Max Fosters, a journalist for CNN, wrote a piece on an important event unfolding in the world right now. Scotland is having a vote to decide whether to split from England and become an independent country, or to stay in the United Kingdom. This article was mainly about what the head of England, the Queen, believes. The Queen is supposedly neutral and is not supposed to speak out to the public as it may get in the way of democracy, but she has been cited with saying that Scots should "think very carefully about the future." Fosters goes in depth about why the Queen most definitely is not impartial and why this is a personal topic for her. The audience for the article was people in Scotland and the United Kingdom that are facing this huge decision. The Queen may need to stay impartial but the author's purpose was to sway the audience to the side of voting no to independence. He attempts to achieve this purpose by using diction to evoke emotion and make the the Queen seem sympathetic. Some of the words he uses to do this is "the Queen felt a great deal of concern" and "The Queen is above politics." His purpose was to portray the Queen as a concerned parent that just wants the best for her child. Another way he uses pathos is emphasizing how important and beloved Scotland is. He writes, "Scotland isn't some breakaway outpost of the British Empire; it's home turf which has remained uncontested since the Renaissance." This sways the leader into thinking that Scotland is just like Alaska for the USA and furthers the message that Scotland should not break away. I think he was mildly effective because as an American reading this, I began to feel like Scotland should not break away. However, maybe if a Scot were to read this, they wouldn't be as persuaded and they are the primary audience.
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