How Can Service Enhance Your Learning?

“The end of all knowledge should be service to others.” – Cesar Chavez

The screenshot above was taken from the Feed My Starving Children website. It’s a story that uses rhetorical appeals to persuade its intended audience. But who is their intended audience? What is the organization’s purpose for sharing this information? And are the rhetorical appeals effective?

This semester, you will perform two hours of service at Feed My Starving Children, which is an organization dedicated to combating global childhood hunger. In addition to gaining valuable insights about our course themes, your service will also provide you the opportunity to analyze how organizations use rhetorical strategies and storytelling to accomplish their mission. These are the same strategies you will utilize on course projects to promote social change.

Before and after the service, you will complete reflections that will guide you through the process of analyzing the rhetorical appeals and storytelling strategies used by the organization.

Why You Should Care

The Service Learning Experience is more than just a requirement—it’s an opportunity to connect your academic learning with real-world issues that affect our community. By working with a community partner dedicated to addressing poverty and food insecurity, you’ll gain firsthand insight into the challenges that many people face daily. This project will not only deepen your understanding of these critical social issues but also enhance your ability to think critically, analyze rhetorical strategies, and apply what you’ve learned to create meaningful change. The skills you develop through this experience will be invaluable, both in your academic journey and in your future career, where the ability to connect knowledge with action is key.

Project Overview for Service Learning Experience

Every organization in the world—whether political, business, arts, or education—relies on rhetorical strategies like logos, ethos, and pathos, along with storytelling, to achieve their objectives. These techniques are crucial for persuading and engaging their audience.

This is especially evident in non-profit organizations, which must skillfully use these strategies to motivate their audience to donate, fundraise, advocate, and spread awareness. Non-profits like Feed My Starving Children expertly employ these tactics, using powerful stories of impact, credible evidence of their effectiveness, and emotionally charged appeals to inspire action.

Through this Service Learning project, you will have the opportunity to examine firsthand how such an international organization utilizes rhetorical strategies and storytelling to mobilize resources and drive social change. This analysis will not only deepen your understanding of rhetoric but also enhance your ability to apply these strategies in your own Civic Action Projects.

Project Steps

Step 1: Learn about Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetoric means effective communication, and it uses the specific appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. Additionally, kairos helps determine when and where to use these appeals.

Logos

Logos appeals to logic and reason. This appeal often uses data (facts and statistics).

Ethos

Ethos appeals to character or trustworthiness. This appeal is about the author’s credibility and uses word choice, tone, and experience. Authors using ethos might also show multiple sides of the argument.

Pathos 

Pathos appeals to emotion. This appeal focuses on the values and beliefs of the intended audience. This strategy might make an empathetic connection between the audience and topic using stories and examples. Pathos can help the “audience grasp as argument’s significant in terms of how it would help or harm the tangible world around them” (Louisville.edu).

Kairos 

Kairos refers to the timeliness of an argument. This appeal helps determine the right time and place for an argument. For example, an advertisement for pizza would be more effective around 6 pm, when people are getting hungry for dinner, than if it aired at 9 am. That pizza ad would also be more successful if it was aired during a football game instead of, say, a World War II documentary.

Rhetorical appeals are used everywhere–from advertising to political speeches to charitable organizations–because they help persuade people to think or behave in desired ways. For this assignment, you will have to analyze how the charitable organization uses rhetorical appeals.

Deepen your understanding of rhetoric by watching this video:

Step 2: Analyze the Organizations Audience and Purpose

To analyze the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) website and determine its intended audience and rhetorical purpose, start by examining:

• Language, imagery, and content used throughout the site.
• Look for key phrases or messaging that highlight who the organization is speaking to—whether it’s potential donors, volunteers, or advocates.
• Pay attention to the stories they tell, the testimonials shared, and the types of calls to action they include, as these elements often reveal the audience they are targeting and the purpose they hope to achieve.
• Additionally, explore sections like the “About Us” or “Mission” page, where the organization typically outlines its goals and values.

By analyzing these components, you can better understand how Feed My Starving Children uses rhetoric to engage its audience and drive its mission forward.

Step 3: Identify a Story on the Organization’s Website

Next, look for a specific story being told on their website. This could be a story about a particular family, child, community, or initiative supported by FMSC. You might even find stories on their About Us pages.

Step 4: Identify Rhetorical Appeals Used in the Story

Identify examples of logos, ethos, or pathos that are used in the story:

You will analyze these rhetorical appeals for the pre-service reflection, so take notes on exactly how the appeal appears.

You should also consider how kairos determines the context of the appeals. For example, in what ways does the success of an ethos appeal depend on their intended American audience during this month or year?

Step 5: Evaluate

Now that you have identified the intended audience, rhetorical purpose, and analyzed the use of logos, ethos, and pathos in the story on the website, it’s time to evaluate whether the authors of the story effective used rhetorical strategies considering their intended audience and purpose.

Start by asking yourself, did the story…

• use logos (facts, data, logic) convince the audience of the organization’s credibility and message? Consider whether the evidence presented was relevant and compelling.
• use ethos (credibility, trustworthiness) to establish a strong sense of trust with the audience? Reflect on whether the organization’s credibility was clearly communicated and whether it aligned with the audience’s values.
• use pathos (emotions) that appealed to the intended audience’s values and beliefs? Think about whether the emotional aspects of the story were likely to evoke the intended response, such as empathy or a desire to take action.

To further assess effectiveness, consider the overall coherence of the appeals: Do the logos, ethos, and pathos work together harmoniously to support the rhetorical purpose?

Finally, reflect on the audience’s likely response: Would the intended audience feel informed, persuaded, and motivated to act based on these appeals? These questions will help you critically analyze the effectiveness of the rhetorical strategies in achieving the organization’s goals.

Step 6: Complete the Pre-Service Reflection on Canvas

A pre-service reflection will help prepare you for the learning that will take place at the experience. It must be submitted on Canvas prior to the service session.

Please use this prompt as a guide when you write your answers.