Roshni Parikh
Ms. Henry
AP Lang & Comp Set: 3
19 October 2017
Kozol’s Mastery of Argumentation In this passage from Shame of the Nation, a nonfiction book published in 2005, author Jonathan Kozol highlights the growing divide between minority high school students and students in affluent school systems. Kozol appeals predominantly to ethos throughout the passage, analyzing possible causes and effects of the current disenfranchisement present in the United States education system, in addition to using formal diction and sophisticated syntax to establish credibility. In using Pathos as a subordinate appeal, Kozol incorporates several literary devices and references to children to appeal to the audience’s emotions. Kozol additionally …show more content…
High and formal diction often lead to establishment of credibility for an author in proving that they are well educated and qualified to be writing about a certain topic, in this case Kozol is using sophisticated diction and syntax in trying to establish himself as credible when writing about education. Kozol’s use of high diction can be identified throughout the second paragraph of the passage as he uses words such as “promulgation”, “hortatory”, and “revisionism”. Such words are very sophisticated and create a more scholarly and serious tone throughout the passage which adds to Kozol’s credibility as an author. Kozol also uses sophisticated syntax such as varied sentence structures and modifiers throughout the passage to create a more serious tone and add to his credibility. One example of this can be seen in the quote, “What these policies and practices will do, what they are doing now, is expand the vast divide…American society” (Kozol 284.) This is a complex sentence and includes a nonrestricting modifier, showing complexity and depth in Kozol’s writing and syntax. Overall, Kozol uses high and formal diction in addition to sophisticated syntax in an appeal to ethos to establish credibility as an author and to also establish himself as a legitimate source in writing about current imbalances within the American education
Ms. Henry
AP Lang & Comp Set: 3
19 October 2017
Kozol’s Mastery of Argumentation In this passage from Shame of the Nation, a nonfiction book published in 2005, author Jonathan Kozol highlights the growing divide between minority high school students and students in affluent school systems. Kozol appeals predominantly to ethos throughout the passage, analyzing possible causes and effects of the current disenfranchisement present in the United States education system, in addition to using formal diction and sophisticated syntax to establish credibility. In using Pathos as a subordinate appeal, Kozol incorporates several literary devices and references to children to appeal to the audience’s emotions. Kozol additionally …show more content…
High and formal diction often lead to establishment of credibility for an author in proving that they are well educated and qualified to be writing about a certain topic, in this case Kozol is using sophisticated diction and syntax in trying to establish himself as credible when writing about education. Kozol’s use of high diction can be identified throughout the second paragraph of the passage as he uses words such as “promulgation”, “hortatory”, and “revisionism”. Such words are very sophisticated and create a more scholarly and serious tone throughout the passage which adds to Kozol’s credibility as an author. Kozol also uses sophisticated syntax such as varied sentence structures and modifiers throughout the passage to create a more serious tone and add to his credibility. One example of this can be seen in the quote, “What these policies and practices will do, what they are doing now, is expand the vast divide…American society” (Kozol 284.) This is a complex sentence and includes a nonrestricting modifier, showing complexity and depth in Kozol’s writing and syntax. Overall, Kozol uses high and formal diction in addition to sophisticated syntax in an appeal to ethos to establish credibility as an author and to also establish himself as a legitimate source in writing about current imbalances within the American education