Reflection

The audiences of my topic are people who are not vegetarians or

people who are skeptical of becoming a vegetarian. I targeted these
people because they are not vegetarians and are either unaware of
this information or have not given it any thought. My argument is that
being a vegetarian is better for people and the environment. The
purpose of my multi genre project is to persuade my audience to
become vegetarians by telling them factual information that will make
them feel guilty about eating animals.
I gathered my information from several sources. I used books, a
pamphlet, websites, and personal interviews. In my favorite source, the
author states how we rid our feelings of guilt about animal suffrage by
changing non-human subjects into non-human objects (Adams).
Essentially someone becomes something and to me this is the best
argument created in my genres because many people are not aware
that they do this. People avoid the guilt of eating animals by not
allowing themselves to consciously think about how the animal was
once alive while eating it. I learned through one of my interviewees
who said that she does not think about the fact that the animal was
once alive and if she did, she would not be able to eat it (Lane).
Another one of my biggest arguments is based on the environment.
The U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat
(Pimentel) and the fact that the creation of one hamburger destroys 55
square feet of rainforest (procon.org). This will help attract
environmentalists who do not like these statistics and want change.
The first genre I chose was a PowerPoint because I needed a way
to share a lot of information with visuals that would help convey my
message. This works well with both of my audiences because people
who are not vegetarians may not want to invest a lot of time into
learning about it and a PowerPoint they can listen to with little effort
and it does not take up a lot of time. My other audience choice,
skeptical non-vegetarians, would enjoy watching this presentation
because they want to become more informed on the topic and are
curious. This genre would exist online through a Google search or be
presented in a classroom setting like a high school or college.
For my PowerPoint, I relied heavily on the linguistic mode
because I had to choose my words carefully in order to make my
argument convincing. One example is how I decided to start my first
slide with questions like Would you want to spend your whole life not
being able to move your arms or legs? instead of simply stating that
some animals live in a cage where they can not fully extend their
limbs. I did this because I want my audience to relate to these animals
and feel bad for them. I feel that putting humans in the animals shoes
is more persuasive then just simply stating facts. Visual mode was also
important to my PowerPoint genre because certain words and
expressions that I wanted to have more emphasis on I would capitalize.

I also used the aural mode by incorporating a song in my presentation

and speaking/writing in a cynical and indigent tone throughout the
slides. I incorporated the song to show my audience that even famous
people are vegetarians.
The most important appeal I use is pathos because my whole
idea is to make my audience feel bad for these animals and their own
personal actions. I completed this by showing pictures of animals being
abused and incorporating a real story of a real animal. I used logos in
many of my ethical reasoning facts because most people will at least
admit that they know they are eating animals that have been abused
and killed in an inhumane way, even if they do not care. My ethos
came from all the sources in my annotated bibliography and I
demonstrated that I received the information from other sources by
citing them in my PowerPoint. My audience needed this message to be
conveyed now because this is an issue that occurs everyday. Everyday
more animals are killed and everyday people eat meat. My goal is to
save more animals by convincing my audience to stop eating meat or
at least to cut back. The more quickly I convince my audience the more
animals that are saved.
My second genre piece is a Vegetarian Cookbook that I created of
my top ten favorite recipes. I chose this genre to go along with my
PowerPoint because first I want to persuade my audience to become
vegetarians and then provide them with help on becoming one. The
purpose of this genre piece is showing my audience that you can still
eat delicious meals that do not contain meat. I would provide this
cookbook online and if I were to present my PowerPoint, then I would
hand these books out after the presentation.
For this genre I relied on visual mode the most because the idea
is to show that vegetarian food can still taste good so I needed to
incorporate pictures of good-looking food. Also, I made the name of the
dish the largest words on the page followed by two subheadings that
were labeled ingredients and directions, which allow for the reader
to easily sort through the information. In the visual mode I also used an
index to help my audience quickly find what they are looking for.
Spatial mode was also important to the organization of my cookbook.
First I wanted to start off with a background of the cookbook and my
life to show why this book is important to me. I also organized the
meals into subcategories like entrees, appetizers, and pasta dishes. All
of these modes help the audience with the ease of finding good
vegetarian recipes.
I used logos in my recipe book by stating facts in the introduction
about animal and environmental abuse. Also the recipes themselves
appeal to logos because they are factual pieces that will result in the
final product listed (the food), if you follow all necessary steps. Ethos is
another technique used because I got the recipes from a well known
website and I have personally made them so they trust that the recipes

will turn out correctly. The introduction also contains my own personal
success story, which adds to my own credibility. Pathos is evident in my
introduction because I talk about the sad truths of what happens when
you eat animals. The importance of my message being conveyed right
this second is the same as my PowerPoint because the quicker people
stop eating meat, the more animals that are saved. All the information
in this book encourages the action of becoming a vegetarian.
All in all I believe that both of my genre pieces are very
successful in persuading my audience because any human being
should feel guilty and stop engaging in this behavior. Another reason is
because everyone I have showed these genre pieces to have told me
that they would now seriously consider becoming a vegetarian.