TOW #29- Letter to New APELC Student

Dear APELC student,

Congratulations on accepting the challenge of becoming a better writer. You’re probably partially terrified as a result of the horror stories you have heard, and you’re also probably worried that, for the first time in your life, you might not get an A. And yes, you might not get an A. But, at least for the first time in my life, I have learned that a course is not all about the grade and that you can grow as a student and as a writer despite the grades you get, as cliche as that may sound. However, an A is 100% within reach, if you’re willing to work for it.

One of my greatest regrets throughout the year is not going in for help as much as I would have liked, most likely because I was not accustomed to the type of help I was given when I did go in. In previous classes, if you want your teacher to edit your paper, you just have them read your entire paper and then you simply make the changes they write and you are practically guaranteed a very high grade, but only because you are just handing in an essay written how the teacher wants it. However, in APELC, you learn to write with your own voice and your own opinions. If you need help with an essay, you can go in and discuss the prompt with the teachers to get some ideas, or you can ask a specific question, or you can have them read an excerpt from your essay to make sure you’re on the right track. Although this may be a frustrating style of help at first, this method preserves the voice of you, the student, while still assisting you through any struggles you may encounter along the way. Now, I’m not saying that you are guaranteed an A if you go in for extra help, but you are certainly on the right track for the essay if you go discuss with your teachers before the essay is due.

It’s important not to sugarcoat the course, however. Sure, you grow as a writer. And sure, it’s not all about the grade. But nobody enjoys receiving grades that are less than their standards of excellency. I mean, you’re probably never going to get into college, right? There are certainly rough patches along the way, but nobody ever said real learning was easy. Statistically speaking, you will probably get a grade on your summer reading assignment essay that may get you grounded for a couple days. But, however many tears you may shed that first week, you mustn’t let it get to you. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your work ethic) there will be soooo many assignments throughout the year that will dilute this grade so much that it practically has no effect on your year grade, which is the only grade that matters. This course is entirely about your mindset, and if you start the year thinking you are going to fail, you will fail. But, if you take this grade and learn from it, you will be very successful for the rest of the year. Even if you disagree with the grade because you think you wrote a pretty good essay, just trust the grade, and if you go back to review this essay at the end of the year, you will see that the grade was very accurate, even a little bit generous. There are many opportunities given to you for success throughout the year, and if you utilize these opportunities, you will achieve success.

It’s easy for me to make all of these recommendations seeing as I’ve already finished the course, but I also understand how hard it is to actually follow through with these things. It takes motivation, commitment, and good time management to be able to come in multiple times before an essay is due (you have to write the essay before the night before it’s due...). However, now that the exam is over and it’s time for me to reflect upon all of my mistakes throughout the year as grades are being finalized, I sincerely recommend coming in to discuss your essays with the teachers and starting assignments before the night before they are due. I also recommend always keeping a positive mindset, even when you get a bad grade on your essay or you fail the first unit exam. But despite all of these struggles, I really took away a lot from this class, both in my writing, my analysis skills, and my work ethic, and you will too, if you let yourself. It’s all in the mindset.

Sincerely,

Arielle

TOW #28- TOW Reflection

Over the course of the year, my TOWs have definitely improved in their level of analysis. For example, in the beginning of the year, my TOWs focused on minimal rhetorical strategies used in the text, and I solely wrote to answer the questions. However, towards the end of the year, I was able to identify the more important parts of the text to analyze, and I wrote my responses more cohesively. Additionally, throughout the year, the analysis in my TOWs has transitioned from purely observational comments (for example, in one of my summer TOWs, I wrote, “Langston Hughes’ essay, Bop, is entirely a conversation between the narrator and the character named Simple,” and I did not analyze the effects of this, etc.) to more analytical comments (for example, in my last TOW, I identified the author’s use of irony and then analyzed its effect on the writing). I think I have mastered being able to identify and explain the effect of an author’s use of different rhetorical devices. However, I could still strive to improve my analysis of the overall consequence of an author’s use and effect of rhetorical device on a larger scale (as opposed to just saying how the use of a particular rhetorical device adds to the ethos, for example). These TOW assignments really helped me practice my analysis skills throughout the year, even when we had passed the analysis unit. They helped because, during the analysis unit, you got to actually practice at least once a week the skills you were learning in class, and when we were not on the analysis unit, you got to still continue practicing and improving your skills. This was very beneficial especially at the end of the year because I did not have to review old styles of writing as much right before the exam because it was what I had been doing all along. Therefore, even though I was not always fond of writing the TOWs at the time I was writing them, I think they definitely paid off in the end, and I would do them again if I were taking the class again.   

TOW #27- Hypocrites by George Saunders (written text)

In George Saunders’ essay, “Hypocrites,” Saunders attempts to portray the hypocritical nature of mankind particularly through his personal experiences and irony. Saunders starts out the essay with a particular instance of when he saw Father X and Sister Y breaking the rules of the church. This shocking, yet incredibly interesting, anecdote helps draw the reader in to the essay, as well as to help remain as a basis upon which many of the other important, ironic points of the essay can be drawn upon. For example, Saunders ends with a shocking anecdote about how he was fired from being a reader of the Bible for his church because Father X did not approve of his long-ish hair. The irony in this was that long hair was a far less punishable crime than Father X’s religious crime with Sister Y. However, Father X was condemning Saunders so ruthlessly (Saunders was not even giving the warning to cut his hair) for such a miniscule, subjective detail, while Father X was getting away with a much greater crime. This double standard within the church helped to nicely summarize Saunders’ point that humans are hypocritical. In doing this, Saunders is able to analyze well the humanness of all people and that despite whatever power people may have, all people have their flaws. This epiphany helped Saunders to better understand the human race, and he was able to feel better connected to Jesus. Saunders is able to portray this epiphany throughout his essay by using the example of Father X and Sister Y, and then, after analyzing this encounter, mentioning how he was fired from his reading job for hair that was too long. By doing this, Saunders is able to effectively accomplish his purpose of explaining the nature of mankind through the use of personal anecdotes and irony.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/09/hypocrites?printable=true&currentPage=all

TOW #26- Reveal Your Inner Athlete by Rademar (visual text)

This advertisement for Rademar sports store is most effective because of it’s shocking initial appearance. For example, if you were to come across this advertisement in the real world, at first glance, it appears as though the person is pulling the skin off of their foot in order to reveal the normal insides of a person (like blood, muscles, etc.), which can be displayed through the red color of the shoe. This plays on humans’ natural instincts of curiosity to further investigate situations that disturb them. After the viewer looks closer into the picture (despite any initial shock, grossness, or fright), they see that the “insides” of the person are actually just an athletic shoe, and the bandaid on the leg says, “Reveal your inner athlete” in an attempt to encourage more people to exercise, even if they believe that they are not athletic. However, the size of the font is not very effective for the advertisement. Even though the main attention-grabbing part of the advertisement is the foot with the skin and shoe, it is very difficult to find out what the advertisement is actually advertising unless you look very close in the lower right hand corner, when you see that this advertisement is for an athletic store. However, the initial response to this advertisement is that it is for encouraging people to buy the certain brand of sneakers, perhaps because they work naturally like the inside of your foot, yet upon closer inspection, you can see that it is advertising that you find your inner athlete, and if you look even closer, you can find the name of the store that produced this advertisement. This advertisement would be very effective for something like advertising a certain brand of sneakers, however, it is not very effective for advertising the sports store. If the store were to continue using this advertisement, they should at least increase the size of the font in order to more clearly portray what they are advertising.

TOW #25- After Life by Joan Didion (written text)

Joan Didion’s heartwrenching essay, “After Life,” clearly portrays her experience of life after her husband died. Cleverly titled “After Life,” Didion’s play on words contributes to her explanation of her own experiences of life without her husband, while at the same time demonstrating the idea of death (which is usually the connotation of “afterlife” spelled as one word). Didion’s essay is organized into five parts, like mini chapters. This helps to break up the essay and keep it engaging, as opposed to creating a ranting-like organization that seems to simply drone on. Didion’s hook is also very effective. She begins with a short poem-like collection of words that she had originally written after her husband’s death. What made these words significant was that Didion had previously been a writer (and her husband had been a writer as well) and these were the first words she had written after his death. These words follow a simple sentence structure, and although they are also simple words, when strung together, they have a deep meaning that connects to every possible audience member (because life can change at an instant for anybody). This deep meaning draws the audience in because they want to read an explanation of what these words mean and why she wrote them. The audience is the general public, however, geared more specifically towards adults who more frequently face similar instances of experiencing great losses in an instant, although it can be written for anybody since anybody can be affected by an instantaneous loss.  Additionally, Didion alludes to the events of 9/11, among other events, in an attempt to portray how losses like she faced are instantaneous and occur at the most “ordinary” of moments. The purpose of Didion’s essay is to explain a time in her life where she experienced this instantaneous loss, and through a well-organized essay and a compelling story of her experiences, Didion is able to connect to others who may have experienced a similar loss, or prepare others who are yet to experience a loss.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/magazine/25didion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

TOW #24- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (IRB post 2)

Laura Hillenbrand supports her story well in the book Unbroken with primary source quotes and research. By doing this, Hillenbrand is able to appeal to ethos well and make the story more believable, as well as familiarize readers on the details of war with which they might not be familiar (assuming they are not World War II historians). This helps the reader better understand the story, and Hillenbrand is able to accomplish her purpose. Hillenbrand’s purpose is to inform the reader of the miraculous life events of Louis Zamperini, from his incredible Olympic journal to his ability to beat all the odds in surviving the war, from surviving a plane crash to surviving a prisoner of war camp. Since Hillenbrand’s book is based on a true story, she must provide this extensive research for her audience to help solidify the validity of her writing. For example, when explaining the troubles faced by B-24 planes landing on small islands, Hillenbrand writes, “For loaded B-24s, which needed well over four thousand feet for takeoff, the cropped island runways, often abutted by towering palm trees, were a challenge, ‘The takeoff proved exciting,’ wrote Sergeant Frank Rosynek of one overloaded departure” (82). In this quote, Hillenbrand is able to give background information to the reader about some of the difficulties faced by planes liked Zamperini’s as well as provide a primary source quotation to help give the reader a more well-rounded opinion of the time period. Also, in addition to simply citing facts of the time period, Hillenbrand is able to use primary source quotations to help set the tone and provide the emotions of the soldiers for the readers. For example, Hillenbrand writes, “‘There was a SWOOSH and pieces of palm fronds suddenly appeared jammed in the cracks, on both sides!...Only the laundry knew how scared I was’”(82). The story is more believable and intriguing with Hillenbrand’s provided primary sources, which helps her complete her purpose well and write a thoroughly interesting and informative book.

TOW #23- How to speak so that people want to listen by Julian Treasure (written text)

Julian Treasure studies sound and then advises people on how to use it. He is the chair of the Sound Agency, which advises businesses on how to use sound. This background in studying sound provides Treasure with the automatic ethos he needs in order to make an effective speech about sound. Although Treasure has made a total of five TED Talk speeches on different aspects of sound, this TED Talk, “How to speak so that people want to listen,” focuses on the production of sound from the individual, while other speeches of his focus more on listening, etc. Treasure has an effective introduction in this speech, connecting with his audience before explaining to them how to speak well. He begins by stating a fact that connects everyone to him (saying that the human voice is an instrument we all play) while using the first person pronoun of “we” to show that what he is saying applies to him as well, which helps his appeal to ethos. He then immediately provides examples of using the voice that also connect to the audience while proving his point that the voice is a powerful tool (such as when he explains using the voice to say “I love you”). The organization of Treasure’s speech is also very effective. He begins by listing all of the mistakes people make when speaking and then he goes on to correct these mistakes by explaining how to talk correctly. He uses verbal numbered lists that also appear sequentially on his power point to help with the organization of his ideas. Since his purpose is to explain how to speak well, following this structure allows him to explain this in a clear, direct way that allows for easy visualization since this was intended to be an oral speech. Using all of these strategies, Treasure’s purpose of explaining how to speak well is accomplished.

https://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_how_to_speak_so_that_people_want_to_listen/transcript?language=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI

TOW #22- #DearMe by YouTube (visual text)

YouTube’s #DearMe campaign seeks to inspire young girls to not be afraid of being themselves. In an attempt to accomplish this, YouTube must gear the advertisement towards the audience of the young girls. YouTube does this by compiling the videos of many different girls from different ages, races, personalities, etc. This provides the advertisement with automatic ethos since the young girls are bound to listen to at least one of the girls who connects to them the most. Additionally, since the advertisement is compiled of real life videos that average people (not paid actors, etc.) made in honor of the campaign, the young girls are more likely to listen to and believe the older girls. Finally, since the advertisement is created by YouTube, a well-known, popular Internet site, the advertisement has automatic ethos since it is sponsored by such a reputable source. While most of the girls have relatively serious things to say, a couple of the girls make humorous remarks, which helps appeal to the pathos of the ad. By doing this, the advertisement makes an appeal to the emotions of the young girls, which helps them believe the advertisement more (which is the purpose of it). Additionally, the music in the background helps set the inspirational tone. The organization of the advertisement begins by the older girls saying “Dear [specific name].” This makes these girls seem more real and helps the younger girls connect to them more easily. The girls in the advertisement then go on to discuss some of the things that they felt insecure about when they were younger, which helps the younger girls who might be experiencing similar things connect to these older girls and want to listen to the advice the older girls are giving towards the end. The advertisement also creates one letter by picking and choosing certain phrases from many girls’ letters, which helps portray the universal message, as well as make the advertisement exciting as opposed to one person just giving a speech. By doing all of these things, the advertisement seems to be successful in attempting to accomplish young girls to not be insecure about themselves. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/YouTube?feature=inp-gh-ydr-us 

TOW #21- A Modest Proposal to Convert Shopping Malls into Prisons by Dan Geddes (written text)

The article, “A Modest Proposal to Convert Shopping Malls into Prisons” by Dan Geddes, is a satirical article from The Satirist. The explicit purpose is to argue that shopping malls should be turned into prisons. However, the implicit purpose is to comment on the behaviors of society, such as the tendencies to work hard to buy cheaply made goods or to eat oneself to death by eating over-priced, unhealthy foods. The title of the article is an allusion to “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. By doing this, Geddes is able to demonstrate that his article will follow a similar style to Swift’s: heavily satirical, but still making a valid statement about something that needs to be fixed (in Swift’s case, it is about the Irish famine, while in Geddes’ case, it is about the negative tendencies of society). Geddes also uses many of the elements in Swift’s essay in his own as well. For example, both authors go through the math of why their proposals are the best solution to the given problem, which helps appeal to the logos of the argument, making it more believable. Additionally, Geddes article uses humor in an attempt to appeal to pathos. For example, Geddes comments on the traffic light situation of shopping malls, how the lights seem to be always green on the way into the mall, but seem to be always red on the way out. While he comments on this situation in the context of preventing inmates from escaping, this is humorous to the audience who may have experienced a similar occurrence with the traffic lights when just completing “normal” shopping (as opposed to being in mall prison). The intended audience is the members of society who are guilty of committing the things to which Geddes refers. For example, Geddes talks about people being glued to their couches when watching TV or using the Internet, as well as the negative eating and shopping habits of people. Geddes is attempting to open their eyes to the negative effects of their ways but using what they do on a daily basis as parts of his prison. He is able to negatively comment on their actions without offending them too much since it is written in a satirical way and Geddes is not directly criticizing people for doing these things, rather, he suggests making them part of a prison. Geddes ends with a clincher, saying, “And from that, we all benefit” (27). By saying this, Geddes uses irony, since it is ironic that the things done on a regular basis by the general population would be enough of a punishment to prisoners to benefit society on a whole.

http://www.thesatirist.com/satires/PoliticalSatire/mall_prisons.html

TOW #20- Unbroken by Laura Hillenebrand (IRB post 1)

     The book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is similar to a biography about Louis Zamperini. However, instead of following a typical biography format where it spends an equal length describing all of the events in someone’s life, this book only gives a relatively short intro to give some background information about Zamperini’s personality, the conditions of his early life, etc. The book then focuses heavily on Zamperini’s seemingly impossible experiences working his way to the Olympics. However, I am only half way through the book so far, and it seems that most of the rest of the book wil be focused on Zamperini’s experiences in World War II (this was also given away by the subtitle of the book: “A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.”) Additionally, I read the summary in the front flap of the book before I started reading in order to make sure I would like this book to read for my IRB, and it mentioned how the plane in which Zamperini and his fellow soldiers are flying is going to crash into the ocean, and I predict that the book will focus mainly on Zamperini’s realizations while lost at sea.

    The format of this book is very similar to the format of a fiction book in its story-like style. This format makes the book more interesting to read, since it is more like a story than simply facts. The purpose is to inform the audience about the remarkable life experiences of Zamperini. Though its word choice, as well as its topic being about World War II, this book is written for the general adult/older high school population. However, since this book is based on a true story, it uses expert quotes as well as primary sources and specific dates and events in order to help appeal to the ethos of the story. For example, Hillenbrand writes, “‘I grew a little older that night, sweet, believe me,’ he wrote to Cecy” (Hillenbrand 61). Hillenbrand then proceeds to quote a letter that Louie had received from a friend in order to help more thoroughly describe the type of plane in which Louie would be flying. This ethos makes the book more believable and interesting to read, which helps leave the reader with the impression that Louie was an extraordinary human being who had great resilience when dealing with his experiences. 

TOW #19- Pearl Harbor Speech: Day of Infamy by Franklin D. Roosevelt (written text)

Franklin D. Roosevelt begins his speech for Pearl Harbor by directly addressing his audience, saying “To the Congress of the United States...” However, it is evident that Roosevelt also wants to rile up support from amongst the general American population, since it will not be easy to summon the American people into another war during an already difficult time economically. He then proceeds to directly state the occasion for which he is giving the speech, presenting the details of the attack. His use of the words “suddenly” and “deliberately” add to his argument that the country should go to war in an attempt to portray the Japanese as having provoked this war against America, which is emphasized when Roosevelt says: “The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan...” By doing this, Roosevelt attempts to show that Japan is totally at fault, and if the Americans want peace, we must fight back against this deliberate attack. Roosevelt tries to prove that the war was deliberate by stating facts about the peace messages from the leader of Japan, the distance from Japan to Hawaii, and the preparations that would have needed to occur in order to try to argue his point and gain supporters by portraying Japan as having deliberately attacked America. Roosevelt uses anaphora in an attempt to emphasize all of the places attacked by Japan and the necessity of a war against Japan, saying, “Last night, Japanese forces attacked...” and then listing all of the attacked places. This anaphora appeals to pathos because it portrays the rampant attacks of Japan and inspires fear in the people. This fear provokes people to be more likely to go to war in order to try to prevent any more deliberate attacks. When Roosevelt says, “The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation,” he emphasizes the idea that the people would want to go to war to prevent these attacks, and he uses it to help persuade Congress, since they are theoretically the representatives of the people. Roosevelt also argues to go to war by trying to arouse a sense of nationalism from amongst the people, saying, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.”  Finally, Roosevelt concludes by stating his purpose (that the United States need to go to war against Pearl Harbor) as a result of the attacks by Japan on America, saying, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.” Looking from a historical perspective, his purpose was successful, since we know the United States participated in World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, Roosevelt’s emphasis on Japan’s fault in the attack, as well as the motivational nationalism he attempts to inspire amongst the people, help contribute to Roosevelt’s successful purpose of declaring war on Japan.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1082 

TOW #18- Nissan Commerical "With Dad" (visual text)

Nissan’s Superbowl commercial for 2015 relies heavily on an appeal to pathos in an attempt to be effective. Nissan already has automatic ethos from being a well-known car manufacturer, so the commercial does not have to spend any time explaining what Nissan is or how reliable its cars are, etc. Additionally, the purpose of the ad is not really to explain the advantages of all of the different cars produced by Nissan, but rather to stand out from amongst all of the other commercials during the Superbowl and just gain awareness and popularity as a result of the commercial. Nissan does this by portraying a story of a boy growing up while his father is away most of the time racing cars. This story attempts to appeal to the pathos of the general American population who is watching the Superbowl by portraying the story to which many American families with working parents can relate (the working parents feel as though they have missed watching their children grow up because they are always at work, which is a common feeling amongst many American working families). The Harry Chapin song in the background aids in this appeal to pathos by sounding sad and regretful, which attempts to cause the viewer to feel sad a regretful as well. Additionally, Harry Chapin died in a car crash, so an inferred meaning of the use of this song could be that Nissan is trying to prove that their cars are safe, so that will not happen if you drive a Nissan car (which is shown through the part of the commercial when the father is in the car crash on the track but manages to walk away from it unharmed because he was driving a Nissan car). The commercial ends, however, on a happy note when the father comes to pick up the boy, immediately before the commercial puts up the Nissan logo, which helps the audience to make the connection between the happy feelings and Nissan and makes them, even subconsciously, associate happy family feelings with the car and want to buy that brand of car.  

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/superbowl-commercial-nissan-supernumberwithdad/vi-AA8RWIw 

IRB Intro Post- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

For this marking period, I am going to read  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This book was recommended to me by Christy, who claims it is her favorite book, so I thought it would be an enjoyable book to read. By hearing/reading brief summaries, it is my understanding that the book is a story of a person in World War II. I enjoy reading stories from World War II (I read Night for the first marking period, as well as many other WWII books over the years), so I think and hope I will enjoy reading Unbroken this marking period.

TOW #17- I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King (written text)

Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is one of the most famous American speeches in history. What makes it famous is not only King’s powerful words, but also the effectiveness of this speech for the Civil Right’s Movement. King uses allusions and anaphora in an attempt to inspire change in the unfair treatment of black Americans in his “I Have A Dream” speech. King uses allusions in the beginning of his speech when he references the documents on which the country was built. He first references Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation speech, writing “Five score years ago...” in a reference to the beginning of Lincoln’s speech (“Four score and seven years ago...”) (2). In doing this, King draws the connection to the freedom granted upon the black Americans after the Civil War and the freedom they deserve to have now. Additionally, King references the famous “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” line of the Declaration of Independence in order to help emphasize the point that the black Americans deserve the same “inalienable rights” as the other Americans, as granted to them in the Declaration of Independence (4). King also references the Bible through allusions in order to show the support of religion for his cause, and provide additional ethos for his point. However, King uses anaphora to also emphasize his point, most famously in his repetition of “I have a dream” (17). By doing this, King emphasizes all of the goals and changes he wants made for the black Americans. He also repeats “one hundred years later...” in the beginning of his speech in order to emphasize the lack of change that has come about after the Emancipation Proclamation and the hardships faced by the black Americans (3). This helps King gain the support of his fellow black Americans, as well as appeal to pathos in an attempt to gain the support of the white Americans. King’s use of the pronoun “we” throughout the speech establishes his connection to the black Americans, as well as to all Americans in general, which helps King in an attempt to gain the support of all Americans as he promotes change. Overall, as seen through history, King’s speech was successful at inspiring this change amongst Americans. 

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm 

TOW #16- Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (IRB post 2)

My IRB for this marking period was Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. Oliver Sacks is a well-known, reputable neurologist, which provides him with automatic ethos when he writes the book. The purpose of the book is to inform people about the research he has done connecting music and the brain. In order to do this, Sacks relies heavily on the use of examples of patients with whom he has dealt. In addition to helping the reader better understand the idea that Sacks is trying to portray, the examples also provide a personal touch to the book, creating the idea of “real people” to whom the reader can connect. For example, Sacks writes, “This was very clear with Rosalie B., a post-encephalitic lady who tending to remain transfixed for hours each day...” (256). Sacks then proceeds to explain how music managed to awaken Rosalie from this frozen state, providing the reader with a clear understanding, and connection and/or sympathy, about Rosalie’s situation. Although in my first post about this book I thought that the book was written for the general public, upon further reading, I think this book is written for people who are more learned about brain issues and other medical terms. For example, in the example above with Rosalie, I do not know what “post-encephalitic” means without having to look it up. Although this may be just because I am a high school student, I am going to make the assumption that this is not a word that the general public would understand. However, I do not think you have to be a neurologist either to read this book, since I still was able to understand the main idea about the problem with Rosalie, as well as the other main ideas throughout the book, just not the specific issue. Finally, Sacks also provides himself with ethos on the topic by writing about his personal experiences, using personal anecdotes. For example, Sacks writes, “Though I was born into a musical household and music has been important to me personally from my earliest years, I did not really encounter music in a clinical context until 1966...” (248). These little comments about his personal life and experiences help not only provide Sacks with ethos, but also help him to form a better connection with the reader.

TOW #15- The reason Ebola isn't being stopped by Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield (written text)

This article was published by CNN. As a result, is receives automatic ethos since CNN is a well-known, reputable news source. In the beginning of the article, titled, “The reason Ebola isn't being stopped,” the authors, Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, introduce the main subject, Rebecca Levine. Before they even state her name, they provide the reader with some background information about Levine that contributes to Levine’s ethos, stating that Levine went to Princeton University and that the topic of contact tracing has been something that has interested her for many years. This provides the authors of the article with a reputable expert who they can follow and from whom they can share the concept of Ebola tracking and why there are still continuing Ebola cases. The hook of the article is very effective.  It begins by alluding to books that are fantasy instances of widespread diseases, such as The Hot Zone and Virus Hunters, similar to the real-life situation the world is currently facing with Ebola. This draws the readers in to the article by forcing them to wonder what connection an Ivy League graduate and these pandemic books have to the world news. Additionally, the title adds to this by answering a frequently asked question amongst the general population about when the Ebola pandemic will end, and why hasn’t it stopped yet. The purpose of the article is to portray to the readers the answers to these questions. The article does this by referencing the expert from Princeton University who has spent her whole life (practically) studying issues like this. The article ends by showing Rebecca Levine’s contributions to ending the Ebola outbreak, and how her contributions have impacted the African cities that had previously not been taking action, either because of cultural fears (such as thinking of being taken under quarantine for safety as a death sentence) or because of lack of resources (such as the contract tracers not being able to complete their jobs because of the lack of addresses and the mismatched streets that make it difficult to track carriers of Ebola). 

 http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/11/health/ebola-contact-tracing/index.html