One thing that I noticed throughout this chapter was the way all the pieces of writing had a set purpose. The purpose or goal of each piece was then elaborated on until the writer point was made. There was no use of fillers or fancy terms. Each piece was very straight to the point and gave great explanations of why the writer felt the way that they did.
I choose the Call on Kenya to Ease the Suffering of Nairobi's 2 Million Slum Dwellers petition. The purpose of this petition was to get the Kenyan president to step in and stop the forced eviction of slum dwellers by government officials. I believe the petition was effective because it stated what the writer wanted done to help the people and wrote an example letter to the president. For evidence, the writer actually visited Nairobi. She also used exact locations throughout her petition. For example, "Residents of the Deep Sea settlement have suffered waves of forced eviction by government authorites" (189). The writing was at its best on page 190, "These people live in squalor and under the constant threat of evictions." The writing is best here because it is so direct and makes a clear point.
I think stating what the writer thinks about what should be done is a very strong way to get people to see the problem and take action.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the writer's use of his opinion of what should be done makes this petition much more effective than if he just wrote about what was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about the documents in the reading. They dont use a real sophisticated language in the documents because they want their point to be clear.
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