Background Information

In the following assignment, two different types of genres were analyzed to get a perspective and background information on the topic, education.


Introduction
        America has fallen behind other countries when it comes to the education system, especially with math and science. Our nation desperately needs to improve its education system to move the country forward. This issue is discussed in the web article “Why Can’t American Students Compete?” by Eric A. Hanushek and Paul E. Peterson. This article mentions important facts and strong opinions about the American education system. The topic is also highlighted in “A Nation in Crisis: America’s Education System is Broken” by YouTube account, LearnToLearn14. This video efficiently presents information with helpful visuals. America hasn’t progressed in over twenty years and is falling behind the progress of other countries, which is clearly illustrated in both genres, but delivered more efficiently through video because of the video’s ability to captivate the audience.
Audience and Purpose
        “Why Can’t American Students Compete?” intends to reach an audience that is educated. The language indicates that a higher level of reading is required to be able to understand the article. This article wants to reach an educated audience because the author wants America to be aware of what is happening with our education system as well as be motivated to make this serious concern among political leaders. An educated audience is more likely to know how to reach their political leaders. The audience is probably already aware that foreign countries like China and India are more advanced than Americans intellectually because of how the media portrays these different cultures. The audience most likely read the article to see how much validity is behind certain portrayals in the media because they do not want to believe that America is not superior in every aspect possible. The audience is given quick and concise information because the author wants his information to reach as many people as possible. The author uses formal language to insure there is credibility in his work. This helps the audience understand the seriousness of the topic at hand. There is a higher level of vocabulary which helps illustrate why education is extremely important but is still able to captivate an educated audience.
  The YouTube video reaches a variety range of viewers, by posting “A Nation in Crisis: America’s Education System is Broken” the poster intended to reach a large audience who is able to navigate through the Internet. The author wants this audience because someone who can navigate through the Internet is able to find a way to communicate with their political leaders or find more information about the subject on their own. By looking up this video, it is likely that the audience wanted to know how America compares to other countries. As like with the article, the audience would like to know how America’s education system measures up to foreign education system. The audience is presented this information in a quick ten-minute video. This is enough time to deliver all the valuable information without boring the audience. This video quickly informs the audience about our current education system crisis. The video also makes sure the information is taken seriously by viewers so it uses a formal tone.
In both genres, the authors present their information online to reach a large audience. They are also similar in their purpose of raising awareness about America’s education system. While they share some similarities, they also share some differences in audience and purpose. The video doesn’t intend to reach and educated audience, the vocabulary is simple and easy to understand, while the article uses a higher level of vocabulary.
Rhetorical Devices: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
        The authors of “Why Can’t American Students Compete?” want their audience to find the article a credible source. The authors are able to establish credibility by their academic diction and place of publication, which is Newsweek. The authors use diction that would indicate that the authors are educated with words such as “obfuscating” and “proficiency” (Hanushek & Peterson, 2011). This article is published in Newsweek which is news magazine that is published in New York City and distributed throughout the nation and internationally. To further establish credibility, the authors use quotes from the president and statistics about proficiency levels in comparison to other countries. By establishing credibility, the author is using logos to convince the audience to see the importance of the article. Along with the author’s credibility, the author is able to uses logos by presenting facts and statistics. The author also uses pathos by talking about a subject that can affect everyone. The article strives to make the reader feel upset about the situation and hopes that a sense of patriotism will make the reader want to change the education system for the better. Naturally, Americans want to see America as global superpower, so anything standing in the way of that make cause strong emotions in certain people. The article also takes an ethos standpoint because the average American citizen feels that is morally right to provide the youth with proper education. These rhetorical techniques help the author achieve the purpose of writing the article.
The video also uses rhetorical techniques involving logos, ethos, and pathos. The author uses logos by using a formal tone which helps the video build credibility with its viewers.  They also establish credibility by quoting potential employers such as Bill Gates and Pat Gelsinger. They also present important, relevant facts and their source. This effectively establishes credit amongst the viewers. Pathos is also integrated into the video by using dramatic background music to trigger passion for this issue. An American flag is then presented at the end to invoke patriotism amongst the viewer. The video presented American symbols such as the American flag and the bald eagle to invoke patriotism. Ethos is incorporated by reminding the viewer about their patriotic duty. The video instills a message in the viewer that tells them that it’s their patriotic duty to improve America’s education system. The viewer now feels morally obligated to do something about the issue.
While both genres present their message about the issue in a formal tone and use logos, ethos, and pathos, the genres use the rhetorical devices differently from each other. The article is based around the use of logos while the video is centered on the use of pathos. Ethos is used subtly in both genres. Ethos is an afterthought in both genres.
Structure and Style
The article has a very plain layout with very few pictures. The article may be limited with the amount of pictures the authors can put in the layout because they don’t want the amount of pages to drag on because it may decrease the reader’s interest in it if it is too long. Since it is a very straight forward layout, it may help the reader understand the seriousness of the topic. The organization helps the reader understand the information presented to them. There is a very steady flow which uses logos by stating facts and then elaborating on them throughout the article. This may persuade a variety range of readers to see the issue from the point of view of the article’s authors.
The layout is very effective in presenting important facts about America’s education system. The audio puts their main point in either visual or text and then elaborates through a narration. This is also presented in a concise manner so the audience won’t get bored. The video also keeps the audience’s attention with dramatic background music. The video may face the limitation of not being able to put enough information on the visual aid because it may distract from the overall purpose from the video.
The video and the article had significantly different structures and style.  The video provided graphs and visuals of the information they were providing while the text just presented their information in very straightforward manner. The structure in the video was meant to keep audiences entertained while the article just presented information without much effort to keep the reader entertained.
Conclusion
While both genres may have been effective in delivering their message, the video may have been able to hold a more captive audience because of the energy it had. The video is able to do this because there is more visuals and structure was able to keep the audience interested. The genres used different mediums to discuss an issue about and both delivered their message effectively.  Since audiences understand the importance of improving America’s education system, they may now move forward and try to improve it.