Summary

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a private, non-profit university located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The university is known for its aviation and aerospace engineering programs. Their website seems to be directed towards students who are driven, curious, and planning to pursue careers in aviation or engineering. ERAU uses the “emotional tone” APATSARC strategy and “imagining ideal readers” as their larger rhetorical strategy.

Analysis

The APATSARC strategy that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University uses the most on their website is emotional tone, and they imagine ideal readers as their larger rhetorical strategy. On their website, ERAU takes a very welcoming and confident approach towards their readers. They show many pictures, articles, and videos of the accomplishments made by their faculty members or students. Bold headlines like “’Gregory, Lyrintzis Named ‘Among the Best Minds in Aerospace’” (Pinholster), or “Reaching the Red Planet: Eagles Build Instruments for Mars- Bound Satellites” (Cavaliere) were placed on the home page of their website. By displaying these headlines on their home page, readers can tell that if they were to attend ERAU, they’d be part of a very proud and successful community. They also present many impressive pictures of students doing things like lab work, testing model airplanes, building robots, and competing.   

Although ERAU used emotional tone as their argumentative strategy, they don’t necessarily present their university in a heartfelt manner. There weren’t any sentimental  articles or pictures on their website. Instead, ERAU structured their website to create feelings of inspiration and welcome in their readers. Their “Values, Mission, and Vision” page is emblematic of this. While analyzing ERAU’s mission statement for emotional undertones, small words and phrases began to stand out. Some apparent ones were “…in a culturally diverse community that supports the unique needs of each individual”, “Embry-Riddle will be the source for innovation and excellence…”, and “We will be the unquestioned global leader…” (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). To a student who might be interested in applying to ERAU, the website presents the university as welcoming, diverse, innovative, and community-oriented. It displays students as proud Eagles (ERAU’s spirit animal), the faculty as upbeat and helpful, and the campus as spacious and lively. As a result, students feel urged to apply.     

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University imagines ideal readers as their larger rhetorical strategy. When analyzing their website in a more general sense, it becomes clear that they’re targeting a specific kind of student. Namely, students pursuing degrees in aviation or aerospace engineering. Even though ERAU offers other programs such as biology, astronomy, business, and art, aviation and engineering programs are their main focuses, as stated on their “Values, Mission, and Vision” page. It reads “ Our mission is to teach the science, practice, and business of aviation and aerospace engineering” (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). These programs are also the ones most represented in their articles and pictures. On their home page, they proudly state that Embry-Riddle has 9 top ten spots in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 rankings. They placed fifth in best aerospace engineering programs, as well as most innovative schools nationwide. 

In connection to aviation and engineering students, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has another kind of ideal reader: students who believe in collaboration, ethicality, and innovation. They make it clear that they want curious, determined, problem-solving students. This also connects to ERAU’s specialty in aviation and aerospace engineering programs. The skills they want their students to have are ones that are important in those fields. 

To summarise, Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University uses the APATSARC element “emotional tone”, and the larger rhetorical strategy “imagining ideal readers” to attract and persuade their ideal students to apply. Through analyzing ERAU’s website, the congruence of the two strategies becomes noticeable. They use emotional tone by displaying  inspirational phrases, pictures, rankings, and headlines that represent the school’s overall success to grasp the attention of their ideal student: aviation and aerospace engineering students.

Response 

If all barriers were uplifted, I would definitely apply to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. They have awesome programs, faculty members, research opportunities, and campus resources. If I were an interested student looking through their website, I would feel welcomed, and I’d consider applying. Their mission statement page shows that they’re confident in the community they’ve created and the discoveries made by their students. That’s something anyone would be interested in being a part of.  

One thing that really stood out to me is the different hands-on opportunities that ERAU provides to students. They have a variety of labs, research projects, and competitions. The number of resources and equipment they invest in shows how much they value discovery. Another reason why I would apply to Embry-Riddle is that they have really nice weather throughout most of the year. Their Daytona campus is 2 miles away from Daytona Beach, which means that they receive more than 230 sunny days in a year on average. Although tropical weather is bound to bring in heavy rainstorms and hurricanes, it’s still a risk worth taking. Lastly, I would attend ERAU because of its value for community and involvement. They have plenty of clubs and social events, which I think is really cool. All in all, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univerity seems like a pretty decent school, and I’d go if there weren’t any obstacles. 

Works Cited

Cavaliere, Mike. “Reaching the Red Planet: Eagles Build Instruments for Mars-Bound Satellites”, 13, Dec. 2021, https://news.erau.edu/headlines/eagles-build-instruments-for-mars-bound-satellites

Pinholster, Ginger. “Gregory, Lyrintzis Named ‘Among the Best Minds in Aerospace”, 01, Feb. 2022, https://news.erau.edu/headlines/gregory-lyrintzis-named-among-the-best-minds-in-aerospace

“Values, Mission, and Vision”, https://erau.edu/leadership/president/values-mission-and-vision