Freakonomics

Freakonomics, the non-fiction novel by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, dissects everyday life in order to find the reason behind the decisions that people make.  Prevalent throughout the book is the theory that the authors have about incentives and how they are the driving force behind the reason that people do certain things.  This book is written argumentatively and many experts have refuted its premise that economics is the study of incentives, along with the purpose of the novel, which is to draw connections between the everyday practices of life to economics.  Many people believe that the book is based in sociology or criminology.  However, the book is widely accepted to be successful in showing the association between incentives and daily activity.

Freakonomics chooses to portray its theory of incentives through very creative and unusual situations. This not only keeps the reader entertained, but it additionally allows readers to see bizarre connections that they would have otherwise missed.  For example, in sumo wrestling, a sport that is an honor to participate in Japan, is analyzed and, through the use of statistics, a strong case is made to show how the wrestlers cheat.  The book shows that in elimination bouts, the wrestler in danger beats the odds to win with a statistically significant amount.  When the two wrestlers meet again, the wrestler who was supposed to win the first time but did not, wins an overwhelmingly high number of times.  This shows the likelihood of there being corruption in sumo wrestling.  When wrestlers are facing elimination, they may bribe the other wrestler to let them win this time in exchange for a sure victory in the next meeting.  Also, the book explores in the fourth chapter the effect that legalized abortion has on crime rates.  The book argues that because the babies that are more likely to be neglected in the first place never existed, crime rates plummeted.  The connections that the book draws are clear and well-supported, which makes the authors credible to the reader.  This credibility then allows the authors to be effective in achieving their purpose because readers are willing to buy into their theory of incentives and economics in everyday life.

TOW Rewrite - Gas Prices Political Cartoon

            The rising price of gas and the nuclear development program of Iran are two of the hottest and most controversial current political issues. This political cartoon discusses these two heated topics and shows how they are problematic.  This cartoon is drawn for U.S. News by an author in San Diego.  This means that there is American bias in the cartoon and that it is from an American perspective, which would obviously be against Iran.  Currently, Iran is developing nuclear energy that is very controversial because many nations and leaders believe that their intention is to develop nuclear weapons.  These would most likely be used against Israel, which is why the Israelis are very concerned. However, Americans are interested in the situation not only because of Israel, but also because this controversy drives the gas prices up around the world. The majority of oil is exported out of the Middle East, and when there are problems in that geographic area, there gas prices become high.  The top portion of the political cartoon depicts and Israeli fighter jet that is assumed to be heading towards Iran to attack them, while on the bottom there is a regular citizen complaining about how the gas prices are rising due to tension in the Middle East.   

            The author likely drew this cartoon because they wanted to further explain, with an American point of view, the conflict with Iran and the effects it would have on Americans and on the world.  He created it for Americans and with an American eye because he didn’t focus on the potential consequences for Israel but rather shows the effect on gas prices and how Americans will struggle to keep up.  Also, it is important to note that Irani effects are not mentioned in this cartoon, showing that the cartoon is trying to portray Iran negatively.  In order to achieve his purpose, the author based his cartoon in a cause and effect format, showing how the war would hurt Americans’ wallets through the price of oil.  Also, the word choice in the Israeli speech bubble includes the phrase “pay a steep price,” which is easily converted in to a monetary context.  This clever choice of words allows for humor in the cartoon when the person in the car responds with "so am I."  The author did a good job portraying his purpose because the reader was able to take away the implications of the tension in Iran and the reader understands how America would be hit.  Also, because the author uses humor to communicate his message, it makes it easier for Americans to understand and take away from.

Christian Mingle Ad

This advertisement is marketing ChristianMingle.com, a dating website specifically targeted to single Christians.  The company plays off of religion and destiny in order to persuade potential customers to join.  This particular ad is encouraging viewers to join the website in order to "find God's match for them."  The advertisement was found on the home page of philly.com, the website corresponding to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

This advertisement makes its target audience very clear.  The words "Single and Christian?" are printed in all caps and are centered on the ad.  These are also the largest words on the advertisement, drawing the readers' attention to them.  If the reader meets these criteria, they are more likely to examine the rest of the ad.  This is very effective because in the range of the advertisement, many people are both single and Christian, making this ad appealing to many people.  In order to achieve its purpose of getting people to join the site, the advertisement employs multiple marketing techniques.  First, it computer generates a woman, designed to look as appealing to single Christians as possible, in order to draw people into the advertisement.  This further narrows the audience of the advertisement, making it more appealing to men.  Then, the ad uses both ethos and pathos in the statement "Find God's Match for You."  This demonstrates ethos because it claims to be able to use the power of God in order to find the person destined to be your soulmate.  This intrigues many people.  This establishes pathos because it makes people feel excited and curious about who God would find for them.  Then, in order to seal the deal, the advertisement puts an orange block in the bottom right hand corner with the words "Browse for Free." This shows the viewer that there is no price to just exploring, greatly increasing the chance of gaining customers from that ad.  The colors are very bright and clean, what one would expect when trying to search for love.  Because of the ingenious use of many of these marketing and rhetorical techniques, this advertisement is very effective.

Health Insurance Marketplace

This article discusses the decision that states across the union must make about the new healthcare reform on Friday.  By that time, each state must decide whether or not they will assume responsibility for healthcare exchanges.  No matter the decision, citizens will not be affected immediately.  As time goes on, however, the article states that consumers will likely benefit from states running the healthcare marketplace.  This article was written a week before the decisions are due, making many of its opinions predictions about the week ahead.  This article was found on CNN and was written by a political and business expert.

As the Affordable Care Act is not well-understood by many Americans, it was evident that the article targeted the individuals that were going to be affected by this decision.  It was designed to fully explain the effects of the consumer of the Act to these people.  First, the article explained a brief portion of the decision by the states and of the act and then immediately related it to how that portion of the Act will affect the public.  In order to accomplish his purpose, the author used ethos by announcing the positions and experience of his references and of the writers of the quotations he used.  This had the effect of making the reader buy into the opinions of the speakers in the article.  Also, the article uses parallelism to delve deeper into the connections and into the information.  For example, the author states that only five states have already decided to assume responsibility for the exchanges.  Then using the same format, the article discusses the republican states' views and the democratic states' views.  Overall, the article was very effective because it was able to simplify a complex topic so that an everyday person could understand it and apply it to their personal circumstances.

Link to Article

Hugo Chavez

This article discussed the cancer battle that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was going through and the political controversy that surrounded it.  Chavez is returning to Cuba for another round of cancer treatment, and while he is gone, there is much debate over whether or not Vice President Nicolas Maduro should take over Chavez's job.  The argument debated the health status of Chavez (details were not released) and whether or not he was able to competently continue his presidency.  This article was from CNN and discussed both sides of Venezuelan politics thoroughly.  When this article was written, Chavez was just leaving for Cuba to have his surgery.

This article was written to a general audience located in the United States.  It did not target a specific party, gender, or race, as the article did not try to take a stance on the topic at hand.  Its purpose was only to inform the general public of the situation in Venezuela.  Being a controversial country and a common target for democracies, it is interesting that the author of the article did not try to skew the views of the readers against Venezuela.  In fact, the author tried to parallel the Venezuelan political system with that of the United States by showing the party politics that take place and referring to Venezuela as a republic.  In addition, to diversify the diction of the article, the author used a synecdoche to refer to the countries.  Cuba was referred to as Havana, and Venezuela was referred to as Caracas, both the capital cities of those countries.  Pathos was also used, as the reporter described fellow politicians and normal citizens crying and praying for Chavez's health.  Staying neutral greatly benefited the effectiveness of this article because it allowed the reader to not worry about bias in the article.  It was very effective in informing the reader about the situation, without persuading them to view it in a certain way.

Link to Article

Freakonomics

Freakonomics, a non-fiction novel by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, examines and analyzes everyday life and its hidden features.  The authors have a combined knowledge of economics and writing and they use their insight to show how economic principles apply to modern society.  The basis of the book is that society is full of people with hidden agendas, and they use their resources to accomplish their goals.  They argue that incentives drive people's lives, that conventional beliefs are commonly wrong, and that drastic effects are usually caused by small changes.  The rest for the book shows how these theories hold true real examples.  The book was published in 2003, and therefore doesn't have the most recent data available, but it recent enough to still be very relatable today.

As the authors use examples from around the world, the book is written toward an international audience, and while the book is primarily designed to entertain, it also informs its audience on the society they live in.  This is done mainly through using primary statistics and data collections in order to qualify examples.  In doing so, the authors let the readers try to sort through the evidence and draw conclusions on their own before they explain it.  This keeps the readers involved and interested in the book as they are reading.  For example, when describing ways teachers have cheated on standardized test scores, the book shows data from a computer of student scores in two different classrooms and the reader is told to find the pattern.  Also, they use juxtaposition and humor in order to improve their effectiveness.  For example, a chapter compares real estate agents to the Klu Klux Klan.  Obviously, the authors are not saying that they are equivalent, they just delve into the features of the two groups in order to draw conclusions on their overall motives.  The book is very effective and entertaining because it utilizes many different tones and devices as described.

Airplane Maintenance

Link to article

This article discussed the "behind the scenes" maintenance and service done on airplanes in order to keep them running.  Quick fixes and minor issues are addressed in between flights, where the pilot keeps track of certain mishaps experienced during the flight for the maintenance crew, such as spilled drinks on cushions and minor technological issues.  For large maintenance projects, the planes are taken to a hangar to be worked on.  This article was written by a CNN writer who went to a United Airlines garage in Houston for the story.  Also, the article spotlighted Thanksgiving travel as that is an especially busy time for airlines (24 million American passengers during the holiday week).

As a piece to both entertain and inform, the article is intended for any curious person interested in the inner-workings of the airport scene.  People wondering about how airplanes are kept safe and clean for passengers may also be interested in this text.  One way the article portrays its information is through ethos and the use of professionals in the field.  The article includes excerpts from an interview with the manager of the United Airlines technical operations department in Houston as well as other workers in order to add accurate insight.  The author also uses hyperbole in order to emphasize his points.  Because the device is used mainly with numbers, however, the text is confusing at points.  Real statistics are mixed with the exaggerations and become cluttered.  In addition, the author uses the narration of the everyday situations airplane maintenance workers experience to compliment the statements he makes about the overall system.  This helps bring down the level of sophistication for the everyday reader.  Because of the appropriate diction and the execution of writing to the audience, the article accomplishes its purpose of both informing and entertaining the reader.