Proposal

Before applying to Law School, I researched many schools through the Internet. I noticed that different websites focused on different aspects. Some schools’ websites were more colorful with links to study abroad opportunities or Bar passage rates. Others had all of the regular links such as applicants, students, and alumni; however, there were also links to awards won by students or professors. The differences between the Law School websites were very interesting. I wanted to know why some schools focused on aspects such as color, statistics, or awards and recognitions while others did not. My main question was how were the schools using the web to market themselves? Did they really have to market themselves depending on national rankings? Basically, what is the ethos of the Law Schools that I am looking at, how do they project that ethos through their websites, and what does the audience determine from seeing this projection online?
For this project I intend to compare and analyze four different law schools. I will study a top tier, middle tier, and bottom tier school from the USNews.com 100 Top Law Schools of America. I will also look at a website from a school that is not ranked in the Top 100 Law Schools. My top tier school is Yale Law. It is currently the number one Law School in the country. The next school website I will analyze is University of Houston Law. It is currently ranked sixtieth in the country. I chose this school for my middle tier because I have applied for admission to University of Houston Law. The bottom tier school that I am analyzing is LSU Law. Being a current student at Louisiana State University prompted my research into the Law School here. I have applied to this school as well and it is ranked in the ninety first spot in the rankings. The last school that I will compare is South Texas College of Law. Although this school is not ranked, I have also applied to attend this school in the coming school year.
The theory that I have decided to use to study this concept is web design and marketing theory. I want to look at how law school web designers use web design theory to market the school. For example, is the information you need easy to locate? Does the look of the website appeal to the audience? What colors did the school use and do they add personality to the site? I will also use Rhetorical Theory and Rhetorical Criticism to analyze the idea of ethos in Law Schools and the use of text to attract potential students.
My primary sources are the websites of the Law Schools. These include: www.law.yale.edu, www.law.uh.edu, www.law.lsu.edu, and www.stcl.edu. My secondary sources include USNews.com America’s Best Graduate Schools 2008 (Top Law Schools), Covino, William and David Joliffe, Eds. “What is Rhetoric?” Rhetoric: Concepts, Definitions, Boundaries. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1995; Liestol, Gunnar, Andrew Morrison, and Terje Rasmussen, Eds. Digital Media Revisited. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003; Morris, Steve. Wired Words: Language is the New Identity. London: Pearson Education, 2000; Gehrke, David and Efraim Turban. “Determinants of Successful Website Design: Relative Importance and Recommendations for Effectiveness.” Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 1999.
My argument will be based off of the idea that Law Schools know who their audience is and what their ethos is. I believe that if the school is in the top or middle tier rankings, then the website will not be as developed as the schools in the lower tier levels.