Leonard Pitts 'Don' T Lower The Bar On Education Standards

All writers have their own unique style and use many different devices to grab and keep the reader's attention. Writers also use their writing styles and topics to target their intended audience. Some writers such as Leonard Pitts Jr. decide to create editorial pieces based on controversial topics on the uprise. Pitts wrote Don’t Lower The Bar On Education Standards to show education should not be based on race, ethnicity or disability and all students should learn the same criteria. Another article Pitts wrote is Torture Might Work But That’s Not The Issue to provide the reasons why torture is morally wrong and the United States does not agree that torture is the right procedure. The next article is White Guys Don’t take the Loss of Power

Pitts uses pathos to portray strong emotions and give an emotional connection to the writing. Just one in several examples is in the Don’t Lower the Bar. It states, “Can you imagine how those white kids would feel whenever they took the count?” (Pitts, Don’t Lower the Bar) This quote tells directly to think about the situation at hand. It effects the reader by trying to change the reader’s mindset on the topic. It seamlessly effects the reader by asking a question that asks to think deeper than just the surface of the main topic at hand: lowering the bar for individual students. In addition to the previous article, Torture Might Work, also includes a number of pathos examples. One in particular is, “Beg pardon, but we have been asking the wrong question. What matters is not whether torture works. What matters is whether torture is right.” (Pitts, Torture Might Work) Using the short sentence variation lets the audience take in what information that is being told. It gives a more dramatic effect to the writing which builds the emotion. The short sentences also draw more attention to the piece and highlight the reasons why torture is not the answer and it is

Pitts organization is a similarity that is throughout the majority of his articles. One organization skill specifically is where he places his claim. In his articles he places his claims as the last sentence of his editorials. An illustration of this is, “Because ultimately, you do not fix education by lowering the bar. You do it by lifting the kids,” (Pitts, Don’t Lower the Bar) This claim was placed at the end to work as a powerful closer. It was meant to make you rethink the way education is being taught to different kids at school. This powerful closer wraps up the article in two sentences that leaves the reader wanting more. It impacts the reader by opening their eyes to what school is really like for kids with different a race, ethnicity and disability. Putting the claim on the end wraps up Pitts’ thoughts on a child’s education. Another article called Torture Might Work also has examples of organization skills where the claim is also at the end of the article. It says, “Power that is not constrained by humanity is not constrained by anything at all,” (Pitts, Torture Might Work) The quote puts a pin point on the main idea of the reading. Putting his claim on the end is after everything has already been said. It wraps up the piece and summarizes the piece in a simple but powerful approach where the reader can look back on the main idea in simple terms. The final article of the three that uses the technique of