Writing Homework Help

Topic 1: How Words Affect Our Lives

Choose either question A or B to answer. Only one will be graded.

Question A:

In thinking about the importance of language, interview someone you know who has had a child (for instance, parent, grandparent, sibling, neighbor, yourself) and ask why they chose to name the child that name versus another name. What connotations did they associate with the names? What does this suggest about the importance of words?

Question B:

Think of labels that you use to identify yourself, such as personal traits (friendly, quiet, helpful, honest), social role (parent, friend, employee), physical descriptions (small, tall, strong, athletic, physically challenged). How do these labels influence your perspective and actions?

Topic 2: How Language Influences Political Campaign or Ad Campaign

Choose either Question A or B to answer. Only one will be graded.

Question A:

Study a present or past political campaign; and explain how language is used to present positive images of the candidates.

For example, when Secretary of State and past presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was first running for senator from the state of New York, her advisers struggled with how the campaign literature should present her, since voters knew her primarily as first lady to President Bill Clinton. Should the buttons and bumper stickers feature “Hillary Clinton,” “Hillary Rodham Clinton,” “Mrs. Clinton,” or “Hillary Rodham”? Each name might hold different connotations for voters concerning the candidate’s identity. Finally, the campaign managers decided to go with a more general and vague approach; her name became, simply, “Hillary.”

Question B:

An article in the business magazine Investment Vision advised readers to consider investing in products with ad campaigns that created powerful positive images. The article reminded readers that corporations spend $129 billion yearly on ads and that the most effective are those with a clear concept. The best campaigns, it believes, focus on one or a few words associated with the product, such as thrive for Kaiser hospitals, dependable for Maytag, or the classic We try harder for Avis rental cars (which led the company from a $3.2 million loss to a $1.2 million gain in the 1960s).

Assuming that companies desire positive connotations for their products, study the ad campaigns of several companies.

a. Discuss each company image and how it is achieved through the ads, focusing especially on the words that were chosen to represent the product or service.

b. Decide which campaigns are successful at creating strong, positive connotations. Support your conclusions with reasons.