Andrew Rosenthal’s Style, Syntax and Rhetorical Devices

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Shelby Harrington Mrs. Wajda AP English 9 August 2014 Andrew Rosenthal’s Style, Syntax and Rhetorical Devices The New York Times’ editor, Andrew Rosenthal, uses style, syntax and rhetorical devices to create opinion pieces, which are consistently persuasive and logical. Throughout Rosenthal’s various editorials he is able to maintain a persuasive style. One way Rosenthal sustains this style is to clearly voice his opinion. In his piece, Domestic Surveillance Has a Fan, he says, “It just shocks me that a federal judge would insert himself into politics this blatantly, and especially in an effort to allow the government to keep doing things that are just too obviously unconstitutional..” He uses his view of Judge John Bates to sway readers, who may approve of Bates, to change their previous ideas. A sign of a persuasive writing style is the presence of an opinion. In addition to including an opinion, Rosenthal also shows his persuasive style by deliberately attacking those who don't side with his view. For example, in his article, Republicans Respond to the Ukraine Crash by… Blaming President Obama, Rosenthal calls Mr. McCain a “right-wing attack dog,” after McCain criticized one of Obama’s fundraisers. This comment takes away some of McCain’s credibility and adds to Rosenthal’s persuasiveness. By including opinions and attacks, it is clear that Rosenthal has a persuasive style. To strengthen his persuasive writing Rosenthal uses syntax. By arranging his sentences in a certain way, Rosenthal’s points come across more clearly. In his piece, Republicans Respond to the Ukraine Crash by… Blaming President Obama, he responds to McCain by saying, “Right. Obviously the best way to resolve a situation in which there are far too many weapons is to insert more weapons into the mix.” Rosenthal states it so that it appears like anyone would have known that. The
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