Chloe Richey  

24 March 2022 

Professor Weaver  

English Comp 1102.  

Richey Major Project 3 

Summary: 

The University of Tennessee is in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is known as the Big Orange country. The University of Tennessee is a college that is filled with engaging different people from different backgrounds of students doing what they would like to major in. In addition, a college where is full of enthusiasm for having a fun college experience. UTK would also like a student who would have an amusement of a diversified community coming together and being involved in different activities.   

Analysis: 

The University of Tennessee uses the APATSARC strategy of structure and the Large Rhetorical strategy of Imagining Ideal Readers. The structure of the University of Tennessee website played a huge factor in distinguishing what type of student they are looking for. At the very top of the visiting page, you would see six subtopics split up including “About UTK, Academics, Admissions, Diversity, Outreach, Research” (University of Tennessee, Visiting Homepage). Diversity has its part of the webpage. This part of the structure can catch the eye of people of color by emphasizing how it’s important at UTK. When looking into the diversity subtopic of the website, you would witness different bullet points of plans and partnerships with diversity. The ending of the page presents various activities for people of color and sexuality. Some of them are visiting a black historical museum and producing quilts with the pride center. Because of that structure of having an event with people of different sexualities being up under of the diversity subtopic, indicates that diversity does not only involve race but also sexual orientation tying together as one.   

When first visiting the website, you would see a slideshow with a different race of people such as white, black, Hispanic, etc. During the slideshow, the people laugh and smile like they are getting along with one another. Suggesting that diversity does exist at the university, showing that all races can attend the school and get the same treatment. As you scroll down on the visiting page, the pictures would start moving and you would see the scenery of Tennessee downtown at sunset. At the bottom of the picture in white bold lettering, it states “We are Tennessee volunteers. We light the way for others” (University of Tennessee, Visiting Homepage). This indicates that just because a university has a motto of focusing on grades does not mean the University of Tennessee would go by that same motto. Because of the bold lettering of “volunteering” (University of Tennessee, Visiting Homepage), as an activity, it must be a big element that students must have. Scrolling down more of the visiting page, you would see more diverse pictures and students doing different activities such as kayaking, volunteering, and being part of the festival. Encouraging that students can do more than just focus on studies, but also have the enjoyment of being in college.   

The University of Tennessee uses a large rhetorical strategy of imagining ideal readers to reach students who would have a beneficial outcome at the college. The readers and viewers that the university is trying to target are students from divergent backgrounds. One of them is people of color of people who struggle with financial problems. There are stereotypes of people of color, mainly black people not being someone who just sells drugs or ends up in a jail cell. On the other hand, the University of Tennessee uses that opportunity to prove those stereotypes wrong by sharing the Kojak Wells story. According to the website of the University of Tennessee, it states “Kojak Wells, the first in his family, to graduate from college, went from the stock room to a Fortune 500 company” (the University of Tennessee, Invest in your future”). Kojak Wells is a young black man who has his own family and was struggling financially. So, he decided to attend the University of Tennessee, majoring in finance, and later graduated. Because of his story being on the university website, many young black men and women would acknowledge it as you can accomplish goals too just like Kojak, who is the same race as you.   

Furthermore, women could be a target of the list of ideal readers. Since we are in a time where the world is full of girl power and feminism, the University of Tennessee makes it clear about women can also be more than just people who are responsible for house chores and babies being born. On the University of Tennessee website, there are many pictures of women being in front with different occupations like nursing and majoring in mathematics. Especially, when it comes to so-called “men’s work” like shoveling or doing hard handy work. The university shows that women could be a part of so-called “men’s work” by illustrating a picture of a young woman shoveling with men next to her. Overall, showing that no matter what race, sexuality, nor gender all students are welcomed and unified to be in projects together. 

Response 

If there were no financial problems or traveling issues, would you attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee? The answer to that question is yes, I would attend the University of Tennessee. A life value that I commit to every day is an inspiration. Inspiration to me is someone or something influencing you to not think so little of yourself but bigger than you ever thought about yourself. As a person of color, inspiration plays a huge factor in it. They are many ugly and hateful voices that like to make POC (people of color) people think less of what they truly are. When I read the Kojak Wells story, inspiration influenced my way of thinking because a guy who is black like me was able to walk across that stage and prove so many people wrong. At the University of Tennessee, it is shown that students with the same skin color as me can become anything that wants to as long, they put their mind to it. Making a difference is another value that I reflect on every day. My mom is a nurse at Grady Hospital and every day she makes a difference by helping the patients and doctors. As a result, I consider it to be giving back to the community. For me now, I haven’t participated in volunteering in my life, and attending the University of Tennessee would bring me a good opportunity to be involved in a community with a diverse community. 

-Drew Beamer, Unsplash

Citation  

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Website. 23 March, 2022. www.utk.edu/. 

Keith Slettedahl       

Professor Weaver 

English 1102-322 

5 March 2022 

Pacific Oaks College Website: Summary/Analysis/Response (SAR) Project 

Summary 

         Made evident on the school’s website, Pacific Oaks College seeks a compassionate, inclusive, culturally diverse student body concerned with making a difference in the world. Featuring programs focused around education and human development, Pacific Oaks places an overall emphasis on the importance of community, social justice, and cultural intelligence, and it utilizes the small rhetorical strategy of Purpose and the large rhetorical strategy of Kairos to support its altruistic assertions.  

Analysis 

         Throughout its website, Pacific Oaks College uses the small rhetorical strategy of Purpose to persuade prospective students to attend their school. The page lists the school’s four core values as respect, diversity, social justice, and inclusion, and these themes are carried over into all areas of the site to great effect.  

         One purpose in presenting the school’s information in this way is that it establishes that Pacific Oak’s educational goals are not necessarily geared toward the attainment of individual achievement and worldly success, but rather, they are focused on the power of community and service to others. The site makes this evident when speaking to the bachelor’s and master’s programs offered at Pacific Oaks. Though aspects of career growth are certainly addressed, the text is front-loaded with altruistic concerns, and the bulk of the emphasis is placed on how these degrees will enable one to “serve diverse communities in the fields of human development, education, and related family studies” (POC “Mission Statement”). The site also repeatedly emphasizes the idea that community is what provides the foundation of the Pacific Oaks College educational experience and aims to convey to the reader that he or she can be a part of this powerful community that can positively impact one’s education (POC “Community”). The implication is that through service one is fulfilled, through working together the students are made stronger, and that one will benefit by tapping into the school’s community and “we” first mentality. 

         Placing great significance on the principles of diversity and inclusion, another purpose found in the website’s rhetorical approach is to let the prospective student know that he or she, regardless of cultural background, is important, valued, and welcomed at Pacific Oaks College. As part of its “Diversity and Inclusion Statement,” the website states, “We encourage everyone to bring their full authentic selves to our community,” and goes on to promise support and advocacy for all its students “regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, or ability (POC “Mission and Values Statements”). Even when mentioning the many benefits of living in Southern California (the school is in Pasadena, CA), just as much attention is given to the area’s remarkable diversity of cultures as to its beaches and nightlife. Throughout the site, the principles of respect and acceptance of others are mentioned repeatedly, and this effectively creates a welcoming atmosphere. Pacific Oaks wants the reader to know that not only is diversity valued at their school, but it is also viewed as the essential component in preparing students to “thrive personally and professionally in a global society” (POC “Mission and Values Statements”). 

          The final small rhetorical purpose found on the Pacific Oaks website conveys the message that the prospective student is not only valued and important, but also capable of making a real difference in the world. The website reveals that the school’s original goal was to provide a “progressive education that can help the world heal” (POC “History and Impact”), and in its mission statement, declares that Pacific Oaks “prepares students to be culturally intelligent agents of change” (POC). Concepts of “making a difference” and “changing the world” are alluded to all throughout the site, and this strategy effectively connects the reader to a greater purpose and implies that this purpose can be realized by attending Pacific Oaks College. 

         In addition to the use of the small rhetorical strategy of Purpose, and coming at a time of profound world-wide political, cultural, and social division, Pacific Oaks skillfully uses the large rhetorical strategy of Kairos (the timeliness of a rhetorical act) by placing a significant emphasis on the school’s values of inclusion, cultural intelligence, and social justice. The website heavily emphasizes the school’s rich social justice heritage and involvement with social justice movements during a time when the awareness of and concern about such issues has never been higher and presents to the potential student an educational means to make a difference through numerous social work programs. Also, with the current burgeoning global awareness of the importance of cultural sensitivity, Pacific Oaks effectively accentuates their progressive approach to teaching and learning by referencing their “anti-bias curriculum and culturally-centered academic programs” (POC “Social Justice and Diversity”), and stating, “everyone in our classrooms is both student and teacher. Students relate subjects to their own personal experiences” (POC “About”). These examples illustrate to the reader that Pacific Oaks is forward thinking, in touch with the cultural concerns of today, and that ultimately, one’s own unique life experience will be valued and considered at their school. Furthermore, the website addresses what is perhaps the most important and polarizing issues of our time: sexual orientation and gender identity. Plainly, Pacific Oaks declares that “there is a light in each person that is to be honored in everyone,” and that all are welcome at their school “regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression (POC “Mission and Values Statement”). Whether or not the timeliness in the addressing of these issues was intentional or coincidental is unclear. Either way, Pacific Oaks College persuasively presents a picture of a progressive institution with its finger placed firmly on the pulse of today’s cultural and societal concerns.  

Response 

         Would I go to this college? In a word, yes. I randomly picked Pasadena’s Pacific Oaks College from a list of Southern California schools because, having lived in or near Pasadena for most of my life, I was surprised and intrigued by the fact that I was unaware of its existence. I’m glad I did because I learned a lot about the school and found many reasons why I would consider attending. For one, as I mentioned, it is in my hometown. Georgia is fine and all, but home is home. (Sigh). But I digress. More important than location, however, is the fact that the school’s overall ethos resonates deeply with me, particularly the spiritual-leaning Quaker values of community, equality, and peace that the school was founded on. In fact, the main reason I went back to college at my advanced age was to study psychology with the primary goal being that I could maybe serve humanity in some small way, so Pacific Oak’s offering of degrees in various Psychology and Human Development programs, as well as the school’s emphasis on making a difference, is right up my alley.  

          From the list of values in our free writing inventory I chose “spirituality,” “compassion,” and “making a difference.” When trying to pick one to tie into this paper, I realized that the three are inseparable, and in fact, you cannot have one without a combination of all three. Going further, I thought about what the word “education” means to me and found that, I could not separate that word from the list either. Is there really a true education without spirituality, compassion, and making a difference? Transversely, is true compassion possible without some form of education? I found it quite interesting that in Cathy Davidson’s “The New Education” talk, she addressed studies done at Google that proved that the most valued skills found in their employees were not technological in nature, but rather, how nice they were and how well they were able to communicate and collaborate with others (Cathy Davidson). This rings true with me, and as is clearly seen in the school’s dedication to inclusion and community, with Pacific Oaks College as well. In my opinion, any type of education that does not address our inherent interdependence is doomed to fail. Now, more than ever, education needs to be addressed from a more holistic perspective, and Pacific Oaks seems devoted to doing just that.  

Works Cited 

Pacific Oaks College Website. 2022. https://www.pacificoaks.edu/locations/pasadena/ 

Cathy Davidson: “The New Education” 3.1.18. YouTube, uploaded by Santa Cruz Arts, 

       Lectures, and Entertainment, 11 May 2020, Cathy Davidson: “The New Education” 3.1.18 

Ranup Katwal

3/9/2022

Professor Weaver

English 1102-322

Summary

RMIT is a college for technology, design, and enterprise, being a top 250 university worldwide, their ideal student is someone who wants to make a “difference.”, and is passionate about learning. with more than 20+ different courses with more branches, RMIT seems promising for someone looking to get higher education. 

Strategies “purpose” form APATSARC, and imagining ideal readers from “Large Rhetorical Strategy” is used throughout the website.

Analysis

The website shows a few things, but the most attractive among them is “RMIT is a global university of technology, design, and enterprise” (RMIT – Home Page) this shows the purpose of the website, which is to look for ideal students and persons who are interested in what they have to offer. it also lists that it’s “top 250 universities worldwide” (RMIT – Home Page), and with over “97,000 students from 230+ different countries” (RMIT – Home Page), this uses the strategy “Imagining ideal readers”, readers don’t have to be overly experienced to understand the information provided by the website. A little below courses are listed well-designed user interfaces, this also uses one of the strategies listed above because it’s simple to look at and understand what each user interface is for, this helps looks for “ideal” students, who are looking for specific occupations they might be interested in learning about. The website also offers a “Kickstart 2022 with a range of student benefits” (RMIT – Home Page), “with dedicated social programs and more”(RMIT – Home Page), strategy purpose is being used here to convince you that their support team/new year student experience is good.

One of the things to notice is that the website overall doesn’t use that many words, no matter what button is clicked the information provided is simple and easy to read, so it can be said that the whole website is based around “imagining ideal readers” which is focused on just readers and not advanced readers meaning anyone can read the information without much thinking, also means that more people get persuaded since the website reaches out to any reader, not just advanced, this is also the use of strategy purpose. When clicking the study button,  a small text that talks about how the university offers “study online now and on-campus later” (RMIT – Study with us), narrows down to purpose, what does the author want? You and your money.

The university promises “experience you’ll never forget”(RMIT – Student Life), “help you make friends” (RMIT – Student Life), “feel at home” (RMIT – Student Life), “skills and knowledge to make you employable anywhere in the world”(RMIT – study experience), “practical training”, “courses delivered by experts at the top of their fields” (RMIT), and much more, what more can you ask for?  This seems like a place where a student can accumulate a lot of knowledge in the field they’re pursuing (purpose is used because it persuades the readers/convinces them that the university offers a lot to help them succeed/exceed their academic goals), not only locally but the website also convinces you globally, under the tab global opportunities, it talks about how “Studying overseas is an enriching and rewarding experience” (RMIT) although true, but what do they want? Your money, and for you to apply to their university. The university also claims how it can help build “global networks and boost career opportunities” (RMIT) and help land that dream job.

While browsing the website it states that the university is offering 10% off on tuition fees to anyone who isn’t able to come to “Australia due to border restrictions” (RMIT – Study with us), a coincidence? I think not, also uses strategy purpose, that’s because although they can transfer to college where they live the website convinces them to stay at their college because the tuition fees are reduced by 10%, 10% of $10 maybe $1 but 10% of $20,000 is  $2,000, and that’s a lot. RMIT also has study support to help students with “Peer mentoring” (RMIT – study-support), “One-on-one consultations” (RMIT – study-support), “24/7 study help with your assignments and course work” (RMIT study-support), and many more, this is obviously trying to get you to apply, strategy purpose is also being used here because their main purpose stays the same and that’s to get as many students as possible. The university also helps with health/mental health and emergency crisis, also convinces their university to be the best option.

Response

Would I go to this college? YES!!  I’d totally go there because, they offer so much, it almost feels like too good to be true, although I say I’d go, it would be unrealistic since it costs a lot of money and is so far away. Had that not been the problem, had I a big sum of money, and distance reduced I’d totally go.

On my values inventory, I chose confidence, and curiosity, which looking back fits my response perfectly because I’m confident that I’d go to the university if it weren’t for the fact, big distance, and lack of money. As for curiosity although I don’t talk often, I’m quite curious, I’d be more than happy to experience if that university lives up to its name. The university offers just too much for it to be perfect. One of the things I’m extremely curious about is “24/7 study help with your assignments” (RMIT), if you think about it there’s no way that their service is that good right? Imagine you wake up at 3-4 am and go to the help section, there isn’t a 100% guaranteed that someone’s there to help is there. This sounds way too good to be true, so if I were to go to this university, I’d probably be curious and test if their service is as good as they claim it to be.

Works Cited

RMIT. “Study Support.” RMIT University, https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/support-services/study-support.

https://www.rmit.edu.au/