Blog 17 (Week 3) (Written) 1-9-12

Ambler Gazette: Business Section..
Article: 8 Things You Shouldn't Buy in Winter
Author: Matt Brownell


   The organization of this article is written in a list formation with a description under each item. The "8 Things You Shouldn't Buy in Winter" are: Vegetables grown in the summer, warm-weather items, camping gear, suitcases, computers, snowblowers, cars, and linens. The context of this article is that it is currently the winter month of January where a lot of stores advocate their "white sales" and try to sell a lot for the start of the new year. While the author who wrote this article obviously wrote it in the hopes that he would be saving some people some bucks during the winter. 
   This piece was obviously an inferred opinion based on observations by the author on certain items during this time in the year and the way he introduced the list of items created a credible back ground knowledge because he used wording that was reader friendly. It made me, as a reader, trust his words and want to read on to see what he had to say. In the article there is also a visual so it attracts visual people as well and adds to the interest of the article.  Rhetorical devices he uses are:


   1) Organization -- Organization is the most important rhetorical device in this piece because it is easy on the eyes of the reader which leads to an interesting and easy read.  The list-type style of the article gets the author's point across but also gives the reader the facts quickly and efficiently. 


   2) Statistics -- Statistics are used to give some credibility to the author's claim. He states different facts about various stores but that backs it up with a quote that gives him credibility and ability to write that fact in his article.


   3) Ethos -- The author shows his credibility for writing this list/article through quotes, facts, and real-life situations.  Since this is an Ambler news source this means that the article was written from a credible person who lives in the area.  The statistics and his establishment of credibility go hand in hand in order to effectively achieve the purpose of this article. 


   The author achieved his purpose because his credibility proves his ability to write the article and for people to read this and believe him. I say this from a reader's standpoint and am now going to tell my mother to never buy summer vegetables in the winter.