Layout is important

Elements of an effective layout expands on the idea of 6 main characteristics; balance, proportion, movement, utility, clarity, and emphasis. All of these are very important in evaluating the design of an advertisement. the ad I chose strongly succeeds in balance. The ad is almost perfectly symmetrical . I think they are all equally important but proportion is probably the first thing someone notices. They may not realize why an ad is off, but the sizing of different pieces of an ad can make a huge difference.

Democracy of Goods

This article is reasoning that advertising reaches people to convince everyone that they can own any product. Although some budgeting may be expected, eventually anyone can own the same quality products as those of wealth. This is a factor in todays advertisements; producers are seeking to reach a wide demographic of people to get them to buy their product/service. Targeting specific demographics are common, but usually they are aiming to reach more than just one kind of person. I talk about this a bit in my paper, that the ad i chose is simple so basically anyone and understand the selling point.

Advertising!

Now this I can talk about !

Lately, I've been really fond of the Chevy branding commercials. A specific model is never mentioned, but they do a really good job of expressing a feel for their brand. They have used history as a selling point, that they have been around for generations. In one of the more recent commercials, they use photographs placed in the view-frame of the same place they were taken. This helps link the past to the present.

Another commercial is one I found online when I was looking up visual metaphors, its pretty intense so you should check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82kYQ7j7X2s
They never said a word, but it gives me chills.

In contrast with any really good commercial, there are always the duds. In keeping with the car theme, the Toyota commerical where they have many people forming one giant person is one I hate! I'm not sure why I dislike it so much, but its just weird. Also, those obviously low budget "Go back to college" (or something) commericals where they have someone singing or rapping about going back to school. Those are just annoying.

Peer Editing

I used the checklist to cover all the point in peer editing, I also spent a lot of time going through and making edits within the text.

I never received Patricia Phillips paper.

Essay Summary

My paper is trying to persuade non-believers that ghosts are real. I covered the history of the ghostly encounters all the way back to ancient Egyptians and to more modern native Americans. I included evidence that has been found in different locations, and the tools of the trade that help find the evidence. I covered the counter arguments of "de-bunking" evidence and proving that what they are presenting is real, non-edited evidence.

Works Cited

Balzano, Christopher. Ghosts - Research, Evidence, and Discussion. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ghostvillage.com/>.

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>.

"Ghost Photographs." GHOST RESEARCH SOCIETY. Dale Kaczmarek. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/>.

Ghosts & Spirits Ghost Pictures, Apparition Pictures, Angel & Ghost Stories. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. (Image 1.1) <http://ghoststudy.com/>.

"Native American Ghosts." Ghost to Coast. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ghosttocoast.us/nativeamericanghosts.htm>.

"The Top Ten Best GHOST PHOTOGRAPHS Ever Taken." The Knight Shift. Christopher Knight. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/2005/10/top-ten-best-ghost-photographs-ever.html>.

{Style}

This reading provides us with a lot of reminders to think of while we're writing. Several of them make me think about my writing, and how I can apply these tips.

• Overwriting
• sometimes I feel i get a bit wordy, or add in unnecessary text. When I review my paper later, I usually delete a lot of information I don't feel needs to be included. 
• Shortcuts for the cost of clarity
• As far as explaining things effectively, I have to remind myself that I have to explain things as if the person reading does not know. I've done the research so I know what I'm trying to say, but the reader doesn't. 
• Revising and Re-writing
• I have to admit this is one of my biggest  flaws. I hate rereading my papers and i usually don't change them that much when I do. If I don't have a peer editor of some sort, my papers usually don't get edited. I really, really need to work on this. Its odd, because I actually really like editing other papers, I just never want to do my own.