2GourleyDraft 1The purpose of the Women in Economics at.docx

2
Gourley
Draft 1
The purpose of the “Women in Economics at Trinity College”
brochure is to persuade undergraduate women to choose
economics as their major, in an attempt to close the gender gap
at the school. The brochure is meant to be handed out by the
economics departments at undergraduate major-related events,
such as the Annual Majors Fair in October. Additionally, the
brochures can be located in the economics department offices
for undergraduate females to take at their leisure. The medium
of a brochure allows for the quick transfer of information in an
easily-organized and visually appealing way. In the creation of
this brochure, I utilized the rhetorical strategies of organization
structure, questions and visuals to encourage undergraduate
women to consider declaring economics as their major.
The brochure is broken up into four key parts in an attempt to
create flawless reading experience on behalf of the audience.
The first part is the cover, which states the purpose of the
brochure, while the second part, when folded properly, is the
inside flap. This features two key segments about what a degree
in economics can lead to and why women should pursue a
degree in economics. This is located on the inside flap because
these are the most important pieces of information that the
audience member should take away from the brochure, even if
they do not read it in its entire. The paths that a woman can take
with an economics degree are in a bullet point list, as this
makes the material quicker to read, and given the medium of the
brochure, one must assume that not much time will be spent
with the document. The second segment of this flap about why
women should pursue a degree in economics, is a very brief
three sentences which relates the broad issue of the gender gap

in the field to the program at the College, given this is what the
audience member would care most about, being a member of the
Trinity community. The third part of the brochure is the inside,
which consists of three panels all pertaining to academics. The
first is a list of the economics courses offered during this
academic year, as a perspective economics major will likely be
interested in knowing what topics they will have the opportunity
to study. The second and third panels feature faculty profiles,
with their contact information and a brief paragraph about their
professional interests. There has been some research done about
the importance of the presence of a female role model in an
undergraduate’s decision to major in economics, but the
evidence has been inconclusive. With that being said, there has
been no evidence stating that the presence of female role
models deters a woman from majoring in economics, which is
why these panels are dedicated to showcasing some of the top
professors at Trinity. In some instances, the faculty member’s
tenure or graduate schools are listed, as this might appeal to the
student’s sense of ethos by showing that these professors are
well established at Trinity and well educated. The fourth part of
the brochure is the back cover, which provides steps on how to
declare the major. This is strategically placed on the back cover
since it mirrors the fact that declaration is the last step in the
major selection process. The list is concise, which might show
to the audience members that declaring is not a difficult process
and might entice them to do so.
Questions are another rhetorical device utilized in the
brochure. These questions serve as headers throughout the
panels, and this question-answer format was selected as it
allows the audience member to pick and choose what questions
they might have and read that given section. For example, if an
undergraduate woman already knows what an economics degree
can lead to and why a woman can major in economics, she can
skip to the sections focused on the academics at Trinity, with
just a quick glance at the headers. This style keeps the material
easily digestible and get across all of the key information to

persuade a woman to major in economics. The question on the
cover states, “Are you a woman considering a major in
economics?” This language is meant to let the audience know
the purpose of the brochure is to inform the reader why women
should major in economics. It appeals to the audience as it is
speaking directly to them, by asking if they are a woman
considering the degree.
Strategy 3: Visual Rhetoric (photos), fonts, colors, etc.
“Why did you make these choices? How do they appeal to your
audience? How do they accomplish your purpose? “
· Cover photo- face of the “Women of the Summit” initiative
· Photos of the professor interacting with students- smiling,
seem nice- appeal to sense of pathos
Conclusion
Zhuang 5
In the article “Do Single-Sex Schools Improve the
Education of Low-Income and Minority Students?” Lea Hubbard
and Amanda Datnow manage to inform anthropologists and
people who study education the result of a two-year
ethnographic study about the effect of single-sex education on
students from low-income or minority group in Californian
public schools. Instead of conventional quantitative method of
collecting test scores, their article uses the voices from students
and educators. Through the usage of appeal to pathos and ethos,
Hubbard and Datnow successfully illustrate that the benefits of
single-sex education are clear as to the opportunity of avoiding
distractions from the other gender, more state financial support,
and special care from teaching staffs.
Hubbard and Datnow provoke readers’ emotion with a
rhetorical question in the opening paragraph. It asks, “Is the
separation of students by gender a vehicle for improving the

educational experiences of low-income and minority students?”
This rhetorical device arouses readers’ interest and directly
introduce the topic of this article: impact of single-sex
education on students from less well-off and minority
background. The authors recognize
their audience as a group of people with good educational
backgrounds who have a special interest in anthropology and
education. The target audience are expected to be able to easily
catch the theme of the article through this question. Their
compassion and empathy gained through years’ of training can
be naturally ignited as these students are the weak in the
community who deserve more attention from both society and
academia. Without giving answers to the question immediately,
the authors make an appeal to pathos and give readers an
opportunity to ponder on this the controversial issue before
reading the following paragraphs. Compared with a declarative
statement, the rhetorical question strengthens the tone and add a
sense of communication to the article.
Another feature that distinguishes Hubbard and Datnow
as good writers is the good choice of words with negative and
sad connotation, depicting the worrisome results of financial
restrain from the state government. To specify, in the last
paragraph, the authors “sadly” mention that the state funding
for single-sex public schools were canceled in the second year.
This resulted in the “deterioration” of students in Evergreen and
the school “closed its door” by year three. In Pine, the
administrators were “scrambling” to get more financial support
to keep the school open. Both teachers and students are
“struggling” under the situation of budget cut. A reader who
sees these words can hardly stop feeling sympathetic towards
these students who barely have the chance to receive high-
quality emotional and academic guidance and support. The
effect of word choice is more implicit than direct, guiding
audience with compassion to feel the pain and hopelessness of
students from less privileged families.
Hubbard and Datnow appeal to ethos by extensively

citing the history and other research of single-sex public
schooling. Through reviewing historical records, they first
summarize many efforts in raising academic performance of
low-income and minority students including “Head Start
preschools”, “Success for All” and “Accelerated Schools”.
Among various attempts, Governor Wilson initially offered a
plan that give students opportunities to choose among single-
sex and co-sex programs. In the literature review section, six
articles on single-sex education being solutions for students
from less-privileged
are cited. Although the results may vary by genders and other
factors, readers with sound educational background can be
instantly informed what the authors attempt to discuss about. In
addition, twenty-one studies focusing on single-gender
schooling are included on which researchers’ opinions differ.
Discussion on the topic’s controversies is important since the
scholarly readers generally pay more attention to the
objectiveness and validity of what they read who can only be
convinced with a comprehensive appreciation on existing
research. Combined with other evidence, this section of
historical records also lays a solid theoretical base for the whole
article and show the picture of a serious scholar to the audience.
Another prominent feature of ethos in the article is a
detailed quotation of interviews from teachers and students at
three research sites: Evergreen Elementary, Pine Middle School
and Palm High School to make the research more effective and
convincing. Interviews from subjects have proven to be one of
the most effective ways of collecting data. For example, one
teacher in Evergreen Elementary says that “What they see is
what's in town, that’s either the ones who dropped out or, you
know, weren’t able to make it, or maybe even went into the
military but then came back .... When we ask them about career.
[they say], 'Oh, we can't do this, or we can't do that.” By
quoting the teacher’s comment, the authors show lack of role
model and poor motivation at one of the research campus.
Students’ financial embarrassment is illustrated by a

schoolgirl’s words which reads, “Yeah, I saw my first escalator
last year”. Situation in other schools are no better. One male
student at Pine explained that “I got transferred here because I
got a lot of problems at [other] schools”. According to Pam’s
Principal, these students are unsuccessful in “traditional school
settings” and they need some changes. The citation of
interviews is effective since it is a distinctive methodology that
it incorporates the voices of students and teachers whose
responses can reflect the real situation and be interpreted
accordingly through nuanced recount. Reading these comments,
the readers can figure out what unfavorable condition these
students are trapped in and some possible causes to it. These
verbal descriptions are as effective as data in reflecting the
experience of teachers and students—the most direct indicator
of teaching quality. The audience can have a direct and accurate
account what really happened on the campus.
The rhetorical strategies Hubbard and Datnow use
throughout “Do Single-Sex Schools Improve the Education of
Low-Income and Minority Students?” help convince their
audience of the advantages of single-sex education for these
students. This ethnographic analysis combines the effective
usage of pathos and ethos. The extensive reference to the words
from teachers and students from research sites proves the
authors to be qualified scholars hence enhances the credibility.
The author’ ability to appeal to the emotion of audience is also
prominent by employing rhetorical question and good choice of
words. More readers would be aligned with author’s stance that
the state should consider restarting the program of single-sex
schooling in low-income and minority community because
students would be free from distraction of the other gender, they
would better focus on their study with more financial support
and receive better academic support from schools and teachers.
Works Cited:

Hubbard, Lea, and Amanda Datnow. "Do Single-Sex Schools
Improve the Education of Low-Income and Minority Students?"
Anthropology & Education Quarterly 36.2 (2005): 115-131.
SAMPLE #1
[footnoteRef:1]Are your antidepressants harming your baby? [1:
Image Citation:
http://www.safemedicinedisposal.org/2011/07/13/can-i-recycle-
my-medicine-bottle/]
A guide to handling the controversy of SSRI exposure on
developing babies.
According to researchers 7-12% of pregnant women suffer
from depression, 2-6% of which are prescribed selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Although this
percentage may seem small, SSRIs are the most frequently
prescribed type of depression medication given to pregnant
women. SSRIs increase mood and reduce symptoms of
depression by increasing serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin
is a chemical that naturally balances moods. By increasing
serotonin levels, taking an SSRI boost your mood, thus reducing
symptoms of depression. So, what’s the catch? Many women
taking these medications don’t know that SSRIs can cross the
placenta and that traces of SSRIs have even been found in
breast milk. This means that when mothers are taking SSRIs, the
drug is entering their babies system as well.
What does SSRI exposure do to your developing baby?
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and
the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

(ACOG), SSRI exposure during development leads to a slight
increase in the risk of miscarriage. Additional risks found are
persistent high blood pressure, delayed brain development,
NICU admission, difficulty breathing, feeding problems, jitters,
and seizures. Although these risks are believed to be minimal,
they have the potential to be extreme.
With these risks, why would doctors even prescribe SSRIs to
pregnant women? Studies have found that leaving maternal
depression untreated may be just as, if not more, harmful to the
developing child. According to research by the APA and the
ACOG, untreated depression in mothers leads to increased
stress, and alcohol and drug use during pregnancy, all of which
can severely harm the development of the baby. The American
Medical Association has also found that untreated depression
adversely affects cognition, language development, and
temperament of the affected children once they reach preschool
and elementary school age. This is a direct effect of the
depression, and is potentially exacerbated by the use of alcohol
and drugs.
How does this research affect you? If you suffer from
depression and are trying to become pregnant, or are already
pregnant and are suffering from depression, it is important to be
informed. The Mayo Clinic can provide specific information on
which SSRIs are considered safe to take while pregnant.
Unfortunately, a lack of extensive understanding and research
has led doctors into a tug-of-war over which poses more of a
threat to developing babies – untreated maternal depression or
SSRI exposure? Until more research is conducted and the field
moves forward with its understanding of SSRIs, it is essential to
make an appointment with your doctor to assess the risks of
either option and determine which course of action is best for
you. Conversing with your doctor and helping them make an
informed decision will result in the safest outcome.
Additionally, it is important to remain upfront and honest with

your doctor so that no questions get left unanswered.
Ultimately, all you and your doctor want are a happy and
healthy mother and baby. By staying informed and helping your
doctor make the best decision, you can play a major role in
making that goal a reality.
Strategy Essay:
For my public document I chose to “publish” my article in the
magazine Fit & Healthy Pregnancy because of the specific
audience the magazine caters to. I decided to write an article
informing pregnant women of the research on the risks of SSRI
exposure on developing infants, which I researched for my Unit
2 literature review. By “publishing” my article in Fit & Health
Pregnancy, I ensured that the audience would be pregnant
women, or women trying to become pregnant. This allowed me
to comment on my research in a manner directed towards
pregnant women, those whom the research directly concerns,
rather than having to tailor the information to a more general
audience. Additionally, the magazine assured that the readers
are not only pregnant, but are interested in becoming informed
on how to have a healthy pregnancy. The goal of the document
is to encourage the women to do research and make informed
decisions regarding taking SSRIs while pregnant.
In order to appeal to my specific audience I used a
conversational tone throughout my article, a rhetorical strategy
that assisted me in gaining the trust of the readers. There are
multiple aspects that lead to the generally conversational tone,
the main of which is referring to the reader in the second
person. By addressing the reader as “you” rather than using
impersonal terminology, I leave the readers feeling as if I am a
friend or guide offering important advice as opposed to an

unemotional researcher scaring the readers with facts and
numbers. Establishing myself as a friendly guide instills a
feeling of trust between writer and reader, which contributes to
the goal of persuading pregnant women to do research and make
informed decisions regarding SSRI exposure during pregnancy.
Another deliberate strategy used in my article is the question
and answer format, which contributes to the goal of informing
readers by presenting my ideas in a clear, easy to follow
manner. After a brief introduction, my article includes multiple
bolded questions followed by direct and concise answers. This
format not only causes the article to flow and read like a
conversation, but also leads to a clear, easy to follow argument.
If the reader were to skim the article before reading, the bolded
questions would allow them to know a basic outline of the
information divulged throughout the article. Additionally, the
article is meant to inform pregnant women of the risks of SSRI
exposure and is therefore not written for researchers or experts
in the field. By structuring the article as bolded questions
directly followed by easy to understand answers, the reader
does not have to sift through a dense article to find the
information they are looking for. The reader can quickly and
easily find the bolded text of their specific question and can just
as quickly and easily find and read the answer. Through
formatting the article in a manner that is easy for the reader to
understand, I not only successfully complete my goal of
informing the reader, but also present the reader with the topic
in such a way that allows them to understand the information to
the point of being able to act on it.
In addition to the easy to follow format, the strategic word
choice and deliberate exclusion of confusing scientific
terminology allowed me to more successfully inform my
audience. The magazine’s audience is pregnant women, and
while some may work in scientific fields, it can safely be
assumed that most of the readers lack an extensive scientific
background. By slowly and simply explaining complex
scientific ideas, I was able to inform the audience on a topic

they likely otherwise would not understand. This allowed me to
more successfully express my ideas and increased the likelihood
of persuading the audience to take the information seriously and
to actively discuss the topic with their doctors.
The final, and perhaps most successful, rhetorical strategy used
to complete my goal is the “call to action” as the closing of the
article. At the end of the final paragraph I made the deliberate
decision to directly address the reader, encouraging them to act,
calling them to make an appointment with their doctor, assess
the risks of both options (taking SSRIs or leaving their maternal
depression untreated), and converse with their doctor to make
an informed decision. Directly instructing the reader to act at
the very end of the document ensures that this is their final
thought at the conclusion of the article, which was my goal in
writing the article in the first place.

SAMPLE #2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2017
Contact: John Smith, 201-677-0998 // [email protected]
New Study Shines Light on Negative Campaigning & Media
Coverage in 2016 Presidential Election
Researchers show Donald Trump benefitted from
‘overwhelmingly negative campaign’
Hartford, Conn. – A new study published by the American
Political Science Association (APSA) discusses the use of
negative campaigning by then U.S. presidential candidates
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and also puts forth a theory
of strategic negative campaigning as it relates to newspaper
media coverage. Through extensive content analysis,
researchers discovered that President Donald Trump was

covered more of the time in newspapers – simply because he
maintained more of negative tone than did his Democratic
counterpart.
The study was conducted by a team of political scientists at
Trinity College and led by undergraduate student Amanda
Muccio. They find empirical support for several claims:
1. The Trump campaign built an identity database through its
use of negative campaigning, which was an effective strategy in
obtaining publicity and media attention (specifically in
newspapers).
2. Negative press releases tend to be more successful in
obtaining media attention than do the positive ones.
3. The effect of negativity for garnering media attention was
higher for (political) press releases that address issues that are
had by the opposing party. For example, Donald Trump
repeatedly attacked Hillary Clinton in press releases (i.e. on the
basis of her policy positions; campaign decisions). These type
of press releases earned him more attention in newspapers.
“This study clarifies the challenges and opportunities available
to political candidates through negative campaigning,” said Paul
Langdon, Chairman of the APSA Review Committee. “The
researchers also present strong evidence of a relationship
between newspaper coverage and negativity. I am convinced
that these findings – especially those which disclose insight(s)
about Trump’s electability – will have major implications for
society.”
The study concludes with numerous recommendations for future
research on the subject. Among the proposals is the following:
· Conduct rigorous evaluations of similarly democratic
elections. The methodology used in this project (content
analysis) can be applied to other single case studies. More, the

comparative research may shed a light on political parties and
media systems. Muccio and her team believe that future studies
can better understand whether negative campaigning always
gets more media attention.
“This report should be required reading for anyone trying to
understand Trump’s victory. What does it mean if the bias of
the press is not that it’s liberal… or regarding its polarization,
but instead it has a bias of preference for the negative?” said
Matthew Levendusky, an associate professor of political science
at the University of Pennsylvania. “Muccio’s study begs the
question: how has negative campaigning normalized Trump, and
normalized media bias towards negativity? I’m looking forward
to more research on this topic.”
The full project report can be viewed here, and an executive
summary for the political community can be found here.
About the American Political Science Association (APSA)
Founded in 1903, the American Political Science Association is
the leading professional organization for the study of political
science and serves more than 13,000 members in more than 80
countries. With a range of programs and services for
individuals, departments, and institutions, APSA brings together
political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and
occupational endeavors within and outside academe to deepen
our understanding of politics, democracy, and citizenship
throughout the world. For more information,
visit: www.apsanet.org.
About principal investigator Amanda Muccio
Amanda Muccio is an undergraduate student at Trinity College
in Hartford, Conn. She is expected to graduate from the college
in May 2018, with a degree in Political Science and Writing,
Rhetoric and Media Studies. Her research focuses on U.S.
elections, political parties, and public opinion. She can be

reached at [email protected].
Unit 4: Strategy Essay
For my unit 4 project, I decided to write a press release about
the hypothetical results of my grant project. I chose to do this
for several reasons: one, different traditions of political science

have generally given privilege to this communicative genre;
two, a press release pairs valuable rhetorical objectives (i.e. it
informs and also invites reader interest in a particular topic);
three, it is arguably the most efficient and salient way that I can
present this information. Moreover, a press release effectively
serves as an endorsement of my project, which prompts public
attention. With a press release, identifying the target audience
is a more difficult undertaking than one might assume. This is
because a well-written press release can reach a much wider or
broader audience than those who actively seek out, in this
situation, new political research. Therefore, my main audience
would be journalists and government/political officials (i.e.
candidates, campaign managers). I might add, though, that the
contents of this press release may attract the interest of those
outside the politics/government sphere, who simply find this
project significant (i.e. individuals interested in Donald
Trump’s election). Overall, the purpose of this press release is
to distribute the findings of my grant study and also prompt
public attention to research in the political science field. This
press release will be distributed electronically – likely by email
to media contacts (i.e. journalists, popular newspapers, and
cable networks). The communications staff at those
organizations would then spread the information from the press
release in whatever way they see fit.
In order to make sure the press release reached the right
audience, I had to consider certain literary devices and/or
rhetorical strategies. One strategy I sought to use was a neutral
tone. I adopted this distinctive style or voice because it was
most appropriate for my audience: journalists, and the
politically-minded. The neutral tone allows for the audience to
extract the information or news that is necessary for their
purposes. Furthermore, the nature of the genre means being
direct – as noted, a press release is for informational purposes
only. For this reason, I did not offer any suggestions towards a
political agenda, but instead discussed my findings. For
example, I bulleted three empirical claims in my press release

that were found to be true as a result of my study. These
findings are rid of any biases – by including them, the press
release acts as an executive summary of a scientifically-strong
project to which the audience can later form opinions about.
More, the press release was rid of any jargon. This way, the
press release could be quickly and easily understood.
My decision to write a press release also involved a heightened
awareness to organization (i.e. layout, font, level of detail).
More specifically, I adapted a certain writing style – including,
but not limited to, short paragraphs, bullet points, and brevity in
word count – because of its effect on the audience. While the
conventions of the genre do make for similar expectations
across fields (press releases generally have the same
organization), I used a special format for this press release
because it made for easier comprehension for journalists,
political officials, and academics. The large and bolded
title/subtitle told the press release’s story right away. The
sections regarding findings and “future avenues” were short and
direct. Organization is an important feature of the genre – and
rightfully so – because it ensures the audience’s efficient
understanding of information.
Although it was not my original intention to do so, I later
realized a press release can also serve as a powerful way of
gaining more attention as a scholar. For this reason, I sought to
appeal to ethos from the audience. The appeal to ethos is
evident when I mention the principal investigator of the grant,
“The study was conducted by a team of political scientists at
Trinity College led by undergraduate student Amanda Muccio.”
Later, I include two anecdotes from scholars in the political
science field, who both praise my project and its results. In
doing so, I build on my own credibility as a student and as a
researcher. These appeals to ethos (i.e. name dropping myself
and citing endorsements from established figures) support the
purpose of the press release – which aims to bring attention to
the study and to the field overall.
By utilizing several strategies in my press release, I hoped to:

one, accurately put the findings of my grant project on display;
two, draw increased public attention to the field of political
science, and finally, encourage reporters, journalists, or
political officials to take up this story (in whatever capacity
they see fit). That being said, there are many rhetorical devices
that one might employ in a press release. I chose to use a
neutral tone, create a specific organization, and appeal to ethos
because I was aware that my audience would require it. This is
largely attributed to my politically-driven project and message –
no one would necessarily “believe” the contents or findings of
my study unless its publisher (the press release) was rid of
biases and also completely professional, and its researcher
(myself) was credible. In essence, what makes a press release
stronger is its proper use of strategies – these strategies truly
effect the audience.

SAMPLE #3
Lesson: Disease in Aquaculture
Objective: To teach students about how disease in aquaculture
spreads and how we can study how climate change will affect
diseases in aquaculture, for students from 1-5 grade.
Materials: Food dye, clear plastic cups, water, timer
Procedure:
Background: First start off by asking the children if they know
what aquaculture is. Most likely they will say no, explain how
it is like a farm for fish and other sea animals and plants.
Explain how like farmers buy seeds to plant crops, aquaculture
farmers buy eggs that will develop into fish! Be sure to show
pictures of aquaculture farms. Then talk about how important
aquaculture is in the world, comprising over 50% of all seafood.
Then ask them what they know about global warming, and tell
them about how the earth is slowly warming and that this
warming is not good for the animals in the oceans. Tell them
about how climate change allows diseases to change and become
harder to cure. Make a comparison about how humans tend to
get sick in the winter, to how fish tend to get sick when it gets
warmer.
Ask the class different ways that they can spread germs to one
another, such as coughing and not covering your mouth or
sneezing. Then talk about the different ways that fish in
aquaculture farms can get sick, such as ballast water from boats
that stop at different farms; animals, such as birds, that are
vectors for disease, and how the water can carry disease. Ask
the children what would happen if animals on land farms would
get sick? Would it be good for the farm? If a farm only had sick
animals, would the farm make a lot of money? Say that the same

is true for aquaculture farms.
Script:
Teacher: Has anyone here ever heard of aquaculture? (Wait for
responses) Well aquaculture is really similar to something you
all probably know! Here is a picture of aquaculture. Tell me
what this reminds you of?
(Wait for someone to say farm). That’s right! Aquaculture is the
process of growing plants and animals just like a normal farm!
Instead of land plants and animals what do you think they grow?
(Wait for someone to say water plants and animals) That’s
right! Aquaculture farms grow marine plants and animals! Do
you guys want to see more pictures of an aquaculture farm?
Show pictures
Teacher: Just like in normal farms animals are held in pens and
plants like seaweed are grown! Just like farmers use seed to
grow crops, aquaculture farms use seeds to plant marine plants
and even some animals! The seed in the case of animals are
fertilized eggs!
How much of the fish and seaweed that people eat do you guys
think come from aquaculture? (Wait for answers until someone
says half) That’s right 50% of all the seafood that we eat come
from aquaculture farms (The State Of World Fisheries And
Aquaculture 2016).
Who here has heard about global warming? Can someone tell
me what global warming is? (Wait for answer). Global warming
is the process of the Earth getting warmer, due to greenhouse

gases caused by humans (Dictionary.com). Does anyone know
what a greenhouse gas is or what humans do to cause them?
(Take answers). Greenhouse gas that humans have released in to
the air, mainly carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and
methane. Humans release these gasses by burning fossil fuels
like oil and coal (The Guardian 2011).
This affects our oceans in many ways! When waters are warmer
some animals and plants have a harder time surviving. Just like
people can’t survive at certain temperatures neither can plants
and animals! Warm water also changes ocean currents and sea
level rise, due to the melting of ice! The carbon dioxide in the
air also gets absorbed into the ocean and causes something
called ocean acidification. This makes the water more acidic
and some of the animals don’t like that! Can you guys name
some things that are acidic? (Wait for someone to say a lemon
or an orange) Do you think it would be fun to swim in a pool of
lemon juice? Probably not right? Well this is how the animals in
the ocean feel!
Even though warm water isn’t really a good thing for most
plants and animals in the ocean, it helps out things that make
the fish and plants sick, like viruses and bacteria! Warm waters
make these viruses and bacteria reproduce faster, which means
that there are more of them! Sometimes when there are more
viruses and bacteria they can go through a mutation, which
means something in them changes and they look or act
differently. Usually, these changes are good for the virus or
bacteria but bad for the animals that the viruses or bacteria
infects (Pulkkinen et al. 2009). Sometimes these mutations
make diseases harder to cure! Just like colds and other diseases
in humans tend to spread in the winter, the same happens to fish
in the warm temperatures!
How do you guys spread germs to one another? (Take answers)
Diseases can spread from one aquaculture farm to another just

like you guys spread germs to each other! One way this happens
is when there are diseases the water that gets trapped in the
bottom of a boat. This is called ballast water. The diseased
water in the boat gets let out when the boat stops at different
locations, and sometimes these boats will visit different
aquaculture farms. Another way that disease can be transferred
is when birds or other animals drink diseased water and visit
aquaculture farms and they transfer the germs via waste. The
last way when the farmers get water from the ocean sometimes
they can use water that has diseases! This water also goes back
into the ocean and other aquaculture farmers may use it!
What would happen if animals and plants on a land farm got
sick? Would it be good for the farm? (Take answers) The
farmers wouldn’t make any money and then there would be less
food for people! The same thing happens in aquaculture farms!
Now we are going to play a game to show you guys how disease
can spread.
First Activity: Divide the class into three groups, each
representing a different aquaculture farm. Choose one student to
be a bird, one student to be a boat carrying diseased ballast
water and one student to be diseased water. Give each of the
students in the class a small plastic cup filled with water. Pick
one student to be a fish that has contracted a disease and put a
heavy dosage of red food dye in their cup. Tell the students that
fish who have red food in their cup have to pretend to act sick
and dying (the kids will have a blast acting this out). The kids
in each group will be asked to pour a little bit of their water
into someone else in their “farm’s” cup every 2 minutes. The
bird, the boat and the water students can swap water with
anyone in any of the three farms. If the students who are
playing the bird, boat and water end up having red dye in their
cups they will visit the other two groups and begin to infect
their “farms.” We will time how long it takes for the entire class
to become infected.

Second activity: The same game will be played however, this
time we will factor in climate change. Talk to the students about
how climate change will make diseases spread faster and be
harder to cure. In this round of the game there will be and extra
role called the fish doctor. The fish doctor will be able to
replace your “infected” water cup with a new clean cup.
However, the fish doctor can only see one fish every two
minutes, and can only see students who have RED food coloring
in their cups. The goal of the doctor is to show that new
diseases are harder to treat due to climate change. It is not
included in the first activity so that the children can understand
the basic concept of the lesson before we make it more intricate.
Two students will be selected to be the diseased fish. One
student will have red food coloring added to their cup and one
will have green food coloring. The red food coloring represents
a normal disease that can be cured by the fish doctor while the
green food coloring represents a dangerous disease that doesn’t
have a cure yet! This new green disease is introduced to show
that climate change will bring on more virulent diseases.
Students with green food coloring cannot visit the doctor. The
round will continue as the other round did, except to show how
disease spreads faster the kids will exchange water with each
other every minute instead of every two minutes. .
After the activities ask the students if they were surprised how
fast the diseases spread from “farm” to “farm.” Ask the students
what they think are good ways to prevent spreading diseases.
Talk to them about biosecurity, have clean tools (like washing
your hands) and about reporting new diseases to the
government.
Homework: Have the students draw a picture of aquaculture and
one thing they would do stop the outbreak of disease.

Activity and homework script:
Teacher: So how the game works I need 4 volunteers (pick
children). You are going to be the boat, you are going to be the
bird, and you are going to be the water! Now you are going to
be the disease. (Hand out all children clear cups filled with
water). Now (insert name here) is the disease and to show that
we are going to put red food dye in his/her water. (Put red food
dye in his/her water). Now class everyone divide into three
groups, each group is going to be a different aquaculture farm!
You can even name your farm! (Divide class into three groups
and make sure the boat, bird and water are in separate groups,
let the disease chose what farm they are going to be in). Now
every two minutes you guys will pick a partner and put a little
bit of your water into your partners cup and then your partner
will do the same. If you get infected with the disease pretend to
act sick! You can only be partners with someone in your farm.
Unless you are the boat, bird or water then you can choose
anyone in the class! We are going to time how long it takes for
everyone to be infected!
Now for round 2, I need 5 new volunteers (pick children). One
new role is the fish doctor! The fish doctor can give anyone
infected with the red food dye and new clean cup of water and
cure them! They can do this every two minutes! The other new
role is the green disease. Now, like we talked about in class,
climate change makes diseases spread faster and makes them
harder to cure. If you get infected with the green disease you
cannot go to the fish doctor! If you are the boat, bird, ballast
water or either disease you cannot go to the doctor. The rest of
the game works the same way except, this round will be faster
and you guys will swap water every minute because climate
changes help diseases spread faster! Now divided into three new
groups and we will start the game again (run game similar to the
fist time).

After activity:
Now are you guys surprised about how fast the diseases spread?
What do you think are good ways to stop this? How do you guys
stop spreading germs to one another? (Take answers). We can
make sure that our boats and waters are clean by taking water
samples, and then treating the water with antibiotics and other
things that help get rid of diseases. We also can put nets and
other protections up to keep infected animals out of aquaculture
farms! Now for homework I want you guys to draw a picture of
an aquaculture farm and write three sentences about how you
would stop the spread of disease in aquaculture farms.
Instructions for the activity:
Round 1:
1. Pick 4 students from the class to be the Red disease, the boat
with the ballast water, the bird and the water system. The boat,
bird and water system will be allowed to intermingle between
the 3 groups, which we will discuss in the next step.
2. Divide the remaining members of the class into 3 separate
groups; each group will represent a different aquaculture farm.
3. Give each student a clear cup filled with water.
4. Put a vast amount of red food coloring into the kid who
represents the red disease.
5. Have each of the kids including the one carrying the red
disease pour a little bit of their water into each others cups. If
the children are not the boat, bird or water system they need to
only exchange with other kids in their “farm,” however the
boat, bird and water supply can swap water with anyone in any
farm.
6. Repeat the water swapping process every two minutes until
everyone is infected and note how long it took.
Round 2.
1. Pick 6 students who weren’t selected for a special role in
Round 1. Assign the same roles in the first activity. Assign the

additional role of the green disease, which represents a new
strand of a virulent disease that is brought on the by the effects
of climate change, and has no cure. There is also the role of the
fish doctor, who can swap out anyone’s water infected with the
red disease, with clean water. One fish can visit the fish doctor
every two minutes, however, the fish doctor cannot cure anyone
affected by the virulent green disease.
2. The rest of the activity continues as the first one did, with the
exception that the water swapping occurs every minute instead
of every two minutes.
Strategy essay:
The purpose of this activity is to teach elementary school
students about aquaculture farms and how disease can spread so
quickly and how this affects the farm. By the end of the activity
the students should understand: what an aquaculture farm is,
various methods for how disease spread, and that climate
change is making it harder for scientists to cure diseases.
Through the use of the activity the students will see how fast
diseases can spread during an outbreak, how different vectors
for disease can spread disease from farm to farm, and how
climate changes can make disease more virulent. The goal of
this lesson is to educate students about how aquaculture is an
important industry in the world, how it is sustainable and helps
wild fish populations rebuild, and lastly to show that disease in
aquaculture is a serious problem. To accomplish these goals, I
make appeals to logos, use visuals, and student participation.
The most prevalent strategy that I use in the beginning of my
lesson plan is appeals to logos, to help the children make
connections about aquaculture with concepts that are familiar to

them. The purpose of this strategy is to help the students easily
understand a foreign concept, by comparing it to something that
they are already familiar with. I do this by using many examples
of things that children are familiar with such as, actual farms.
Because aquaculture farms are very similar in concept to land
farms, it is a good way for students to understand what exactly
aquaculture is. I also make a comparison to how farmers plant
seeds to grow plants and how aquaculture farmers get eggs to
fertilize and grow fish and other seas creatures. When talking
about how climate change impacts how diseases in aquaculture
work, I relate how humans tend to get sick during the winter to
how fish tend to get more diseases when its warm out, due to
climate change. I also relate how diseases spread from one farm
to another by asking the students how they spread germs from
one person to another. Being able to relate real life examples to
the world of aquaculture will help the students get a much better
grasp on the subject. It forces them to make connections
between things that they know about and things that they have
experience to something that they probably have never heard of
before. This makes it much easier to understand. When I ask the
children what they think will happen if a farm on land only has
sick animals, they can draw a connection to how disease in
aquaculture will affect the fish in the farm. The use of
comparisons is an easy way to communicate a new idea to
someone. If someone could make a comparison between two
things it will be easier for them to understand and visualize how
this new concept operates.
The use of visuals is also a prevalent strategy in the lesson plan,
as they serve to connect ideas and concepts to something that
the students can actually visualize. The visualization of these
concepts, will help to students to better understand the concept
of aquaculture By using visuals such as pictures of actual
aquaculture farms, the students can really get a feel for what an
aquaculture farm is and how it operates. The use of food dye as
a visual for disease ensures that the children will easily grasp

how quickly disease can spread in aquaculture. The red dye will
symbolize something negative and the children will not want to
come into contact with it. This instates an association that
diseases are bad and that they should be avoided. Having the
children act sick when infected, it not only adds a layer of fun
for the students but it shows how detrimental disease can be. By
adding in a second food dye, we show how climate change
interacts with disease in aquaculture. The green food dye is
much more serious because the students cannot go to the fish
doctor to cure it. Because they won’t be able to cure the green
dye diease, the students will think that this disease, brought on
by climate change is even worse. An even more negative
conception will be perceived. When the children see how
quickly their classmates are becoming infected it will show
them just how quickly and easily disease will spread. This
exercise should demonstrate to the children that diseases due to
climate change are a bigger threat to aquaculture compared to
the diseases that are currently infecting fish. In the homework
assignment, I ask the children to draw an aquaculture farm. This
drawing will show us what knowledge the children have
retained from this lesson and the visuals that we used along
with it. These visual effects are the best way to show these
concepts as the students will get to see the spread of disease in
the classroom and this activity will serve as a model to show
what happens in the real world.
The use of student involvement in the lesson will help the
students to remember and care about the lesson, by being
invested in it. Through student participation, the students will
get imagine what it is like to be a fish infected by a disease and
they will get to see how easily disease vectors, like ballast
water, animals like birds, and water spread disease from farm to
farm. By participating in this activity the students will get a feel
for how disease in aquaculture can be quiet detrimental and how
it will only get worse with the effects of climate change. By
asking students questions and having them brainstorm ways to

combat disease in aquaculture we will challenge the students
and test what they have learned so far. Young students love to
show what they know, and they love to imagine scenarios in
which they can help. This inclusion in the lesson plan will
encourage the children to get interested in the topic and want to
participate. The addition of a homework assignment will help
the kids to recall and reproduce the knowledge that they have
learned in class, in a fun and creative way. They both visually
produce a picture of an aquaculture farm and mentally
brainstorm how they can fight disease in aquaculture. Having
the students recall what they have learned and having them draw
it out will help the students to further care about the topic by
adding the fun element of drawing. The writing part of the
assignment will challenge students to connect what they learned
with and use their own ideas creatively. All these strategies will
reinforce what I talk about in the lesson plan and hopefully get
the children to care about the lesson.
All the strategies implemented in my lesson plan help the
students to connect their idea of aquaculture with things that
they know. The use of visuals and student participation get the
students invested in the lesson. Overall these strategies make
fore a good lesson plan because they encourage the students to
actively.
Works cited
Agriculture Aquaculture Water System Farm [image]..
Retrieved from https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-
stock-images-aquaculture-farm-image15283549
Climate Change. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/climate-change

Contributing to food security and nutrition for all. (2016). The
State of World Fisheries
and Aquaculture 2016.. [online] Available at:
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5555e.pdf [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017].
Farmland search [image]. (2017) Retrieved from
http://www.farmlandsearch.com/pics/forsale-forsale-
8361665.jpg
Japanese Scallops in Vancouver Island [image].. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/aquaculture/
Khaled bin Sultan. Off bottom Sea-weed Farming [image]..
Retrieved from
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/466685580111905337/
Pavlos Rekas. Fish Pens off the Coast of Greece [image]..
Retrieved from
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/april/aquaculture-fish-
waste-040711.html
Pulkkinen, K., Suomalainen, L.R., Read, A.F., Ebert, D.,
Rintamäki, P. and Valtonen,
E.T., 2010. Intensive fish farming and the evolution of pathogen
virulence: the case of columnaris disease in
Finland. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B:
Biological Sciences, 277(1681), pp.593-600.
Salmon Farm Sea Cage [image].. Retrieved from
https://salmonfarmingstandrews.wordpress.com/
What are the main man-made greenhouse gases? (2011,
February 21). Retrieved April
11, 2017, from
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/feb/04/man-
made-greenhouse-gases

SAMPLE #4
https://moodleprior.trincoll.edu/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=9185
3#p159266
My public writing document is a podcast on the symbolic
nature of clothing for How Stuff Works’s show, Stuff You
Should Know. This show covers topics ranging from how silly
putty is made to how internships work. Because of its broad
range of topic coverage, Stuff You Should Know is an
appropriate means of distribution for a topic on clothing’s
communicative nature. My previous assignments focused on
how ideals of masculinity are projected through men’s clothing
in the United States. Because the audience of Stuff You Should
Know is likely mostly Americans interested in learning about
everyday objects, I chose to broaden the focus of the podcast to

what clothing means. I chose the podcast because of its
accessible nature and convenience for multitasking. Listeners
can stream and download podcasts to listen to wherever they are
while they do pretty much anything. From driving to work, to
cleaning a room, to simply lying down, the podcast educates
listeners. Podcasts also can get listeners to think about topics in
a new and different way than they perhaps had before. The
purpose of this podcast is to educate listeners on the symbolic
nature of clothing through a host-guest dialogue, appeals to
ethos, and the use of familiar everyday examples of symbolic
clothing.
Because the information from this project is communicated
orally, I elected to have a dialogue between a podcast host and a
guest speaker anthropologist to keep listeners engaged and to
help them keep track of what’s being said. The host asks
questions the listeners might be thinking which keeps the
audience engaged because the show covers topics listeners
would be interested in. Take this interaction for example:
Host: So you’re saying that clothing as a means of
communication depends on one’s time and culture?
Anthropologist: Yes, that’s correct. The average modern
American’s interpretation of a silk article of clothing could be
very different from an individual from another cultural
background’s interpretation of silk.
Host: So that leads me to my next question. What are some
examples of clothing’s symbolic nature in the United States?
After the anthropologist gives the host a vague example of how
clothing’s meaning is culturally and periodically contingent, the
audience might be curious in a concrete example of clothing’s
symbolism. Knowing this, I chose to have the host ask for a
concrete example to keep the audience interested and help move
them towards the podcast’s purpose- to educate listeners on the
symbolic nature of clothing. Because podcasts aren’t as
conducive to replaying what’s being said as a written document

is to a reader, the question and answer format also helps the
audience keep track of what the anthropologist is talking about.
Additionally, having two speakers gives the listener changes in
voice to keep them engaged instead of listening to one voice
droning on. Having a dialogue between a podcast host and a
guest anthropologist allows the show to cover topics listeners
are most interested in, keeps listeners on track, and keeps
listeners engaged with the show.
The podcast makes use of an appeal to ethos by having a
guest anthropologist who establishes her credentials and
experience early on in the show to improve the credibility of the
information on clothing’s symbolic nature. I have the host state
the credentials of the show’s guest in the opening sequence. The
host says, “To find out more about what your clothes say about
you, I’m going to talk to Professor Meghan Marsh of the Trinity
College anthropology department.” This tells listeners that the
guest speaker is highly educated because she is a professor and
she’s a very good one because she qualifies to teach at an elite
institution. A listener would value the word of a professor
trained in the anthropological discipline over a podcast host
that’s merely speculating on what clothing means. In the
introduction of the show, I also wrote the host to state that the
guest anthropologist has been a professor for fifteen years. This
signals to the audience that she has plenty of experience and
knowledge in anthropology and therefore, her word on
clothing’s symbolic nature is trustworthy. By purposefully
choosing to tell listeners in the beginning of the podcast that the
guest speaker is a professor, teaches at a respected, elite
institution, and that she’s taught for fifteen years, I established
the guest’s authority on the subject matter. This appeal to ethos
to improves the overall credibility and quality of the podcast’s
information on the symbolic nature of clothing in the minds of
listeners.
In this podcast, I chose to discuss the symbolic nature of
clothing through familiar examples to keep listeners engaged
and help them gain a better understanding of the abstract

concept. The particular examples I chose such as gendered pink
and blue clothing were specifically picked for this podcast’s
listeners. The audience of Stuff You Should Know are likely
mostly Americans, therefore listeners would be most engaged
and best understand the subject matter if it was presented to
them through examples from their own cultural background. By
likely having experience in American culture, listeners would
be aware with the notion of pink as a feminine color and blue as
a masculine color. Because my goal of this podcast is to get
listeners to think about clothing as a means of communication, I
chose a familiar clothing symbolism and turned it on its head in
the podcast. I discussed how pink actually was once considered
a male color. I also discussed how gendering clothing for
children has even been a relatively new phenomenon in the
United States. By using examples that the listeners would be
familiar with of clothing’s symbolism, I am able to keep my
audience’s attention and to get them to think about clothing in a
way they perhaps never had consciously thought of before- as a
means of communication.
The goal of this public writing document is to educate a
broader audience than those within the anthropological
community on the functions of clothing outside of protection,
namely clothing’s symbolic nature. By utilizing a podcast on
Stuff You Should Know to achieve this purpose, I am able to
reach people outside the discipline who are interested in
thinking about everyday things (like clothing) in a different way
than they would have before. If this podcast were to actually be
published, more people would be able to consciously recognize
what they’re communicating to others by the way they dress and
have an increased awareness of the extent culture influences
their actions.

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