Hello Everyone,
For your fourth Writing Journal assignment, please read the following article: “English: It’s the Real Thing - As a college major, the language has more going for it than just Shakespeare." Lisa Stefany, Philadelphia Inquirer. Friday, August 21, 2009.
- From Falvey Library's homepage (on the left side), choose "Databases A-Z."
- Then choose " Philadelphia Inquirer."
- Write the article’s title in the “Search” data field, and perform your search.
You’re welcome to respond to the article however you wish. I do encourage you, though, to consider the following:
Do you know of any current rhyming advertisements or political slogans that illustrate Lisa Stefany’s ideas, or do you remember any from the past? What are they? What makes them memorable?
Considering the “four words” the author mentions that characterized a political campaign: What is it that makes an advertisement or slogan memorable to you?”
Can you take an advertisement’s slogan (examples— “Just Do It” (Nike) or “Dude, you're getting a Dell”) and turn it into a memorable rhyme?
What do you think about Ken Steele’s quotation? Would you expect her to hire an English major to work in her organization? Why or why not?
Did any of the author’s ideas surprise you? If so, which ones came as a surprise?
Please include the following information as a heading on your work:
Your name
Eng1050 – 20
Writing Journal Assignment #4
Please post your Writing Journal response to this article / topic (200 - 250 words) by Thursday, October 8, 2009.
Have a good day.
Mr. Dierkes
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Jen Thomson
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1050-20
Writing Journal Assignment #4
Lisa Stefany makes a valid point about the power of words in marketing. Any commercial that is comical or catchy definitely is more easily remembered than those which are mundane. For instance, there is one commercial from Coca Cola where a song plays in the background advertising Coke with lime. This is an easy way to make sure an advertisement stays with potential customers. Another example is the Glad garbage bags phrase, “Don’t get mad, get Glad.” This is a memorable commercial and a good product reminder.
Based on Ken Steele’s quote, I believe that he would hire an English major. Steele stresses the importance of persuasiveness and the usage of language. Due to this someone who majored in English would be extremely useful. Before this article I did believe it to be somewhat silly to major in English. Although an interesting subject, it seemed constricted for professions one can pursue with the degree. However, now it seems that English would be very useful with all marketing and product placement positions. I definitely believe that Penn State’s English class which focused on such word choices was beneficial and an idea which other Universities should consider.
Christina White
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1050-20
Writing Journal Assignment #4
I think that the author did a great job showing the versatility of an English major. She made a valid point in stating that a major in English does not necessarily mean that you either have to be a writer or an English teacher. I found it interesting how she showed the connection between English and the business world, especially the relation to famous slogans from the past. One slogan that I though of is from the L'Oreal commercials: "Because you're worth it". The strength of words really is much greater than we tend to realize.
It was clear that the author put a lot of thought into her decision to become an English major, and I found that to be very intriguing. I never would have thought that an English major, or even minor, could open up so many doors as far as careers are concerned.
Tim Wolfgram
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1050
Writing Journal Assignment #4
I know for a fact I posted this in October but I noticed it was not here when I was doing my business letter so I just am going to post it again...
I could not agree more with the author. I also think that having an English degree can give people a lot of options in terms of what career opportunities one can have. I myself are thinking of minoring in English for that very reason, being proficient in a language to that degree is very rare in the professional world in this day and age. When I think of a famous marketing slogan, it is almost always creative and/or rhymes. One that I think of is "I'm Lovin' It" which is the McDonald's slogan. If I hear these simple three words, I immediately think of McDonald's, which is the whole point of the slogan.