Considering Types

In this post I will be discussing the merits of different approaches to writing Project 3, based off of the suggestions given in 412-413 of Writing Public Lives.

I have found that using a combination of Casual and Evaluative arguments will best benefit my project.  I will need to both introduce the situation and it's importance while still persuading my audience that addressing climate change results in the best possible outcome.  Thus I will use the elements of a casual argument to present all of the necessary information and elements of the evaluative argument to analyze this context to prove my purpose.

I will not be choosing position, refutation, or proposal.  I almost went toward position, however I found that I did not want to spend time addressing the con of the situation.  I want to spend my time showing the audience why the Pope speaking can result in positive benefits, which will morph into the heart of the issue of why addressing climate change will result in positive benefits.  Refutation is irrelevant as I will not be refuting what the Pope said or the existence of climate change and I am unable to submit a proposed solution for such a monumental international issue such as climate change.  I might have a much more defined proposal after years of studying environmental science, but as I am very new to the field and have years of experience ahead of me, suggesting a solution to an international issue is not something I am yet qualified for.

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My Rhetorical Action Plan

This blog contains my Rhetorical Action Plan for Project 3.  I have addressed Audience, Genre, and Responses.

Audience

Theilmann, Mira, "Screenshot from my Computer" accessed from
Writer's Public Lives 10/29/15

Knowledge:
The audience understands there is political hatred and general chaos between liberals and conservatives and republicans and democrats.  They also understand how saturated coverage of climate change can be and have likely seen the reaction to such media in social networking or daily life.  Conservatives may have less knowledge on environmental activism and climate change, while liberals may have less knowledge on the Pope's actions.

Values:
The liberal audience will have a higher percentage of non-religious population and believers in climate change.  The conservative audience will have exactly the opposite.  I will have to find a balance between catering to the liberal audience in trying to get them to increase their activism and individual efforts while trying to convince conservatives that the entire environment is worth a second thought.

Standards:
I will need to incorporate both solid and scientific information from unbiased sources.  Not only will I need to present physical facts for the existence of human harm to the environment but also information on the moral climate of the Pope effect and why this issue stems farther than a simple plea to help save the planet.  A combination of facts and figures of an environmental science and psychological standpoint will be incredibly useful for my argument.  I still have to make sure the amount of facts does not out way the argument, as I am still trying to make a persuasive point with my project.

Visual Elements:
There are many images of climate disasters that are directly caused by human physical and chemical waste.  It will be useful to include images for perspective on how devastating the changing environment can be to the entire living environment of the Earth.  I can also include images of the people involved in the Pope environmental campaign for context and images of inspirational people in environmental science.  Including everyday people, and referencing home-grown movements will be incredibly beneficial for the audience to see how easily feasible changing a lifestyle can be.

Purpose:
I would hope the audience can see how the Pope was right in addressing climate change as a character of human kindness and charity.  By reducing our energy and waste habits, we can minimize climate change, save lives, and save a healthy planet for many future generations.  The planet has a waste and population capacity, just as any city or a country does.  To use a commonly known visual example, China's air pollution is not toxic by natural causes.  If we continue to produce billions of tons of waste, there will be negative effects on all living things in the Earth's environment.  Although addressing the issue is difficult and will not be immediately solved, ignoring it will only worsen the situation.  This project's purpose is to show the audience that ignoring the values and benefits of addressing climate change will not save the lives of those killed by climate change.


Genres - Quick Reference Guide and Scientific Magazine Article

Theilmann, Mira, "Screenshot from my Computer" accessed from
Writer's Public Lives 10/29/15

QRG
- Example 1
- Example 2

Functions:
A QRG provides overall context of a particular event or topic in as quick and engaging of a document as possible.  The paragraphs are short, visuals are encouraged, and informal writing is often the most effective choice.  I would choose this format because it is visually appealing and it's main purpose is to keep reader engagement and answer all of the audience's questions.  If I want to appeal to all ages, religions, and political perspectives, I will need to make the document as audience friendly as possible.

Setting:
This type of document can be found online and in print, can be related to any field, and can be written by any and all types of writers.  It has a great versatility that something like a research paper does not have.

Rhetorical appeals:
Ethos and pathos are most commonly used in QRG's, especially if the article is more informative than persuasive.  The article has to establish each source as credible, as it helps establish their own credibility to the audience that they are a reliable source to listen to such a wide breadth of information.  The author also has to appeal to the audience's emotion as it is a key uniting power that makes the issue discussed, the author, and the story telling seem more relatable.

Visual Elements:
Pictures of relevant individuals, graphs and charts, and graphic design elements are all possible elements that can be included in my project should I choose this genre especially.

Style:
QRG's allow for a much more informal conversational tone with the audience.  The point of this genre is to answer every single question the audience may have and to make that information easy to find.

Scientific Magazine Article
- Example 1
- Example 2

Functions:
An article published in a scientific news source is often informational, persuasive, or both.  For example, Scientific American publishes very informational articles about the latest science and technology while National Geographic publishes a variety of persuasive stories about inspirational or fascinating new things.

Setting:
This is also a genre that can be found in print or online.  It is definitely a lot more specific to one particular field and can have an isolated audience.  It also may not reach the same height of popularity or publication that an article in the NY Times may have.  Still, the scientific nature of the article gives off a higher sense of credibility than that of a QRG, as more often than not, it requires experience in the field to write such an article.

Rhetorical appeals:
All three appeals can definitely been found in this genre, but logos and ethos are much more crucial to an article.  Pathos can be used an addition hook for the audience, but the credible and factual information is the centerpiece of the genre.  Without solid information, a scientific article loses it's entire audience, who are often educated and will pick up on a badly written article.

Visual Elements:
This genre can have the same level of visual elements, as it may even require images to keep the audience trudging through some heavily technical information.  A magazine filled with pages and blocks of text simple does not sell compared to a magazine filled with impressive and awe inducing photographs.

Style:
Formal scientific reporting is the style of such a genre.  Informality might edge in as humor or sarcasm, but only minimally.  The integrity of the article drops as the level of informality exceeds the minimal levels.

Responses - Positive Reactions & Negative Rebuttals

Theilmann, Mira, "Screenshot from my Computer" accessed from
Writer's Public Lives 10/29/15

Positive Reactions:
- The audience may appreciate the Pope's attempt to increase awareness of the human effect on the environment and it's populations.
- The audience may alter there opinions on the importance of addressing climate changes
- The audience may want to look into their own waste habits and try to limit their ecological footprint on the environment.
- The audience may dislike the discourse between political parties and decide to go against the grain, joining forces with their former enemies to make a stand against climate change.

Negative Rebuttals:
- The audience may not see the need to change the US culture of political parties.
- The audience may not see the need to address the human impact on the environment.
- The audience might hate the Pope for his political decision and ignore his call to charity.

How I will address the Negative Rebuttals:
I cannot change political, religious, or moral values of my audience.  My only goal is to show the audience that there are very significant life saving benefits of addressing climate change.  The Pope's decision to address climate change via a very political route is a drastic decision, but when there are potentially thousands of lives on the line, his actions do not seem as terrible.  Such a drastic action is the only thing that can change an entire culture of political hatred and a population set on ignoring the effect of the tons upon tons of waste created by the populations of the world.


RELFECTION:

After reading Casey's and Chelsea's blog, I found some very different genre directions.  My project will likely be very wordy with heavy graphic design elements to keep the reader attached.  Chelsea will likely be braving the youtube comments on climate change, which will be a brave but very unique approach to the project.  Chelsea will likely be successful with a casual or evaluative argument.  Casey has a great topic to analyze a lot of varying opinions on.  She just needs to identify more of the values she has to contend with over such a heated topic.  This reflection has given me a lot of perspective on how different these projects may end up being, and inspire me to really get creative with this project as well.  Casey will likely be successful with a evaluative or possibly a refute argument.

Analyzing Purpose

In this post I have attached a coggle brainstorming the goals of my project, the plausible reactions and their consequences, and the not plausible reactions to Project 3.  The coggle addresses questions 1-3. from Writing Public Lives pg. 326 (pictured below).  I have also included a paragraph addressing the audience of this project which corresponds to question 4.

Theilmann, Mira "Screenshot from my computer" accessed from
Writing Public Lives on 10/30/15

1-3. The link to my coggle can be found here.

4. I hope that my audience can cover the political spectrum, religious spectrum, and a wide variety of levels of scientific understanding.  My goal is to persuade the audience that acknowledging that humans can negatively impact the environment can only benefit the population of the entire planet.  I want to relay accurate credible information to my audience, but I want to also want to avoid drowning the audience in information or sarcastic bias as to avoid losing credibility.  The Pope also took this approach in his appeals to find human kindness and charity and help create a positive impact on the entire planet.  I would like to adapt this approach to convincing liberal audience why a religious voice may be beneficial, a conservative audience why addressing climate change is a charitable action, and the younger generations why this is such an important issue to speak out on.  Hopefully this project will result in the strongest reactions of these three groups; liberals, conservatives, and the new generations.  Liberals are already supportive of the environment, conservatives can find allies in the liberals and team up to make changes, and the younger generation will be the future voices in the government and are crucial to future actions.

Analyzing Context

In this blog post I will be addressing 7 questions about the context and perspectives on the Pope speaking about climate change.

Theilmann, Mira "Screenshot from my computer" accessed from
Writers Public Lives 10/29/15

1. Key Perspectives: Environmental activism, liberals, and conservatives

The main concept I am studying is environmental activism and climate change.  The Pope has become an environmental activist, in the hopes of lessening severe climate change across the world.  Becoming an activist entails he believes that humans have had a negative impact on the Earth and should address it for the sake of both the planet and it's inhabitants.  The alternate perspective does not believe climate change can be created by humans, and that there is no problem to address, that can be addressed, or that they want to address.  Due to the Pope being a religious icon speaking to Congress and the UN, the liberal versus conservative perspectives have also come into play.  Conservatives do not want to address climate change, but now, because of the Pope, they have to consider it as a reality.  Liberals are supportive of the Pope, but do not back him wholeheartedly, as the Catholic church is facing some major moral dilemmas of its own and the seperation of church and state still needs to observed.

2. Disagreements

Climate change and the human effect on the planet are at the heart of the issue.  Whether or not the conservatives and liberals can and will work together on a single issue is also a problem.  Judging by the past decades of political strife in the US, it will be a struggle for the various branches of the US government to unite on a single very controversial issue.

3. Agreement

All parts of the government agree that the poor cannot be ignored or treated irresponsibly.  When the Pope argued that serious climate disasters greatly effect the poorest of every country, it is impossible to disagree.  They will have to confront the worst structural and economic damages as a whole compared to those with enough money to lift themselves out of a disaster.  This is the possible uniting factor that the Pope tried to present to Congress and the UN.

4. Ideologies

Whether or not climate change has been created by humans is a serious issue, the general concepts of Catholicism, and whether or not the Pope is in the right mind in addressing the population on such a political issue.   Catholicism has had very controversial views including on abortion, gay rights, and women rights.  Many may ignore the Pope, simply on the principal that he should address those issues first.  Many liberals may also not appreciate such a religious figure having an impact on the political decisions of a country.

5. Specific Text Actions

Many texts start from either believing in climate change or not, or come from a liberal or conservative bias.  There is not often any middle ground.  Articles choose one side or the other to write on, because there is such a divide in the political sphere on the environment.

6. Useful Perspectives

I will use my background in the sciences, knowledge on climate change, and my perspective as a young college student to my advantage.  My science background gives me at least a minimal understanding on how negatively humanity can effect the environment and how important addressing our lifestyles can be.  Being a young college student allows for a bit of understanding from the older audiences.  I do not have decades of experience in the world, simply because of my age.  While this might limit my credibility, it also allows for a lot of creative room.  Supportive audiences will hopefully enjoy seeing the opinion of a fresh voice in a saturated issue.  I also am not writing for a magazine or news source, which allows for my argument to be entirely my own.

7. Harmful Perspectives

My useful perspectives can very easily morph into my greatest threats.  Being a young college student with little experience could result in my audience believing my argument is void.  Being an environmental science major with a heavy bias, also can decrease my credibility.  If I keep the tone and voice professional and my information credible, these difficult perspectives can remain my advantage.

REFLECTION:

After reading Chelsea's and Sam's blogs, I realized I definitely wrote a lot, as per usual.  However, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with the purpose of my article, and this particular blog definitely helped identify that.  Chelsea and Sam wrote very clear blogs that defined their parameters and context within their purpose.  They look like they both have a very clear direction for their projects.  Mine is still a little up in the air and will need some work-shopping.

Audience and Genre

In this blog post I will be analyzing specific audiences interested in my controversy.

Group 1: Environmental Science Students
Many students have heard of the Pope's visit to America and his new position on climate change.  However, many may not have religious interest or want to avoid delving into such a saturated topic.  They would likely be interested in hearing a fellow students opinion on the matter, especially a student with similar interests.

Places of Publication

1. Quick Reference Guide - This will be an easy way to relay context while still presenting an overall message or persuasive argument to the audience.  It also allows for some informality and humor to keep the audience engaged and interested.  The use of hyperlinks is also incredibly useful for providing the audience with as much context and possibly include tangents about the topic without spending too much time analyzing them in the actual QRG.
Ex. Example 1
Ex. Example 2

2. Youtube video - Youtube would be a difficult platform to spread without an established following, but it also allows for a more comprehensive younger audience.  Millions of young adults watch youtube everyday.  If the video is kept relatively short and information, it can be incredibly useful to draw in a younger audience.  However, it is a rather volatile media, and reception of the video is very hard to predict.
Ex. Example 1
Ex. Example 2


Group 2: Followers of the Pope
Even though my voice is biased towards supporting climate change, the following of the Pope is so large that it is likely some of the conservative crowd may stumble across such a project.  They may not share the same views but they are interested in seeing how the Pope has affected everyone.  Those directly affected by the Pope's words might want to see the perspective of the liberal side in order to clarify their own thoughts.

Places of Publication

1. Religious Publication - The conservative crowd might be pulled into a website or an article that uses religious jargon and references.  In the same way that liberals may relate to information they know and understand, conservatives will want to see information that they have seen and understood, especially with such a religious and moral subject.
Ex. Example 1
Ex. Example 2

2. Blog Posts - This also amplifies the reliability factor to those with differing opinions.  Instead of a professional journalist, people can read directly from someone they can perceive as real.  It forces the audience to recognize that this is another human with an opinion, and not a representation of a news group.  This type of credibility allows for a bit more leeway in informality and humor as well.
Ex. Example 1
Ex. Example 2

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Extended Annotated Bibliography

I have provided a link to my Extended Annotated Bibliography for Project 3 below.  It was formatted in the APA style (reference guide here).

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Here is the link.

Narrowing My Focus

Explain how I will have to address many of the questions in my project, but I will need research 3 of the following more in depth.

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What are the Pope's scientific qualifications and past experiences with climate change?
The Pope has a significant background that many people may have heard of but may not know the full extent of.  The Pope has chosen to speak on climate change for a reason, and it will be crucial to explain why he is the credible and the right source to do so.  It is also important to show how Pope Francis has created his non-conventional lovable Pope status since taking the position.

Why were the main points in his speeches slightly different from that of his encyclical?
The Pope notably did not directly mention climate change in his speech.  It is important to find out exactly what the Pope said and how he changed his speeches according to the location and the people present.  The information he presented differed from the UN hall to that of the US government.

How will the Pope's and the churches history effect the response to the Pope's call to action? 
The Catholic church has a very controversial background, that cannot be ignored.  Although it is great that the Pope is trying to break down boundaries, there are many issues in his own church that also have to be addressed.  I need to find out how extensive these issues go and determine how they will and have effected the reaction to his speeches and encyclical.