MLA
Corrections
Corrections
Bezos, Mark. “A Life Lesson from a Volunteer Firefighter.” TED, 2011 → What is missing?
Month & URL
You recognize answer immediately → what do you do?
Read all choices first
“I’m not an expert…” → strongest element?
Authenticity
A professional athlete promotes a sports drink, explaining the ingredients and also mentioning that they personally use it during training.
Ethos or Logos – Although ingredients are mentioned, Ethos is the strongest appeal because the athlete’s expertise and personal use make the product seem more trustworthy and effective than the facts we are given.
How should you complete your MLA citation?
Carefully and slowly, comparing the example citation at each step or at the end.
Bezos, Mark, “A Life Lesson from a Volunteer Firefighter,” TED, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter. → What's wrong?
Should be a period after the author.
An answer that uses 'always' → strategy?
Avoid extreme answers (always/never etc.)
“We all want to belong…” → strongest element?
Universal Theme
“When I failed my first business…” → strongest appeal? (Bill Gates is the speaker)
Ethos or Pathos - don't use 2 appeals without a "disclaimer"
Example: Since we know Bill Gates is hugely successful, we can trust what he says; even if he uses an emotional story in his talk, Ethos is a more powerful appeal for me.
Which TED Essential & Rhetorical Appeal should you not use together?
Emotional Connection & Pathos: since they are essentially the same concept, it is very difficult to provide unique answers to both questions, which would lead to a point loss on one of them.
Bezos, Mark. “A Life Lesson from a Volunteer Firefighter.” TED, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter → What is missing?
period at the end
Don’t understand question → strategy?
Focus on keywords/rephrase
“My hands started shaking…” → strongest element?
Emotional Connection
“Global data shows a 45% increase…” → strongest appeal?
(This is the only data the speaker uses; the rest of his talk is mostly anecdotal examples about his topic.)
Logos would be weak here, since he uses only 1 fact throughout the talk.
Pathos would be the better choice, since he is using mostly anecdotal (short-story) examples.
Why should you limit your main message to only 2 sentences?
Any more would end up reading more like a summary, rather than a concise understanding of what the speaker really wants us to know.
Bezos, Mark. *A Life Lesson from a Volunteer Firefighter.* TED, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter. → What is wrong?
Should use quotation marks, not "stars" (asterisks)
Answer sounds good but unsupported → strategy?
Review other choices, unless they are all worse, reject unsupported choice
Speaker has unique and humourous images.
Powerful Visuals
A famous influencer encourages teens to read more, sharing their personal struggles with school and how reading helped them succeed.
Ethos (stronger) – While the personal story is emotional, Ethos is the strongest appeal because the celebrity’s success and influence make their message more convincing to the audience.
Why do topic sentences elevate a written response?
The reader immediately knows what to expect and does not start out confused about what they are reading.
Mark Bezos. “A Life Lesson from a Volunteer Firefighter.” TED, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter. → What is wrong?
Name should be last name, first name.
Answered all quickly → what now?
Check answers again
“Here is another example...”→ strongest element?
Supporting Evidence
A charity advertisement shows images of starving children while also listing statistics about global hunger rates.
Pathos – Although statistics are included, Pathos is the strongest appeal because the images are designed to create an emotional reaction that motivates immediate action.
Logos - Although the emotional images are powerful, Logos is the strongest appeal because the statistics provide concrete, measurable evidence about the scale of global hunger, helping the audience understand the issue logically and see the need for action.
Why should we "watch" the TED talk, rather than just read the transcript?
Watching the talk provides strong evidence to support our analysis.
For example: visuals, facial & body expressions, etc.