TAKING NOTE; So Many Screeners and So Little Shampoo, but Are Our Planes Safer?
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E7DF113EF936A2575AC0A9649D8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
In this article I found diction, details, and syntax. The author is trying to persuade you into thinking that even though we have all this secuirty and all these rules for flying on airplanes, that they really aren't all that much safer.
The diction is this piece is really all just denotative. But there are some connotative diction also. Such as "The report notes, dryly, that ..." Using dryly states that the report was boring and uninformitative. Details in this piece persuade us to believe that airports and airplanes aren't much safer than they were before 9/11. In paragraphs 8-10 the article gives examples from a report about the TSA's spending and how it really hasn't helped with changing airport security. Using factual evidence is extremely helpful to use in a persuasive essay. Syntax in this piece is also used to help persuade you since its an opinion piece. The writer uses a mix of long and short sentences and uses semicolons with short sentences to help you keep reading. An example of this is "They do; but there's a hitch." They also use rhetorical questions. Such as, "Is it really necessary to ban shampoo and hand cream?"
This article did a good job of using the persuasive technigues and using different literary elements to help with the persuasion. It grabs your attention and it doesn't just wander off and bore you in the middle of it. It keeps you reading and intrigued and defintiely does persuade you, or make you more for the other side of the argument.
I really like what you said here about factual evidence in a persuasive essay. I think you are right, it is important to know what you are talking about before you form an opinion on it. You point out a lot of good things in this response, but I think this could become even stronger with more evidence about the author's techniques. One thing that I wondered while reading this was if it succeeded in persuading you? With a persuasive essay, usually your beliefs will change a little bit when you read it (whether they get stronger or weaker) and I wondered how you felt after you read this.
ReplyDeleteNice job!
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI read the article you listed and found it very interesting. I thought it was good that you recognized this piece as a persuasion essay and I liked that you continued to talk about the purpose of the essay when talking about the figurative language. I would have liked to see you describe and use examples of the figurative language in more detail. I liked that you used an example for diction, but your blog would have been more informative if you had used examples from the text for details and syntax as well. You did a good job of embedding the quote within the passage, but it felt a little choppy when reading it.
Keep up the good work!
Megan-
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally and Nathan in that you should include more specific examples from the article. I think you should also analyze more on how the syntax and details help persuade readers. You said the syntax keeps people reading, but how does it persuade them? Maybe the use of questions like, "Is this the pose of a free man?" connects more to readers and makes them try to answer the question. I think that specific question could also serve as imagery because for me, I could vividly picture a man in the backscatter-machine stance. Like Ally, I was also wondering how the article impacted you. Do you agree with the Rand Paul's opinion? On a whole, I think you have a nice start, but more examples will make your response better.