Online Article: For many kids, lead threat is right in their own homes
By Greg Troppo, USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-28-lead-cover_N.htm
The article "For many kids, lead threat is right in their own homes" has been created to inform readers of the risk of lead poisoning in their own homes. It also wants to persuade readers to replace the lead-painted windows in their house, especially if it was built before 1960. Using different methods of the rhetorical situation, Troppo is able to persuade readers to check their own homes.
The opening sentence, "The house is not the biggest on the block, but Blanca de la Cruz's brick
bungalow, on a quiet street south of downtown, is swept and tidy, with
twin pots of vivid pink petunias hanging from the front porch", creates the picture of a house that is relatable to readers. By using imagery effectively, Troppo is able to push people to think of a house that everyone has seen before. By making the house very quiet, "not the biggest on the block", and tidy, it makes the house familiar. It grabs the reader's attention, and emphasizes the fact that it could happen to many houses close by.
Troppo also uses details to effectively persuade the reader to check his or her house. An example is a comparison between the hundreds of thousands of recalled Mattel Dream Houses and number of lead poisoned children due to their own houses stresses the fact that most children are still poisoned from their own houses than the hundreds of thousands of recalled toys. Or the example of using Wisconsin shows that even the best states are having trouble. "Even in Wisconsin, a model for lead-poisoning prevention, state
officials said earlier this month that only half of 97,000
Medicaid-enrolled children got required blood tests." By saying that even a model state cannot get as many test, people are more likely to assume that all states are doing very poorly in testing Medicaid-enrolled children tested, making this statistic even more shocking.
The diction throughout the article it uses slang diction, which helps it appeal to a wider range of people. It appeals to the average person or a middle class parent. By avoiding colloquial language, more people can understand it and the facts are highlighted because they aren't covered by confusing language.
Hey Joyce,
ReplyDeleteThis article was a very interesting read, especially because it relates to us and informs us of something dangerous that could be in our homes. Your example of Troppo's use of the rhetorical situation is great. I think Troppo describing a house in depth like that would really help influence someone to pay more attention to the article.
Keep up the great work! Matt Ko
"Using different methods of the rhetorical situation, Troppo is able to persuade readers to check their own homes."
ReplyDeleteBe more specific with your thesis. As we learned in class (probably before you wrote this), don't restate the prompt. I understand that there wasn't exactly an "official" prompt for this exercise, but you need to give the reader a better idea of what you will be discussing than what the reader already knows from the assignment prompt.
You probably missed this due to time constraints, but you need to summarize the important points of your essay at the end to help the reader remember what you said.
You're doing a very nice job so far. Keep paying attention in class and you should be set for a 5 on the exam when we're done!
Noah Symanzik