ENG 102: ENGLISH COMPOSITION II
Instructor: Y. Bailey-Kirby

Practice Sequence A: Discussions Questions
on “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals” by Jib Fowles

Answer all the questions assigned for “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals” by Jib Fowles in complete sentences and number your typed response to each question. (Note: You will have a minimum of 350 words in total for your response to all of the questions below for Fowles, but most students choose to exceed this word count and are even encouraged to do so. Hence, exceed means “go over” this amount for the entire set of five questions, NOT 350 words per question, but since most students put a lot of pride, care, and thought into their response to each question without reservations, you can write as much as you want. Please proofread/spell check your work.)

  1. What are advertising’s fifteen basic appeals? Sum up each one in your own words, and then, has Fowles neglected to consider other appeals that you believe to be equally important? If so, can you think of one or more advertisements that employ such appeals omitted by Fowles? (Include a picture of the ad in your response.)
  2. In paragraph 4, Fowles cites a study indicating that only a fraction of the advertisements bombarding consumers every day are even noticed, much less acted upon. How do the results of this study square with your own experience? About how many of the commcerial messages that you view and hear every day do you actually pay attention to? What kinds of messages draw your attention? What elicits positive reactions for you? Negative reactions? What kinds of appeals are most successful in making you want to actually purchase the advertised product?
  3. Why is advertising more common in highly industrialized countries like the U.S. than in countries with “quieter” economies as well as how are advertisers’ attempts to communicate their messages, and to break through customer resistance, keyed to their conception of human psychology, according to Jib Fowles?
  4. What are the “two orders of content” of most advertisements as well as identify how should appeals to our need for sex and our need to aggress be handled carefully, according to Fowles. Also, Fowles asserts that “[c]ontrary to impressions, unambiguous sex is rare in [advertising] messages.” This article first appeared in 1982. Does Fowles’s statement still seem true today? Why or why not? To what extent do you believe that advertisers in recent years have increased their reliance on overt sexual appeals? Cite examples. Finally, how does the use of humor or the use of celebrities fit into Fowles’s scheme?
  5. Now, that you are aware of the advertising appeals used by media, it is easy to notice how they try to manipulate you to want or need an product, such as a protein powder/supplements or joining a gym to bulk and be mightier than the next guy, in order appeal to someone’s need to dominate, for instance, or how they sexualize a burger ad like Carl’s Junior to get your attention since they believe “sex sells” and will get your attention.For question #5, you will conduct your own analysis of a set of contemporary advertisements on a social or political issue, such as “Welfare,” “Animal Testing,” “Prostitution or Human Trafficking,” and so on – just like Jib Fowles did. You will find three ads that take a pro stance on the issue and three ads that oppose the same issue. Analyze what approach they take by using Jib Fowles’s approach to identifying their appeal. Pick a political and social issue that matters to you a lot since you will be writing your first paper on that issue and using ads on that issue. Here are a few examples just to show you the types of ads out there on a political or social issue, and then, you can answer the questions below:

Pro: Ad in Support of Animal Testing Ad / Con: Ad Opposed to Animal Testing
Pro: Ad in Support of Legalizing Prostitution /
Con: Ad Opposed to Prostitution

Once you havedone a Google search for ads or reviewed all of the full-page ads in a magazines/newspapers if you prefer that medium than going online and classified each of the four ads on the same social/political issue according to Fowles’s categories/appeals, apply your critical thinking skills and answer the questions below with at least 1-3 sentences. (Note, an ad may make more than one appeal as Fowles points out in paragraph 89), but generally one will be primary. Apply your critical thinking skills and answer the questions below with at least 1-2 sentences for each one. Again, you can exceed this amount.

  1. What do your findings show and are they playing on your fears, biases, needs, or something else?
  2. Which appeals are the most frequent? The least frequent? Which are most effective? Why?
  3. To what extent do the types of appeals shift with the gender or interests of the target audience?
  4. To what extend do the types of appeals play on your emotions or needs? How?

Practice Sequence B: Writing a Rhetorical Analysis of an Essay

Write a brief rhetorical analysis of “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals” by Jib Fowlesby referring to your notes and citing passages where he indicates her situation, purpose, main claim, and audience. (Note: Your response should be approximately 150-350 words for the entire set of questions, NOT each one separately, and please number your response to each question/step below.)

  1. Identify the situation(s) motivating Fowles to write. Then evaluate: How well does his argument function as a conversation with other authors who have written on the same topic?
  2. Analyze the audience’s identity, perspectives, and conventional expectations. Then evaluate: How well does the argument function as a conversation with the audience?
  3. Analyze the writer’s purpose. Then evaluate: Do you believe Fowles achieves his purpose in his essay? Why or why not? (YOU NEED TO GIVE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOURSELF EITHER WAY, SO DO NOT JUST ANSWER YES OR NOT BUT EXPLAIN WHY OR WHY NOT.)
  4. To what extent does Fowles’s ability as a conversationalist – that is, his ability to enter into a conversation with other authors and his audience— affect your evaluation of whether he achieves his purpose in this essay? Why or why not?

(YOU NEED TO GIVE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOURSELF EITHER WAY, SO DO NOT JUST ANSWER YES OR NOT BUT EXPLAIN WHY OR WHY NOT.)

  1. If you were to meet this writer, what suggestions or advice would you give Fowles for making his argument more persuasive?

Practice Sequence C: THE MLA FORMAT EXERCISES
(IN-TEXT CITATIONS, WORKS CITED, BRACKETS, & ELLIPSIS)

PART I: IN-TEXT CITATIONS EXERCISE

Directions: You will need to use a separate sheet of paper when you Include a parenthetical in-text citations at the end of each quote, paraphrase, or summarized passage below.

  1. Provide a parenthetical citation at the end of the quoted material below from page 6 in this anonymous source: “The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” GLOBAL WARMING: Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has “more readily accessible
climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change.”

  1. Provide the first author's last name (that’s listed first in this source) followed by et al. or list all the last names in a parenthetical citation at the end of the quoted material below from page 25 in the following source: Stein, Norman, Mindy Lubber, Stuart L. Koman, and Kathy Kelly. Family Therapy: A Systems Approach. Boston: Allyn, 1990. Print.

“Help your step children find their own identity in their own space. You can do this by allowing them to decorate their space the way they want. Even better, you can make it a project for the both of you.”

  1. Provide a parenthetical citation for a block quote with two authors from page 189 in the following source: Nazarene, Jacob and Sarah Moses. Marriage Rules. Chicago: Tyndale, 2011. Print.

The rules of a successful marriage are clearly outlined for newlyweds and seasoned couples in Marriage Rules:

First, you must marry the right person, one you love and one who loves you.Second, give and take is a necessity. Let love cover the disagreements which will come in any marriage. Three, never carry into tomorrow the petty troubles of today. Forgive at the end of the day, and then forget. Four, don't discuss your disagreements and personal problems with others. You will soon forget these quarrels, but others will remember them forever. Five, try to live within your financial means. Don't try to keep up with some other couple; keep within your income. And be sure to set aside something for a rainy day.

  1. Provide parenthetical citations to distinguish two separate quoted sources by the same author for the first passageon page 47 in the following source: Kurtz, Michelle. Insiders and Outsiders. New York: Random House, 2005. Print. As for the second quote, the passage comes from page 92 by the same author, but the second source is as follows: Kurtz, Michelle. American Debutante. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Print.

Some personal revelations about self-awareness come from the same woman who originally wrote:
“The outsider reigns terror on the common man’s ignorance until they reach enlightenment and can reach out to the outside with courage and faith,” but in later years, she also reveals her growth and development: “It was not very long before I was taught proper etiquette and all the social graces to
be ready for my first high society Ball.”

  1. Provide a parenthetical citation for a source with one author from page 3 in the following source: Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print.
  1. Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using animals."
  2. Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals."

PART II: WORKS CITED EXERCISE

Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, you will apply the MLA format for the “Works Cited” page for the following sources.

  1. For the following online source, you will need to list it in the correct order for the MLA format.

Author: Wolfgang Jung and Nathan Nelson / Page Range: 642-44
Essay/Article Title; “Nature’s Rotary Electromotors” / Title of Website, Project, or Online Book: Science Online
Journal Title: Science / Medium of Publication: Web
Date of Publication: April 29, 2005 / Date Accessed: March 5, 2009
  1. For the following book by one author, you will need to list it in the correct order for the MLA format.

Author: Patricia Henley / Publisher: MacMurray
Book Title: The Hummingbird House / Date of Publication: 1999
City of Publication: Denver / Medium of Publication: Print
  1. For the following example of a work in an anthology, you will need to list it in the correct order for the MLA format.

Author: Robert Burns / Publisher: Dover
Poem Title: “Red, Red Rose” / Date of Publication: 1995
Title of Anthology: 100 Best-Loved Poems / Page Range:26
Editor: Philip Smith / Medium of Publication: Print
City of Publication: New York
  1. For an anonymous article in a periodical, you will need to list it in the correct order for the MLA format.

Title of Article/Essay: “Aging; Women Expect to Care for Aging Parents but Seldom Prepare.”
Title of Periodical: Women’s Health Weekly / Page Range: 18
Date of Publication: May 10, 2007 / Medium of Publication: Print

.

  1. For a source with more than three authors, you will need to list it in the correct order for the MLA format. You may choose
    to list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for “and others”) in place of the subsequent authors’ names,
    or you may list all the authors in the order in which their names appear on the title page. (Note that there is a period after
    “al” in “et al.” Also, there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”)

Authors: Anne Frances Wysocki, Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Cynthia L. Selfe, and Geoffrey Sirc / Publisher: Utah State UP
Book Title: Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition / Date of Publication: 2004
City and State of Publication: Logan, UT / Medium of Publication: Print

PART III: BRACKETS EXERCISE

Brackets are used for a number of purposes:

  • Use #1: Sometimes, you may wish to clarify or add to an original quote. Put words that are being added to an original quote within brackets.
    Example A: Original: She said, “I found their services invaluable.”
    Amended: She said, “I found their [printing] services invaluable.”
    Example B: Original:According to Katherine Payne, “Many are below our range of hearing, in what is known as

infrasound.”

Amended:According to Katherine Payne, “[Elephant rumbles] are below our range of hearing, in what is

known as infrasound.”

***Always put the changes in brackets, not parentheses. This tells your readers exactly how you have altered the original.***

  • Use #2: Use brackets as parentheses within parentheses. You will see this with bibliographic references.
    Example: (For more on the topic, see The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation [2008].)
  • Use #3: Use brackets to show the pronunciation of a word.
    Example: He mispronounced mischievous [mis-chuh-vuhs].
  • Use #4: Use brackets surrounding sic and italicize it.
    Example: She wrote, “They made there [sic] beds.”

***The Latin term sic is used to indicate that something written is intentionally left in the original form, which may be incorrect.***

Directions: Place brackets where needed.

  1. (For more details on brackets, see The Chicago Manual of Style 2003.)
  2. He has difficulty correctly pronouncing nuclearnoo-klee-er.
  3. The instructions read, “Be sure to tighten it’ssic lid securely.”
  4. She said, “My proposal was approved by the committee.” (Note: Clarify the project with marketing inserted in brackets.)
  5. Civil War Historian Jacob Maxwell writes, “He issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, and as the Sixteenth President of the United States, his most famous speech was the Gettysburg Address.” (Note: Clarify He at the beginning of the quote with Abraham Lincoln inserted in brackets.)

PART IV: ELLIPSIS EXERCISE
(NOTE: The four short passages/sentences where you will apply ellipsis follow after all of the examples below, so don’t let all of the examples scare you. They are there to help you understand how to apply the ellipsis, and the actual exercise is on the next page. )

Sometimes it is necessary to omit context from quoted material. An ellipsis ( . . . ) is used to indicate something was omitted. MLA requires ellipsis before or after the words used when you are quoting more than just a word or a phrase; however, writers only need to use ellipsis if it’s unclear that the quotation does not completely reproduce the original passage.

For example, a writer would not need to use ellipsis in the following sentence: Lincoln spoke of “government of the people, by the people, for the people” in the Gettysburg Address. In this case, it’s clear that the writer is not quoting the entire speech or even an entire sentence. Importantly, MLA advises writers to ensure that omission does not change the meaning of the quoted material (the author’s intent) or create grammatical errors.

Ellipsis in MLA Within a Sentence:

To form an ellipsis in MLA within a sentence, use three periods with a space before each period and a space after the last period. Notice that the punctuation before and after an omission is included in MLA (the introductory phrase in the example below is maintained in the version where parts are omitted).

  • Original: Dampened by years of self-distrust, displaced by years of corporate codependency in which we have channeled our creative energies into managing others’ perceptions of us, those energies awaken with startling power and poignancy.
  • Parts Omitted: “Dampened by years of self-distrust, . . . those energies awaken with startling power and poignancy” (Bryan, Cameron, and Allen 188).

Ellipsis at the End of a Sentence:

To form an ellipsis in MLA when the omitted material appears at the end of your sentence, type the ellipsis with three periods with space before each period and include the closing quotation marks immediately after the third period. Note that the period to end your sentence comes after the parenthetical citation.

  • Original: It also requires you to listen to emotions, not just to facts, and to understand the players – speaker and audience – intended and otherwise.
  • Parts Omitted: Bryan, Cameron, and Allen emphasize that listening “. . . requires you to listen to emotions . . .” (147).

If your sentence ends in omitted material and a parenthetical citation isn’t used, then four periods are included in the ellipsis, with no space before the first period or after the last one.