More on Ethos

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Here’s some more thoughts/explanations/examples on ethos, which I wrote after my students last semester asked for more resources.

Ethos

Ethos is the credibility/reliability/trustworthiness (or PERCEIVED credibility/reliability/trustworthiness) of the speaker.

The story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is a fable about ethos. Because the boy cries “Wolf!” even when there is no wolf so many times, the villagers don’t believe him when there actually is a wolf. He ruined his ethos by lying and pranking them.

In professional settings, I often don’t have a lot of ethos, because I’m young and don’t have my PhD (yet!!). So in order to convince people that I know what I’m talking about, I may choose to dress extra professionally, talk extra formally, or make a point of mentioning the experience and qualifications that I do have. Think about a resume– that’s a genre that basically only uses ethos. It’s just a list of all the things you’ve done that make you good for a job.

Trump and Ethos

Trump is an interesting person to analyze when we think about ethos. During the 2016 election, and again now, many people who supported Trump said they liked him because he was a successful businessman, so he knows how to run things. Trump’s reputation as a rich person (and owner of a business) made some people trust/believe that he would be a good president.

People who didn’t like Trump would say, “But he has no experience in politics” or “Running a business is different from running a government, so that doesn’t matter.” They did not feel like he had a lot of ethos.

Now, people who don’t like Trump will say, “He lies all the time about everything” — he has no ethos! If he lies, why would you trust him about any given piece of information? Trump supporters say that Trump has a lot of ethos, but the media is not reliable– they say the media has no ethos because they are out to get Trump even if it means lying.

Some Other Examples of Ethos

Ethos is often the source of tension in horror movies. For example, in The Invisible Man, a woman’s abusive ex is stalking and continuing to abuse her, but he’s invisible, so nobody believes her.

(Note: Discussion of assault and racism below)

Ethos is also SUPER important in sexual assault cases. Many times, people try to discredit the victim’s ethos– they were drunk, they’re exaggerating, they just want attention or money or to punish the perpetrator, etc. That’s about whether the accuser is trustworthy. But ethos isn’t just about trust– it’s about ethics, or goodness. We see that on the flip side. Often, when people talk about the perpetrator, they portray the perpetrator as wholesome (“just a kid, has his whole life ahead of him”) or normal (“Brock Turner, a star swimmer at Stanford University”), etc. This builds up the perpetrator’s ethos so people are more likely to believe them, or more likely to be lenient.

Racial profiling is also an example of an ethos problem. Because of racism, anyone who isn’t white is often viewed as less trustworthy– having less ethos– than a white person. They didn’t do anything to earn that lack of ethos– it’s just assigned to them by other people. A given action (walking down the street, holding a toy gun, wearing a turban, etc.) that is interpreted as non-threatening when a white person does it becomes rhetorically threatening when a not-white person does it– because the “speaker” (do-er of the action) lacks ethos. In this case, because of racism, not because of anything they did.

Ethos is not about whether or not someone is ACTUALLY saying true information/doing a particular thing. It’s about whether or not their audience PERCEIVES them to be telling the truth/doing a particular thing.

Ethos and Research/Your Writing

Let’s pretend I want to write a scholarly paper about Black Panther and its significance to African American readers. I’ve only seen the movie once, I haven’t read any of the comics, I’m not part of the fandom, I don’t really know much about comics in general or about African American literature in general, and I’m not African American myself. So I have basically no ethos! I can tell you my opinion about Black Panther, but you have no reason to trust my opinion more than anybody else’s.

In contrast, Professor Jonathan Gray (here at John Jay and at the Graduate Center)  could just say his opinion about Black Panther and it would mean a lot, because he has a lot of ethos. He is a professor with a PhD whose specialities are African American literature, pop culture, and comics. He has written books and articles about these topics. He has a lot of knowledge, not only about Black Panther specifically but about related topics in history and culture. He is also personally African American and a comics fan himself, so he can speak from his own personal experience and feelings about Black Panther too.

So one way I could boost my own ethos is by citing Professor Gray. My opinion might not mean much by itself, but if someone with a lot of ethos on this topic like him agrees with me, you might trust my analysis more!

For your research projects, you all will have at least a little knowledge about your topics, but probably not a lot. You are not experts. So you find information written by experts instead. You boost your own ethos by showing that you are filling in the gaps in your knowledge by seeking out reliable information. As a writer, you’re saying, “You can trust me, because I worked really hard to find true information from reliable sources.”

 

Reflections on my ‘This I No Longer Believe’ paper submission…

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  • What did I learn about myself? I realized in the process of writing this paper just how therapeutic writing is for me. I knew this was always a tool I had relied on in the past to manage my stress and anxiety, but I kind of fell off of the wagon so to speak. Formerly, I was quite diligent with keeping a journal. After writing this paper, I think I might make it a point to return to journaling. This might be what is lacking in managing the chaos in my day to day life at this point!
  • What did I learn about writing? I learned that writing can be messy- AND THAT IS OKAY! Re-reading and revising drafts, gaining feedback from peers, and taking time to reflect is SO important. Perfectionism is a myth. It does not exist. I think we could all do with putting a little less pressure on ourselves…
  • What was easy, what was hard? What was new/different? The easy part for me was deciding what I wanted to write about. As soon as this topic of our first assignment was given, I instinctively knew what I wanted to write about. The difficult part for me was trying to nail down getting my points across as to what information I specifically learned that shaped why my viewpoint changed. It is hard to not get emotional about traumatic things that have happened in our lives, and it is hard to prevent those emotions from taking over when presenting information. Also, as per the usual struggle for me- writers block happens! Sometimes you just need to take that break and stretch,  grab a coffee, go on a short walk, and then re-visit the work.
  • What did I gain from the assignment, or what did I hope to gain but didn’t? Not to sound cheesy, but writing this paper gave me so much strength and courage- and that is exactly what I had hoped to gain from this assignment. I chose my topic for this assignment knowing that it would be difficult for me to tell the story, but also feeling that this was a necessary story to tell. There wasn’t a particular aspect of my writing that I had hoped to improve on, because I do feel that creative non-fiction is a strong style for me. However, this writing journey was more emotionally eye-opening than anything else.  Additionally, I learned that I spend so much time worrying about grammar (which evidently I don’t really have an issue with?) while all along I do struggle with verb tenses! This paper highlighted that weakness for me, and it is definitely something I will be working on moving forward.
  • What additional support would have been helpful for me? I would have liked to review more exemplary samples of previous students work with our class prior to doing this assignment.
  • How do I think our peer review process went? What should we change for next time? Overall, I would say the peer review process went well. I think everyone was able to work in whatever capacity they were comfortable in, which is important. However, I do think that next time we should consider the following: Initially, reading multiple students papers and providing feedback proved to be a useful tool; but I feel it would be more beneficial if during the second round of peer review we worked specifically with ONE students work (again, in whatever capacity each person is comfortable with). I feel like there was not enough time to give sufficient feedback to multiple people, especially as the papers grew more in depth. I think it would be a more beneficial experience if, for the second round of peer review, everyone was assigned ONE specific paper to focus on. 

Analysis of an Ad Assignment

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Original Post Due: Wednesday 3/11 by class time
Comments To Your Classmates Due: Monday 3/16 by class time

For this assignment, you will take a picture of an ad or other poster that you see out in the world. We’re in NYC– there are ads everywhere. You may not use an ad we have already analyzed together in class, and you may not knowingly use the same ad as a classmate.

While it is possible to use WordPress on your phone, I strongly suggest you use a computer to write your post, especially if you have never used WordPress before.

Part 1 Instructions

After you find your chosen ad, do the following:

  1. Write a blog post on our course site following the Posting Directions. Embed the picture of your ad using the “Add Media” button.
  2. Under your picture of the ad, write a rhetorical analysis of your chosen ad. It should be the equivalent of about 2 pages of size 12/double spaced writing in a word processor.
  3. Before you post, find the “Categories” section in the right-hand sidebar of the post editor. Choose the “analysis of an ad” category.
  4. Hit the blue “Publish” button.

If you have questions about WordPress/how to post, you can email me or leave them in a comment.

Some guiding questions for your analysis:

  1. Who is the speaker in the ad? How is the speaker trying to present themselves? How does the speaker want you to view them? How do you know?
  2. What are the messages/arguments that the ad is trying to convey?
  3. What assumptions does the ad rely on?
  4. Who is the intended audience(s) of the ad? How do you know?
  5. What strategies does the ad use to try to persuade the audience?
  6. How does the ad appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade the audience?
  7. Do you think the ad is effective? Why or why not?

Part 2 Instructions

Choose (at least) two classmates’ posts to respond to with comments.

In your comments, you must add to their analysis of the ad. It is not enough to simply agree with their take and compliment them on it (although you can do that too!). Adding can mean disagreeing with their interpretation and explaining why, or it can mean offering additional interpretations even if you think their take is valid:  “Another interpretation could be that the argument is _________, because if you look at _________, maybe that means _________.” Or, you can analyze some aspect of the ad that your classmate didn’t talk about in their post!

Always support your analysis with evidence.

Each comment should be the equivalent of at least half a page of (size 12 double spaced) writing.

Wednesday 3/4: The Rhetorical Triangle

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Writing Into The Day

Find a memory of an argument involving a child and an adult. Maybe it’s an argument you got into as a child, or an argument you’ve had with a child you know (your child, a sibling, a niece/nephew/cousin, etc.), or an argument you observed between a child and someone else.

Using the principles in the reading for today, what advice would you give to the child on how to improve their argument, given the situation and their relationship to each other? What advice would you give to the adult? What could each person have done to persuade the other effectively?

Sharing/Discussion

Overview

  • Ways to participate reminders, checking in
  • Final drafts due!!!
  • Reflections on final paper
  • Intro to the Rhetorical Triangle
  • Looking Ahead

Reminders

  • Spring Start Workshops!
  • March Writing Center Workshops
  • Rhetorical Devices homework!! Participation in this is dropping.
  • Many ways to participate! Consider: writing a reflection on a reading, taking notes in class and posting them to the blog, completing all activities on the lesson plan (and sending them to me) for days you are absent, posting things related to our class in the Optional section.

Final Drafts Due TODAY: Turning Draft In On Time = 5 Points of Your Grade

Reflections on Final Paper

  • What did you learn about yourself?
  • What did you learn about writing?
  • What was easy, what was hard? What was new/different?
  • What did you gain from the assignment, or what did you hope to gain but didn’t?
  • What additional support would have been helpful for you?
  • How do you think our peer review process went? What should we change for next time?

The Rhetorical Triangle

Prezi Here: https://prezi.com/efmzivxn8ecr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Looking Ahead

March 9 (Monday): Domains of Rhetoric

Readings Due:

“The Romantic Appeal”
“The Gender Appeal”
“The Sex Appeal”
“Predictive Policing”
“The Problem With Broken Windows”

Assignments Due: None!

March 11 (Wednesday): Rhetorical Analysis

Readings Due

“Are Workplace Personality Tests Fair?”
Optional: Take the Five Factor Personality Test, Myers-Briggs Test, or another psychometric test and research what this “means” for you as an employee (THIS IS ONLY FOR FUN and has no bearing on what career you should pursue). Post about what you found! (If you want to.)

Assignments Due:

Romantic, Gender, and Sex Appeal Examples
Analysis of an Ad Original Posts Due

Testimonial Examples

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Please post your rhetorical devices homework for The Testimonial Appeal as comments on this post. Make sure your comments include all parts of the assignment. 

For the readings on these devices, please refer to the Course Schedule for links.

This is due by Wednesday, March 4th at 4:30 pm, but you are welcome to post late for partial credit.

3/2 (Monday): Targeted Advertising + Playing with Genre, Style, and Audience Day 2

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REMINDER: MEETING IN COMPUTER LAB–  NEW BUILDING ROOM 7.68

Writing Into the Day

Last week, we played with telling our creative nonfiction stories in different styles. Today, we’re going to do the same with Genres and Audiences! Please come grab an Audience slip from me, and begin rewriting your story again for the particular audience you got.

After 5 minutes or so, I’ll ask you to switch with someone near you and do it again, and then we’ll have optional sharing.

Notice how changing your audience also changes your style. How did you tell your story differently, with a new audience (not me) in mind?

Sharing

Overview:

  • Reminders and checking in (spring start, rhetorical devices homework, Testimonial, final drafts)
  • Talking about genre/playing with genre activity
  • Targeted advertising discussion
  • Exploring the Facebook Ad Library
  • Looking Ahead

Genre!

Same activity as with Style and Audience, but with genre cards

Targeted Advertising

Target article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/#37223a6c6668

(Discuss together but also look at redirect cycle)

Facebook Ad Library

  1. Go to the Facebook Ad Library! (No account necessary)
  2. Spend some time experimenting and exploring. Type in some key words you’re curious about. See what comes up.
  3. Do you see what appear to be duplicates? That’s A/B advertising! (Companies create two very similar versions of the same ad and circulate both to see which one does better)
  4. Choose a search that you’ve found the most interesting. (For example, when I was playing with the library, I stopped and looked more closely at Joe Biden ads.)
  5. Look at the various ads in that search. Are they sponsored by the same organizations? What similarities and differences do you see? What do you think the effects of those differences might be? (I found a bunch that are essentially the same ad, but with the text phrased slightly differently. Which one do you think would be more effective, and why?)
  6. Click on “See Ad Details” for a couple of ads.
  7. Compare the “Seen By” data and the location data, as well as the funding information. What do you notice? What is surprising you?
  8. What do you think the specific goals of the ads are (so, not just “get people to vote for Joe Biden,” but “get elderly men in California to vote for Joe Biden because Super Tuesday is tomorrow and he thinks he could do well with that demographic”)?
  9. Do you think they are effective in those goals? Why or why not?
  10. If you use Facebook or Instagram (they are owned by the same company and share data), what ads from the database have you been seeing? What information do you think the campaigns used to target you?
  11. Post your answers to the blog, or as a comment on this post! Then continue to explore.

Looking Ahead

March 4 (Wednesday): The Rhetorical Triangle

Readings Due
“How To Teach a Child to Argue” 

Assignments Due
Testimonial Examples
“This I No Longer Believe” Final Draft

A Note About Flu + Colds + Coronavirus

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Many of us, including me, have been sick in the last week or are currently sick, so I wanted to write a few notes on how I want to handle illness in our class.

In Short: If you’re sick, please stay home and rest if you are able to. Taking care of ourselves and limiting the transmission of germs/viruses is good for us, and good for the health of our community (campus and city). Just let me know if you expect to be absent– it helps with planning activities! 

I also want to remind you of one of our class Ways to Participate. If you’re absent from class for any reason, you can make up the missed attendance points by looking at the Lesson Plan for the class(es) you missed, completing all of the prompts/activities, and sending me your responses (as a comment on the Lesson Plan post, as an email, or submitting on Blackboard– doesn’t matter to me). If the instructions in the post are not clear because they rely on things I explained in class, just ask!

Some places like Japan and South Korea have been closing schools while dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. I have no idea how likely it is that that will happen here in NYC, but if it does, we will continue having class online unless John Jay or CUNY Central directs us to do something else. I’ll just write out in posts detailed instructions/information that I would normally say in class, and convert any activities to things you can do remotely.

Wash your hands extra often and extra well, use hand sanitizer, wipe down your phones with disinfectant, check in on the people you know who might be extra vulnerable– the elderly, immunocompromised people, babies, etc.

Optional: Data on ~60,000 Different Advertising Categories Facebook Might Put You In

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I’m doing some exploring on targeted advertising articles beyond our reading for today to figure out how I think we should go about discussing the topic together this afternoon. These spreadsheets are too enormous to print out and work with in class, but I wanted to share them with you in case you wanted to look on your own.

Download the datasets for free here: https://www.propublica.org/datastore/thanks?id=096b3c2eff44d226At9l

I used the Sort feature in Excel to order the items in ways that made sense to me (like alphabetical by Type of Category)– it’s a lot to even quickly scroll through!

The download link gives you two spreadsheets. One is a list of advertising categories based on data gathered from other sources about YOU (public records, credit card transactions, etc.). The other is a list of algorithmically-created and algorithmically-assigned categories based on your Facebook activity. It looks at what things you like and do on Facebook, and what some common patterns are for other people who like and do those same things, and then gives you ads based on what those similar people purchased or already own.