Go Get Offended: It'll Be Good for Us All
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sanyin-siang/go-get-offended-itll-be-g_b_1914801.html
By: Sanyin Siang
I really enjoyed this article and started to really agree with what she says. I think this is due to not only what she says being true, but that she uses her DIDLS well. She probably took AP Lit in high school and had nearly as good of an education as us at Okemos.
Diction: When describing how the internet helps us to get information, Siang writes that it "caters to our demands for efficiency." When she uses the word caters, she creates an image in the readers mind (at least she did for me) of caterers, hired by the user to provide essential things, normally food and drinks, but in this case information. I also liked when she said " a broad swath of perspectives" when describing the "old" news that we got from the television. This makes me think of multiple points of view all lined up in a row for us to look at and compare. I think that when words that are used create an image, what is read becomes more life-like to the reader and captures their attention as the reader imagines situations and scenarios for what he/she is being told.
Diction: When describing how the internet helps us to get information, Siang writes that it "caters to our demands for efficiency." When she uses the word caters, she creates an image in the readers mind (at least she did for me) of caterers, hired by the user to provide essential things, normally food and drinks, but in this case information. I also liked when she said " a broad swath of perspectives" when describing the "old" news that we got from the television. This makes me think of multiple points of view all lined up in a row for us to look at and compare. I think that when words that are used create an image, what is read becomes more life-like to the reader and captures their attention as the reader imagines situations and scenarios for what he/she is being told.
Syntax: Similar to when persuasive writers write stories, they write the long and drawling sentences to inform the reader and list of information. Kind-of like saying, "Look how much I know! Look how long my sentences are because they're all part of the same idea! I have so much to say! Please try and read through this and not just glance over it like so many do!" Which is true. It's hard to get through those long, drawling sentences. Especially when one reads how they would speak and the writer doesn't put commas. I find myself out of breath at times after reading because the sentence is so long. And then they have their short, crisp sentences that draw you out of that stupor of description and grab your attention. I find this almost forceful at times. Which is important for persuasive writers to do. Get the information out, then make sure to grab your audience back before they get lost. I should probably now say how Siang does this well.
These are the two final paragraphs of Siang's article.
"So, get uncomfortable. Better yet, go get offended. Perhaps by doing so, we can make better informed decisions about the choices we face and be more responsible in understanding the challenges we need to address. We can start on the path to forging needed solutions together instead of disagreeing.
"Go get offended. It'll be good for us all."
I like how she opens with short, easily understood sentences that resonate with meaning and draw the reader in to see what she has to say. After this powerful opening to an ending, she has her longer description sentences that she uses to basically summarize what she was trying to get across in the whole article. She mixes her short, emotion-inspiring sentences with her descriptive, thought-provoking sentences to make us think and feel her argument.
These are the two final paragraphs of Siang's article.
"So, get uncomfortable. Better yet, go get offended. Perhaps by doing so, we can make better informed decisions about the choices we face and be more responsible in understanding the challenges we need to address. We can start on the path to forging needed solutions together instead of disagreeing.
"Go get offended. It'll be good for us all."
I like how she opens with short, easily understood sentences that resonate with meaning and draw the reader in to see what she has to say. After this powerful opening to an ending, she has her longer description sentences that she uses to basically summarize what she was trying to get across in the whole article. She mixes her short, emotion-inspiring sentences with her descriptive, thought-provoking sentences to make us think and feel her argument.
Imagery: I found Siang's comments on internet searching very interesting as I read through it. She mentions "if I were to type in 'wooden toys for toddlers,' the results would be based on my previous searches for toys for my three-year-old and would be different than what your search would generate if you had typed in the same thing." This created an image in my mind of 10 people, all on their computers, typing in the exact same things, yet all getting completely different search results due to their past searches. Like I mentioned before for diction, creating images for a reader is important, especially for a persuasive writer. To capture the audience enough to make an image in their mind draws them in to the writing more. Siang does this again when she writes "It's now easy to flip through the channels until we find a network or scroll through our tablets until we find a story that resonates with us." When I read this, I just imagine someone, specifically for me, my grandmother, who is set in her beliefs and just flipping through the channels of the news until she finds something that she stops to listen to. I think this image is best created through her usage of the word "flip," because it's a slang word that we use in English to refer to changing the channel of the television, but using that word I think creates a better image because we can relate to it more.
