Water’s chemical composition, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, is the basis for mysterious bodies of water including pools, waterparks, streams, rivers, and oceans. Regardless of the size of the body of water it only takes a matter of minutes for an individual to become a drowning victim. Over 1,200 people drown each year in the United States (CDC, ??). What many individuals do not realize is drowning is preventable. Awareness and individual actions together will fight this preventable injury and reduce drowning deaths throughout the United States. The attached podcast argues the need for drowning prevention and persuades listeners to take action for their own health and safety as well as others. The podcast asserts ethos, pathos, logos,
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I started off the podcast with a fictional story to listeners that could be applicable in their lives. This story involved the use of pathos, “appeals to emotion” (Losh, 281), to get the listener to feel sadness about the child in the story and then imagine this as their own child or even a loved one in their lives. I followed with logos, “appeals to reason and logic in a text” (281), to inform the reader with specific evidence supporting the argument and the importance of preventing drowning. The other rhetorical strategy I used was ethos, “the credibility or authority that a speaker or writer brings to a subject” (281). Through evidence cited from large governmental organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as an article from the creditable Time Magazine, credibility was brought to the argument and emphasized ethos. The use of these three rhetorical strategies together formed a persuasive argument throughout the podcast. Other aspects of persuasion used throughout the podcast included, specific word choice, emphasis on specific words and phrases, and syntheton in helping yourself and others. Specific background noises provided the scene as well as the mood for the topic. I wanted this podcast to have an impact on the listener’s life and really think about what the podcast is saying. Author Jonathan Sterne brings up an interesting philosophy in his book Sound Studies Reader. Sterne expresses “Science, message, and time- music is all of that simultaneously” (Sterne 34). The podcast combines these three components that Sterne mentions but illustrates them in a way that supports his philosophy. The science behind drowning, the overall message and need to prevent drowning, and the urgency for individuals to take action to prevent further incidents, basically in the essence of time and lives all demonstrate the
I started off the podcast with a fictional story to listeners that could be applicable in their lives. This story involved the use of pathos, “appeals to emotion” (Losh, 281), to get the listener to feel sadness about the child in the story and then imagine this as their own child or even a loved one in their lives. I followed with logos, “appeals to reason and logic in a text” (281), to inform the reader with specific evidence supporting the argument and the importance of preventing drowning. The other rhetorical strategy I used was ethos, “the credibility or authority that a speaker or writer brings to a subject” (281). Through evidence cited from large governmental organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as an article from the creditable Time Magazine, credibility was brought to the argument and emphasized ethos. The use of these three rhetorical strategies together formed a persuasive argument throughout the podcast. Other aspects of persuasion used throughout the podcast included, specific word choice, emphasis on specific words and phrases, and syntheton in helping yourself and others. Specific background noises provided the scene as well as the mood for the topic. I wanted this podcast to have an impact on the listener’s life and really think about what the podcast is saying. Author Jonathan Sterne brings up an interesting philosophy in his book Sound Studies Reader. Sterne expresses “Science, message, and time- music is all of that simultaneously” (Sterne 34). The podcast combines these three components that Sterne mentions but illustrates them in a way that supports his philosophy. The science behind drowning, the overall message and need to prevent drowning, and the urgency for individuals to take action to prevent further incidents, basically in the essence of time and lives all demonstrate the