http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20117005
This article, by BBC News, discusses Hurricane Sandy and the damages that she could cause.
Sandy has already claimed sixty victims in the Caribbean's and President Obama said it could pose "additional problems for Americans". Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement saying the subways, buses, and train services would shut down starting at seven PM Sunday evening. This article also explains to its readers the safety precautions that need to be taken when dealing with a potential threat. It also shows readers the path of Hurricane Sandy and when it is projected to hit different areas.
The purpose of this article is to inform and keep readers up to date with current information about Hurricane Sandy. The exigence is that Sandy could cause a lot of damage to many Americans in all different areas. In order to make sure as many people are as prepared as possible, this article describes everything the reader would need to know in a page. The audience of this text is adults who want to stay informed about the current status of Sandy and also people who want to know what they can do to be better prepared for this storm.
The main rhetorical device used throughout this entire article is logos. The author uses logos everywhere in the text to better communicate his/her message with readers. For example, the author includes pictures of Sandy's projected path. This allows the reader to visualize where the hurricane is going to hit and how it may affect them. Also, the author include quotes from the President, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Governor Chris Christie. This quotes referred to the severity of the storm and the actions that need to take place in order to ensure safety. These quotes allowed the reader to see what influential people thought about the storm and what they said to do. Lastly, the author uses statistics in the article to convey his/her message. These statistics establish credibility and allow the reader to easily grasp what the author is talking about. Seeing numbers makes it easier to process the information and further allows the reader to understand what the author is trying to convey.
Yes, in my opinion I do think the author conveys his/her message to the reader. The author not only includes a video of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's speech to the New York City public but also uses words like "life threatening" to describe the hurricane. Both of these things in addition to the charts, quotes, and statistics listed above really allows the author to inform the reader about Hurricane Sandy and convinces them by the time they are finished reading this article that this hurricane is not joke and is to be taken seriously.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Political Cartoon: Obama struggles to face the many Mitt Romneys
For this weeks TOW I chose to do a political cartoon because I think it is very relevant due to the upcoming presidential election. This cartoon, which was taken from the Houston Chronicle, shows one President Obama playing basketball with many Mitt Romney's. Each Mitt Romney has different words written on his shirt like "moderate Mitt", "severely conservative Mitt", "pro-regulation Mitt", and "anti-regulation Mitt".
The clear purpose of this text is to show how Mitt Romney is a new person every day. The cartoonist shows this by the different writings on Mitt's shirt. One day he is moderate the next day conservative. One day he is pro-regulation the next day he is anti-regulation. Obama doesn't know where to throw the ball with all of Mitt Romney's hands up in the air calling for it. This shows that Obama is struggling to face the different Mitt Romney's. The exigence of this cartoon is the approaching presidential election and also the debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney, which have been all the news lately. The audience of this cartoon is people who understand politics and who are able to vote in the election. I would also assume that the audience is democrats because this political cartoon favors Obama showing that Mitt Romney is wishy-washy.
This political cartoon uses many rhetorical devices. One of the devices that stands out is contradiction for affect. This cartoonist contradicts himself by putting on one shirt "moderate Mitt" and on another "severely conservative Mitt". However, this cartoonist utilizes contradiction to instruct his argument. The whole point of this cartoon is to show that Mitt Romney has many sides. By putting drastically different statements on each of his shirts helps the reader to see the authors point. Another rhetorical device this cartoon uses is placement. The cartoonist purposely placed Obama so the reader can only see his back side but not his face. The cartoonist placed every Mitt Romney so the reader can see his face, arms, and read his shirt. The reason each Mitt Romney is facing forward is not just to the statements on his shirt is visible; it serves a deeper purpose. I think the author did it because it is easier for the reader to put themselves in Obama's shoes. When you look at this cartoon, you are looking at what exactly Obama is looking at because he is faced forwards. It creates a more overwhelming and believing message. I think this placement really works to help the cartoonist get their message across.
I do think that the cartoonist accomplished their purpose through the text. This cartoon is easy to understand and shows a clear message. Although it would help to know politics, it is not necessary to understand this text. Besides the message being clear, the rhetorical devices the author uses enhances the readers ability to understand what the author is trying to get across. The statements the author puts on each shirt are clearly contradictory, and it does not take long to realize that this is for affect. I immediately understood this cartoon and realized its purpose. That even furthers my opinion that this cartoonists clearly accomplishes their goal.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Modern Manners: Travel Etiquette—The Rules of the Road
http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/modern-manners-travel-etiquette-the-rules-of-the-road/#1
We have all encountered our fair share of rude people while traveling from place to place. This article from Vogue gives readers seven often ignored or forgotten rules that will help make traveling a more enjoyable experience. William Norwich, the editor/writer of this article, is a very successful writer of the Modern Manners section of Vogue. He claims in this article that following these seven simple rules will make traveling more pleasant for you and for other passengers.
The purpose of William Norwich writing this article is stated very clearly throughout his text. Many people do not know the do's and don'ts of traveling. This article's purpose is to inform readers of proper travel etiquette. The exigence of this article is simple. It was published on August 31st, 2012 which is when William Norwich says the height of travel season starts. The excessive travel that will occur over the next few months prompted William to write a Modern Manners article on travel etiquette. The audience of this text is geared towards adults who travel regularly or will be traveling soon. These seven rules will help them improve their like-ability among other travelers and will improve their over all experience.
There are several rhetorical devices that Norwich uses to get his point across throughout the article. One of the most important devices I think that sticks out is logos. After almost every rule, he gives the reader an example of what happens when you do not follow that given rule. For example, after he listed rule number six, which is "be the change you want to see in the world", he gives us an example from his past travel experience. When he was traveling on an airplane he got treated in a more respectful manner by the flight attendant because he was wearing a Michael Khor's suit (this could also be an example of anecdote). This helps him prove that you need to dress how you want to be treated. Also falling under the category of logos, Michael Norwich quotes other writers/colleagues, and shows their opinions and past experiences regarding travel. All of these examples give the reader logical reasons why they should follow the rules.
Another rhetorical device that sticks out is style. William Norwich organizes this article in a very structured way. He lists his rules using numbers and then explains the rule directly below. I think this way or organizing it is easy to follow and creates a list in the reader's brain. You see rule than explanation, rule than explanation. The text is easy to remember when he writes this way, instead of creating one large paragraph.
I do think that William Norwich achieved his purpose through this text. I think he got his point across that following travel etiquette is very important in improving ones like-ability among other travelers and improving ones quality of travel. He also persuades the reader that if they do not follow these rules they are being the person they despise: a bad and rude traveler. Through the seven rules he gives and the reasoning, examples, and opinions behind them, he convinces the reader to follow these simple steps to become the ultimate traveler.
We have all encountered our fair share of rude people while traveling from place to place. This article from Vogue gives readers seven often ignored or forgotten rules that will help make traveling a more enjoyable experience. William Norwich, the editor/writer of this article, is a very successful writer of the Modern Manners section of Vogue. He claims in this article that following these seven simple rules will make traveling more pleasant for you and for other passengers.
The purpose of William Norwich writing this article is stated very clearly throughout his text. Many people do not know the do's and don'ts of traveling. This article's purpose is to inform readers of proper travel etiquette. The exigence of this article is simple. It was published on August 31st, 2012 which is when William Norwich says the height of travel season starts. The excessive travel that will occur over the next few months prompted William to write a Modern Manners article on travel etiquette. The audience of this text is geared towards adults who travel regularly or will be traveling soon. These seven rules will help them improve their like-ability among other travelers and will improve their over all experience.
There are several rhetorical devices that Norwich uses to get his point across throughout the article. One of the most important devices I think that sticks out is logos. After almost every rule, he gives the reader an example of what happens when you do not follow that given rule. For example, after he listed rule number six, which is "be the change you want to see in the world", he gives us an example from his past travel experience. When he was traveling on an airplane he got treated in a more respectful manner by the flight attendant because he was wearing a Michael Khor's suit (this could also be an example of anecdote). This helps him prove that you need to dress how you want to be treated. Also falling under the category of logos, Michael Norwich quotes other writers/colleagues, and shows their opinions and past experiences regarding travel. All of these examples give the reader logical reasons why they should follow the rules.
Another rhetorical device that sticks out is style. William Norwich organizes this article in a very structured way. He lists his rules using numbers and then explains the rule directly below. I think this way or organizing it is easy to follow and creates a list in the reader's brain. You see rule than explanation, rule than explanation. The text is easy to remember when he writes this way, instead of creating one large paragraph.
I do think that William Norwich achieved his purpose through this text. I think he got his point across that following travel etiquette is very important in improving ones like-ability among other travelers and improving ones quality of travel. He also persuades the reader that if they do not follow these rules they are being the person they despise: a bad and rude traveler. Through the seven rules he gives and the reasoning, examples, and opinions behind them, he convinces the reader to follow these simple steps to become the ultimate traveler.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Know-It-All
For my independent reading book I am reading The Know-It-All by A.J Jacobs. He is an editor at Esquire and has written many other notable works. This book is a memoir about A.J Jacobs journey to to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. (Crazy!) This book is divided into letters of the alphabet and for each letter he tells the reader some words that he found under that section and connects this back to his life. For the purpose of this TOW, I am going to analyze his introduction where he describes a little bit about himself, his childhood, his wife, and finally why he wants to do this in the first place.
The purpose of writing this introduction was for A.J Jacobs to give the reader some background information about himself. It was also to show them how he has become "stupider" as he has grown older and he needs to read all of this to up his "smartness". It is important for the reader to understand who they are reading about because it establishes a sense of personal connection. This leads me to the exigence. The reason A.J Jacobs really needed to write the introduction was because the reader would be completely lost with out it. Suppose Jacobs just jumped right into the letter A without letting the reader know who he was and what prompted him to want to read 33,000 pages of text. The readers would be totally confused. The audience of this book is obviously individuals who enjoy memoirs and personal stories. It is also geared towards individuals who do not need a very interesting drama-like plot or a climax to keep them hooked. A book about a man trying to read the entire Encyclopedia is very interesting, but is not going to be like a soap opera.
The rhetorical devices A.J Jacobs uses in his introduction are: pathos, sarcasm, humor, irony, ethos, anecdote, mood, and diction.
I believe that A.J Jacobs did get his message across. First by telling the reader that he graduated from Brown University establishes a sort of mutual respect. However, he tells the reader that he only remembers three things from his time at Brown and that none of them are educational. This brings A.J back down to earth. He is no longer the ivy-league genius but just a random guy. By using humor and sarcasm throughout the introduction he creates a playful and funny mood instead of a dreary educational one. All in all, he gives us some personal background details on his father, who by the way started this feat twenty years ago but only got to the B's, his wife, and his reason in reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica: to get smarter.
The purpose of writing this introduction was for A.J Jacobs to give the reader some background information about himself. It was also to show them how he has become "stupider" as he has grown older and he needs to read all of this to up his "smartness". It is important for the reader to understand who they are reading about because it establishes a sense of personal connection. This leads me to the exigence. The reason A.J Jacobs really needed to write the introduction was because the reader would be completely lost with out it. Suppose Jacobs just jumped right into the letter A without letting the reader know who he was and what prompted him to want to read 33,000 pages of text. The readers would be totally confused. The audience of this book is obviously individuals who enjoy memoirs and personal stories. It is also geared towards individuals who do not need a very interesting drama-like plot or a climax to keep them hooked. A book about a man trying to read the entire Encyclopedia is very interesting, but is not going to be like a soap opera.
The rhetorical devices A.J Jacobs uses in his introduction are: pathos, sarcasm, humor, irony, ethos, anecdote, mood, and diction.
I believe that A.J Jacobs did get his message across. First by telling the reader that he graduated from Brown University establishes a sort of mutual respect. However, he tells the reader that he only remembers three things from his time at Brown and that none of them are educational. This brings A.J back down to earth. He is no longer the ivy-league genius but just a random guy. By using humor and sarcasm throughout the introduction he creates a playful and funny mood instead of a dreary educational one. All in all, he gives us some personal background details on his father, who by the way started this feat twenty years ago but only got to the B's, his wife, and his reason in reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica: to get smarter.
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