Analyzing Arguments in the Media: BP Commercial

As most everyone has heard in the news in the past few months, BP, a global gas and oil company, has been involved in the largest oil spill in United States history. This commercial highlights the efforts that BP is making in cleaning up the oil spill, and in so doing, it invariably introduces a variety of arguments. Five of the main arguments used in this video are: Invitational Argument, Argument to Inform, Rogerian Argument, Argument of the Present and Argument of the Future.

This commercial uses Invitational Argument through inviting us, the audience, to hear BP out as they attempt to correct their mistake. In the commercial the spokeswoman for BP says that they are "taking full responsibility" for the spill and that the work is just beginning. Argument to Inform is used as the introduction as the situation of the spill is made clear to the viewers and that BP is going to keep us informed as they progress through the cleanup. Rogerian Argument is used as BP attempts to relate to us as citizens in this case. Specifically the spokeswoman says that she is from New Orleans and has family in this area, which shows that she is attempting to relate directly to us and that BP is made up of people just like us who are also struggling due to the spill as well. In addition to this, it is also said in the commercial that BP is going to work with the communities so that they can address the needs of each specific community and finding the best ways to help out. Argument of the Present is used as BP addresses all that they are doing right now to help out, including how they have placed a high amount of workers in the region to clean up the spill as well as informing us of the billions of dollars they have invested in the clean up. Argument of the Future is used as the plan for cleanup is outlined to us through the spokeswoman as she tells us, confidently, that they will be there until the entire gulf is oil-free.

I feel that from this commercial that BP is giving a lot of effort into the cleanup of the oil spill and that they will follow through on their claims. I buy into the arguments that they introduce through this commercial as they all have ample evidence to support each, and I feel that this is an effective commercial for that purpose.

In Class: Unit 1 Ideas

For this assignment, the public space that I am thinking about writing the essay on is the TCU Recreation Center. While going through the list of requirements for this essay, I felt that this particular public space would serve as a great subject for my paper. There is such a wide array of people and events going on at the rec center that going at any given point of the day will provide me with tons of evidence and arguments for my paper. In addition to this, the rec center is a place where I spend lots of free time, so I am accustomed to the atmosphere and environment. For this space, I have thought about the larger cultural framework that it has, and I have concluded that there is more than just one of these. So far, I have thought that some of the cultural frameworks can be: to curb obesity, to promote better general health of the TCU community, to decrease certain health risks that can be reduced and prevented through exercise, as well as providing the TCU community with a place in which one can improve one's own body image to one's self as well as to others. In reality, whether it be subconsciously or consciously, we all go to the gym to look better.

Even while streaming my ideas on this blog I can see that this will be an interesting essay for myself. The rec center is such a diverse place that attracts a huge variety of people that focusing on the larger cultural impact of the place will be incorporating people of all sorts of backgrounds.

In Class: Back to School

Even though this is the first week of school, I can already tell that this semester is going to be highly busy for me. This is my first semester taking classes as a Neeley Fellow, and being a Fellow creates a lot of added pressure that is not on the average student. I wouldn't say I am overwhelmed, but I would say that I understand that in order to do well this semester I will have to use my time wisely. This may, at times, mean staying in one night to work on a project or paper while the rest of my friends go elsewhere. Living in the fraternity house also adds a bit of chaos to my life. Already I have found that in order to get any amount of studying done, I need to lock my door or go somewhere to be alone. It's pretty hard to study when your brothers are blasting music next door or constantly going into your room asking you what your plans are for the night.

At this point, I feel that Business Statistics will be my most difficult class. Although this is not one of my two Fellows classes this semester, the material all seems like a foreign language to me. This is one course where I will have to dedicate a lot of time if I want to succeed and make an A (which is definitely one of my goals). Financial Accounting at first seemed a bit nerve-wracking, but after doing some of the readings and going over some of the problems in class I am feeling more confident about the class now. Foundations in Business is a class that I can't tell yet how difficult it is going to be. Being a Fellows class, I am sure I will be given a solid work-load. A majority of the grading in the class is based on presentations to the class, which is something I enjoy doing, so hopefully I can make a good grade on those projects. Cultural Memory is a class I feel I will do very well in, as well as in this class too.

About Me

For those of you who don't know me (which I think is everyone in this class), I am Logan Luzzo. I am a sophomore finance and accounting double major with a minor in economics. Clearly I want to end up somewhere in business, preferably in a managerial position. I attended Chaparral High School in Parker, CO, which is about twenty miles south of the wonderful city of Denver. I love Colorado and will likely end up there after college and am an avid Colorado Rockies fan. The mountains out there are amazing, and if you haven’t been out there I strongly suggest finding a way to make a trip there. I enjoy being involved on campus, and at TCU I am a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, am on the IFC Executive Board, and I am also a Neeley Fellow.

Besides being required to take this course, I actually enjoy writing. Throughout high school I always preferred writing assignments to many other forms of assignments. In one year of high school I was on the speech and debate team, and through being on that team I had to formulate arguments on a variety of topics and subsequently learned to enjoy writing arguments. In my other English classes I also had to write many essays and found it natural for me to put my thoughts on paper. Through this class I hope to strengthen my writing and to continue to develop a stronger sense of rhetoric.

Right now I don't do too much writing outside of class besides texting and email/Facebook. In the sense of communication, writing has become crucial as just about all of us are texting, emailing or on Facebook more often than not. Of all styles of writing, I prefer writing persuasively. I find it interesting to debate topics, both pro and con, and to develop and formulate my own arguments. I feel confident in my writing due to the good feedback I have often received from peers and professors, but I do also feel that there is always room for growth. As I’ve already said, writing has never been a problem for me and highly enjoy writing my thoughts.

My theme on my page is very random for the sole reason that I am a very inexperienced blogger and not very knowledgeable when it comes to customizing things on this site. The birds in the upper right hand corner are pretty cool I suppose. I am a huge sports fan, absolutely love the mountains and am very outgoing.

I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus.