Assignment:
Using the 12th edition of Language Awareness, complete this assignment:
After reading Newman and Genevieve Birks' "Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language," answer the following questions displaying your critical thinking skills and using concepts and terminology from the Samovar, et al, textbook:
1. What is the Birks' purpose in this essay? Do they seem more intent on explaining or arguing their position? Point to specific language that they use that led you to your conclusions.
2. How do the Birks organize their essay? Do you think the organizational pattern is appropriate given their subject matter and purpose? Explain, giving specific reasons and explanations.
3. According to the Birks, how is slanting different from the principle of selection? What devices can a speaker or writer use to slant knowledge? When is it appropriate, if at all, to slant language?
4. Do you find the examples about Toddy the dog and Corlyn particularly helpful? Why or why not? What would have been lost, if anything, had the examples not been included?
5. Why is it important for writers and others to be aware of charged words? What can happen if you use charged language unknowingly? What are some of the difficulties in living in a world with charged language?
Then, complete this this task:
According to the editors of Newsweek, the March 8, 1999, "Voices of the Century: Americans at War" issue "generated more than two hundred passionate responses from civilians and veterans." The following five letters are representative of those the editors received and published in the issue of March 29, 1999. Carefully read each letter, looking for slanted and charged language. List the language that you have identified. Then, list the verifiable facts that you have found. How do you know these facts are verifiable? How does the language used in each letter appeal to or discourage particular audiences?
Kudos for your March 8 issue, "Voices of the Century: Americans at War." This issue surely ranks among the best magazines ever published. As a military historian, I gained a better perspective of this turbulent century from this single issue than from many other sources combined. The first-person accounts are the genius of the issue. And your selection of storytellers was truly inspired. The "Voices of the Century" is so powerful that I will urge all of my friends to read it, buying copies for those who are not subscribers. Many persons today, especially those born after WWII, do not comprehend or appreciate the defining events of this century. How can we be more confident that they will be aware of our vital past when making important social and political decisions during the next century? I have great confidence in the American spirit and will, but this missing perspective is my principal concern as I leave this nation to the ministry of my daughters, my grandchildren, and their generation. Why not publish "Voices of the Century" as a booklet and make it readily available to all young people? Why not urge every school system to make it required reading prior to graduation from high school? --ALAN R. MCKIE, Springfield, VA.
Your March 8 issue was a powerfully illustrated essay of the men and women who have served our country and the people of other lands in so many capacities. But it was the photos that touched my soul and made me cry all over again for the human loss, my loss. As I stared at the picture of the injured, dead, dying, and crying, I felt as though I were intruding on their private hell. God bless all of them, and my sincere thanks for a free America. --DEBORAH AMES, Sparks, NV.
I arrived in this country at 15 as a Jewish refugee from Nazism. I became an American soldier at 19 and a U.S. Foreign Service officer at 29. As a witness to much of the history covered in your special issue, I wanted to congratulate Newsweek on a superb job. In your excellent introduction, I found only one word with which I take issue: that "after the war Rosie and her cohort happily went back to the joys of motherhood and built the baby boom." Rosie and her cohort were forced back into their traditional gender roles, and it took the women's movement another generation or two to win back the gains achieved during the war. --LUCIAN HEICHLER, Frederick, MD.
Editor's note: The word "happily" was carefully chosen. Contemporary surveys indicated that most of the American women who joined the work force because of World War II were glad to get back to family life when it was over.
On the cover of your "Americans at War" issue, you have the accompanying text "From WWI to Vietnam: The Grunts and the Great Men--In Their Own Words." In each of these wars, the grunts were the great men. --PAULA S. MCGUIRE, Charlotte, NC.
Your March 8 issue was painful for me and other members of my family as a result of the photograph you included on page 62 showing a wounded soldier being dragged from the line of fire during the Tet Offensive. My family had previously confirmed with the photographer that the soldier was my youngest brother, Marine Cpl. Robert Mack Harrelson. His bullet-riddled body fought hard to survive and, with the assistance of many excellent, caring members of our U.S. Military Medical Staff, he was able to regain some degree of normalcy after his return. But the injuries he received were too great to overcome, resulting in the military funeral he had requested. The rekindled grief brought on by your photo is keenly felt throughout our large family, and especially so by our dear 85-year-old mother, who still speaks of Bob as though he might reappear at any time. In spite of the photo, I sincerely congratulate your fine publication for reminding the world of the tragedy of war. --LOWELL L. HARRELSON, Bay Minette, AL.