COMMUNICATION/LINGUISTICS 354 PERSUASION THEORY
	Spring Semester 2005 Tues.&Thurs. 12:30 - 2:20 p.m. in M116B Back to course syllabus

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, ASSIGNMENTS & LECTURE NOTES

Essay 1 -- Rank's Model Analysis

As discussed in class, Rank's Model is one of the simplest, most elementary tools for analysis of persuasive messages.

Rank suggested that persuaders Intensify through

• Repetition [repeating themes, phrases, images, jingles, over and over]
• Association [linking with respected people, places, concepts], and
• Composition [artful arrangement of images and texts on page or screen].

• Diversion [pointing the viewer's attention away from something],
• Omission [simply leaving things out or leaving them to be assumed], and
• Confusion [using jargon, technical terms, or important-looking, -sounding nonsense].

Essays are to be at least three, but no more than four, standard pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins top, bottom, left and right). Due Tuesday, February 8.

1st Persuasive Presentations

Select a product of any sort and prepare an extemporaneous persuasive presentation of 4 to 6 minutes in length related to that product. The product selected may be one related to the persuasive campaign being studied for your group project, but it need not be.

Grading will be based on the standard criteria adopted by the Communication/Linguistics department for all oral presentations.

Essay 2 -- Evidence Analysis

As discussed in Chapter 10 of the Borchers text, persuaders sometimes use flawed logic in making arguments. Sometimes the flaw is in the application of the logic itself (a broken syllogism, a misleading enthumeme, a logical fallacy, etc.). Even more frequently the flaw is in seeking support from improper evidence (inconsistent or irrelevant facts, unattributed sources, statements taken out of context, improperly gathered statistics, etc.).

Select an editorial or column from the opinion page of a newspaper (in most major daily papers these are found near the back of the first general news section -- or use the web site noted in Borchers p. 300). The opinion piece you select should be one in which the author attempts to persuade the reader to adopt a particular point of view, and in which the author puts forth premises to support her or his argument. Using the tools for "Evaluating a Persuader's Reasoning" (Borchers pp. 292-300), critically evaluate the author's evidence and logic.

You need not verify the author's every source or document every fact the author puts forward as evidence. However, you must point out the relevant questions an alert reader should ask when reading the piece, and note any flaws that are obvious even without engaging in research on the issue. A copy of the opinion piece you are analyzing should be attached to your finished paper.

Essays are to be at least three, but no more than four, standard pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins top, bottom, left and right). Due Tuesday, March 8.

2nd Persuasive Presentations

Select an issue or idea about which there is some difference of opinion (a good place to look is on the Opinion page of any major daily newspaper) and prepare an extemporaneous persuasive presentation of 4 to 6 minutes in length related to that issue. The idea is to persuade an audience about something abstract rather than about a concrete product.

Grading will be based on the standard criteria adopted by the Communication/Linguistics department for all oral presentations

Essay 3 -- Semiotic Analysis

Select an advertisement from a magazine or other print medium. Briefly descibe the ad. Use Berger's guidelines for Semiotic analysis (below) to understand how the ad is persuasive to the intended audience.

Essays are to be at least three, but no more than four, standard pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins top, bottom, left and right). Due Thursday, April 14.

Guidelines for Semiotic Analysis

(Adapted from Arthur Asa Berger (1984) Signs in Contemporary Culture)

I.   Isolate and analyze the important signs in the “text”:

      A.  What are the important signifiers?

      B.  What do they signify?

      C.  Is there a system that unifies them?

      D.  What codes can be found (for example, symbols of status, power, or wealth)?

      E.  Are ideological or sociological issues being addressed?

II.  Identify the central structure, theme, or model of the “text”:

      A.  What themes, structures, or forces are working together?

      B.  What themes, structures, or forces are in opposition to one another?

      C.  What are the meanings of these teams or oppositions?

III.       What is the narrative structure of the “text?” What story is being told?

      A.  How does the sequence of events affect their meaning?

            1.   What sequence of past, present and future is suggested in the still frame?

            2.   What changes in meaning would result if the sequence were altered?

      B.  What cultural “formulas” are suggested by the arrangement of signs?

            1.   For example, “justice prevails,” “honesty is rewarded,” “hard work yields success.”

            2.   How would rearranging signs change their meaning or the resulting formulas?

IV.      Does the medium being used affect the “text?” If so, how?

      A.  How do camera angles, positioning of subjects, or composition of photos influence the message?

      B.  How do the lighting, color, reflections, or special visual effects influence the message?

      C.  How do the quality of the paper, the typefaces or graphics, etc., influence the message?

      D.  How do words, gestures, or facial expressions of subjects pictured influence the message?

V.  How does the application of semiotic theory alter the original meaning you ascribed to the “text” when you first encountered it?

Essay 4 -- News Analysis

Choose a current event that is being reported in the news. Obtain several version of the same news story from a variety of sources (i.e., different newspapers, one or more weekly news magazines, web sites, radio, TV, etc.). Select one of these reports to analyze, using the other versions for points of comparison. Use the outline below as a guide to your analysis (but you will not have space to deal with every question posed -- choose those most appropriate to your news story). Attach the news article, or a photocopy of it, if you choose a print source, and mention the station, day and time for broadcast sources.

Essays are to be at least three, but no more than four, standard pages (double spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins top, bottom, left and right). Due Thursday, April 28.

Newsworthiness

Why was this item considered newsworthy? Did it involve conflict, drama, or violence? Did it affect large numbers of people? Were celebrities involved? How was newsworthiness established by the report?

For what audience(s) would it be newsworthy? Was it a local, state, regional, national, or international story? Did it appear in just a few news sources, or in many? What determined whether it would be carried in local, regional, or national media? Did various sources carry only a wire version or was other information added? If the story was covered differently in different sources, what accounts for the differences?

Was this story particularly suited to a particular medium?

How was the story framed -- that is, what was the angle taken in the report? Could other angles have been taken? Was the story pegged or piggybacked to another story or event? If so, what, how, and why?

Reporter

Who reported this story? Was the reporter identified with a byline? If not, why not? Why did this reporter, and not another, cover this particular story? Does this reporter have a reputation for a particular type of story or reporting style? How would the story have been significantly different if covered by someone else? How did the reporter establish his/her credibility? What devices were used to suggest the reporter s objectivity?

The Story

What were the basic claims made in this story? What types of evidence were used to support these claims? Was the evidence credible? How was credibility established? Were sources identified?

Were there attributions to experts, eyewitnesses, or officials in positions of authority? How was the credibility of these persons established? Were they paraphrased, quoted, or interviewed? Why were these persons selected instead of others? Are these persons familiar? Has this news organization used these same persons often as sources?

Constraints

What appeared to be the relationship between the reporter and interview subjects? Was there a sense of hostility or intrusion? Was there an attempt to limit the reporter s coverage, or did the persons being interviewed appear to be facilitating the story?

Did persons outside the media appear to be attempting to shape or influence the story? Was this a pseudo-event? If so, by whom was it staged? Was the influence successful?

How did the constraints of the media shape the story? Were media deadlines used strategically? Were there visual elements that could be videoed or photographed? How did limitations of time/space affect coverage?

Did the media set the agenda for this story? If so, when and how? How was the influence of the media evident in the coverage?

Framing/Placement

Was this story placed as hard news or soft news? How much space/time did it receive? Could it have been transformed from hard to soft, or soft to hard? If so, how? What other stories were placed more prominently? How was this news item introduced? (Headline? Anchor lead in? Page or newscast placement?) How did the introduction and placement create expectations about the story? Would a different introduction have reframed the report? If so, how?

What cultural values or myths does this story support? (Problems can be solved. The system works. Legitimate authorities are in control. Hard work pays off. Our system is best. Etc.)

Inclusion/Exclusion

From what you can gather from other sources, what was left out of this report? Why? What apparently trivial pieces of information were included? Why?

Setting

What is the setting of the report? (Remote location? Newsroom? Anchor desk?) How close is the reporter to the actual scene? If the reporter was not actually on the scene, is this evident in the report, or is the fact hidden? Is this setting readily accessible to the news organization? How necessary to the story is the setting? Is the setting used to make the report seem more credible? Does the setting dramatize the story? How?

Timing

When did the event occur? Did the timing affect which media reported the story and which didn t? Was timing used deliberately to intensify or minimize the coverage? Would the story still be newsworthy if reported later?

Impact

Who, if anyone, might have benefitted from this coverage? Who, if anyone, might have been damaged by this coverage? How?

Is there some person or organization who would be likely to seek news coverage in order to counter an impression created by this story? What might this person or organization be expected to do? What means might they use in order to respond? What media outlets might they attempt to employ?

GROUP PROJECT, presentation and research paper (175 points total)–due Tuesday, May 10

The final project will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the course objectives. There are two parts to this assignment -- the group segment and the individual segment.

Group segment (75 points): Working cooperatively, your group will follow a persuasive campaign together, share materials gathered, and create a presentation to be given during the last week of class. Your group will . . .

1. Select a political candidate, product, service, or idea that is being promoted in the mass media.
2. Contact the candidate's campaign headquarters, the product or service vendor, or the organization promoting the idea, to request materials (should be done as soon as possible).
3. Keep a scrapbook of campaign materials gathered, ads clipped from newspapers and other sources, detailed written descriptions of broadcast ads observed, and news stories appearing in print or broadcast media that give attention to the campaign. This group record will be turned in at the time of your group presentation.
4. Meet periodically to discuss what you see the campaign doing and how its apparent strategies relate the theories and concepts being studied in class.
5. Complete evaluations of each member's efforts and contribution to the group.
6. Prepare an interesting, thoughtful, creative 15-20 minute presentation for the last week of class, including,
   a. a general overview of the campaign.
   b. description and analysis of the primary persuasive strategies and tactics employed.
   c. an evaluation of the campaign's overall effectiveness, including estimation of its success in attracting media attention and generating enthusiasm among various publics.
   d. a persuasive message that the group believes would be successful for this campaign. In doing this, you will need to describe the circumstances that justify a need for this new message, identify the intended audience for this message, design and present the message, and explain theoretically why this message would succeed with this audience.

GRADE FORM for group segment (each group member will evaluate all other members).

Individual segment (100 points): While you will gain and share ideas within your group, you will also work independently to produce a research paper which analyzes, in detail, one particular persuasive message produced by the campaign your group is following. Your paper will be 5 to 7 pages, typed double spaced with standard margins. In it you will . . .

1. describe the message in detail (and attach a copy, if applicable)
2. analyze the persuasive strategy employed, utilizing one or more of the theories studied in the course as an analytical construct or "measuring stick."
3. project the intended audience called forth by this message.
4. assess the message's effectiveness.
5. explain logical, processural, or cultural flaws that make the message less than effective in persuading the intended audience, OR explain how these flaws were avoided by those who constructed the message.
6. construct an alternative message that would solve the problems you identified in the previous step, OR, if you feel that the message is flawless, reconstruct the message in such a way as to make it effective in reaching a very different audience.