This ad is an appeal to ethos by Compassion International. It talks about the flooding that has happened in Western Africa and how many people have lost their homes. This ad is trying to get donations to help these people (and pay the organization). They’re argument is that no one should have to live how they are living and for a small portion of your money you can help them. They are making an ethical appeal for these people.

Slap chop TV spot/ad, logos and pathos

https://www.slapchop.com/ver20/index.asp

I had to post the link to the website and video instead of posting just the video on here, because for some reason it wouldn't let me.

This is a TV ad for the Slap Chop, and Vince is using logos and even some pathos. He is using logos, or logical appeals, by telling his audience that the Slap Chop will make their life easier. It will make cooking faster, more fun, easier to clean up and more affordable. All these reasons appear to be logical. He also says you will get free stuff if you purchase right away, and everyone loves free stuff.

I think he also appeals to pathos by saying the Slap Chop will make America (and you) skinny again because fruits and vegetables will be easier to process and prepare. Even if this isn’t true, it makes the audience desire the product because most people desire to be skinny. He is using people’s feelings to make them want the product. This may be a weak argument for pathos, but I think it's a valid example.

A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift

I’m not sure if Swift wrote this seriously or as a joke, but either way it is pretty cruel. I must note that his writing style is very good and pretty convincing, but if he were still alive I would personally suggest writing on topics more likely to be accepted. The very idea of selling babies to be auctioned of as a delicacy is preposterous. But all that aside, this man appears to be a good writer. He starts off by listing statistics and numbers concerning uncared-for children and such, which is a good way to “set the stage” for a proposal. He then proceeds to offer his proposal, fully expecting it to be widely accepted as a feasible solution. Even if his writing style is interesting and keeps readers hooked, I highly doubt his proposal got anywhere, and I don’t think I would use the word modest to explain it.

Obama's speech to the school children

I read nothing beforehand, so I didn’t have an opinion before I watched it. I personally thought it was a typical Obama speech. It was pretty much a pep talk. Step up to your responsibilities. You can do it! It wasn’t full of politics, which was nice. I didn’t find anything especially controversial about it, although the lesson plan that was supposed to go along with it was not good at all. People were raging on about that way more than the actual speech.

I don’t really think there were any moments in the speech where I was like, wow, I never thought of it that way before. But on the other hand, it was a pretty encouraging speech. It was really about that even if your circumstances stink, that’s no excuse to fail school. No matter how great your teachers are or how excited your parents are, you are the one who decides if you want to put in the time and effort. I think this speech was pretty good for school kids and that it really couldn’t cause any harm.

I think he appealed a lot to pathos by relating all his life experiences and the situations of those three other people he talked about. He wanted us to feel that he, the president of the United States of America, could relate with the average school kid, and that was pretty neat.

This shirt is supporting our 2nd amendment rights. The shirt argues that just because people own guns doesn’t make them kill people or harm other people or their property. I wholeheartedly agree with this shirt. I believe that it is pointless to take away people’s rights because a few people have abused them. It is just like the driving drunk example. Just because someone owns the car does not mean that the car will cause them to drive drunk. As far as I know, nobody has tried to make us stop driving because the cars will make you drive drunk. People just abuse their privileges. I believe the same goes for gun rights. Most people buy them for sport and enjoyment. I know I enjoy shooting guns. Some people buy or steal them to harm people. Lastly, if they outlaw certain guns, if people want them, they’ll get them. They will either steal them or buy them illegally. It won’t solve the problem.