Major Writing #2 Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KZGVGRD

Freakonomics Excerpt & Economist Sells Bagels

Although the two articles cover the same topic, they are much different from each other. They both analyze data about bagel delivery company but in completely different ways. The "Economist Sells Bagels" utilizes the IMRaD format. It has a clearly designed format with an abstract, page numbers, section headings, etc. The Freakonomics excerpt, rather, is a narrative with the intent of interesting the reader, thus it utilizes more word choice to garner pathos appeal, whereas "Economist Sells Bagels" strictly uses ethos and logos.

IMRaD paper ideas

Research Idea #1

Topic: Wealthiest 1% influence on presidential elections

For this research topic I will survey at least twenty people with 3-4 questions. I am not sure yet how I will choose people to survey as it will be difficult to use an approximate random sample and to curb sample bias since it will have to be an optional survey.

My survey questions will be along the lines of:

                -Do you believe the wealthiest 1% of Americans has a disproportionate influence on U.S presidential elections? If so, estimate what percent you believe the top 1% to have on elections.

                -Do you believe the U.S. federal government is doing anything to curb the influence of the 1%? If so, what? If no, is the influence of the 1% growing?

                -Do you believe the influence of the 1% is a problem? Explain. If so, do you believe you have the power to change the situation? How?

Before presenting my findings, I will present historical data on similar polls as well as data on the percentages of campaign donations from different socio-economic classes. All of these sources should be scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. I will search for them on sites such as Google Scholar or EbscoHost.

Note that all questions start with, “Do you believe…” The reason for this will tie into my discussion section. I will make sure to note that the historical data matters not so much as my findings because people vote based on what they believe to be true, not what is actually true. This will be an interesting point if there proves to be a disparity between historical data and my findings. If there is no disparity, it will still be interesting, yet less profound.

Research Idea #2

Topic: Student debt at the University of Iowa

For this research topic I will survey at least twenty people with 3-4 questions. I will potentially choose survey participants by choosing multiple distinct places on the University of Iowa campus to survey only a few people. This way I will get a variety of respondents, both male and female and of a many different majors and ages.

Before introducing my findings I will present a historical context with data on college prices, parent aid, scholarship aid, need based aid, student debt at graduation, and time taken to pay off student debt. Again I will only use peer-reviewed articles as sources. It may require additional effort to find data specifically on the University of Iowa.

Survey questions will be something along the lines of:

                -How much does the University of Iowa cost for you per year?

                -Have you taken out loans? Do your loans cover the full cost? If they cover more than the            amount needed, do you spend the leftover funds?

                -What percentage of your tuition and fees are paid for by scholarships? Grants? Parents?

In the discussion area of my paper I will attempt to connect my findings with historical data. This would be an extremely interesting topic if my sample data is reliable. I suspect the discussion area of my report will develop as I analyze my findings.

Speech Outline

Greeting/Hook:

Background story of why I chose to analyze Kum & Go

-Sophomore year of high school

-My friends and I would hang out outside of Kum & Go all the time

-We would go there after school

-We’d be there every weekend

-Spent thousands of dollars on food and gas

Thesis Statement:

Kum & Go wants customers to Kum & Stay. Kum & Go effectively influences customers to do so through advertising campaigns, focused on pathos and ethos appeal, that build its public image as a homey, welcoming place of business that cares about the local communities that it serves.

Overview:

To test my thesis….

-I examined background information on Kum & Go

-Analyzed two advertisements

-Analyzed outside article on Kum & Go

-Tested the level of pathos and ethos Kum & Go uses in its marketing operations

-I explain the purpose and reasoning behind Kum & Go’s decisions

Transition:

-General background information on Kum & Go

-Facts and statistics on when/where Kum & Go started

-Locations Kum & Go serves today, number of locations, etc.

-Define target market/audience for Kum & Go and most appropriate rhetorical appeals for said audience

Main Idea 1:

-Cover first advertisement

-Establishes quality of products

-Explain ethos and pathos of advertisement

-Connection to thesis: Kum & Go is not only out to get a profit. Kum & Go cares about the customer.      Kum & Go delivers quality products at affordable price.

Main Idea 2:

-Cover second advertisement

-Ad is designed to build Kum & Go’s welcoming, homey image

-Cover the importance of FREE coffee

-Explain ethos

-Thoroughly explain pathos

-Small business values

-Diminished association with corporate big business

Main Idea 3:

-Cover article on Philanthropy

-Donate mainly to causes that support youth and philanthropy

-Importance of having Kum & Go name attached to said causes

-Strong pathos appeal

-Investment in future of Kum & Go

Conclusion:

In conclusion…

-Kum & Go builds its reputation for quality (ethos) through ads such as… (first ad)

                -brief summary

-Kum & Go builds pathos through ads such as… (second ad)

                -brief summary

-Kum & Go further builds pathos and invests in its future through its philanthropy and community           outreach… (summarize third main point)

Kum & Go has effectively built and will continue to build its reputation as a welcoming business that is an integral part of the community.

(Clincher) It provides quality products and services and gives back to the communities it serves.

Speech Proposal

             The company I chose to analyze is Kum & Go. I chose Kum & Go because I frequented it more than any other business during my high school years. Additionally, it’s headquartered in Des Moines, roughly ten minutes from my hometown.

                I examined two different promotional coupons for food and drinks at Kum & Go. The first one advertises a free 20 oz. Java Ridge coffee. The coupon establishes pathos with the word “free” in capital letters. Who doesn’t love free things? The word free in all caps gets people excited and interested in what the advertisement has to say. The advertisement also establishes mythos because it has a very simple, straightforward format. There is no fancy editing that went into the coupon. I believe it was designed this way to appear as if anyone could have made it. By doing so, the marketing experts at Kum & Go make their business appear like a small local business, with little connection to the corporate world. The reason for doing this is because it appeals to people’s cultural values and attitudes. A majority of people in Iowa live in rural areas where there is a bigger focus on small and local businesses. Although any given Kum & Go customer may know that Kum & Go is by no means small, this coffee advertisement influences customers’ subconscious opinions by increasing the likelihood that they will believe Kum & Go’s values fall in line with those of the small businesses around the state of Iowa.

                The second advertisement I analyzed is a promotion for a $4 meal that includes a medium drink, a bag of chips, and two roller grill items. On the advertisement it shoes an example of the items you get as a part of the promotion. Everything is perfectly placed and looks delicious. This helps build pathos because it makes customers hungry and want to eat at Kum & Go. Additionally, the words “meal” and “medium drink” are in large font and are bolded. This too builds pathos as it catches peoples eye and causes customers to pay attention to what the advertisement has to say. The ad also includes the Kum & Go logo and is very well put together, which builds ethos.

                To build logos in my speech I will also analyze an outside source that describes Kum & Go with statistics on things such as locations, services, etc., and I will analyze a source that describes Kum & Go’s place in Iowan culture, and its influence on the community. Lastly, the most important part of speech will be my story with Kum & Go. My friends and I used to hang out at a Kum & Go near our homes all the time because we were tired of hanging out at our houses with nothing to do. During the years that my friends and I hung out at Kum & Go we surely spent a few thousand dollars on food alone, to say nothing of all the times we filled our cars with gas. My story will build mythos and pathos and will describe how effective Kum & Go’s marketing is, at a personal level.

In-Class Speech Analyses

Speech 1:

Pros

1. Ethos: the speaker corrects her mothers mistake about what age she started reading. Telling the truth builds credibility

2. Pathos: the speaker uses appropriate word choice and delivers her speech at an appropriate rate, pausing in between important phrases. The delivery of her speech builds tension and emotion within the audience.

3. Mythos & Pathos: the speaker tells the story about her childhood. It is very emotional and helps her make her point.

Cons

1. The speaker has a thick accent.

2. Lack of facts/statistics

3. Speech is a little lengthy

Speech 2:

Pros

1. Pathos: music playing in the background

2. Logos/Pathos: intelligent and emotional word choice

3. Logos: Facts and statistics on when women will achieve equality, at current rates

Cons

1. Speaker speaks too slow

2. Speaker is vague towards end of speech

3. Speaker appears somewhat nervous