How outrageous! Mother Eimear O'Hagan removed her pregnant best friend from her wedding. People are now arguing over whether this was a selfish decision or not. Through shocking diction, the repetition of points, controversial tone, and appeals to ethos throughout this article contribute to the discussion of this woman's actions.
Shocking diction such as "c**t" and "self-centered" contribute to the author's high emotional attachment to the topic. The author's high emotional attachment can be derived from the author's crude us of words. This contributes to the tone of the article by making strong points either way on O'Hagan's actions. For example, when the author cites a person saying "Sacking your bridesmaid for being pregnant? What a c***." This makes people question whether or not this person's statement is correct or not. The point repetition in this article makes for a powerful discussion. O'Hagan first says "she doesn't 'really agree with children at weddings.'" This is repeated later on in the article when O'Hagan says "I didn't want the focus to shift away from me and my husband-to-be on the wedding day." This repetition has people understand O'Hagan's point fully then consider it throughout the rest of the article. Peoples' testimonial on O'Hagan's action contribute the most to the article's controversial tone. First off, random people make comments on her actions, saying things such as "How selfish, self-centered, and sad can people be?" and "If you want to be selfish on your wedding day then elope. Otherwise celebrate with ALL." These comments can be irritating to viewers who supported her decision, such as Journalist Sally Jones, who "agreed with Eimear, and added that she 'admired' her bravery for sacking her bridesmaid." These arguments between people lead to a controversial tone. Appeals to ethos are the most prominent in this article, with constant testimonials over the issue. At the article's beginning, there is a summary of the issue. Later, near the middle and end, there are loads of appeals to ethos, including O'Hagan's own testimony. First, people against O'Hagan state their concerns, which is responded to by the people who agree with her. Finally her testimony is used, for example, when she says "I didn't see how it would be possible any other way. She would need to be with the baby and feed the baby while performing her bridesmaid duties." The argument in this article is mostly solid, but contains slip-ups. O'Hagan is only cited, but she is never questioned on how this affected her emotionally and how adversely the bridesmaid reacted. The article's purpose is to discuss the positives and negatives of O'Hagan's actions. The testimonies speak directly to the argument. Its impact is that O'Hagan and observers experience and empathize with both sides of the argument, but ultimately make a decision on her. The overall goal of this writing is to tell the audience that this action may have legitimacy to it, but the audience must decide that. This discussion has a great value to it because it could be applied in other situations like this when deciding being friends and family. The link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4476630/Mother-sacked-pregnant-bridesmaid.html
0 Comments
"Do you feel a knot in you stomach, get sweaty palms, or toss and turn at night?" Caroline Foran asks this as she addresses the "five beliefs that are making your anxiety worse." Through informal and universalizing diction, repetition, varying syntax, a hopeful tone, and appeals to pathos, Foran argues that there are five main beliefs worsening your anxiety.
The diction in this article is informal. Near the article's end, Foran starts using the word "crap" while at the beginning she uses censored words such as "B******t." This connects with the audience on a personal level because they most likely use this language at home also. There is also somewhat of a shock value to these words, so it draws the reader's attention. She has a powerful emotional attachment to this article because "A few years back, [she] suffered from anxiety to the point that [she] could no longer function." The diction creates a hopeful tone because as it develops Foran explains that she dealt with the same situation the reader is dealing with currently and they should not fret. For example, "But you have a great life? But you have everything going for you? But you look fine? But what reason have you for falling apart?- all things that have been said to me." She has the audience relate to her because she has been asked the same questions. Repetition appears in the last quote used in this blog post, constantly reiterating the word "but." This repetition the ultimately strengthen the argument when Foran states that "all things have been said to me." This addresses these questions and blows them off, making a strong solution. Varying syntax contributes to the article's hopeful tone. The article's last paragraph goes from long, to medium, to short sentence length. It starts out by stating "But I did the necessary work (which required patience and time), I still do the necessary work (even on good days), and my anxiety now works for me rather than against me" to "I do feel it sometimes- rarely- but I know it will pass" to "Yours will too." This creates a hopeful tone by starting out with a complicated sentence that slowly turns into a simple, happy sentence. The author's personal experiences contribute to the hopeful tone in this article. To start out, Foran states that she has dealt with anxiety before and that the reader can make it through. An example is when she says "'the mere task of leaving the house for break and milk was too overwhelming to consider." Another example is when she is bombarded by a hoard of questions relating to anxiety: "'This is infuriating and it fed my own belief that I didn't have a genuine enough reason to be suffering from anxiety or 'falling apart.''" This contributes to the hopeful tone because it lets the audience know they are not alone in this situation. Appeals to pathos appear throughout this article, mainly because it is based off of the author's experiences. The argument is organized through listed reasons on what causes anxiety, with the final reason "You're always going to feel this way" being the most daunting. Personal experiences such as when she was trying to answer questions on why she had anxiety such as "I couldn't answer them, and I felt awful for my inability to just snap out of it, given how good things should have been" appeal to pathos and contribute to this strong argument. Foran effectively conveys that anxiety is a universal experience and these are the solutions to anxiety. This article's purpose is to use Foran's own experience to give advice to reduce anxiety and address that anxiety is about coping, not curing. Foran says "It's common to think of anxiety as a sign of weakness, but it's a strength." The reasons listed in the article speak directly to the purpose. This is a valuable position because it addresses a universal issue that she can speak directly to. The link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4469496/Five-beliefs-making-anxiety-worse.html Mark Briggs claims that the Fukushima nuclear disaster "gave everyone on the PLANET an X-ray's worth of radiation." As he says this, he also discusses the implications of the situation. Through fearful diction, broken up syntax, allusion, a frightened tone, and appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos, he argues that the Fukushima nuclear disaster gave everyone an extra dose of radiation and explains how to fix it.
The fearful diction in this article contributes to the author's concern for the issue. For example, he uses words like "panic" and "worry" throughout the article while referring to the disaster. The author has high emotional attachment to this topic for that reason. This contributes to the frightened tone of the article by making the audience concerned about the topic. For example, words like "plummeted" and "diminished" concern audiences because they give the article a negative connotation. The article frequently uses broken up syntax to be concise and give space between the points. For example, the paragraph "Bird numbers have dramatically declined in Fukushima, separate research has revealed" comes before the paragraph "Scientists analyzed 57 species in the region and found that the majority of populations had diminished as a result of the nuclear accident." These are both full paragraphs in the article, but are broken up to give time for the reader to absorb the information and the altitude of the situation. Allusions to specific examples such as "the barn swallow, Hirundo rustic" contribute to the article by strengthening the argument with ethos. The article's details contribute to the frightened tone. When the first sentence states "Every person on Earth got the equivalent of an extra X-ray from the Fukushima nuclear disaster", the readers will begin frightened. This is also seen when the author writes "On that day, just over four years ago, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was heavily damaged by an earthquake and its resultant tsunami." Heavy damage to a structure and a tsunami are both tragic disasters that make the readers scared. Appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos are all present throughout this article. An appeal to pathos is made when the article states that the researchers of the disaster "concluded that people need not panic about the dosage." This appeals to pathos by giving people a reason to be happy; they no longer need to be worried about a potential extra dose of radiation. Appeals to ethos are made when Prigg mentions research studies such as when "Nikolaos Evangeliou at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, whose team conducted the tests, told the annual meeting of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria" they need not worry about the radiation. This displays a credible source that backs up the article's argument. Appeals to logos are made all throughout the article with references to statistics like when "A total of 300,000 people evacuated the Fukushima area on the East Coast and 15,884 people died due to the earthquake and tsunami." This explains how massive and important this event is. Thi article's purpose is to inform the audience of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster's implication and what could be done to fix it. Evidence that backs up the solutions mentioned in this article include text such as "He said that more data, which must be collected by probes, was needed before a proper cleanup begun." This article is organized by first explaining the event that occurred, then explaining its implication, then finally explaining and discussing its solutions. The solution mentioned is the use of robot to clean the site, specifically the Tokyo Electric Power Company's robots because "the radiation is too dangerous for humans." Statistics and companies the article cites contributes to its strong argument. While pathos is used, it is only used once, and the rest of the information appeals primarily to ethos and logos such as when it talks about how "The team calculated the approximate exposure of everyone on Earth to two radioactive isotopes of cesium." This contributes to the strong argument. The link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4478218/Fukushima-gave-PLANET-X-ray-s-radiation.html Swiss Bank Credit Suisse has been watching its money ever since last year's Brexit decision. Credit Suisse's risky property lending was reduced right before this article was released. Through technical jargon, an informative and uncertain tone, varying syntax, allusion, and appeals to logos, Alex Hawkes explains why Credit Suisse has began to withdraw from the British economy.
This article mainly uses technical jargon. Its discussion uses words such as "referendum" and "property lending" throughout to create a concerned feeling towards the topic while informing the audience. Hawkes seems to have some emotional attachment to the issue, most likely because he lives in the U.K. This is displayed when he says "The bank has not said what it plans to do to continue servicing EU clients when Brexit takes effect." This word choice displays his uncertain tone because he explains that nobody knows what will happen in this situation. The varying syntax length in this article contributes to the tone because it uses short sentences to display that Hawkes does not know what will happen in the future, say when he writes "Sources said Credit Suisse's moves were being mirrored by other banks across the City." This conveys that Hawkes does not know much about how the banks are mirroring Credit Suisse. Long sentences such as "Meanwhile, the Bank of England is this week expected to downgrade its own short-term forecasts for the UK economy after the dip in GDP growth seen in the first quarter" convey that Hawkes knows the future of the UK and how it will head towards economic ruin. An allusion to the Brexit vote strengthens the argument by providing background information on the situation. The author's technical diction contributes to the uncertain tone. For example, the constant use of the word "downgrade" has a negative connotation and concerns audiences. This can also be seen with words such as "dip", "trim", and "risk." These words give the reader a concerned, stressed feeling when they see them. When words such as "major financial" are used when talking about the economy is concerning because it makes the audience think of greed and massive life-altering decisions. Appeals to logos are most prominent in this article. References to the economic growth of Britain are used at the end of the article. The quote "Economists said the Bank may trim its 2 percent growth prediction for 2017 to 1.8 percent" provides information that backs up the discussion of England's soon-failing economy. At the beginning of the article, the article's summary is listed and there are no appeals. Afterwards, heavy appeals to logos appear. This can be seen when Hawkes writes "A bank source said: 'It hasn't changed our appetite. We just want to take less risk.'" This is a strong argument because it gives a plethora of information regarding the financial situation of Britain. The purpose of this article is to explain that Credit Suisse is making a legitimate move to avoid financial ruin. Portions of the article such as "credit risk management has downgraded its UK country rating" speak directly to the claim and convey the argument to the readers. By writing this opinion, it warns the audience about the coming economic crash or recession. This position is crucial to the UK because it displays the issues it could be facing soon. Muhammed Ali was the boxing champ in the 1960s. Wladimir Klitschko follows this act in 2017, according to the Daily Mail's Tom Farmery. Using exciting diction, impassioned tone, varying syntax length, images, and appeals to ethos and logos, Farmery effectively argues that Anthony Joshua is the modern day Muhammed Ali.
Words such as "taunting" and "concrete fists" create an overall excitable feeling towards the topic and conveys the author's emotional attachment to this topic. Tom Farmery obviously loves watching sports, which can not only be inferred because he wrote this article, but also because of how he discusses how astonishing it is that Joshua won this fight: "The 27-year-old has fought in 19 fights and is yet to lose." This contributes to the author's impassioned tone by displaying the how monumental it is to be this accomplished. For example, "Just as the iconic image has done the rounds on social media." This quote display how the author believes the fight is "iconic." When Farmery uses a nickname, "Dr. Steelhammer", instead of saying Klitschko's name, it displays how Farmery knows about boxing inside and out, because only a true fan would use that diction. Varying syntax structure drives the point across by first going in depth into the situation, then making a concise statement on it. For example, "But Sportsmail photographer Kevin Quigley, who was ringside as Joshua beat Klitschko in the 11th round at Wembley, managed to capture an image many will return in years to come. It is the spitting image if Ali as he stood over Klitschko." Notice how the syntax changes from complex to simple purposely to summarize the previous point made. The image of Joshua next to Ali strengthen the argument by comparing the two. They stand in the same position and with the same facial expression. This article's impassioned tone is displayed through commentary on details of the fight, images, and the excited diction. While Joshua was fighting Klitschko, he "had put Dr. Steelhammer (Klitschko) in a position of weakness. He was in control and the fight was soon over." This displays an excitable tone by making a concise statement on how Joshua blew Klitschko away. The images of Joshua standing over Klitschko and celebrating after he beat him also contribute to the impassioned tone of the article because these power stances give the reader a sense of the excitement in the stadium in that moment. Appeals to ethos are the major appeals in this article. Names are constantly cited throughout this article. For example, "Sportsmail photographer Kevin Quigley" and "Wembley", the stadium the fight took place in. One appeal to logos would be when Farmery writes "The 27-year old has fought 19 fights and is yet to lose." This gives Joshua's winning percentage, which happens to be 100%, but ethos is the primary appeal in this article. Appeals to ethos are distributed equally throughout the article, but an appeal to logos only appears at the article's end. The argument has no weaknesses; it compares relevant events because both Joshua and Ali won an insanely high percentage of their matches and were chastened as boxing champs. This article's purpose is to say that Anthony Joshua is the modern day Muhammed Ali. This is back up by the paragraph that states "It is the spitting image of Ali as he stood over Klitschko. His pose was identical of Ali when he beat Liston." Mainly ethos, such as the previous quote, appeals to the reader. This can also be seen when Farmery cites Sportsmail photograph Kevin Quigley. This is a valuable position because it compares a successor to his predecessor in boxing and argues that this could be a sports-revolution of sorts. The link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-4461326/Anthony-Joshua-stands-Wladimir-Klitschko-like-Ali.html Donald Trump's first 100 days have just finished, and he says "'It's a different kind of presidency.'" The Press Association says "he has startled world leaders with his unpredictability and tough talk." This article addresses Trump's first 100 days through objective and extravagant diction, an informative and formal tone, appeals to ethos and logos, and rhetorical devices such as allusions to situations and people and long syntax structure to contribute to the article's purpose and explanation that Trump has been productive in his first 100 days.
The diction throughout this article avoids first and second person and uses larger, educated, and sometimes extravagant words such as "languishing" and "bravado." This contributes to the formal and informative tone by treating the topic as information that holds great value. The objective diction displays the author's low emotional attachment to the topic. The quote "He has backpedalled on an array of issues in recent weeks... but his self-proclaimed flexibility means he could move back to where he started just as quickly" contributes to the low emotional attachment because it does not make a strong argument on whether Trump has been productive or not. The word "backpedalled" contrast with "self-proclaimed flexibility" because it states that Trump could be productive, but also could not be, which displays how the author does not have a strong opinion on whether he has been a productive president or not. Other rhetorical devices that present themselves in this article include allusions and long syntax structure. Allusions to Judge Neil Gorsuch, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Trump's NATO critiques appear throughout this article. The Press Association uses these allusions to describe and detail Trump's first 100 days and compare them to other president's work, like when the article states "One hundred days are just a fraction of a president's tenure and no president has quite matched the achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt." The allusion to Trump's Supreme Court appointee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, and his NATO critiques discuss his actions as president in the first 100 days. Details such as the allusions to public figures and situations in politics as well as contractions and easy to understand diction add to the article's informative yet casual tone. The allusions to public figures, such as when the article states "On Capitol Hill, majority Republicans muscled through Mr. Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch" adds to the informative tone by giving the audience information on Trump's actions. Another example could be when the article writes "He has backpedalled on an array of issues in recent weeks, including his critiques of NATO," which displays his international policy. Lavish language, such as "chastened" and "endured," contributes to the formal tone by presenting the topics as an educated issue. Appeals to ethos and logos present themselves throughout this article. Trump's tweets are used throughout this article, appealing to ethos. Another appeal to ethos could be the reference to legislation in his tweets. An example includes "Obamacare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going- otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought." Questions detailed in these tweets such "What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into the U.S.?" appeal to logos by questioning a judge's legitimacy. His tweets are distributed evenly throughout the article and allusions and other appeals are placed before tweets to lead into them. The purpose of this article is to discuss Trump's first 100 days as president. While his tweets detail his political opinions, the commentary in the article detail his actions such as his international relevance. For example, his NATO critiques which he quickly withdrew. One statistic is used to strengthen the discussion, stating "his approval rating has hovered around 40% in most polls." This discussion has little to no questionable slip-ups in its argument. The link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4438740/Trump-100-days-Its-different-kind-presidency.html The Daily Mail's Jan Moir states that girls must "start learning to celebrate themselves." This statement comes recently after Posh Spice, also known as Victoria Beckham, received the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) award and spoke on how "if you dream big and work hard you can achieve great things." Shortly after, an unidentified organization releases an international survey describing the misery teenage girls endure. In Moir's article, she claims girls should "stop being so sensitive!" through unempathetic diction, a skeptical and critical tone, varying syntax, imagery, allusion, metaphor, and appeals to ethos and logos to display that girls overstate their mental illness.
The diction in this article give the reader the sense that the author only connects to the topic on a professional level. It seems like the author wrote this article without prior knowledge or experiences with people who have mental illnesses. She compares not mentally ill, but "troubled" teens to people "who look at the world with a jaundiced eye". She specifically writes "jaundiced" to say that bitter British teenage girls need to be happier because they live in a stable and prosperous country. She conveys the point that the girls' plight does not matter because the country they live in has no issues, which contributes to her skeptical tone in the passage. Moir also creates a critical tone in this report when she states "All those years of girl power and what have we got? A generation who are unhappy." The rhetorical question at the passage's beginning criticizes the next generation. The words "and what have we got?" makes it seem like this coming generation constantly messes up and should be grateful to the previous generation, and when they feel unhappy, she attacks them. This contributes to the critical tone in this passage. The author has some emotional attachment to this issue, which can be seen when she states that "[girls] must start learning to celebrate themselves." This issue obviously concerns her, but she does not use a teenage girl's testimony in this article, which makes the article seem like a person telling someone to "get better" and assuming that they should be able to after saying that to them. Moir's commentary on teenage girls with illnesses exemplifies her skeptical and critical tone. She states that "'being pushed', having 'things stolen', and 'rumors spread'" should not be considered bullying because "isn't this part of the casual brutality of adolescence." This comment infuriates teenagers because it makes their complaints such as someone stealing their $100+ calculator seem like camaraderie through Moir's questioning, skeptical tone. A comment that displays Moir's critical tone appears in the article's last paragraph, stating "[Contentment] will never be attained if you treat every bump on the road to Nirvana like a major tragedy, not a hiccup." She writes this to convey the point that "melodramatic" teenagers overreact to adversity. These tones create a harsh and objective mood. This article packs itself with appeals to ethos and logos. Moir mentions surveys and statistics to strengthen her argument. She mentions research conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and how its research explains that British girls "came fourth out of 49 countries when it came to the highest proportions of girls who felt unsatisfied." Citing the organization appeals to ethos while citing the statistic appeals to logos. This article demonstrates ethos and logos again when it states "an international survey was published revealing that British teenage girls are among the most miserable in the world." This gives information on British teenage girls' mental status and cites this "international survey" to prove it. The appeals to ethos and logos distribute themselves relatively evenly throughout this whole article. Moir's vague survey citations contribute to a weak argument. She only cites one research center, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, then does not mention another specific source. This leads to a weak argument. Other rhetorical devices that affect this argument include imagery, allusion, varying syntax, and metaphor. Imagery becomes prominent in the article when is states "his forehead creased with worry as he hears about how Susan in chemistry class twanged your tights and called you 'pizza face'?" This makes readers picture being bullied in high school; Moir addresses bullying in this article. Allusions to Victoria Beckham and Nicola Sturgeon contribute to the argument. Moir uses Victoria Beckham as a role model in this article and uses Nicola Sturgeon, the current First Minister of Scotland, as a humorous example to explain why Britain could be terrible. Varying syntax close to the article's beginning, stating "It is so sad. All these adolescents, unaware of their own potential and utter loveliness, condemning themselves." The monosyllabic syntax in the first sentence quickly transforms into a polysyllabic syntax. This takes a short point then elaborates on it, contributing to the argument. When Moir compares "widespread unhappiness" to "a bleak malaise magnified by the prism of social media" this can be considered a metaphor because it compares girls' feelings to "a bleak malaise." This contributes to the argument by arguing girls act like this and later stating that they should stop acting like this. This article cites the claim "Teenagers must stop being so sensitive" as its purpose. The whole article aims at explaining teenagers in only nineteen short paragraphs then states "And stop being so sensitive!" Certain sections such as "Yet more than half a million girls contributed to this study, and clearly something fundamental has fractured in the teenage experience" contribute to the purpose directly by saying girls must be overreacting. The purpose altogether has little worth because its weak argument does not convey its point effectively or unbiased. The link to the article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4430936/Teenagers-stop-sensitive-JAN-MOIR.html |
Jordan WattJordan is a North Cobb High School student reviewing the Daily Mail for an AP English Language and Composition news blog project. ArchivesCategories |