Topic Proposal

Gym class is a very important part of school for many children, but it is not required in all states for students to participate in physical education.  There has been a debate regarding this topic for many years, and many argue on both sides, however this type of education is very important for young people to fight obesity, improve their performance in the classroom, and develop skills that will last a lifetime.  I believe that physical education should be required in all states, especially knowing that obesity is an epidemic in our country.  Everyone should be made aware of the benefits that come along with this education, and by implementing these laws, people will understand how important these classes truly are.  I have taken physical education throughout my years of school, and I have seen firsthand the affect it has on people, and I still use skills that I learned in physical education even today.  I know that physical education is important, and if all states implemented physical education into their daily lives it would have a great affect on our country.

Resources:

http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/07/childhood-obesity-most-u-s-schools-dont-require-p-e-class-or-recess/

http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/07/childhood-obesity-most-u-s-schools-dont-require-p-e-class-or-recess/

Topic Proposal

The topic I have chosen is cold weather, and this is important because it affects most people at the University of Iowa.  I have always disliked the cold, and now I can look to see if there is an actual effect correlated to the cold weather.  My first research question is, Does cold weather affect grades?  My second research question is, Does cold weather affect happiness.  I will be researching the effects of cold weather on students that attend The University of Iowa.  I will be conducting a survey that will gain the public opinion of students and the effects of cold weather on their grades and happiness.

IMRaD Report vs. Argumentative Essay

A report written in IMRaD format and a normal argumentative essay are usually very different.  The IMRaD format is used for scientific reports that are based around primary research.  A argumentative essay usually looks to other sources for research and it interprets the research that has already been done.  The content of these two papers are quite different, knowing that and IMRaD report is often more formal and academic, while a argumentative essay is a lower-level essay looks at other's research to create a claim.

These two papers have different content for each person that creates either an IMRaD report or an argumentative essay.  Also, the format between these two styles are quite different.  An IMRaD report starts off with an abstract, then has an introduction, methods section, results section, and a discussion section in the paper.  This is done to easily organize the experiment that has been done along with how the experiment was created and the outcome of the experiment.  Depending on what type of paper you are writing, a different structure is often necessary.

Speech Outline

Introduction: 

How many of you were hoping that the commercial was actually a new Crocodile Dundee movie? 

I agree with the people that raised their hands, and I was disappointed with the ending of the commercial.  This commercial aims to use a fake commercial, famous actors, and humor to convince the audience to travel to Australia. 

Purpose: 

This leads to the purpose of the commercial which was to entice the reader with the hopes of a new Crocodile Dundee movie, and then use this to try and get people to travel to Australia.  The creators of this commercial use a beloved part of American culture that involves Australia, and twists this to their own benefit.  The audience they are trying to target is people who have seen the original movie from the 1980s, which would most likely be adults from Generation X.  This commercial was shown during the Super Bowl, so a wide range of people viewed this commercial. 

Components: 

An interesting strategy is used in this commercial, as it essentially pranks viewers into thinking they are watching an advertisement for the new Crocodile Dundee movie, while instead they are watching an advertisement for Tourism Australia.  People were most likely drawn into the commercial by the fake “movie” trailer that was presented, then they might have been surprised to learn that there was no movie at all.  The creators of this commercial were trying to spark a sense of nostalgia in its viewers by presenting the fake Crocodile Dundee trailer, then using that feeling to try and convince them to travel to Australia. 

There are two famous actors that star in this commercial, Danny McBride and Chris Hemsworth.  Danny McBride is mainly known as a comedic actor, while Chris Hemsworth is more of a heartthrob movie star.  These two actors make hilarious duo, and they balance each other out in the commercial, which gives the fake movie even more of a draw.  Even if the commercial did not include the fake trailer for a new Crocodile Dundee, both actors that are included could influence viewers int buying a certain product. 

A big component that is used in this commercial is humor.  Humor is used throughout the commercial, with the dialogue between characters and the situations that they are put in.  They are put into funny situations like being in a winery in the commercial.  They use this to try and highlight the features of Australia. Humor is also used in the end to transition from a prank movie trailer to the ad for Tourism Australia.  

Effectiveness: 

Personally, I already wanted to travel to Australia before seeing this commercial, and it did not make me want to go any more than I already wanted to.  It was a bold strategy to produce a fake trailer for a remake of a beloved movie, and it did not prove to be effective in the end.  Many viewers were mostly likely angry that they were just pranked into thinking there was a new Crocodile Dundee movie, and they are likely to be caught up on that rather than wanting to travel to Australia.  Traveling to Australia is also a hard product to sell, because of the magnitude of actually doing that and paying for it.  Humor is also not the best way to advertise for a tourism company, I would rather have them show more of what their country has to offer rather than getting my hopes for a movie that will never actually be made.

Commercial for Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XltvwqBZIPc

The commercial I will be doing my speech on is the Tourism Australia Dundee commercial that was played during the Super Bowl this year.  My initial thoughts on the commercial is that it is very funny, and it attempts to get the audience hooked by starting off as a fake commercial for a new Crocodile Dundee movie, then moves on to a focus of Tourism Australia.  This commercial uses a heavy dose of pathos, sparking a feeling of nostalgia to viewers who have seen the original movie in the 1980s.  Humor is also used highly in this commercial, with multiple one-liners and slapstick humor being employed.  The ethos used in the commercial is created with the credibility of the Crocodile Dundee character, and also with the two famous actors that star in the commercial.  The main purpose of this commercial is to hook the audience with the nostalgia of the Crocodile Dundee remake, and then it transitions to and advertisement for Tourism Australia, which is a very interesting strategy that is used.  The audience that this is targeting is an older crowd, because they will be the people that are more likely to connect with the original movie and understand the advertisement.  The people that created this ad used something that is near and dear to the hearts of the American people, and they turned those feelings into a hook for visiting Australia.  This type of strategy is used fairly often and I think that it could possibly be an effective strategy, but in this case I think that it was too over-the-top.  Overall, I think that this advertisement sparked many emotions, but I do not think it was very effective as a commercial, especially paying the type of money that they did for the airtime of the advertisement.

Jake Cramer Unit 1 Reflection

1.  The most challenging part of the assignment for me was finding all 6 of the credible sources to use in the paper.  It was challenging to try and implement the sources into my paper in a way that was understandable.  Personally, I thought that finding sources that fit into my paper well was the hardest part of this assignment.
2. The basic analytical concepts was the most useful thing that we discussed in class for my paper because my paper was organized by these concepts, so analyzing their meaning was very beneficial.  The least useful thing was creating an outline and the peer reviews because that usually does not help me as much as it helps others.

Strengths/Weaknesses of Sample Papers

The Role of Writing in Political Science
Strengths:

• Detailed background knowledge
• Interesting opening quote
• Credible sources and excellent explanations

Weaknesses:

• Poor closing sentence
• Too much time spent on a couple of sources
• Flow of the paper was choppy at certain points

Writing in Psychology

Strengths:

• Paper was short and sweet
• Exceptional interpretation of language
• Good use of diction

Weaknesses:

• Only had 3 sources
• Not in APA format
• Writes in first person

Writing as a Creative Writer

Strengths:

• Superb background information/introduction
• Breaks down creative writing for both academic and non-academic writings very well
• Solid format and flow

Weaknesses:

• Paper is too long
• Focuses on certain quotes too much
• Very short conclusion

Writing in the Field of Economics

Strengths:

• Thorough introduction paragraph
• Many credible sources
• Good use of language

Weaknesses:

• The author rambles at times
• Some quotes were too long
• Uses first person

The Role of Writing in Engineering

Strengths:

• Characterizes different types of writing
• The paper is formatted well
• Uses multiple credible sources

Weaknesses:

• Conclusion was too short
• The author could've used more quotes
• Some quotes were too long

Writing in the Business Discipline

Strengths:

• Solid opening quote
• Detailed breakdown of non-academic and academic sources
• Memorable ending

Weaknesses:

• Not enough sources
• Some quotes needed more introduction
• Quotes/figures were too long