http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/65468/northwestern-slips-past-michigan-state
During football season, many people become very involved in supporting their favorite team. Things tend to get heated and people's opinions and feelings are often exhibited. This article is one example of a supposedly biased writer blogging about MSU's loss to Northwestern. The disappointed tone of writer, Brian Bennett, is shown in this article through diction, syntax, and detail.
The diction that Bennett uses shows his disdain for MSU. For example, in the sentence, "It's the same old story for Michigan State, which unbelievably went 0-4 in Big Ten play at home this season," the words "same old story" and "unbelievably" seems like Bennet is tired of MSU losing and that their losses are starting to become a regular thing. The pejortive diction that Bennett chooses like "stuffed" and "disaster" create a negative tone that MSU fans can definately relate to.
Bennett uses syntax, specifically interrupters, to emphasize MSU's mistakes and unorganized team. For instance, the interrupter in this sentence, "What inevitably happened though, Michigan State's complete inability to win a game -- especially at home -- proved much more powerful than Northwestern's tendency to blow leads", emphasizes the disappointment of Bennett in that not only can't MSU win a game, but they cannot win a home game (which are viewed as extremely important as all the fans are in person, rooting for the team). These interrupters add to Bennett's tone in the article and may influence readers' viewpoints on MSU as well.
The detail that Bennett includes contribute to his disappointed tone. Even readers who do not know much about football can infer that the details are quite negative. For example, "Or you could say the Spartans found a way to give it away, as they committed four turnovers, including a fumble inside Northwestern's 1 in the first half, and an Andrew Maxwell interception that turned into a 43-yard David Nwabuisi touchdown early in the second half," shows the details like fumbles and turnovers that Bennett uses to describe how and why MSU lost.
Overall, diction, syntax, and details are used by Bennett to show his disappointment in MSU's numerous losses. The latest loss to Northwestern was described thoroughly and readers can blatantly see that Bennett is not impressed by this game.
I like the topic! (: You did a really good job with this close reading! Just a couple things to remember about these: diction is only one word, so I wouldn't use "same old story", and the more examples the better! The examples you did use are great examples, but try to include more for syntax and details. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good response! It makes me sad that State is doing so poorly as well. Take into consideration what Brianna said about diction, and also to make sure to have sufficient examples for each component of DIDLS you talk about. One thing to think about is expanding a little more in your details paragraph, and explaining more why exactly he included the statistics that he did and what affect it would create among the reader. Other than that, I thought this was a really good response that was well organized with good examples.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteYou did really good job on the response and you picked a great topic! The diction section is well done and i think you had a sufficient amount of examples, just remember that diction is only one word like Brianna said. I agree with both Santos and Brianna that you should provide more examples in both the syntax and detail paragraphs. I felt like the examples you used you did explain well. The one other thing i felt like you should have incorporated into the response is Bennet's purpose for writing the piece and how that affected the piece as a whole as well as the diction, syntax, and details. By adding that it would make your claims even stronger.