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
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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 |