In this paper I will be discussing six different concepts that were presented in chapters 1-3 of the first unit. I will explain the concept, find an example of the related theory in action, and then identify how the example demonstrates how the particular type of persuasion is being applied. The first concept I will be discussing is Aristotle’s three artistic proofs. According to Aristotle, persuasion succeeds or fails based on three basic types of artistic proof (Larson, 2013). They include ethos, which is the credibility of the speaker, pathos, which is the emotional appeal, and logos, the logic behind the content. The first example will be an advertisement from Gatorade’s G Series (see figure 1). This ad uses ethos through the use of three famous athletes of their respected sport. By using famous athletes to endorse the product, the credibility of the product is established because the audience will buy into the effectiveness of the product since professionals are using it. Pathos is engaged by showing pictures of the athletes energized in competition, which in turn will help attain an emotion from the consumer, as they too will want to be energized if they consumed the product. The logos behind the piece is to draw in consumers to purchase the product, as they too will perform like these famous athletes if they purchase the product. The second concept is Enthymemes, defined as a form of argument in which the first or major premise in the proof remains unstated by the persuader and instead, is supplied by the audience (Larson, 2013). An example of this comes from a church marquee (see figure 2), in which the board read “Don’t let worries kill you, let the church help.” This humorous example identifies the stated premise to be, “Don’t let worries kill you.” The stated conclusion is, “Let the church help with worries.” The implied premise of the example is that not to let the worries kill you, but let the church help kill you instead. The third concept is the SMCR Model of Persuasion. This model is based on the process of the source, message, channel, and receiver. The source represents where the information originates. The message is the encrypted piece of information provided by the source. The channel is the medium of transmission from the source to the receiver, and the receiver is the end recipient of the information (Bass). An example of the SMCR Model is used in a piece by Versace brand (see figure 3). The sender of the piece is the brand Versace. The message is to have consumers purchase their products you could be as ravishing as the great Madonna herself because she promotes and wears the same products of that brand. The channel is through advertisements places in magazines and TV spots. The receiver is aimed at consumers and the public and whoever views the ads. The fourth concept is Burke’s dramatistic pentad. The pentad includes: the act of what is taking place; the scene providing the background of the act; the agent or person who performs the act; the agency, which is the means of accomplishing the act; and the purpose (Larson, 2013). A great example of Burke’s pentad is the motivational speech by Coach Norman Dale in the basketball movie, “Hoosiers” (see figure 4). The act that took place was a pre game speech motivating his players before the game, and helping them to focus on the task at hand, winning the big game. The scene was of the players all gathered together to focus to the coach’s speech. The agent is the head coach, which gave the team the speech. The coach’s purpose was to gain his players’ focus on the game, and to help motivate for the task at hand, which was winning. The fifth concept is a Scam. A scam is a form of deception and persuading element that aims toward persuading the person to some kind of commitment. An example of a scam is seen in an ad for, “The Apple Patch Diet” (see figure 5). This is a scam because of the lack of credibility the ad offers as well as it clearly being a hoax by just identifying the features of the ad. No real evidence is backed up and supported in this ad, which makes it a scam. The last concept I will discuss is Downplaying. Downplaying can soften the persuader’s own weak points while downplaying a competitor’s strong points (Larson, 2013). An example of downplaying is used in an article discussing the health effects of nuclear radiation (see figure 6). Downplay was used to cause less harm and paranoia to the public and people reading the article. Nuclear radiation is a big problem but it downplaying the health effects seems like the only way to go to inform the public and not create chaos. Although there are many concepts, these six that I chose to share are some of the most important ones that I have learned so far in class. In writing this paper, I also learned even more about each concept that I didn’t know already. References
Bass, B. (n.d.). Examples of an smcr model. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-smcr-model-20287.html
Larson, C. (2013). Persuasion reception and responsibility. (13th ed., p. 17,31,83). Boston: Wadsworth.

Appendices

Appendix A

*Figure 1

Appendix B
*Figure 2

Appendix C
*Figure 3

Appendix D
*Figure 4
Hoosiers Gene Hackman Inspirational Speech

http://youtu.be/CDJS9rFGCHE

Appendix E
*Figure 5

Appendix F *Figure 6 http://nuclear-news.net/2014/01/21/nuclear-engineer-warns-on-articles-that-downplay-fukushima-health-effects/