Gonzalez 1 Valentina Gonzalez Professor Erin Ashley Mink Garvey Composition & Rhetoric I WRD 103 Section 415

5 October 30, 2012 Reflection on Multimodal Forms

My discourse community is the neighborhood that I know better than the back of my hand. I was born and raised in Little Village which is a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood in the Southwest side of Chicago. Little Village is home to me; however, many people do not think it is the safest neighborhood. Gang violence is nothing new to the neighborhood, but that is not all Little Village has to offer. The neighborhood is beautiful and full of color and culture. For instance, there are Mexican traditions, food, involvement in the environment and so much more. For these reasons, I chose to make a Prezi presentation. A Prezi presentation would be appropriate to demonstrate how lovely Little Village is because the website allows me to reveal a process. For instance, there is a linear demonstration from each slide to the next. This was an important rhetorical decision because it helps me reveal my central claim. For example, my aim is to illustrate that Little Village is a great neighborhood aside from the gang violence. To show this through the process, I chose to have the first couple of slides mention a recent incident of gang violence. Additionally, I was able to add a slide that would transition the bad to the good. I feel that a Prezi presentation would have that greater affect opposed to a PowerPoint presentation because there is a greater emphasize on the actual transition which should cause a sense of relief in my audience. After discussing a sad case, I began to mention the unique aspects of Little Village. For instance, following the transition slide, I described the Mexican Independence Parade. I also added other unique aspects of the neighborhood. This appeals to ethos because I am clearly demonstrating my claim, and not part of it. For example, I am not solely describing the great sides of Little Village, but I also expressed the negative aspects of the neighborhood.

Gonzalez 2 Additionally, Prezi gave me the freedom to visually appeal to my audience. For example, the colors that I used in the presentation are red and green. Red was the color of my background while green was the color of the slide outline. Both green and red are colors of the Mexican flag which represent Little Village culture. Additionally, Prezi allowed visual appeal because I was able to include pictures. I used plenty of pictures because I felt that it would be truly effective. My audience would feel like they really knew the neighborhood. Furthermore, Prezi allowed me to resize and slant pictures. This was especially important for my first slide because I was able to make the picture of Little Village bigger than a picture of gangs. This would appeal to pathos because the beauty is emphasized instead of the danger. My audience would feel a sense of reassurance knowing that violence is not the only thing that exists in Little Village. In addition, I was able to appeal to pathos because Prezi allows one to insert videos. This was specifically advantageous because I included a video of Aliyah Shells memorial at her local elementary school. This appealed to pathos because one feels sadness to know that an innocent life was taken away because of gang violence. However, I also included other footage that would help support my claim. For example, I included a tour of Little Village. Though the narrators voice is monotone, one can clearly see how special the neighborhood is. There is a sense of community and togetherness. Also, most importantly, there is a great sense of Mexican culture. Overall, through my Prezi presentation I feel that I was very effective in demonstrating that Little Village is a great neighborhood. It has its downfalls but so do all other neighborhoods.