By completing these journal entries, I have been able to understand how the rhetorical tools work and recognize when an arguer is using these devices. More specifically, adding videos and media examples to my journal entries showed the rhetorical tools in action. In my journal entry regarding persuasive emotions, I used a video that had a limited amount of spoken words. I was able to express that using few words, the arguer conveyed a message through emotion and inspired the audience to take action. When writing my journal entries, I was able to understand how a person makes an argument based on the purpose, audience, and context (course learning outcome #2). This was important when adding examples into my journal entries because the purpose and audience were often involved in the concept that was being focused on. The journal entries allowed me to make sense of the different aspects that effect a person’s argument in a debate (course learning outcome #1). During class discussion regarding journal entries, we often looked at different sides of arguments. For example, when viewing a speech made by former president Barak Obama, we would also watch a speech of similar content presented by President Donald Trump. Viewing different sides of each argument showed how different rhetorical tools effect one’s argument. One of the biggest challenges I faced with writing my journal entries was being sure to incorporate media examples that related to the course concepts. This was difficult because some of the rhetorical tools, such as power of agreeability, posed a challenge due to the large number of examples that Heinrichs had provided. It was difficult to then find my own examples that were not mirroring his.
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