Analyze an Article

English
#1

Read an article, either online or in print, that discusses a current event. Identify the author’s claim, audience, purpose, and tone.

In three to five paragraphs, explain your reaction to the article. For example, you might consider the following questions:

  • Do you agree with the author’s claim?
  • Do you think you are a member of the intended audience?
  • Does the tone of the article seem appropriate to the intended audience and purpose?
  • If not, what would you change to better accomplish the author’s purpose?

After you complete this activity, identify the audience of your own argumentative essay. The topic is:

"How does my selected activity or characteristic impact success in an Internet-based college course?"

#2

I recently had the opportunity to view an interview of Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi, both experienced microbiologists and immunologists. In the one hour interview, the doctors are talking with members of the media about COVD 19 and whether or not we are taking appropriate steps to mitigate the spread of the virus. Their claim is that initially, the steps that were taken were appropriate. The public was asked to voluntarily quarantine and wear a mask and socially distance when going out in public. However, now that some time has passed and we have some data to analyze, they believe that we are doing more harm than good by continuing to quarantine and socially distance.

It it their claim that the data shows that although the number of people who have tested positive for COVD19 is very high, the number of deaths is very low. In other words, while it is very contagious, there is a very low chance of dying if you have a healthy immune system. They go on to provide statistics of the number of positive tests vs deaths in several major cities. For example, they state that if you live in the state of California you have a 0.03% chance of dying from COVD19.

They continue to state that quarantining ourselves is doing more harm than good at this point. Our immune systems are constantly working to create antibodies to bacteria and viruses that we come in contact with and that by eliminating the exposure we are weakening our immune systems so that when we come out of quarantine we will likely get sick.

Their explanations seemed very credible to me and I was persuaded to believe they’re correct. I believe it’s time to take steps to reopen stores and return life to normal. I would like to see stores and public parks and beaches open immediately. Followed by restaurants on a 50% capacity. We can continue to social distance and only if you are sick should you be quarantined and be asked to wear a mask in public.

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#3

The audience of my own essay on " How does my selected activity or characteristic impact success in an Internet-based college course" is anyone who is considering taking an internet based college course.

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#4

Mr. Ashish Jha is the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. He claims that if America reopens schools in haste and without proper planning, there is a strong likelihood that schools will not be able to remain open for long and resort back to remote learning.

The audience for this claim includes the 50 million children in the public school system, their parents, teachers, school staff, local/state/federal government. As a parent of children attending public schools, and as a college student myself, I completely agree with Mr. Jha’s claim. Mr. Jha brought up a very good point. The issue is not whether we are pro or against in-person learning, but rather if schools were reopened, how sustainable will the reopening be?

Mr. Jha shares two examples of when schools reopened in haste. In Florida, teachers and students went back to school, then had to quarantine again. A similar situation has also happened in Georgia, where teachers and students ended up getting sick, which forced the schools to temporarily close again.

I sense a tone of frustration from Mr. Jha. He brought up a point wherein the Trump administration has said that any additional federal support will be prioritized for school districts with in-person instruction. Rather than just affecting the students, teachers, administrators and millions of families directly, now the local government has to consider the threat of funding being reduced if their districts do not reopen. This has put much pressure on the school districts to decide how to effectively handle a health crisis, and a possible budget crisis immediately, which I view as rather pitiful.

Mr. Jha concluded that one of the biggest drivers of the current state of school reopenings across the country is not having any uniform guidance from the federal government. As one who has followed the development of Covid-19 since January 2020 even before it had become a global pandemic, I again agree with this statement. The USA has the highest number of case counts and deaths in the world. I consider it a shame being that the US is one of the world’s most advanced countries, but yet was not able to properly mitigate, prepare for, and educate its citizens on the possible repurcussions of a global epidemic.

Source: Reopening Schools Quickly Could Lead to Remote Learning for All of 2020-21

By Lauren Camera , Senior Education Writer

#5

"How does my selected activity or characteristic impact success in an Internet-based college course?"

The audience in my essay will be incoming, current, and future college or secondary education students.