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Majd Kazzaz

05/01/15
Writing 2
De Piero
How Serious is Global Warming?
There are so many different ways that people from various backgrounds approach the
same topic. Even though everybody has their own opinion, there are also other factors that can
influence ones discussion about a particular subject. In fact elements such as the audience, the
purpose, the discipline, or even the perspective can lead to discrepancies in how a single issue is
addressed. These discrepancies are apparent when looking at an authors moves and style.
Style is present in ones everyday life, [W]e know style when we see itas an elegant move in
sports or in mathematics, a comic book, an Apple ad(Lunsford). The use of different styles and
moves is the best way for the writer to be more effective towards the audience, which can be
seen in three different articles that discuss global warming from a biological discipline, a
sociological discipline, and mainstream media; each of which truly accomplishes a sense of
urgency towards the issue. These three texts have certain similarities in the way they address
global warming however there are also differences present in regards to the writers moves and
styles.
It is very important to recognize and acknowledge the fact that each of these articles has
a distinct audience and therefore the content of the article is tailored towards different people.
Audience can determine the type of language used, the formality of the discourse, the medium
or the delivery of the rhetoric, and even the types of reasons used to make the rhetors
argument(Carroll). Similar to how a politician will alter his or her diction and tone depending

on the audience, each writer makes identical adjustments. The article from a biological
standpoint is directed towards other specialists in the same discipline, Our knowledge of the
underlying causes of climate change is growing, but the problem brims with uncertainties,
raising serious scientific and ethical questions(Ramanathan). This passage from the text
demonstrates how Ramanathan understands that the audience already has knowledge of the
underlying causes of climate change which is why he alters his argument towards that particular
group of people. This can also be seen in the article from a sociological standpoint where the
authors discussed the true complexities of the sociological relation with global warming. We
believe that this existing sociological research on global warming from a social problems
orientation has produced an inadequate understanding of the global warming controversy
(McCright). This is a clear example of how the article is directed towards a particular group of
people who study the correlation between society and global warming, which is why it is
discussed in such a specific manner. The last article, however, is different in that the audience is
much larger and contains a variety of different people. By nature of a mainstream media news
article, the CNN article about global warming is read by the general public and is used as a
source for broadcasting informationwhich is why it does not consist of any specific biological
or sociological information that would be relevant to people in the field. Rather, it is information
that is relevant to the people and the general public. Therefore, the audience plays a big part in
what is discussed in the articles as well as how it is approached.
A particular element that is essential when discussing global warming is hard data and
facts. If a lawyer were to approach a case without sufficient evidence then neither the judge nor
the jury would be convinced, this is the same concept when it comes to persuading the people
that there is an actual problem. In the biological article, the author chose to include actual

satellite images of a brown haze that covers over parts of the earth, a phenomenon that is caused
by excess chemicals in the atmosphere. This is done to illustrate the magnitude of the problem
that is truly affecting the earths atmosphere. In this same article, there is a pie chart that
demonstrates the different types of chemicals present in a brown cloud from elements such as
Black Carbon to Sulfate Ion. The academic article, Challenging Global Warming as a
Social Problem, uses a total of three tables in order to portray the specific information that was
collected through experiments and surveys. The inclusion of visuals to represent data is a
common convention of academic papers because of the amount of information that is being
discussed; mainstream media, on the other hand, does not need to include tables or graphs to
portray its information. That is why the CNN article includes data such as Climate scientists are
95% confident or [S]cientists were 90% confident in 2007 and 66% confident in 2001 of the
same conclusion. While each of the articles includes some form of data, the academic articles
include it in visuals (graphs, charts, tables, etc.) In order to include all the information being
portrayedand the mainstream media articles simply state certain valuable and interesting
statistics that would intrigue the reader into reading.
While the different ways each of the articles portray information and data has been
addressed, it is now important to note the different moves that each of the authors make. For
instance, Ramanathans biological paper Global Warming implements the use of rhetorical
questions that are immediately answered such as, When did humans become a major force in
modifying the climate system(Ramanathan)? The use of rhetorical questions is effective in
getting the reader thinking, as well as posing a problem that will be answered later in the article.
This is because the articles purpose is to address these types of questions in which the use of
scientific studies and data will be utilized to prove the correct answer. Also, another move that

the author includes in the document is the use of references to make the argument more credible.
He uses the research of other respected scholars such as Mario Malina and Sherwood
Rowlands research This all creates a more reasonable and plausible argument that possible
skeptical readers (such as other scholars) would appreciate.
The authors of Challenging Global Warming as a Social Problem also integrate some
of their own style in their article such as smaller headlines and main points throughout the paper.
One initial observation that most people would notice about the article is the fact that it is
lengthy and can seem tedious. This is the reason why the author uses small headlines throughout
the paper in order to organize the ideas that are being discussed in particular sections. Headlines
such as Social Problems and Social Movements or The Study are incorporated throughout
the paper. The thoroughness and length of the paper is also due to the fact that audience expects
ideas that are completely thought out and proven through factual data and evidence. This
particular piece about global warming is unique in that it addresses the social issues regarding
the problem of climate change. It discusses how this issue needs to be publicized and identified
among the society in order for a change to be made. Just like the common saying goes, the first
step to solving a problem is identifying that there is one. Which is why the next article is
extremely relevant: the mainstream media CNN article.
In the CNN article, U.N. Climate Change Report Points Blames at Humans, the issue
of global warming and climate change is presented to the general publicmaking it the article
with the largest audience of the three. This is why the writer chooses to include only important
information and attempts to keep it as straight to the point as possible. In order to make sure that
many readers will actually read the news article, the writer chooses not to include as many
specifics as the other articles. Similar to the previous article discussed, this article implements

the use of bolded headlines. However instead of using them to simply organize and structure the
large amount of information, it is used to emphasize the important concepts of the article. In
other words, if the reader is going to retain any information from the article, the headlines are the
most important ideas. That is because the audience is not exclusively social activists, or
biological scientists. Rather, the audience is the everyday person who is reading the article in
order to learn about the news around the world and not to get consumed in a lengthy article
discussing the biological or sociological impact of global warming. That is also why the news
article discusses the issue of global warming in terms of the legal action that is going to be made
by the United Nations because that is what will directly affect the peoples lives.
After pointing out all the discrepancies and unique elements in each article there exists,
however, a similarity. Each of these articles brings up global warming as an issue that needs to
be resolved--a problem that needs a solution. They each achieve this effect in different ways
however. The Global Warming article discusses the possibility of worsening conditions due to
an increased population and more people westernizing. The last paragraph says that,
International cooperation among scientists and among nations will be essential if we are to
effectively address the formidable political, social, and ethical consequences of global
warming(Ramanathan). Similarly, the sociological paper also makes a call to action by stating
that the [S]ocial problem requires ameliorative action(McCright). While these two articles are
truly effective in presenting global warming as a problem that needs to be solved, the mainstream
media article has the same effect. In fact the CNN article even ties in global warming to recent
issues occurring around the world such as, According to a study released this month in the
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, scientists found strong links between global
warming and extreme weather around the globe in 2012(Hennen). The writer chooses to include

this in the article to present global warming as a problem that is becoming worse and conditions
will not improve unless change is made. Also this article states, Each of the last three decades
has been significantly warmer than all preceding decades since 1850(Hennen). The different
moves and styles that were used by all the different authors allowed for them to be more
effective towards their audience as well as accomplish a sense of urgency towards the major
issue.





























Works Cited
Ramanthan, Veerabhadran. Global Warming. 3rd ed. Vol. 59. N.p.: American Academy of

Arts & Sciences, 2006. Print. Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

McCright, Aaron, and Riley Dunlap. Challenging Global Warming as a Social Problem. 4th

ed. Vol. 47. N.p.: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. Social Problems.

Hennen, David, Brandon Miller, and Elliot McLaughlin. "U.N. Climate Change Report Points


Blame at Humans - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 06 May 2015.

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