Think about a product or service you really love – something that you have recommended to your friends or family or that you would get excited talking about to a stranger.  Maybe its LaCroix soft drinks, a comfortable pair of shoes, the double-chocolate muffin at your favorite bakery, or the convenient rides you get through your Lyft app.  With that product or service in mind, think about the business strategy behind it. 

1. First, conduct research on the business, gathering as much information about its strategy as possible. Visit its website, search for news stories about the product or service, and search social media for mentions of the business.  While you will not be able to learn everything about a business’s strategy that an insider would know, you should be able to get a general idea of how the business operates and what the industry environment is like. You MUST post the links to the materials you are drawing your information from as part of the DB.

2. Next, in your post identify at least two the business’s main competitors.  Explain how your chosen business differentiates its product or service from competitors’ offerings you have named. 

3. Then, explain its competitive advantage, drawing on terms form this week's reading materials. Do you think the advantage is sustainable?  Why or why not?

In this unit, we have looked at the differences between facts and opinions. You will need to use both in your writing, but they serve very different purposes.

Initial Post:

In your initial post, consider the following questions:

· What would you consider to be the biggest difference between a fact and an opinion? How would you use a fact in your writing and how would you use opinion in your writing? 

· Why do you think that people get confused about the difference between a fact and an opinion?

Provide two statements at the end of your post. You can call them Statement # 1 and Statement # 2. One statement should be a fact and one should be an opinion. Do not state which is the fact and which is the opinion.

Responses:

Review the two statements that your classmates included at the end of their posts. Which do you think is the fact and which is the opinion? How do you know? Then, consider the use of facts and opinions in society today. In your response, state how often you think people use facts and opinions in their day-to-day lives.

In this discussion, you will be analyzing a subject for its use of the rhetorical appeals.

Initial Post:

Please begin by selecting an advertisement for a popular product, such as soda, food, clothing brand, or a car. Write one paragraph considering the advertisement rhetorically by answering these questions: How does the advertisement logically (logos) sell the product to the consumer? What emotions (pathos) does the advertisement create in you after viewing it? What makes you trust (ethos) the brand in the advertisement or not trust them? Please include a link to the advertisement in your post. Make sure to review the Readings and Resources on the use of the rhetorical appeals in the unit.