Closing Comments

I think the photo essay completed the task of being able to persuade the athletic administration that athletics are essential. The arguments were sound and clear on what was I trying to emphasize. The argument had three main points that would directly speak to those involved in the athletic program. My goal is easily understood and the topics stayed on focus. The subject was strongly discussed using captions and pictures.

Photo Essay with Narrative in Slides

Purpose Statement and Design Plan

College athletics is essential to a university

-Statement ofPurpose-

I am an athlete for Lewis on the track and cross-coutry team. Collegiate athletics is essential to universities and college throughout. I want to explain some aspects and facts of college athletics that the average student may not know. I would be informing the students and student-athletes attending any university. I will explain the parts of collegiate athletics to my audience through blog, verbal, and visual presentations in the classroom. The difference in the approaches allow for an effective way to teach the students about collegiate athletics and the importance of it.

-Design Plan-

Strategies: The way I want to portray my topic is through seriousness and ideas that are important and accurate. I want people to be interested in my topic but also know how serious it is. I want to show pictures of Lewis University gear that catch the logical side of my audience so that then they can understand the importance of the topic as I do. I will talk about my topic with a mellow tone, but there will be a hint of seriousness with the topics. My audience is important and the way I show my side will be important. I will use ethos, pathos, and logos to capture my audience’s attention.

Ethos is important. I will show them the jobs that are involved with the topic. The pictures of all the job titles will be a revelation.

Pathos is the least effective role in my argument. I will use pictures of the jobs and explain what were to happen if the job is terminated. The toll it would take on the families that are involved in athletics.

Logos will be used primarily. I will explain the financial part of athletics, the enrollment side of athletics, and any other areas that are directly effected by the topic.

Medium: For the medium, I decided that a typical slide show with more focus on the narrative would be more important than a childlike slideshow. Speaking to intelligent advisors and people involved in athletics want to hear more facts than anything. Sports are a numbers game. The people within sports deal almost completely with numbers. The upper level management in the athletics department do not want cheesy pictures; therefore, facts and information will be an effective approach.

Arrangement: I will have eight to ten slides in PowerPoint. I will arrange the slides from least severe and effective to the most relevant topic in the argument. I will mix the type of pictures being used to change with the topics being talked about. The text is going to be more effective on my audience than the pictures themselves. Therefore, there will be more focus on the narrative and captions. I do this so the focus is more on the text, but the pictures add effect to each point made.

Testing: To make sure the approach is effective with my specific audience and to make sure the points got across, I will hold questions after my presentation and ask others what they thought about it as well. Knowing the effectiveness will allow for more persuasion and parts that can be improved. 

IN CLASS Design Plan Draft:

Claims?
Pictures?
Order?

My argument is that collegiate athletics is essential to any university. I'm still working on exactly how to word it. With that there are still claims that can be made, because the entirety of the argument isn't going to change.
My first claim would be it brings in students that may have never came to university without athletics. This will be hard to show in pictures. But a re-wording of the claim may make it easier. I could word it as: Athletics brings more students to the university. This is my most important argument. I like to end strong, so I will have this last. I could move it up front if needed. I would show this by walking in the REC building and taking pictures of different team pictures that were taken in the past and this year to show the consistency of the argument.
My second claim is that it is advertising. The Lewis logo or BedCheck Charlie may not be as well known; however, the fighting irishman for Notre Dame is known throughout the country. With more advertising, the more the name gets out and people want the apparel. This brings in money as well which is put right back into the university. Notre Dame wouldn't be as famous without there football team and other successful athletics. This claim can be made somewhere in the middle. It is not as important as the first claim, but it still serves a purpose.
My third claim is that athletics brings jobs. This sounds silly at first until you think about all the jobs it really brings in. I know for Lewis Cross Country and Track, there are three full-time coaches on salary. Along side that, there are other volunteer coaches and others that are always helping out. This is one team out of the many sports we have here. Then you have an athletic director and others that overlook the coaches. NCAA compliance people are also paid for this reason. These are just some of the jobs offered throughout a smaller school. There are thousands of schools in USA and that means thousands more jobs that are in place. Without the athletic department, all those people wouldn't be in the dream job, or, with this economy, even have a job. This picture can go last or first because of the logos that goes into it. I can even look up actual facts for the amount of schools with athletics. That stat alone could be mind changing.

Purpose Statement

Zak Arcara’s Purpose Statement: College athletics is essential to any university

            I am an athlete for Lewis on the track and cross-coutry team. Collegiate athletics is essential to universities and college throughout. I want to explain some aspects and facts of college athletics that the average student may not know. I would be informing the students and student-athletes attending any university. I will explain the parts of collegiate athletics to my audience through blog, verbal, and visual presentations in the classroom. The difference in the approaches allow for an effective way to teach the students about collegiate athletics and the importance of it.

Important and Interesting

- What matters to you most?
- What interests you?
- What do you want to learn about?
- What do you want to investigate?


Family is the most important thing to me. Yes direct family, but also my team family I have. Nobody will ever be more important than someone in my direct family, besides the one person I bring in to the family as my wife. In my mind, its family over everything all the time. No issue will ever override my family.
My Cross Country family is important as well. Those guys are my best friends and I would be there for them if they ever needed it, and they would be there for me as well. My team and I are up at 5 practicing every single morning and we go through the same pains. No one else besides those special group of guys will understand how I feel on any given day. We understand each other and work with each other to make ourselves better, but better in more than just running.


Family is important, but there really isn't a field to study in school for that. Physics and all there other aspects of the subject have me intrigued with almost any topic. I am on the physics research team here as well, under Dr. Ryan Hooper who just brought me on. I am interested in the subject we will be studying and trying to make. I am not sure exactly where this project will lead me, but there are only benefits.

The idea of physics just grasps my attention, and I plan in going to get my PhD one day in a very specific area of physics. That area is still not exactly known though. Only time will tell...