TOW #7: Do We Invest in Preschools or Prisons? By Nicholas D. Kristof (Article)

            Getting a head start is always the best thing a person can do. A head start allows people to stay on top of their project, schedule, and even life. In Nicholas D. Kristof’s opinion article, Do We Investing in Preschool or Prison?, it is discussed on how supplying better education to children ages 0 to 5 will create a better future for the kids. In the intro, Kristof mentions how congress is often compared with pre-K, which may seem negative, actually creates a sense of hope. He addresses the idea that children who have a head start with early education are less likely to be held back or diagnosed with a learning disability.  He also mentions how poorer children are more likely to not receive the proper education needed to give them the jump-start into schooling.

            Kristof wrote this article with the intension of showing his readers the importance of early childhood education and how it is becoming a more prevalent topic in the government.  It’s a Call to action in order to display the positive effects of educating children at a young age. He mentions how even “President Obama called in his State of the Union address for such a national initiative”. 

            The audience of this piece is the government and anyone with young children between the ages of 0 and 5. He targets these individuals in particular because they are the ones who can make the most impact.

            By using statistics showing government support of early education which is“ from 84 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republican” and presenting how poor families who use the Nurse-Family Partnership program create “a 59 percent reduction in child arrests at age 15 among those who had gone through the program”. I believe that Kristof’s use of statistics made his article more appealing and informative to reader, which overall allows him to achieve his purpose and show his readers the importance of early childhood education.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-invest-in-preschools-or-prisons.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

TOW #6: Cereal Box (Visual Tow)

Breakfast has always been known as the most important meal of the day. For many Americans, cereal is a top choice for this meal. From babies to senior citizens, many residents across the country consume the beloved breakfast cereal of Cheerios. The bright yellow packaging of this General Mills product is not only alluring but also informative. This packaging was made to attract potential buyers to Cheerios. The purpose of the packaging of the Cheerios is to convince people of the benefits of eating Cheerios. I believe that General Mills achieves their purpose through the use of multiple rhetorical strategies.

First off, on the front of the cereal box there is a list of basic nutrition facts for one serving of Cheerios. With information like 100 calories per serving and zero grams of saturated fats, what health nut wouldn’t love this product? Useful information like this makes consumers feel like Cheerios are the healthiest cereal choice for them.

Also on the front of the box is a quote stating that Cheerios are “clinically proven to help reduce cholesterol”. High cholesterol is becoming a more prevalent problem in today’s society; so with Cheerios claiming that they can help lower it, consumers with high cholesterol are automatically drawn to the product. Just like the nutrition facts on the front of the box, this quote helps emphasize the health aspect of Cheerios to the buyer.

On the side of the Cheerios box, there is a large list of all the nutrition facts of the cereal. These facts not only show how healthy Cheerios are, but also how they are for everyone. When listing the serving size of the product, a special serving size is listed for children ages four and under. By adding this element, General Mills is showing parents that Cheerios are a safe food for their precious children and that the product was created with kids in mind. Through these rhetorical strategies, General Mills is able to achieve their purpose of showing consumers the benefits of eating Cheerios.

TOW #5: Elephants Get the Point of Pointing, Study Shows by Carl Zimmer

           To your average human, the action of pointing may seem like second nature, but there is much more sophistication to the act then meets the eye. Most babies learn this movement by the time they turn one and they use it in order to silently draw your attention to an object. Pointing is a rare ability in the animal kingdom; surprisingly, elephants may possess this simple gift. In Elephants Get the Point of Pointing, Study Shows by Carl Zimmer, it is revealed that elephants may understand pointing. Biologist, Richard Byrne, and his graduate student, Anna Smet, conduct a simple pointing test. The test is that they will put food in one of two buckets and point to the one with food in it. Then they will wait and see what bucket the elephant would stick its trunk into. With two months and eleven elephants the test was completed. 

Zimmer, a biology writer for the New York Times, allows readers to see the test and the results by going through the experiment with them.  Any reader with a curiosity for life and nature would enjoy this piece. With something as fascinating as elephants holding a human characteristic, who wouldn’t want to read this article? Zimmer’s purpose in writing this piece was to show readers the new discovery on how elephants, most likely, get the point of pointing.

The author uses counterarguments and quotes in order to achieve his purpose, which I believe was successful. At the end of the piece, Zimmer quotes an expert on elephant cognition named Diana Reiss who points out flaws Byrne and Smet’s experiment. These flaws include how the elephants used were from an elephant camp and how they might have learned pointing from their human caretakers. I also think that by quoting Byrne and Smet, Zimmer was able to enhance his article by allowing the biologists’ voices to come through as well as his own. Both of these strategies help Zimmer achieve him purpose of showing how elephants get the point of pointing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/science/elephants-get-the-point-of-pointing-study-shows.html?_r=0

TOW #4: The View From Dubai by Lauren and Mike Arnold, NY Times (Article)

         Dubai is home to the world’s largest building, the Burj Khalifa. The Burj Khalifa stands 2,716 feet tall, has 163 floors and is home to Lauren and Mike Arnold, the authors of the article, The View from Dubai. The authors give their opinions on what it is like to live in Dubai and in the Burj Khafila. Lauren is a health care executive and Mike is an artist and architect, they have both been living in the building since 2011. They write the article as if the reader is completing their Friday morning routine right along beside them. By describing the view and the vibe that comes with living in Dubai, the authors give the reader a glimpse into this unique lifestyle.  

          Any one from an avid traveler to an architect will appreciate and enjoy this article.  By giving a positive prospective on what life is like for residents of the Burj Khalifa, the authors are able to appeal to a large range of readers. Their goal in this piece is to tell their readers about life in Dubai and also about the cultural influences that belong to the building and city. By using a casual tone, the authors are able to achieve their goal of giving the reader a view into the life of Dubai citizens. Words like “we” and “our” attempt to allow the reader to feel engaged and involved in the article.

            I believe that the Arnold’s were able to achieve their purpose because as I was reading the article I felt as if I was in Dubai with them. I was able to visualize the view from the building and even the elevator ride the authors take to get to the 123 floor of their building. They said, “we board one of the tower’s 57 elevators and are catapulted even higher, to the 123rd floor, as if we were weightless objects being effortlessly lifted through the air. Our ears adjust several times as we speed along at almost 60 feet a second”. By illustrating what life is like in Dubai, the authors are able to successfully achieve their purpose.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/the-view-from-dubai.html?ref=opinion&_r=0