Project III


Quick Index Projects Project I Project II Project III Project IV Project V Assignments Assignment I Assignment II Goodwill Website Analysis Book Club Brochure CSS Assignment Project V Analysis Back to top Home	This is a rhetorical analysis of the Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids website. I would like to thank Amanda Barr for coming into our Writing 351 classroom to show us the website and for answering our questions. Companies are ever changing their overall look and feel to be up to date with society and the time. Before looking at the Goodwill website, www.goodwillgr.org, my expectations and possibly many other people’s expectations of the Goodwill website is somewhat of an old-fashioned feel. After looking into the website further, I noticed that there are many features that could help bring a new-age image that they seem to be striving for. They had a link so that the user could shop online at Goodwill stores all over the country, yet they do not advertise this. As a user, I found it to be a very important idea. Many people now are looking for easier ways to shop, and the idea of Goodwill having online shopping appeals to that audience. As I was watching television the other day, I saw a commercial for Goodwill. It was suggesting that people, who want the vintage look that is in style now, should go to Goodwill to buy it instead of spending too much money on an imitation. I feel like they are trying to reach out to a completely new audience with these ideas, possibly the younger generation, such as college and high school students. I do not believe that the website is reaching the intended audiences as much as they had hoped. The pictures within the Goodwill website create emotion, pathos, but the text seems to be lacking pathos. The pictures in the upper left hand corner of the page give the reader a sense that these are real people. Their smiles are real not the fake smile of a model, and the user is able to get a picture of what Goodwill is all about. One picture shows an employee in a classroom setting learning about job responsibilities. Another picture shows an elderly woman with a young woman on the bench, both smiling and having fun. It gives the Goodwill website a feeling of community connection. When it came to reading the text it lacked that emotional appeal. The pictures conveyed a deeper message than the text got at. I believe they could have used the emotional appeal of helping others and helping the community to help persuade people who look at the website to donate or volunteer. In the Mission page the first paragraph did a great job of explaining the mission statement of the organization, but I felt like the paragraphs that followed it did not provide the appeal to emotion that I was hoping for. My hope was that they would go into a paragraph saying, “We need people in the community to volunteer and donate in order to keep Goodwill going.” It should be pointing out need and giving. In the section titled, 10 Ways You Can Support Goodwill, I felt like it was lacking some much need pathos. I do not feel like the list does the page justice. I feel like it should be emotional in order to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to help out. Why not say the benefits of volunteering or the idea of creating a closer community? I think by pushing the appeal of emotion more, it would attract more donators and volunteers. The website used some ethos to persuade the reader, but I feel like it could have gone further to reach that persuasive appeal. I think that the website could play off the idea of being a part of the community and bringing the community together. I think it could be more persuasive by using “we” more. By making the reader believe that the website holds the same ideas as the reader does, he/she would be more persuaded. The website should be coming across, “Hey, we have the same morals and ethics as you. We are here to bring the community closer. We are a giving and charitable like you.” The website’s attention to statistics and facts helps to persuade the reader that they are a credible organization and that Goodwill can be trusted. I did feel like there needed to be more persuasion with in the donating, volunteering, and hiring sections. They just lay out the facts instead of going in and saying, “This is what we can do for you. These are the benefits to you.” They use a list to show the benefits of volunteering or hiring but I feel like a small paragraph would help to further persuade the reader into becoming involved with Goodwill. Although the website used some ethos, I believe it needed to go a step further to really persuade the reader to get involved. As I looked through the website, I noticed that it was full of logos, facts and statistics, but I think some of the facts were not needed on the website. I really liked how all of the store locations were on the website with addresses, Mapquest maps, phone numbers, and hours. I thought that was very helpful and useful. As I looked at the Report Card page I read, “The average starting wage for those hired between 10/01/03 and 09/30/04 was 7.52/hour with a max wage of 47.42/hour.” I wondered who was making that 47.42 dollars per hour. Is it really necessary to let just anyone know this? It could possibly turn people away from donating. They may think that since they don’t make that much money why should they help out someone who makes more than them. Also, there is the possibility that someone looking to get hired by Goodwill may have the wrong impression and think that he will make that much money if he is hired. I think the statement sends out the wrong message or sends out a message that can be wrongly interpreted. The website does a good job of bringing in facts and information for the reader, but some of the information does not seem to be necessary. The website tries to set up kairos, but it seems to fall short. It does not identify the place, time, culture and audience in the way that I feel is needed. The pictures in the website portray this idea of kairos well, but the text does not. The text should focus on how, today, people want to help out. They want to give back to the community and also have a sense of community. The words are lacking and are cold, distant, and without the personality that is needed to bring the website up to date with the time, culture, place, and audience. I think that Goodwill has three different types of audiences, business people looking to hire Goodwill, people who are looking to be hired by Goodwill, and people who want to volunteer or donate to Goodwill. I think in the section for businesses (explaining the programs) the website could focus on using less pathos and using more of the “this is what we can do for you” attitude. Businesses are interested in what another organization can do for them not what they can do for another business. Many times they will not get involved with another company or organization unless they can benefit from it. The other two audiences can use more pathos to persuade people to get involved. The website does try to set up kairos through the pictures, but it needs to also convey it in the text as well. The website is full of information and facts, but the lack of emotional appeal and persuasive appeal makes it so they are not achieving their goal of getting more customers, whether it is business partnerships, donators, employees, or shoppers. Using only necessary facts, updating the overall look and tone, appealing to emotion, and persuading the user would create a much better website.

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Goodwill Website Analysis

This is a rhetorical analysis of the Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids website. I would like to thank Amanda Barr for coming into our Writing 351 classroom to show us the website and for answering our questions.

Companies are ever changing their overall look and feel to be up to date with society and the time. Before looking at the Goodwill website, www.goodwillgr.org, my expectations and possibly many other people’s expectations of the Goodwill website is somewhat of an old-fashioned feel. After looking into the website further, I noticed that there are many features that could help bring a new-age image that they seem to be striving for. They had a link so that the user could shop online at Goodwill stores all over the country, yet they do not advertise this. As a user, I found it to be a very important idea. Many people now are looking for easier ways to shop, and the idea of Goodwill having online shopping appeals to that audience. As I was watching television the other day, I saw a commercial for Goodwill. It was suggesting that people, who want the vintage look that is in style now, should go to Goodwill to buy it instead of spending too much money on an imitation. I feel like they are trying to reach out to a completely new audience with these ideas, possibly the younger generation, such as college and high school students. I do not believe that the website is reaching the intended audiences as much as they had hoped.

The pictures within the Goodwill website create emotion, pathos, but the text seems to be lacking pathos. The pictures in the upper left hand corner of the page give the reader a sense that these are real people. Their smiles are real not the fake smile of a model, and the user is able to get a picture of what Goodwill is all about. One picture shows an employee in a classroom setting learning about job responsibilities. Another picture shows an elderly woman with a young woman on the bench, both smiling and having fun. It gives the Goodwill website a feeling of community connection. When it came to reading the text it lacked that emotional appeal. The pictures conveyed a deeper message than the text got at. I believe they could have used the emotional appeal of helping others and helping the community to help persuade people who look at the website to donate or volunteer. In the Mission page the first paragraph did a great job of explaining the mission statement of the organization, but I felt like the paragraphs that followed it did not provide the appeal to emotion that I was hoping for. My hope was that they would go into a paragraph saying, “We need people in the community to volunteer and donate in order to keep Goodwill going.” It should be pointing out need and giving. In the section titled, 10 Ways You Can Support Goodwill, I felt like it was lacking some much need pathos. I do not feel like the list does the page justice. I feel like it should be emotional in order to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to help out. Why not say the benefits of volunteering or the idea of creating a closer community? I think by pushing the appeal of emotion more, it would attract more donators and volunteers.

The website used some ethos to persuade the reader, but I feel like it could have gone further to reach that persuasive appeal. I think that the website could play off the idea of being a part of the community and bringing the community together. I think it could be more persuasive by using “we” more. By making the reader believe that the website holds the same ideas as the reader does, he/she would be more persuaded. The website should be coming across, “Hey, we have the same morals and ethics as you. We are here to bring the community closer. We are a giving and charitable like you.” The website’s attention to statistics and facts helps to persuade the reader that they are a credible organization and that Goodwill can be trusted. I did feel like there needed to be more persuasion with in the donating, volunteering, and hiring sections. They just lay out the facts instead of going in and saying, “This is what we can do for you. These are the benefits to you.” They use a list to show the benefits of volunteering or hiring but I feel like a small paragraph would help to further persuade the reader into becoming involved with Goodwill. Although the website used some ethos, I believe it needed to go a step further to really persuade the reader to get involved.

As I looked through the website, I noticed that it was full of logos, facts and statistics, but I think some of the facts were not needed on the website. I really liked how all of the store locations were on the website with addresses, Mapquest maps, phone numbers, and hours. I thought that was very helpful and useful. As I looked at the Report Card page I read, “The average starting wage for those hired between 10/01/03 and 09/30/04 was 7.52/hour with a max wage of 47.42/hour.” I wondered who was making that 47.42 dollars per hour. Is it really necessary to let just anyone know this? It could possibly turn people away from donating. They may think that since they don’t make that much money why should they help out someone who makes more than them. Also, there is the possibility that someone looking to get hired by Goodwill may have the wrong impression and think that he will make that much money if he is hired. I think the statement sends out the wrong message or sends out a message that can be wrongly interpreted. The website does a good job of bringing in facts and information for the reader, but some of the information does not seem to be necessary.

The website tries to set up kairos, but it seems to fall short. It does not identify the place, time, culture and audience in the way that I feel is needed. The pictures in the website portray this idea of kairos well, but the text does not. The text should focus on how, today, people want to help out. They want to give back to the community and also have a sense of community. The words are lacking and are cold, distant, and without the personality that is needed to bring the website up to date with the time, culture, place, and audience. I think that Goodwill has three different types of audiences, business people looking to hire Goodwill, people who are looking to be hired by Goodwill, and people who want to volunteer or donate to Goodwill. I think in the section for businesses (explaining the programs) the website could focus on using less pathos and using more of the “this is what we can do for you” attitude. Businesses are interested in what another organization can do for them not what they can do for another business. Many times they will not get involved with another company or organization unless they can benefit from it. The other two audiences can use more pathos to persuade people to get involved. The website does try to set up kairos through the pictures, but it needs to also convey it in the text as well.

The website is full of information and facts, but the lack of emotional appeal and persuasive appeal makes it so they are not achieving their goal of getting more customers, whether it is business partnerships, donators, employees, or shoppers. Using only necessary facts, updating the overall look and tone, appealing to emotion, and persuading the user would create a much better website.