Nate Eisenberg
Writing 340 Arts and Humanities
Dr. Leah Pate
Fall 2015
Questions on Junger, Gladwell, and Roose articles
1. While all three of the readings were magazine articles, they have distinct styles. Please
identify and discuss their differences in respect to style, structure and tone.
The Gladwell piece was written as a narrative. It related current findings to the
experiences of one couple, the Heaths, and their experience with Alcohol in Montero.
Structurally, it told a story of the Heath’s experiences, and how each one related to a finding or
theory of social norms and drinking/alcoholism. The concluding thesis fell at the end of the
article, but it was built up throughout the whole article. While it was a formal article, it was not
quite scientific in tone. It used everyday logic to explain the sociological effects and causes to
states of drunkenness.
The Junger article differed in all three categories. Stylistically, it was quite formal. It
presented many statistics, scientific terms and intellectually based ideas. It spoke about PTSD
from an evolutionary and scientific standpoint, rather than a purely sociological. Structurally, the
article relied on points of fact followed by examples. It was ordered by quazichapters; that is,
there was a set section on Shell shock, soldier’s welcome back to the states, etc. The tone of the
article was somber, as is the topic. It presented the topic as a serious issue. The final paragraph
outlined possible solutions to the issue in a notsohopeful way, characterizing the problem as
very largescale and systematic.
Finally, the Kevin Roose article is quite different than the preceding two. Short and to the
point, the article’s style is quite informal. Perhaps it has to do with the topic at hand, podcasts, a
normally informal style themselves. Structurally, Roose poses a question for the first half, ...