John Solo

February 11, 2015

Reflection Essay
As I was starting the spring semester, I had a basic understanding of what rhetoric was
and how it was utilized in our daily lives. In high school, I was taught that rhetoric was the art of
persuading someone, and that definition resonates with me the most. It is used numerously in
commercials and mainstream media. The three main modes that rhetoric is commonly known for
is pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos is the part of rhetoric that focuses on appealing to someones
emotions and is the most commonly used mode. Ethos focuses on establishing credibility with an
audience and logos make rhetorical arguments more logical and substantial. In class discussion, I
learned more about exigency, and we focused on the impression that the company wanted to
leave on its audience. We discussed how each rhetorical argument addressed a bigger problem
that was existent in our own world, and how it tied in with the exigency.
During the rhetorical analysis assignment, I learned how to cooperate with my peers to
search for the underlying messages that were hidden in commercials, PSAs, and videos that
attempted to promote a brand or an idea. My group was able to dissect certain moments in the
video and understand how it was trying to get its message across. I noticed a lot of the rhetoric
being used in the video, and how everything they showed was intentional. As I was working on
this project, I was able to develop skills in carefully analyzing a videos argument and how it was
using rhetoric to persuade their audience.
The skills and knowledge that Ive obtained through this assignment will be beneficial to
me when I start analyzing other material in future writing courses. There are numerous

argumentative papers that are published in the academic field, and Ill be able to use my
knowledge of rhetoric and apply it to these papers. Ill be able to identify the target audience and
the main purpose, which is extremely helpful when trying to conduct an analysis. Ill also know
when to be objective and not allow my emotions to impair my judgment on a particular subject.
Needless to say, these skills will prove to be helpful once I enroll in the upper division writing
courses.
The group presentations went surprisingly well for something that we didnt rehearse.
Each group member contributed their own knowledge, and we came prepared with what we were
going to say. There were moments that I almost forgot what I was going to say, but overall, I
believe that the presentation flowed smoothly. We were all in order, and we were audible and
engaging with the audience. We didnt read off our note cards, and we were constant with our
ideas. Jourdan did a splendid job introducing our analysis and the issues that the commercial
tackles. It made the transition to each of us smoother, and we each performed our roles
effectively. I think one of our main problems was not discussing the conclusion enough. It was
evident towards the end when we couldnt answer the exigency part. We didnt spend enough
time on that, and we assigned one person to conduct research on it. I think we should have
discussed our findings and reached a final conclusion as a group rather than assign it to only one
person. In my opinion, that was our huge flaw in the presentation.
I feel that my group should at least get above a B on the project. We may have had our
flaws, but we were still able to create a presentation that tackled the rubric and met its criteria.
We were also audible, and we were able to get most of our information across to our audience. I
think we deserve at least above an eighty percent in our presentation.