Rhetorical Analysis of a University Homepage

For this analysis, I chose the school my mother attended: Saint John's University in Queens.
http://www.stjohns.edu/

The Figure 2.5 comic lists reasons why people check out a site. It succeeds at including points that not just students would seek out (course list, faculty information), incorporating prospective students and visitors as well (usable campus map, parking information). It does not include MY reason for visiting this site, but I am a special case since most people are not doing a rhetorical analysis of the web site.

Saint John's web site fits the left side of the comic's venn diagram. Displayed front and center is a slideshow of campus pictures and news about athletics. It also offers a menu of links to different parts of the site, including sections explaining the school's philosophy ("About Us"), coming events, and important notices (info about Hurricane Irene). However, contrary to the comic, the site leaves most other information for small links that don't attract attention that would distract from a few key points. It is well-organized for students, parents, and alumni navigation, and has a search bar for more specific searches. These characteristics make it an effective text -- I prefer it to my own University's home page! Many different audience members can easily navigate the page, and it fulfills its purpose of directing visitors to their desired information as well as show a flattering bit about the univeristy (the main picture displays Saint John's University athletes who made the All-Academic Team).

       Difference between "multimedia" and "multimodal"

After reading the introductory text, I see very little difference between the two concepts. "Multimedia" is a noun to describe content which utilizes multiple forms of media (sound, text, picture, etc.), while "multimodal" is an adjective to describe the very same concept. One could say, "This multimedia commercial combines music, text, and animation; therefore, it is multimodal."

       Response: Linguistic

The writer of this response to the earthquake in Japan takes special care to emphasize that America and its President share concern for not just the Japanese, but all people of Japan. "Our" American actions have been informed by the President, who is leading us to help our allies in Japan in any form needed. The response is not listed with any description as to how much, how, or for how long the help will come. This makes for an effective offer of unconditional help in Japan's time of need.

      Response: Visual

Though the layout and font are identical on both Twitter accounts, one may gain a different understanding of each individual by the colors chosen for their profiles. Cheryl's profile has more colors that are brighter, and her display picture is of her in real life (one would presume) but only a fraction of her face. This shows a bit of spunk and originality, while she may be trying to maintain some anonymity by not showing her entire face.
Kristen's Twitter has the same quantity of different colors on her profile, but they are of a smaller spectrum -- softer colors, especially blue and white and light pink do not bombard the viewer's eye as much as the high-contrast colors of Cheryl's profile. This shows a softness or gentleness of the profile owner. Kristen's picture is a panda showing about the same percentage of face as Cheryl's, but the cartoon display removes Kristen from sharing her identity; this speaks to Kristen's sensibility and caution, or may simply mean that Kristen likes panda bears.

       Response: Aural

This video includes pops and rings, the narrator's voice, a beat and music throughout. The sounds and the implied age of the female narrator give the video a young feel. The music and drum beat in the background also help by acting as transitions (the view changes right at the end of a meter of the background music). If a different voice -- say, an older male -- or a separate song/genre were used, the video would have a completely different feel, or tone, even if the spoken and written message stayed the same. 

       Response: Spatial

Perhaps due to design, or just because of how the page loads, my eye is drawn immediately to the Washington State University logo. After, my eye drifts to the highlighted articles, since they are the largest and most colorful; the menu for page navigation is smaller and below the article icons. This layout coaxes one to read the articles that she may not have visited the site to read originally. If the order of the information was changed, the difference may not be large; for a larger impact, the size of the differing parts should vary (make the menu larger and the article pictures smaller).

       Response: Gestural

When Obama addresses the nation about Libya, his brow is furrowed and his tone is serious, showing his somber attitude. His hands are clasped or spread to shoulder length. He says more not with these simple gestures, but with the gestures he does not make -- he is not overly animated, he does not raise his voice, and he does not wave his arms about. He exemplifies calm and seriousness.