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Erin Norton
Ms. Futhey
English 250 SD
Reflection of OVE-Piece
The assignment that I chose that was the best ended up being the third one that we did:
the group rhetorical analysis. Part of the reason why I thought that this assignment in particular
required the most effort was because it involved a lot of group work. I think that group work is
underutilized in many of my classes. The organization required to put something together
between a bunch of students that have other commitments, differing majors, and entirely
different schedules is very difficult. However, being able to come up with a final project that
reflects the effort of all involved is spectacular. I think that this also was my best presentation
because we had to deal with the inevitable imponderabilia of working with others. Because
some factors are out of your control, there is a need to possess good response skills to
spontaneity. Group presentations are by definition spontaneous because everyone needs the
other and relies on the other for certain cues. During our presentation in particular, a mistake
was made in slide assignment, yet it was covered up nicely and became a small speed bump in a
successful presentation.
Visually, I felt as though I put more effort into the construction of the slides because I not
only carried my stake in the assignment, but others as well. In my website in assignment 5, I
stuck to a simpler layout with less pictures and words. However, concern for others instilled a
desire to make the slides quite clear. Everyone needed to understand exactly what was being
demonstrated by each slide in order to know his or her role in the presentation and the topics that
needed covering. Furthermore, it required visual analysis which was extremely interesting. The
communication skills that were involved in this class went further than simple textual analysis.
The fact that images could convey such large amounts of communicative content was very

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useful. It is interesting that the visual is able to convey. In fact, Murray Edelman in The
Construction of the Political Spectacle a book I just finished a few days ago says that the
only solution to a society increasing living in the spectacle that isnt reality is art. Art the
visual, written, or otherwise is the solution because it allows each individual person to interpret
it on his or her own terms. Because individuals can take apart the aspects of art and see the truth
without being deceived by incorrect context or an opinion of others, it is the most honest of the
worlds constructions. This is why analysis is so beautiful. It not only reveals the propagandizing
techniques, yet creates in each a critical mind where interpretation is personal and honest.
I would, however, improved on the quality of the images used. We did try to mirror the
techniques used by the advertisers and keep it relatively simple. However, I think now that this
actually limited its effectiveness. People werent as drawn to our presentation as I would have
hoped theyd have been. Otherwise, I enjoyed the visual aspects of this assignment and think my
group performed relatively well.
Finally, there is no denying the fact that we now live in an electronic world. The ability
to communicate with the use of new technologies is fantastic. Never would anyone have thought
a hundred years ago that the press of a button on a phone could tell 3 other people that the
meeting time has changed, or Id be late, or what was the assignment again? This proved useful
in the process of creating our presentation. We met regularly and communicated online when that
wasnt feasible. This enabled us to work as a group. All of us could edit the PowerPoint at any
time and had access to all of the files.
This, however, brings me to one aspect that I would have changed. The efficiency of the
group wasnt perfect. In fact, I feel like if we had decided on our topic early, met more regularly,

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and divided the portions up earlier, the project would have been exponentially better. I love the
connection that people have when engaging in intelligent conversation and if wed had more
opportunities to meet in person and discuss what each of us saw in all of the advertisements, we
all would have gained a greater perspective on analysis. This creates critical thinkers (of whom I
think the world needs more) and a class and project like this one would have enabled us to have
better conversations and become better thinkers.
There is no telling the improvements that could have been made to the original version if
we had worked longer on the project; however, I am proud of what we were able to accomplish.
This assignment by far was the best overall representation of all the modes of communication at
once.