Monday, August 29, 2011
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).
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The site is clean and well-organized, it's very user friendly. It uses space to help emphasize all the different links and is easy to navigate. I also prefer it to the WSU site.
ReplyDeleteThey use a nice contrast of bold red colors and text on a negative white background. Pulls your eye to the red highlighted links. It is helpful when you are searching for things about the school, but in my opinion it seems a little boring.
ReplyDeleteGreat job describing how the site matches up with the venn diagram from the reading. Also, this was an interesing site to look at (I'm not really familiar with the University, so it was new to me!). Great job.
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