AOW #3: Christine Lagarde article Vogue Magazine

Article:
Christine Lagarde: Changing of the Guard

Controversy about the new leader of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) has been covered widely on the news, and also in Vogue Magazine. The author, Diane Johnson (a well-read journalist and novelist featured in The New York Times, among other prestigious newspapers/magazines), uses a positive tone to describe Christine Lagarde’s election and what she has been doing to fix the economic crisis, while noting how many of her critics are male politicians. The article suggests that men are still wary of successful women in the professional world, further supported by quotes from Lagarde. Being that the context of this piece is that it is written for Vogue Magazine, a magazine whose audience is women interested in fashion, the author included a paragraph or two on Lagarde’s wardrobe and how she suggests dressing in the professional world. Although one may argue that the purpose of the piece was to inform women on how to dress respectively and professionally, ultimately, the author wanted to show readers that women can be successful leaders, even in the IMF, whose other members are male.  The author definitely accomplished this purpose because readers are left with the impression that Lagarde is a successful woman in a world of men. Johnson used positive and encouraging words when describing Lagarde’s current actions in government which connoted her as a successful leader; such diction was a crucial rhetorical element when persuading readers of the purpose.

AOW #2: Solar Panel Visual CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/

Summary:

At first glance, I could not tell what the image was portraying. It looked like adjacent rectangles shot at an odd angle under a dawning sky. However, its unique geometry and color patterns caught my eye and encouraged me to read the caption. From the caption, I was easily able to tell that the picture was of a solar panel roof; the article was about how a school installed solar panels in the hopes of saving money on power in the future.

Source: 

cnn.com is the website of CNN, an international news source based in Atlanta, Georgia that is also aired on television. CNN is staffed 24/7 and has almost 4,000 news professionals on staff. The site is updated constantly with new information in multimedia presentation.

Context: 

In the world today, one of the major issues is conserving energy and saving the planet. Therefore, more people are likely to read this article on alternate sources of energy (solar power); the visual and its article pertain to a topic that is on the top of everyones’ minds. 

Purpose: 

This advertisement is trying to attract people viewing the CNN homepage to read an article about solar power, while also featuring another article on a similar topic (“Hollywood’s strange energy sources”).

Audience: 

The visual was meant to be seen by people perusing the CNN homepage for interesting news. It is under the heading “This Weekend,” so the audience does not include people who are searching for a specific topic or article, but rather people who are looking for current events and issues.

Rhetorical Elements:

• caption – linked picture to article and explained what the picture portrayed
• organization – the patterns in the picture caught audience’s attention
• geometrical panels, horizontal stripes of dawning sky
• symbolism – the dawning sky suggests that solar panels may be a new start and hope in conserving energy and saving the planet 

The photographer accomplished his/her purpose because the image made me want to figure out what the article was about. However, I did not feel the need to read the article, so the author/editor failed at making the picture’s caption that described the article enticing to read.

IR Book: The Forever War

The Forever War
By Dexter Filkins

Sections:

1. 3-86
2. 87-184
3. 185-266
4. 267-346

I chose this book because I would like to learn more about the war on Iraq from a soldier's point of view. Even though this is written by a journalist, Dexter Filkins, the first few pages of the prologue lead me to believe that his memoir describes the soldiers' lives, as well, since he is traveling with them.

AOW due 9/11

Article:  

9/11 Psychology: Just How Resilient Were We?

By Ruth Davis Konigsberg 

Thursday, Sept. 08, 2011

     Kinogsberg reflected on the psychological aftermath of 9/11. In 2001, psychologists didn’t know how to help survivors; terrorist attacks of that magnitude had never occurred before. An international committee of psychologists was organized to form a comprehensive coping plan, but failed without preceding research off which to base their plan. Konigsberg wrote that 9/11 provided valuable data on how to help in a future attack. He concluded that the best method is to provide basic necessities before assessing psychological trauma and need for professional help.

     The context (the 10th anniversary of the attacks) made the story more relevant; this week, 9/11 is at the front of people’s minds more than any other time of the year, and so this context helps the story be more widely read. This piece was written to reflect on how the psychologies community tried to help survivors cope. Another minor aim was to lead readers to other Time articles about 9/11 with links to other Time pages after several of the paragraphs. The author was successful in informing the public of one way the community tried to help victims, but unsuccessful in drawing me to the other pages advertised by the article. Being written for Time Magazine, the audience was the public, perhaps particularly people interested in psychology. 

Rhetorical Elements:

• logos
• facts made the writing logical rather than mournful with personal stories (pathos)
• ethos
• prevented the reader from being critical in the relatively-failed international meeting held after the attacks