Rhetorical Analysis of Reading in a Whole New Way by Kevin Kelly

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a government website that provides information about various diseases, disabilities, disorders, etc.. The CDC provides multiple webpages about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that list and provide information about causes, treatments, variations, and signs/symptoms of the disorder. On their informative pages, they use rhetorical devices to better portray their message. The CDC effectively uses the three rhetorical devices, pathos, ethos, and logos, to reach their goal of informing their target audience and providing a clear perspective on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Technology has consumed this generation to believe we need to rely on it. Although technology has helped us to save more lives than in previous decades. The technology that is affecting us are the ones with screens. These devices are useful for entertainment, news, communication, and to learn. They are powerful devices that can change someone's life in both a negative and positive effect. It can be easily obtained and used by anyone at anytime if accessible. Looking at screens are a waste of time.

Carr identifies how reading a book is different from reading online because when you read online, you don’t think deeply about what it is you’re reading, and you don’t have to concentrate nearly as much. Carr also mentions that the Internet is something people find themselves going to more often than books because it is more time efficient.

In the middle of the speech, Florence Kelley states the situation regarding the legality of child labor in many states, using firm facts, doleful repetition, and ironic diction to arouse within the audience a sympathetic response to want the children removed from their harmful situations along with the logical response of wanting to repeal the laws associated with allowing children in damaging manufacturing industries. Kelley employs several examples of different laws in different states allowing children to work long hours at young ages. One example given describes even the lack of restrictions on child labor whatsoever. “In Georgia there is no restriction whatever! A girl of six or seven years…may work eleven hours by day or by night.” Utilizing

Before entering the final crest of Carr’s gist, he reasons that many are bound to experience the negative effects of the Net because of its versatility and resilience. Carr state’s “Although mildly disorienting at first, I quickly adjusted to the Kindle’s screen and mastered the scroll and page-turn buttons. Nevertheless, my eyes were restless and jumped around as they do when I try to read for a sustained time on the computer.” The uniqueness of the Kindle brought on new changes in the way Carr was able to read, and describes the effects of reading on the device as distracting. He then explains about the internet, “When the Net absorbs a medium, it re-creates that medium in its own image. It not only dissolves the medium's physical

With the rise of technology and the staggering availability of information, the digital age has come about in full force, and will only grow from here. Any individual with an internet connection has a vast amount of knowledge at his fingertips. As long as one is online, he is mere clicks away from Wikipedia or Google, which allows him to find what he needs to know. Despite this, Nicholas Carr questions whether Google has a positive impact on the way people take in information. In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr explores the internet’s impact on the way people read. He argues that the availability of so much information has diminished the ability to concentrate on reading, referencing stories of literary types who no longer

In Florence Kelley’s speech delivered to the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1905, the author employs empathetic repetition, strong facts, and piteous diction to inspire as many people as possible to work against child labor.

Carr stated, “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of worlds. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” Carr gets quotes from authorities who have the same view as him, as evidence to support his argument. For example, the author mentions a blogger, Bruce Friedman, who explains, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or print. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it.” The author also mentions other prominent sources such as Scott Karp, Maryanne Wolf, and even scientists like James Olds and Joseph Weizenbaum. The author’s credible sources all share his view on the argument, which makes his point more convincing. Carr describes how technology, such as the clock and the typewriter, has had an effect on the mind. Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter when he was having trouble with his writing. Using the typewriter made “his already terse prose even tighter, more telegraphic.”

Christina Haas and Linda Flower both make contributions to writing in their studies about the writing process. They have collaborated on one work, Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning, to comment on a growing notion in the writing field about the reading process. They discuss findings on how rhetorical reading strategies work and why teachers should begin to influence their students with them. The main audience are other teachers. Haas and Flower’s primarily argue that the process of shaping students into literal and receptive readers should switch to shaping students into rhetorical readers, using strategies like trying to account four author’s purpose and context, for more in depth construction of meaning. Haas and

Individual rhetorical analysis of the selected readings by Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe are necessary to arrive at a collective analysis of the most effective strategies.

Florence Kelley, an active social worker and reformer of the 20th century, rants over the horrendous working conditions kids must endure. She presents this in her speech before National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia, which provides context and credibility for her argument. Kelley argues clearly of the terrible conditions and work hours kids suffer to bring about her message of, “enlisting the workingmen voters.” This is essentially to free the kids from the disastrous issue through her usage of credibility, empathetic tone to strike the audience, and her usage of examples of their conditions and state rules to support her message and purpose.

In Christina Haas and Linda Flower’s article “Rhetorical Reading Strategies and the Construction of Meaning”, they point out, and break down, the three reading strategies that are used by students when reading a passage, or paper. An experiment was constructed to show what each of these strategies are like while being used and what the reader may ask, or get out of, a certain excerpt.

In response to Mitoko Rich, “Literacy Debate – Online, R U Really Reading?” In the 21st century, children are learning via many different sources, whether through textbooks, internet, blogs, etc. Therefore, it was not surprising to read what was mentioned in this article. Reading in the digital age is causing a debate, especially in regards to students. After reading the article, I began to wonder; is it possible that digital text can cause more harm than good? Can digital text take away the value of reading books? And what is happening psychologically to a child when they are using digital text?

Thompson, C. (2002). I’m So Totally, Digitally, Close To You (Brave New World of Digital Intimacy). In Comley, N., Hamilton, D., Klaus, C.H., Scholes, R., Somers, N., Tougaw, J. (Eds), Fields of Reading (pp.543-553). Boston; Bedford/St. Martins.

Carr’s premise is that the Web is interfering with our ability to focus on lengthy material. On the contrary, the internet is actually aiding our ability to focus on reading. This holds true for younger children, who are known as the digital natives in our generation. In a research conducted by The National Center for Education shows that “by altering the mode of reading material from traditional paper-based reading to online reading,” the interest of elementary school children increased (Wright 367). Because children of the 21st century are surrounded by technology, they are more likely to gear towards digital media for their mode of learning. Contrary to Carr’s view that the internet “is chipping away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation,” these children are more likely to read and focus as a result of