Kallen Wachi

Ashley Anderson

ENG 130

14 May 2021
Rhetorical Analysis

Creating content starts with understanding the audience and your intents upon them.

Purpose and appeal must go hand and hand to create effective work. It is not necessarily the

content itself that makes the work a “home run”, but how the creator hits the bat to convey

meaning and importance. It is about understanding the work from the audience's point of view,

going into depth in how to convey the world. This includes understanding how your intended

audience reacts to aesthetics, grammar, word choice, color, style among others. To advertise the

enhanced career services at UND, a flyer and infographic were created to appeal to college

students looking for in-depth career advisement.

Considering the audience of college students, the genres must be modern, simple, and

professional from a visual standpoint. Additionally, the content and word choices should have

appeal to their emotions and trust. College students of this era are more emotionally driven than

other generations. They are looking for passion, finding a career field that is conducive to their

happiness and not necessarily their financial wellness. They are spending thousands of dollars on

a degree, making the prospect of the right career even more important. When they are looking for

career services, they are looking for someone to look up to for guidance to pave the way for

success. They are busy individuals with a lot of commitments, meaning the message must be

concise for efficiency. Understanding who they are, and their prior knowledge lay the foundation

of the creation of the genres.

Additionally, location also had a role to play. Where do you put the genres? College

students of UND are found out and about around campus pursuing their studies and taking
leisure. Places like Wilkerson Center, Chester Fritz Library, and the academic building were first

on the list. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not many students were on-campus to see

physical flyers. Therefore, career services would email the entire student body of the content

periodically. This reduces the cost of printing flyers while ensuring the entire audience is

addressed and not just those who are on-campus. Many would argue that students do not look at

their emails, especially those that they perceive as advertisements. However, technology is the

primary form of communication for college students, faculty, and other related persons. Putting

out the fact that

For the flyer, instead of the traditional “We are here to help” advertisement, I would

advertise different and appealing careers. For the example flyer, I chose the career of an airline

pilot. The students can understand briefly what the job is, how much it pays and the type of work

environment as well as other important information students would want to know about a

specific job. The title, “Is this career for you?” is made in d and large in tot the audience’s

attention. The flyer is asking the audience to look at this job and see if this career is one to

pursue or are interested in. On the bottom, it says to talk to a career counselor for more

information. This is the actual purpose of the flyer, but the audience is preoccupied with the

career that either appeals or do not appeal to them. The call to action is at the bottom since most

people read top to bottom. As the audience is now got the attention with the career, the call to

action is there to seal the deal and get students to see a career counselor. The plan is to make

posters of different careers that many students may not consider initially to attract people of

different interests. For example, a nursing major may pursue the initial career of a registered

nurse while many would not consider the career of a traveling nurse or long-term care nurse.

With that interest in mind, the student would go to career counselors for more information about
the career and give out advice and connections to ensure success. The flyer gives trust to the

audience, knowing career services is knowledgeable in different careers which gives credibility

for students to pursue career services.

The infographic is simple but meaningful. While many infographics spit out facts, this

infographic asks the audience questions. The title, “Career Ready?” challenges the students if

they are truly ready for the career they are pursuing. This is achieved through a list of questions

to consider when choosing a career? The questions are to appeal to their emotions and reasoning

regarding their chosen career. Asking questions such as “What are you passionate about?” and

“Are you only doing it for the money?” is there to challenge or reaffirm their career choices.

Such questions may allow those with second thoughts to seek further guidance from career

services. The infographic is there to inform students about how to make the right career choices

by piercing into their reasoning and emotions. Asking questions makes it personal and ensures

the audiences are aware and enlightened by the content itself.

From a style perspective, the flyer and infographic go with simplicity and boldness to

attract the audience. College students are immersed in professional media with social media and

technology. Therefore, the colors must be simple, easy to read, and greatly spaced. Many would

not want to see an infographic that is hard to read or does not have enough “air” to breathe in

between the lines. They want content that is easy to read to get the message across as fast as

possible. Therefore, while it may be affected to put in facts in the infographic, students only want

to glance at the infographic in seconds to get the message across. That is why I resorted to the

questions model. Students do not want to be lectured; they face a lot of it in their classes. They

instead want to be enlightened by the content, giving them a new perspective after reading. The
flyer and the infographic achieve this through simplicity, eliminating the statistics to create

modern, but simple works.

Conclusion

English 130 gave me a new impression on writing. Instead of writing to inform, we were

taught to write from the perspective of the audience. The rhetorical situation plays a role in a

writer’s effectiveness to persuade or inform. The writer needs to strategically figure out how to

make their purpose the audience’s purpose. Learning how to cater to the audience's needs will

ensure effectiveness at all levels. As a Commercial Aviation and Communication double major,

this class will enhance my professional development and craft in the digital media field. Within

aviation, finding connections is key to new opportunities. Understanding the rhetorical situation

of recruiters, industry professionals, and other pilots will make my resumes and cover letter more

effective to promote success. Rhetoric will make sure I am perceiving me as a professional pilot

that fits their needs. Within my communication field, knowing your audience is part of the

profession. Understanding the demographic is key to ensuring your work as a journalist,

filmmaker, or public relations specialist is meaningful and attractive to the audiences. The class

has indeed allowed me to look deeper into the psyche of the audience to truly understand their

knowledge and background. The content that I create with this in mind will make me an effective

communicator and in turn, a successful professional in the creative field. English 130 was indeed

very influential in making me a better individual by understanding the audience around me and

purveying my purpose effectively. The skills learned are life skills that will allow me to go far in

my career whether in aviation or the communication field.