Wrongful Convictions: Imagine that you want to write about this topic yourself

 
Wrongful Convictions: Imagine that you want to write about this topic yourself


Authors:Balko, RadleySource:Reason. Jul2011, Vol. 43 Issue 3, p20-33. 14p.Document Type:Article

In your initial post, summarize the article you selected from the list above by first identifying the article's title and author. Next, tell what the article is about, specifically what the author's purpose and main points are. Also describe the level of formality and who the intended audience might be. To develop your ideas about the article's audience and purpose, refer to this unit's readings on audience and purpose and incorporate any relevant ideas that would help support your points.

Imagine that you want to write about this topic yourself and approach the topic differently than the writer has. How might you take the same topic and write about this subject for a different audience and purpose? What changes would you have to make? What level of formality would you use? Why would these changes be necessary?

For example, a news article that tries to persuade parents to avoid feeding their children genetically modified foods would need to be significantly rewritten if it were written to inform a group of 4th grade students about healthy eating, or if it were written to report the Food and Drug Administration's research on genetically modified foods. Writers revise when their purpose changes. The author of the news article would persuade, while the information written to children would be more informative than persuasive since fourth graders are not likely to be the main decision makers in regards to the types of foods purchased for the household.