Writing Project 3: Analysis in Place

Image credit: Paul Hanaoka

Background

·
“I


’m a Young Environmentalist Battling Climate Change through Tiny Actions”

·
“Why is California Still Drilling for Oil Despite its Ambitions Climate Goals?”

·
“Sustainable Communities for Whom?: Cultural Tactics in the Pursuit of Ecological Sustainability”

Writing Process

First, read the articles multiple times. As you read, keep a Metacognitive Reading Log and annotate with a focus on the writer’s techniques. The assignment
“3 Article Analysis”
helps you to read with this type of focus.

A note: The first two assignments on these readings (“Pollution/Los Angeles” and “Sustainable Communities”) were included to allow you to reflect on your own thoughts and feelings about the content. Now, the essay asks you to focus only on the writers’ choices and techniques, and not on the content.

Pre-writing: As you read the three articles, read closely. Notice details, and notice what you notice by keeping a
Metacognitive Reading Log
. Try to “read” those details to develop an interpretation: Why did the writer make this choice, and what does this reveal about the audience, purpose, and context? The writing choices could be word choice, complexity of the vocabulary, length and complexity of sentences, types of evidence use, how the document is formatted, the length of the text, etc.

As your ideas begin to develop, work on drafting a thesis statement, and then perhaps consider the organization of your ideas by creating an outline. As you pre-write, consider how you can shape your essay around the
basic elements of an argument
.

Drafting: When you have a clear picture of where your essay is going, develop a first draft. To make the best use of your revision process, your draft should be as complete as possible, and over 1,000 words! The first draft is due March 25.

Revise and edit: Work on developing a
revision process
that works for you, remember to both focus on the big picture and zoom in on the details. I strongly recommend that you get feedback from a
tutor in the Success Center
as part of your revision process. When you submit your final draft, please also submit the Writing Process Reflection form. Remember that one of the SLOs I’m grading you on is about writing process; I will look at your first draft and the Reflection Form as I assess your score on the final draft.

Audience and Purpose:

SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes) that you’ll practice:

Rhetorical Analysis draft

Richard Lara

March 27, 2022

Writers make various choices for their different contexts, purposes and audiences. The choices that writers make have to be effective for their audience. Some writers might prefer to use complex vocabulary while others use simple vocabulary depending on their audience. The similarities between the three articles are their topic and the length of sentences while the differences are the use of evidence, complexity of vocabulary, formatting of the documents and complexity of sentences.

A similarity of the articles is in the length of sentences. In the three articles, the authors have used both short and long sentences. There has been use of simple sentences to help the readers understand the topic easily. Some long sentences have also been used in the three articles (Freeman,2020). The three authors use long sentences, but there is a difference in their complexity. There are sections in which the authors use short sentences to explain their topic.

The three articles cover the same topic of climate change and environmental sustainability. There is use of words such as environment protection in the three articles. The authors explain the importance of protecting the environment (Borunda, 2021). They explain the importance of ensuring that individuals achieve sustainable cities without pollution.

The articles are different in their word choices because some of the authors use formal diction. In the scholarly article, there are instances whereby the authors have used formal diction. The use of formal diction has helped in understanding of the subject matter. The popular articles have instances whereby the authors did not use formal words. “And Patel continues to one-up himself” (Freeman,2020). The authors of the popular articles use informal words to communicate their ideas.

There is use of jargon in the scholarly article and the use of simple words in the popular articles. The authors of the popular articles do not use jargon. On the other hand, the authors of the scholarly article use jargon such as photovoltaic, stormwater management and district-scaled green infrastructure (Chan, 2018). There are special words in the scholarly article that require one to be a professional or an expert in a particular field to understand. Those who have not studied various fields might not understand the words.

There is use of slang in the popular articles. The popular articles use words that can be understood by individuals that come from a specific group. One of the slang words used in one up. The author uses the one up to refer to a different meaning depending on the context. “One up because one has to take action in their community, and then they have to one-up it” (Freeman,2020). Some of the words in the popular articles are restricted to specific groups of people.

The articles differ in complexity of vocabulary. The article “I’m a Young Environmentalist Battling Climate Change Through Tiny Actions” does not include complex words. The author uses simple vocabulary to show that the article is written for a general audience. “The cause wasn’t as straightforward” (Freeman,2020). Members of the general public can easily understand the topic of the article. However, the other two articles use complex vocabulary. The articles are written for a specific audience.

Another difference between the articles is the use of evidence. The article “I’m a Young Environmentalist Battling Climate Change Through Tiny Actions” does not use evidence. There are no citations in the article. The author of the article reports the actions of a boy, but does not cite evidence for the claims. On the other hand, the other two authors have included evidence in their articles. “A recent study by researchers from Stanford University found California’s oil to the most expensive in climate costs” (Borunda, 2021). The scholarly article includes sources at the end. The other two articles do not include sources.

There is a difference in the way the documents are formatted. The two popular articles do not have an introduction and other subsections. On the other hand, the scholarly article has various subsections. There is an introduction and conclusion section in the article (Chan, 2018). The author also includes a section of endnotes and acknowledgements. The use of subsections in the scholarly article makes it appear more organized.

The three articles differ in complexity of their sentences. The sentences in the scholarly article are more complex than the ones in the popular article. The sentences in the popular articles are quite simple while the ones in the scholarly article cannot be understood easily by everyone because of their complexity. “The case studies offer a pathway for reconciliation of citywide sustainability plans and community-led sustainability initiatives” (Chan, 2018). The complexity of sentences in the scholarly article show that it was intended for a particular audience.

There is use of first-person pronouns in one of the popular articles. The use of first-person pronouns has been used to show the opinions of various people. “I thought I was fine” (Freeman,2020). The author uses first-person pronouns when quoting various people. The scholarly article uses third-person pronouns. The information included in the scholarly article does not seem like the opinion of a person. The scholarly article provides research findings and insights.

The two popular articles are shorter than the scholarly article. The article by Elliot Freeman is the shortest. The author explains briefly the actions of a boy to battle climate change. The boy starts protesting and leads marches because he was diagnosed with arrhythmia. His condition was caused by environmental pollution (Freeman,2020). The other popular article is also short. However, the scholarly article is long, and one needs more time to read and understand the message of the author.

Even though the articles are similar in the length of sentences, there are many differences. The scholarly article uses formal words and complex words while the popular articles use informal words and simple sentences. The scholarly article is longer than the popular articles. The scholarly article is well-organized into various sections while the popular articles are not organized into subsections. The language used in the popular articles is simple for the audience to understand. On the other hand, the scholarly article uses language that can be understood by specific professionals.

REFERENCES

Borunda, A. (2021). Why is California still drilling for oil despite its ambitious climate goals? Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/why-is-california-still-drilling-for-oil-despite-its-ambitious-climate-goals

Chan, D. (2018). Sustainable Communities For Whom?: Cultural Tactics In The Pursuit Of Ecological Sustainability. Asian American Policy Review, 28, 52-3.

Freeman, E. (2020). I’m a Young Environmentalist Battling Climate Change Through Tiny Actions. Men’s Health. Retrieved from https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a33957346/kevin-patel-oneupaction/