TOW #29: Letter to a New APELC Student

Dear New APELC Student,

            Hello! Welcome to a year filled with successes, struggles, sadness, and triumph! Despite all of the rumors about the class you might have heard, you will find out throughout the year that success will prevail eventually. Therefore, stay calm, keep up the hard work, and you’ll be OK. However, that synopsis must not be enough for you, so let’s delve into the specifics of my experiences. Hopefully you’ll get a better sense of how the class is from my actions and experiences.

            At the beginning of last year, I was definitely not a great writer. It was difficult for me to brainstorm ideas, form arguments, and analyze texts. I came into APELC with a determination to succeed from the very beginning and did not prepare myself for some failures. As a result of me wanting too much success too quickly, I was rewarded not with that success, but with a low grade for the first marking period. I had to summon resiliency when coping with the grade, but after discussing my status in the class with Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko extensively, I chose to loosen my grip on the class. I stopped worrying about my final grades and concentrated on improving my writing, absorbing information from texts, and practicing rhetorical analysis. In this way, I was able to improve my reading and writing skills extensively, therefore boosting my grade and helping me prepare skills for the AP Exam. If you are coming into the class expecting Armageddon, tone it down, and don’t worry about it. Just focus on learning and improving your skills. It may seem like an old cliché to say not to worry about grades, but in my case, the technique certainly helped. Hopefully, it will work for all of you as well.

            Now that you have some idea of how to attack the course, let’s discuss some of the course specifics itself. You might be expecting stacks upon stacks of writing and two take home essays a month. That is definitely not how the course goes. While there is certainly plenty of reading to do over the course of the year, Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko will give you lots of time to complete the assignments. For a long reading assignment (such as Socrates in the winter), you could expect around a week and a half to complete the assignment. That being said, don’t save all of the reading to the last minute. The texts assigned in the class for reading are often very dense texts that require time to digest. Now this isn’t meant to scare you, as your teachers will provide excellent guidance on these texts, but make sure that you stay on top of all of you assignments. In that way, you will stay organized and remain confident throughout the year, instead of becoming stressed and worried.

            One final word of advice I will give is to use your TOWs extensively. TOWs are “Text-of-the-Week” Assignments that require you to post a blog entry about a particular nonfiction text (written, visual, or independent reading book), regarding the purpose and rhetorical strategies the author uses in the text. Use these to your advantage by picking texts to read that are challenging, and practicing analysis of the text quickly. This will help you improve your reading and analysis skills, and prepare you for the AP Exam in May. Additionally, try to choose texts about a variety of different topics, so that you have plenty of new exposure to ideas. In this way, you will have a large pool of ideas to choose from when you create arguments for essay.

            At this point, you might still be thinking about a supposed large workload and difficult readings. Don’t worry about it. Focus on staying calm throughout the course and improving your reading and writing skills. Finally, remember that the class is surely a marathon, not a sprint, and that your teachers are there to help you. Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko are great reasources for help, support, and information. Ask them for anything you might need related to the class, and they will do their best to help you out. Best of luck in AP English Language and Composition! You are at the beginning of the road to success. You will do great!

TOW #28: Reflection

Well, I’ve finally completed a year of rhetorical analysis. I have to say, I was skeptical of the TOW idea at the beginning of the school year, but now, after completing all of these assignments, the cycle has definitely been worth it. TOWs have helped me with my reading analysis skills since the beginning, although it was quite a slow start to them. Once I got used to the cycle though, it was very beneficial.

                At the beginning of the year, I wrote very formulaic TOWs that followed the assignment sheet very closely. After discussing with my teacher and fellow students, I came to the realization that TOWs were not meant to be summaries, but rather mini analysis essays. After this, I started to shift my TOWs toward the analysis, not summary, of various texts. Throughout the year, I noticed that I became more comfortable reading harder texts, and identifying purpose and rhetorical techniques within the texts. At the end of the year, my TOWs became more descriptive, analytical, and throughout provoking. These progressions were some of the main reasons my analysis improved throughout the year.

                I believe my reading and analysis were the main things that improved this year. The TOWs allowed me to select texts of increasing difficulty, which allowed me to improve my reading skills. By the end of the year, I was able to read texts much faster and still comprehend most of the text. In addition to reading, I was able to more quickly realize what the purpose and rhetorical techniques of a text were, which were very beneficial during the exam, and will hopefully be more useful later in life as well.

                Despite this, I still think I can improve my analysis of visual texts. It took me more time to understand the meaning, purpose, and techniques of visual texts, even towards the end of the year. I think some more instruction in the visual texts during class would help in this area.

                In addition, the TOW assignment sheet from the beginning of the year seemed to lead my early TOWs in the wrong direction. I felt that that sheet led me more to a summary than an analysis essay. Therefore, I think that a revision of this assignment sheet would also be helpful.

                Overall, thank you for the TOW experience. It was definitely beneficial for me, and hopefully, it will be for many other classes.

TOW #26: "The Machines are Coming" (Written)

                In this constantly changing world of technology, it is almost a given that at some point, human jobs would be replaced with machines. That’s exactly what Zeynep Tufekci’s article in the New York Times strives to reveal. Titled The Machines are Coming, Tufekci writes about how the machine is starting to take over companies due to their greater efficiency over humans. In the article, the author uses an anecdote and quoting to reveal how the future will be more about how humans value each other, rather than the us vs. machines theory.

                Tufekci first introduces an anecdote of a conversation with a call center. She states that the man she discussed with was not able to get something done, and therefore thought he was going to lose his job. Through the use of the anecdotal example, Tufekci shows how humans are now treated in many employments as dispensable, or easily replaceable with a machine. By showing how the current worker is not worth employers’ time, she is able to show how strained the potential relationship between a worker and their employer can be. Therefore, the anecdote allows readers to connect with a familiar action, a call to a call center, and understand just how bleak the situation could be.

                Tufekci then uses quoting to show how technology is increasingly being used not for the benefit of worker, but at the expense of them instead. Once showing that workers are indeed dispensable, Tufekci then includes a quote from Shoshana Zuboff, a Harvard social scientist, to explain how the worker is just being replaced instead of empowered by technology and machines. A quote from an established social scientist allows Tufekci to increase her credibility to readers, which further allows the audience to connect with her points. In this way, Tufekci is able to further the proposition that humans need a way to see each other in a balance, rather than in a powered vs. powerless manner.

                Although the majority of workers face replacement, some workplaces are instead taking advantage of technology to empower their workers. Therefore, there is still hope for the “average Joe,” who might not have to worry about his being replaced with a robot.

TOW #25: "Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?" (Written)

                Groups of females talking together for extended periods is quite common, and these conversations are analyzed in the essay “Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men?” This essay, written by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, tackles the question through a series of research projects. In his essay, Mehl uses quoting and statistics to convince fellow scientists that the stereotype outlined in the title of the essay is indeed unfounded.

                Mehl’s continual use of quoting throughout the essay establishes his credibility on the topic, and allows for him to introduce his own findings. For example, he quotes a study done by neuropsychiatrist Brizendine, stating, “‘A woman uses about 20,000 words per day while a man uses about 7,000’ (3)” (par. 2). Quoting of another scientists work first allows Mehl to introduce his topic through previous factual evidence. In this way, fellow scientists can understand what work has already been done in the field and how Mehl’s work fits in later. It also establishes Mehl’s credibility, since he is quoting other well-known scientists before presenting his own findings.

                Once scientists understand that Mehl is indeed credible, the apparent use of statistics throughout the essay draws them in and allows them to better understand the conclusions given. Mehl first includes the statistic about the previous scientist’s work, as well as a host of other statistics regarding other conclusions made in the field based on their research. This abundance of data and statistics about the topic of the essay show the audience just how much research has been done in the field, and also how inconclusive some of it is. In this way, Mehl’s fellow researchers around the world can understand why certain data does not make sense and how Mehl’s data specifically does lead to a satisfactory conclusion.

                Mehl finishes the essay by presenting his own findings and declaring the stereotype as “unfounded” (par. 7). Through the use of quoting and statistics, Mehl was able to convince readers of a disproved stereotype. It is really interesting to see scientific evidence rejecting a common misconception, which is all the more reason to believe Mehl’s findings. It is therefore important that society make changes to assess the scientific validity of stereotypes before claiming their factual nature. 

TOW #24: "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" (IRB)

Consider the very point in space that you are occupying right now. Now consider that within a mile of you, there are probably an abundance of fast food restaurants, waiting to exchange money for “happiness.” Eric Schlosser did not believe in this “happiness” however, when he wrote his book: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. In his novel, Schlosser extrapolates on the hidden mechanisms that make fast food such a bad thing from his perspective. Through his use of statistics and an extended example, Schlosser is able to convince readers that the speculated “dangers” of fast food do exist.

Schlosser’s frequent use of statistics helps to convince the audience of specific dangers associated with fast food, due to their exemplification of hard facts. For example, when Schlosser discusses the In-n-Out fast food chain, he uses statistics such as the average salary of workers, the amount of each food served, and more to show to readers the contrast between In-n-Out and other fast food restaurant chains. These statistics are also used in other places in the text, especially when Schlosser brings up a difficult topic for discussion. In these cases, the statistics help to ground his examples with facts that more blatantly show the differences between fast food and home food. In this way, Schlosser’s argument becomes easier to understand with each topic, which is why Schlosser is able to convince readers of the dangers of fast food.

Schlosser also uses an extended example throughout the entire book in order to relate topics presented in various places in the text. The extended example he uses is the city of Colorado Springs, whose growth is analogous to how the fast food industry moved throughout the country. Colorado Springs is brought up multiple times during the text, as it allows Schlosser to tie in different concepts to something that the audience is already familiar with as the book goes on. As the growth of Colorado Springs in terms of fast food becomes more and more clear to readers, it serves as a similarity to the entire country. This characteristic was particularly effective in making Schlosser’s argument easier to understand. Therefore, Schlosser is able to convince his readers of the dangers of fast food.

Throughout the reading of this book, I found it quite similar to Freakonomics, a novel that I read previously. This is because the two books share the same characteristic of describing the hidden sides to topics. Fast Food Nation was particularly enjoyable and informative, and Schlosser’s rhetorical techniques made it very easy to understand and informative. At least for me, his purpose was achieved, I don’t think I’m going to step inside a fast food restaurant again.

            

TOW #23: Shell Ad (Visual)

                We have always been on the brink of new technologies, but at no time is this more necessary than today, in the 21^st century. As the last drops of oil are used up on the planet, it is absolutely necessary that we, as a society, find cleaner, better solutions for the energy of tomorrow. Ironically, one of the biggest names in oil, Shell, is launching a campaign of ads to prove they’re in the energy game to win it. One of their ads, depicting an energy challenge racing car, proves that Shell really is serious about pursuing new goals other than fossil fuels. Through the use of vivid colors and bolded words, Shell is able to convince viewers that the energy crisis is indeed important and Shell is very serious about the topic.

                The Shell ad starts on the left with a lively image of an Eco-marathon car flying through the wilderness. The image employs shallow depth of field effects to create a focus on the car itself, and not so much on the background, which is blurry. However the colors are very important to the image, as the car looks as though it is travelling towards the sun. This shows that there is a future for energy, and Shell is indeed part of it, since Shell is shown on the car to sponsor the event.

                Once Shell shows the image on the left side of the field, it turns attention to the bolded phrases on the other side of the page. Phrases like, “Let’s go further on one litre of fuel” and “Let’s Go” are lucrative quotes that show viewers that they are indeed part of the effort to find new energy solutions. It shows that everyone is in the same boat, and therefore, everyone is involved. Finally, the way that the quotes are bolded shows that those are what we need to emphasize. In this way, Shell is able to convince viewers that everyone is together and we, as a society, are on the right track for energy solutions.

                Although these types of ads are shown all the time, this specific ad is effective, as its use of pronouns helps gets its audience board. Overall, it is quite important to get on the energy bandwagon and continue to work towards the goal.

TOW #22: "Why I Love My Job" (Written)

            More than ever before, it seems like sports pervade our lives, crowding out the other activities we want to do throughout our days. In high school itself, sports takes up much of our time as students: going to practices, cheering other teams on, field day, and listening to announcements about successes from other teams. Even our TV News Team covers sporting events such as football very often. Rick Reilly, in an attempt to reinforce the greatness of sports, uses his career as a sportswriter to advance his cause in his essay, “Why I Love My Job.” Through repetition of key words and phrases as well as the use of inductive reasoning, Reilly is able to convince readers that sports are indeed, an excellent part of life today.

            Reilly decides to repeat certain key words and phrases throughout his essay, in order to bring the argument down to a conversational level and help his audience relate to his message. For example, he repeats the word “sports” at the beginning of a majority of his paragraphs, often following with a characteristic of sports that is sometimes extremely obvious or extremely casual. Although Reilly’s writing does yield a down-to-Earth tone, it is quite appropriate for his essay. Readers of a magazine, where this essay was originally published, would rather hear a conversational argument than a speech, which is why Reilly’s repeated phrases make excellent sense here.

            In addition, Reilly also employs inductive reasoning in order to make his argument more understandable to readers. Every one of his body paragraphs presents a new piece of evidence that reinforces the beauty of sports. For example, some of Reilly’s body paragraphs discuss the fact that sports cannot be faked, has honor, and is woven into American life. By presenting examples in each paragraph that support each one of these claims, they can then be used as evidence to support the main claim in Reilly’s essay. Therefore, his use of inductive reasoning is extremely important toward advancing the greatness of sports, as it helps make the argument easier to understand for a casual audience.

            As sports is woven into our lives deeper than ever, it makes sense to embrace it. Reilly’s essay was published in ESPN Magazine, a haven for sports news and editorials. Therefore, his essay further reinforces the audience’s already healthy love for sports. His essay is perfectly targeted to his audience, which is what makes it so effective.

TOW #21: "Leaving and Cleaving" (Written)

                Cellphones, television, and internet are all examples of communications technology changing our lives. The services that each of these devices offer, as David Brooks, a writer for the New York Times, argues, can have a major effect on communication between people. Through exemplification and personification, Brooks is able to convince New York Times readers that heartfelt communication is eternal to any relationship.

                Exemplification was especially important to proving Brooks’s point, since it provided a solid grounds for his argument. Brooks used exemplification throughout his essay, in order to better explain the difficulties surrounding communication. Early in his essay, he used an example of Instagram to show how instant communication did not entirely benefit a relationship. He states that instant communication raises questions, such as, “How do you gracefully change your communication patterns when one person legitimately wants to step back or is entering another life phase?” (par. 6) This question that he raises more deeply analyzes his example of following exes on Instagram. The question shows that instant communication, as made popular by websites like Instagram, can increase the pain felt by a loss of communication because the casual interactions between people are nowhere near as impactful as deep conversation. Therefore, he encourages his audience to understand the value of deep communication in relationships, whether it be between parents, friends, or lovers.

                Brooks also includes personification, although in this case, he introduces hypotheticals to exemplify a real human connection. He first starts by discussing a child’s interactions with parents during early adolescence, stating that, “the parents don’t create a space where the child can establish independence” (par. 17). After this, he continues on to discuss the child’s later years, showing that the child and parents are, “heading for a life of miscommunication” (par. 19). These statements help put Brooks’s readers into the characters’ shoes and understand just how important communication can be. In this way, Brooks is able to achieve his purpose and convince readers to value effective communication and put it into practice often.

                Although some may argue that instant communication technologies can help by increasing the apparent time with someone, Brooks argues that good relationships require some restraint, and instant communication avoids that. As one final ground for his essay, Brooks refutes a common counterargument. This is very essential to his essay, and it is just one of many ways he goes about teaching about the importance of communication.

TOW #20: "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal" (IRB)

After World War II, there was a great increase in fast food restaurants in America. Over the decades into the new millennium, the food culture in America continued to change. Today, more and more people around the world are consuming fast food on a regular basis. Though it might taste good, Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, argues against it. Through the use of alarming statistics and inductive reasoning to persuade American readers about the dangers of fast food.

The alarming statistics used by Schlosser are key to his persuasion because they reveal facts about fast food consumption that were never expected by the audience. Schlosser included a statistic about soda and milk consumption early in his book, stating that milk used to be consumed twice as much as soda, but now, it is the opposite. With this statistic, readers get a sense of just how bad the fast food problem is. They are already aware of the dangers of soda coming in, and this allows the statistic to be more persuasive. Schlosser also included a statistic about food preparation, stating that 75% of money spent on food used to be spent on home preparation, but now, 50% is spent at restaurants. By giving a little background about food preparation first, and then presenting an alarming statistic, Schlosser is able to persuade his audience that the dangers of fast food do exist.

The author also uses inductive reasoning to support the viewpoint that fast food is indeed bad for society and something should be done against it. Schlosser first introduced an example, stating that the government can demand recalls for toys and such, but it cannot demand the removal of hazardous food products from restaurants and supermarkets. This piece of evidence, which he backs up through the statistics seen earlier, are grouped together to then support a claim. He later states that Congress should take charge against the dangers of fast food with bans on child targeted advertising and laws regarding tougher food safety. Altogether, the combination of examples and claims go a long way to persuading Schlosser’s audience about the dangers of fast food.

The last time I stepped into a fast food restaurant was around 5 years ago, and Schlosser’s book only expanded that potential gap. Concrete examples, statistics, and logic were very important to his claims, and they proved to be very effective. Overall, it will be interesting to read the rest of his book.

                

TOW #19: "Shelved" (Visual)

In recent years and the past decade, as technology continues to improve and smartphone, tablet, and laptop ownership is on the rise, society seems to be shying away from the library. People I ask just say, “Well, everything is on the internet now!” In a recent The New Yorker issue, Roz Chast challenged this idea by drawing a cartoon, called Shelved, displaying a full shelf of books and a man in front sitting with a laptop and headphones. In the cartoon, Chast uses unique facial expressions and scaling to show the neglect “felt” by the books and encourage viewers to give the library another look.

On the huge shelf of books behind the man in the cartoon, Chast drew unique and humorous faces on each of the books to emphasize the lost interest in books. For example, some of the books on the shelf show confused or angry faces. They also seem to be looking down at the man in the foreground. These faces reveal, through personification, how the books feel because of neglect, and hopefully encourage viewers to give them another look. Other faces look like they are sleeping, which shows that the books “are bored” and therefore are upset that no one is opening them and absorbing the knowledge they have to offer. All of these faces are Chast’s way of appealing to viewers’ pathos, therefore encouraging them to embrace the library in a time where the internet and cyber-technology have taken over.

As the viewer’s focus shifts down toward the man from the top of the cartoon, they notice the extreme smallness of the man and his belongings compared to the shelf of books behind him. This scaling serves to reveal the vast knowledge books have to offer by showing the internet and new technology as being inadequate in comparison. The size of the computer on the man’s lap is much, much smaller than the size of the bookshelf, which emphasizes the knowledge gap between the books in existence and technology. The man himself is also very small, and his ignorant posture, with his back turned on the shelf, serves to focus the viewer’s attention on themselves. By increasing the relative size of the bookshelf and emphasizing the ignorance of the man, Chast is able to appeal to his viewers’ emotions and propose the return to the library and to books.

Released in 2010, Shelved came at the perfect time, right on schedule for age of the smartphone and cloud computing. With so much technology being shoved in consumers’ faces, it is kind of hard to resist the temptation. Hopefully, Shelved is an effective reminder of the wealth in books and an encouragement to the trips back to the library.

TOW #18: "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" (Written)

Recently, with the availability of information at society’s fingertips, through technology, a friend discussed how family arguments had waned in their home. Nicholas Carr also seemed to share opinions on the topic, which is why he wrote an essay in 2008 called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Written for Atlantic magazine, the essay discussed Carr’s views of technology’s effect on our knowledge and ability to learn through argumentative methods. Carr’s use of exemplification and quoting proved that technology was indeed worsening society’s ability to learn and encouraged a countermeasure to be undertaken.

                Carr’s use of exemplification was an integral part of his being able to support his purpose. He first included an example of his own findings, stating that he spent time, “watching videos and listening to podcasts, or just tripping from link to link” (par. 2). Carr’s inclusion of the word “tripping” in this example indicates a negative approach, since the word itself generally has a negative connotation. This word shows readers that going from link to link on the internet is not a positive thing to do, which suggests that it could be detrimental to our learning ability. It shows that society isn’t thinking about what they are doing on the internet. Along with this, the author continued to use examples throughout the essay to prove that something needed to be done against the problem.

                After Carr proved that there was a problem with technology’s availability through his example, he then used a paraphrased quote to emphasize it. Later in the essay, Carr included a statement from Marshall McLuhan about technology’s effect on thought, which stated that technology, “supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought” (par. 3). This statement from a media theorist emphasized Carr’s point because it established his credibility. Since the audience could understand that Carr knew his topic, they could more clearly understand that technology could lead to a problem with learning and thought.

                Although many people, including Carr and the theorists he quoted in his essay, have stated information’s availability at fingertips could be detrimental, no one has seemed to care too much. Almost everyone has a smartphone with a data connection nowadays, which adds fuel to the fire. Carr does suggest that something should be done, and if he is right about the problem, it could lead to grave consequences.

                

"Fast Food Nation:" Introductory Post

McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Carl's Jr.... the list goes on and on. The evidence for the infiltration of fast food into the typical American citizen's life is sound, and it shows that something needs to be done about it. Fast food is extremely unhealthy for any human, which contributes to the problem of the ever-growing fast food industry, both in the United States as well as around the world. Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser takes an in-depth look at the industry in his 2001 book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal. It will be interesting to see the inside workings of the fast food industry that we've all been warned about but have never actually totally understood. In some ways, this book continues with facts and statistics for society, like Freakonomics, but from a fast food perspective. I look forward to reading this book fully, due to its significant relationship with our lives today.

TOW #17: Facebook Friendonomics (Written)

Recently, I read the book Freakonomics, which explored the hidden economics of everyday situations. Scott Brown, New York magazine’s theater critic, wrote his essay Facebook Friendonomics, using the title to refer to the best-selling book. His essay also focuses on a hidden side of an everyday idea: Facebook. Brown uses allusions and imagery to convince readers that “friending” people of social media removes the original sensation of friendship.

                Brown’s inclusion of allusions and referrals is very important since it helps the audience connect with his point more easily. For example, he refers to the Rolodex when discussing the value of friendship. He states, “Friending has subsumed the ol’ Rolodex… But the great thing about the Rolodex was that it never talked back…” (par. 4). Brown’s reference to the Rolodex shows how friendship online can be a distant affair and cannot assume the values of pure, face-to-face friendship. In another part of his essay, Brown refers to a Showtime subscription, stating that it, like friendship, allows you to, “chance, adapt, evolve or devolve” (par. 5). This shows readers that some friendships are meant to be ended; to help one grow as a person, whereas online friends do not allow such growth. In this way, Brown is able to convince the audience that online friends cannot offer the same values and lessons included with a proper friendship.

                Secondly, Brown also includes imagery to persuade his audience about the negative impact of online friendships. He states that, “the flimsiest of attachments – the chance convention buddy, the cube-mate from the ‘90s, the bar napkin hookup – will be preserved” (par. 2). Brown’s diction in this sentence gives negative connotation to the readers about online friendship, since it shows that regretful events of the past will be preserved and will not allow someone to move on from that spot. Later, Brown considers an analogy, stating that online friends, “are the currency of the socially networked world; therefore, it follows that more equals better” (par. 3). Similarly in this case, Brown’s metaphor shows a negative side of online friends by comparing them to greed for money, and therefore is more convincing of the fact that online friends just remove the original sensations and values behind proper friendship.

                As a high school student, plenty of kids around me have increased their time on social media with “friends” from a couple minutes to hours every day. Brown’s convincing argument against such attachments shows that people around me might be making a mistake, and it’s probably time for them to get off the computer, met people face-to-face, and enjoy the values of human interaction.

                

TOW #16: "Freakonomics" (IRB)

            Throughout the past month, I have been reading Freakonomics, an informative, yet entertaining book written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Before starting the read, I expected it to be similar to the book Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell, and I am glad to say it has upheld that standard. Freakonomics uses very creative methods to convey information and generally increase the audience’s awareness for the hidden sides of scenarios they are put in. These methods include both short sentences and statistics to prove the hidden side of every scenario.

            Although some of the things mentioned in Freakonomics are quite complex, the authors frequently use the power of the short sentence to emphasize their points. This structure is often used in conjunction with their narratives to simplify the long paragraphs into short meaningful phrases the entire audience can understand, not just economists. For example, when the authors introduce the book, they discuss the idea of conventional wisdom being wrong, and they reduce their long monologue about the topic down to a few short sentences at the end. This allows the authors to emphasize their point about it and give the audience a sense of the examples presented later in the book. Later in the book, while discussing sumo wrestlers and mutual cheating, quite a weird example to the audience, they use short sentences to reduce the complex example to something everyone can easily understand. In this way, the authors are able to extend their message about the hidden side of everything to the entire audience, and therefore, achieve their purpose in writing.

            Statistics are also used throughout the book, and like short sentences, they are used to emphasize the authors’ main talking points. The authors used statistics when describing the role teachers play in students’ standardized test scores. This allowed them to communicate their point about teachers themselves cheating for their students in a much more understandable way. This allows Levitt and Dubner to more effectively communicate the hidden side of various scenarios to their audience, thus achieving their purpose.

            Overall, Freakonomics has been a very enjoyable read. The authors did a great job simplifying information and making me, as a reader, think more deeply about the world around me. This was definitely their true purpose in writing and as I am sure many readers understood it well, that purpose was achieved.

TOW #15: "Girl Scouts" (Visual)

Girl Scout cookies are a huge hit in many schools and communities throughout America. To spur the popularity, the organization released an advertisement in 2011 to spread the message and increase awareness of the program. To achieve this, the advertisement color contrast and unique font to convince more students to join the organization.

            The advertisement first uses contrasting colors to show the problem with not joining the program. At the top of the ad, there is a black-and-white picture of three obviously bored girls. In this case, the grayscale colors reflect the bored emotions of the girls in the picture. However, at the bottom of the advertisement, there are color photos of girl scouts doing the characteristic activities, such as rock climbing and kayaking. The contrast between the grayscale and color reflects the emotions of the girls in the program. Therefore, the audience is convinced to join the program, since they can understand that they will have better, more fun and educational experiences by joining girl scouts.

            The advertisement also uses fancy fonts to emphasize the euphoric emotions experienced by girls in the program. The font for the phrase, “What did you do today?” is not straight like essay font. Instead, it has angles and fun edges. Therefore, the audience is convinced that the program is going to be a fun experience if they join. The font on “Girl Scouts 2011” is also a little fancy, suggesting that people that join the program will relish the experiences they had and be proud enough to sell those to others. In those ways, the advertisement is able to convince more people to join the Girl Scout program in America.

            By contrasting colors and adding fonts, the Girl Scout organization is able to showcase the experiences and emotions felt by the girls in their programs, and in turn convince others to join. Therefore the ad is very effective, and hopefully, there will be even more cookies on people’s doorsteps because of it.