Rhetorical Analysis of Project #3

Author
1: How will I draw from my interests and passions for Project 3?

Currently, I am a mathematics major at the University of Arizona and in Project #1 of English 109H, I found out that finding a controversy in mathematics is really, REALLY difficult. Mathematicians are just too loose when it comes to defining the principles that make up their professions. There are controversies, but their more like stubborn disagreements between two people. So, I plan on looking elsewhere from my interests in order to find a good argument. Probably some of my best options are my previous experiences with competitive swimming. There is a huge argument over the technical suits that competitive swimmers use and whether or not they should be banned in competitions. One such instance was the worldwide ban of the full-body suits for male swimmers, since at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, over a dozen world records were set, all by athletes wearing a full body swimsuit. Probably the other strong choice I have for a topic is my interest in technology. There is a miasma of opinions on the rapid advancement of technology, and I think it would be pretty interesting creating an argument over such a topic. Of course, there are many other things I am interested in, but these two categories, and maybe a good topic in mathematics, are the best options I think I have currently, and I'll focus on those.

2: What are the preconceptions, previously held opinions/potential areas for personal bias that I should be aware of for Project #3?

Obviously, I have my own experiences to deal with as a bias for this argument. I'm not the type of person to hold a grudge, but if I feel as though something is unfair, I'm definitely going to take a side on my own moral grounds. However, when it comes to certain categories that define the type of person I am, such as ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, sexuality, even my geography, I'm pretty easy-going about all those categories. I've always held a firm belief that people have a right to be influenced over these sorts of categories, but I don't use them to choose I side for me. I choose a side on what I personally believe in from my own experiences.

Audience

1: How are you thinking about your audience for this project? Who are you going to make this for?

I decided on doing the video essay for Project #3, so I feel as though I want to make my audience a little more broader. On YouTube, people click on videos that look even mildly interesting. Videos are viewed by all sorts of people, so I believe that the obvious audience for this piece should be the general public, no matter how advanced or specialized my claims will be in regards to the topic I will be doing this on.

2: What beliefs and assumptions might this audience already hold? What position are they likely to take on this issue?

I haven't decided on my argument yet, but I want to choose one that isn't obviously one-sided. I don't want this project to be an excuse for me to play Devil's advocate for some brutally wrong issue: that sort of viewpoint would defeat the purpose of the project in the first place. So, in this case, I want to choose a controversy that is, for the most part, split half and half, 50/50. I want to make something that will both appeal to advocates of my argument and try and convince to the opposition.

3: How might they react to your argument?

Depends if I make a good point or not. It's hard to change a person's beliefs, even with significant statistics and cold hard evidence. I'm not the greatest "video essayist", but I feel as though if I do a good job on my argument, I will at least have informed some people about my viewpoints on something. But, in the end, I feel as though this project will have a good reaction from some people, and a negative one from others.

4: How are you going to relate to or connect with your audience?

This is probably the this I'm most likely to have trouble with. Obviously, there are going to be people who have been personally effected by the argument I will be talking about to various extents. So, I think the best way to relate to the audience is through evidence. First of all, if my evidence is false, then no one is going to care for my opinion since it's misinformed. Second, if I explain how certain cases of a controversy have affected other people, then parts of my audience can relate to the subject at hand. Furthermore, if I provide an abundance of evidence, there is a greater chance of be relating to more and more of my audience.

5:Think of a specific person that falls into my audience:

I still haven't picked a topic up to this point in my blog posts, so I will choose my English teacher since there is a 100% chance that he will view my video and he is technically part of my idea that I wanted my video essay to be for the general public. For the most part, he will put aside his personal views and create new opinions completely objectively for these English projects that my class and I are making. So, if anything, he is an arbitrary person in my target audience. As stated above, I think they best way of convincing a person is through evidence or proof of specific consequences, whether they be bad or good.

Purpose/Message
1: What do I want to accomplish with Project 3? What affect do you want it to have on your intended audience?

Probably an obvious answer, but I want to convince people that my viewpoint on a certain issue is significant in its ideas. I feel as though I'm not going to convince many people that my ideas are necessarily right, but I want for people to at least take my viewpoints for more than just a grain of salt. I want my audience to look more into the specific issue that I will make my project about and craft their own viewpoints. As long as I know my project was at least influential in some way, that would be the best outcome.

2: Once I've done all my research and figured out what I think about the controversy that I've chosen, what still needs to be accomplished?

I feel as though it will be important to tell the audience to explore both sides of the issue. As stated above, I don't people to just copy my opinion: I want them to forge their own opinions. I think that will be the most important thing to tell my audience (besides the content of my project of course).

Context: The use of "fast-skins" in competitive swimming

Genre
1: What course genre will you be writing in for Project 3?

I feel as though the video essay would be more appropriate thant the podcast for this type of issue

2: What kinds of audience expectations come along with this genre?

Since I'm doing a video essay, that means my audience is going to be a lot broader than that of a research paper, QRG, or a podcast. More people are likely to stumble upon a video and open it than a piece of rote language or an audio file. I feel as though my audience is going to come in with less intent and more curiosity.

3: What is you history working in this genre?

Surprisingly, I've actually made loads of these in middle school for a certain program I was a part of, called the Digital Learning Center. I've probably made a dozen of these, so I'm very confident in the mechanics of the whole thing.

4: Describe my comfort level and general feelings with this genre:

This genre is probably going to take more work than the essay and QRG I made previously this semester, but since I've worked with genre before, I am very comfortable with it.

5: What are the two most effective conventions for this genre?

Conventions are an interesting word to use for a genre such as a video essay, but I believe that the two most important things to have in this genre is an adequate, but diverse blend of videos, narration, and quality pictures and making sure that the images and videos provided are related to the content being described.

When?

1: Are there any historical events that might impact how your audience perceives your argument?

The only laws that has been put in place for this argument are certain banned "fast-skins" from various competitive organizations.

2: Who else is talking about this topic?

NPR
Culture Unbound Journal
SwimmingWorld Magazine
Wikipedia (LZR Specific)

3: What are three-four major counter-arguments?

NASA - Benefits of being a faster competitive swimmer
Scientific American Magazine - The logical science behind it all
Swim Outlet - Reviews show fairness of modern suits