Cruel and Unusual Rhetoric The article, Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Shame of Three Strikes Laws, by Matt Taibbi, emphasizes while at the same time, educating the audience about the “Frankenstein- like monster that is mandatory- minimum sentencing”. The author goes about this in a quirky way to say the least. From overly detailed and heavily sourced paragraphs, to a couple of grammatical errors. Similarly, the loss of tone and occasionally, focus in the article. Although overall the subject was interesting, the method in which it was written seems to be sloppy and rush. At this juncture, I will explain the details in which drives me into believing such things about a published article. When writing a paper it is common practice to …show more content…
It would seem to me that his opinion would have best served being found in between the first story and the background surrounding the subject. Taking the risk of stating your opinion as Taibbi did, so late into the introduction in this article, runs the risk of confusion and dis- interest in the article itself. Having a clear opinion at the right time in a paper is important so as to not lose your audience. Just as equally important is the use of sources and exactly how they are used. On the twelfth page of the article, Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Shame of Three Strikes Law, by Matt Taibbi. The Author goes on a rant about court cases related to his subject. This rant could be compared to trying to run on a tread-mill that is moving too fast, in the end, you end up on your butt wondering what had happened. His intentions were to prove to the audience that situations which were related to the subject of the article were not limited to one state, instead it was a nation- wide issue. His unconventional manner of condensing this information into one paragraph, has an overwhelming, overburdening feeling as you read through