Summary Of Don T Lower The Bar By Leonard Pitts

Many objects are made up of smaller ones: all of the bricks that go into one Lego structure, the various ingredients that make up the cake, and the many gears of a clock. Like these objects, a writer's style that he uses to persuade his audience is constructed the same way. A writer uses many rhetorical devices - the parts- to make one style- the whole piece. One writer that has a specific style is Leonard Pitts. Pitts is a journalist who writes editorials for The Miami Herald. Three of these editorials are “Don’t Lower the Bar on Education,” “Torture Might Work, but That’s Not the Issue,” and “Men who Say They are Women’s Allies Against Sexual Harassment Really Aren’t”. The first article discusses how schools must not lower the academic bar

Leonard Pitts has a signature organization where he places his claim last. This allows the reader to follow along with his argument, and feel as though they come across the conclusion themselves, in the end. The reader is then more likely to agree with Pitts’ as they feel it is a conclusion formed on his or her own. Powerful organization can be seen in all three of Pitt’s articles. First of all, the Pitts’ article “Don’t Lower the Bar”, his very last sentence is “Because ultimately, you do not fix education by lowering the bar. You do it by lifting the kids.” (“Don’t Lower the Bar”). Throughout the article Pitts explains that the bar must not lowered for children based on race, ethnicity, or disability as the harm it will cause the children. His final sentence is his full claim; and, because it is the last sentence, the readers feel more as though they came across this conclusion themselves. Additionally, powerful organization is used the the “Torture” article; the very last sentence is “Power that is not constrained by humanity is not constrained by anything at all.” (Pitts, “Torture”). Throughout the article, Pitt’s explains that although torture may work, it is not necessarily in line with the morals of the United States, and if the US were to condone torture, then there would be nothing left to keep the country in check. With his last sentence, Pitt’s is able to pull all of his

Through the use of intriguing hooks to grab the reader’s attention, rhetorical questions to involve the audience, using organization to make his claim stronger, and sentence variety to make his claims have a larger impact, Pitts makes his article and arguments more compelling. All of Pitt’s little pieces come to make a whole: his style. He creates an effective article and style through his various rhetorical devices. All of this different parts come together to make a united whole, like baking a cake, writing a book, or making a computer. To make a more compelling piece and have an exceptional writing style one must use many rhetorical devices. The different pieces make a stronger whole and will help to better convince one’s audience. Using different rhetorical devices or many parts can make an effective piece to better compel and audience of your main point, just as Leonard Pitts