Blog - Paper 1 Question 1

 a) 

4/19/22

Mr. President,

As you know, the fire at the Notre Damn was one of the most popular events on the internet when it occurred. The heart-wrenching event leads to hundreds of thousands of people donating in order to repair the historical monument known to many. Something similar is happening in the world in South America. The Amazon has been set ablaze and, being one the oldest natural monuments, not nearly enough people are supporting this movement. I write to you in hopes that you can spare some level of sympathy toward this catastrophe given that your country shares a very similar scar. I am pleading to you to please help the South American Amazon, even if it's simply spreading the word. We need to continue to band together in order to save lives and prevent these fires from hurting both the people who inhabit the area and the world itself. The Amazon is home to many, please help us save lives now before there are none left to save. Without it, the demise of our Earth will become inevitable. 

Sincerely, Aiden B.

b)

When analyzing the form. structure, and language of these two pieces there are many evident features that set the two apart.

Starting with analyzing the format it must be noted that while my piece is a letter, the original extract is an online news article. The news article features multiple short paragraphs in order of events and importance. It is then followed by a fact sheet. Unlike this, my letter contains an introduction and closure in order to address the letter. My letter also leads with the date and typically will feature an address. Unlike the short paragraphs featured in the news article, my piece shows one medium-sized paragraph that gives all of the needed information in one go. 

While I could have taken an informational approach similar to the newspaper I attempted to instead relate to a common enemy and influence an opinion by exposing the scar that injures both countries. By showing the common enemy it further elaborates why something needs to happen.

In terms of structure, we must consider the types of audiences that are being addressed in each. The online newspaper is being read by younger Australians, while my letter is being addressed to the president of France. These are vastly different audiences and therefore feature vastly different features and lexical structures. Similar to what was described in the format analysis, the writing pieces must be structured in a way that supports the format and the audience. While both pieces work to engage their audience, my piece makes more of an emotional and logistical effort, while the newspaper works to influence through informational means.

In terms of language, both forms both use formal language. This is because, the letter is addressed to a highly political figure, and the newspaper is working to deliver information to an audience. Continuing this impacts the overall tone of both pieces and shows that the situation at hand is extremely dire and important. Although, because the newspaper is working to deliver information it fails to address proper Pathos and Kairos compared to what is said in my letter. My letter says things like, 'please help us save lives now before there are none left to save.' which expresses the severity of the situation and better influences the President that action needs to occur as soon as possible. The newspaper contains a large variety of Logos and Ethos, on the other hand, provides information. While the newspaper does feature Pathos by saying things like, 'I would rather see Notre-Dame totally destroyed and see the Amazon forest protected forever,' it does not express any motive to solve the issue only to provide opinions on it.