? Why?

• While images generally help evoke emotion, it would be difficult to find an image to portray spanking being too offensive or graphic. 
• The best way to use "visuals" will be to tell my story in a way that will make readers able to picture the scenarios and emotions without using a physical image. 

5. Why is your audience reading or listening to your argument? Are you trying to expand their understanding of an idea, encourage them to take action on an issue, challenge a long-held tradition or viewpoint? How likely is your argument to motivate your audience? 

• My intended audience would read my article if they were reading a parenting magazine. If they are intrigued by the topic, they will read the whole piece. 
• My intention is to encourage parents not to spank their children, so in a way, I'm encouraging them to change their view which will make them want to change their actions. 
• I hope that if I properly use emotional, and potentially logical, appeals that I will be able to reach my audience and change their minds on the idea of spanking. 

Image by MacEntee, Sean. "work sick." Uploaded 4/7/11 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

[A.K.A. how I feel after writing this blog post]

Genre

Genre Idea 1- Personal Narrative Published as an Op-Ed in a Parenting Magazine

1. Here is an article that is not exactly a personal story, but it pleads with parents to stop spanking their children. It evokes emotion, and makes readers reconsider whether spanking is ethical and effective or not. 
2. This is the exact genre that I will be writing in, but this doctor draws on his medical experience instead of something that happened to him personally. Still, it is a great model for how I want to approach Project 3. 

What is the function of this genre? What is it designed to do to your readers? Why did you choose it? 

• This genre uses appeals that usually are directed at readers senses of compassion. These articles are usually written to plead with parents to stop spanking their children. 
• I chose this genre because I can draw from my personal experiences to write a compelling and emotional story that could convince parents not to spank. 

What is the setting of your genre? Where could you see it being used?

• My intention would be to have my article published in a parenting magazine, which is where my second example was published. 

How might you use the rhetorical appeals we have studied in this genre? 

• Given the personal nature of parenting, I think that emotional appeals are most effective in this genre. Telling a personal story in some ways is an appeal to credibility, and logic is always useful to support the emotional side of the argument. 

What type of visual elements, if any, will you use in this genre?

• As I said under "audience," I don't think that images would be effective in this genre. The most important visual element would likely be the paragraph structure, use of white space, and titles/subtitles to break up the blocks of text. 

What type of style will you use in this genre?

• I think that the more personal/emotional parts of my piece could be informal without damaging my argument, but if I mention any studies or research, I should adjust my tone to be a little more formal. I, however, shouldn't be too impersonal because that would run the risk of negatively impacting my credibility. 

Genre 2- Article written for any news source, doesn't include my personal story

1. This article is fairly comprehensive; it discusses the controversy, possible alternatives to spanking, and how other countries discipline their children. While it doesn't appeal much to emotion, it still makes readers reconsider spanking their kids. 
2. This example uses someone else's story, and it does a good job of evoking emotion. Because using your own personal story could make you seem too emotional and not credible enough, it could be helpful to use someone else's story to make it seem less of a complaint and more of an objective look at the affects of spanking. 

What is the function of this genre? What is it designed to do to your readers? Why did you choose it? 

• This genre can also be used to persuade readers, but doesn't have to be as emotionally based as a personal story does. 
• I am still undecided if I should use my story or not, so this would be a great alternative. 

What is the setting of your genre? Where could you see it being used?

• This genre is a little more versatile because it could be published in a larger variety of locations. It could easily appear on any news source or magazine that thinks its readership could benefit from its message. 

How might you use the rhetorical appeals we have studied in this genre? 

• I can still use emotional appeals, but with this genre, I will need to use more logic than I would have to with genre #1. 

What type of visual elements, if any, will you use in this genre?

• Again, visual aids will not be very effective or necessary in this genre. 

What type of style will you use in this genre?

• This genre would be more formal than the first option, because it is presenting facts and logic rather than emotions and stories. I would want to seem credible and intelligent, especially if I am citing other sources, I don't want to come off as unprofessional or like I am lacking knowledge of the topic. 

Image by Brady. "give up." Uploaded 6/7/09 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

[Also how I feel after writing this blog post]

Responses/Actions

Positive Reactions

• Someone is moved by my piece, and decides to stop spanking their child(ren). 
• A reader has a strong reaction one way or the other, and writes a response. This would be a great way to gauge how effective my argument is.  If they agree with me, I will know that my argument was somewhat effective. If they disagree with me, I will know where I need to strengthen my argument. 
• Someone who reads my piece decides that they want to find out more about the topic. Whatever they end up deciding after reading more articles doesn't matter as long as someone is inspired by my writing to look further into the topic. 

Negative Reactions

• "This is one story. That isn't how most people feel about having been spanked as a child."
• While this may be my personal story, I'm sure there are people who can relate strongly to my experiences. I am not trying to make any sweeping generalizations, I'm just trying to influence at least one person to see the ill effects of spanking.
• "I was spanked, and I turned out okay."
• It is fairly common for people who were spanked to be perfectly fine in their relationships with their parents, but there are some who are not. I am speaking for those who were damaged or had their relationship damaged because of being spanked by one or both parents. 
• "You're not an expert. Why should I listen to you?"
• It's true that I am not an expert in any way. I am speaking both from personal experience and from having done research and read other people's stories. I am not claiming to be an expert, I am just trying to show how spanking can have an ill effect on children.