Blog Assignment 2: Analyzing a Rhetorical Situation

When I took botany last fall, I was asked to read and provide a summary for an article that had been published in a scientific journal. The article was about a family that was being forced to sell the mushroom farm that had been in their family for four generations because the family’s neighbors complained so much about the manure odor permeating from the farm that the county declared the farm a nuisance and condemned it as a potential health violation. Since the article was published by a scientific journal, it can be surmised that the article was targeted to an intellectual audience of readers interested in the various fields of science and science-related issues. The particular journal in which the article was published covered an array of scientific topics including scientific dilemmas and discoveries.
Based on the author’s word choice, it can be seen that he assumes that the readers will be of at least minor intellect and be interested in current dilemmas plaguing today’s scientific community. However, it is apparent from his style of writing that the writer does not assume that readers have a strong background in or knowledge of science concepts. The author uses a sincere, serious yet not cold or mundane tone. When using words referencing fundamental scientific concepts like photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the water cycle, the writer provides a basic definition of these concepts. This is because readers who do not have any sort of background in or basic foundation for general science concepts may not understand what the author means.
The author’s purpose in writing the article was to promote awareness about the recent animosity shown to many farmers nationwide and disregard for their services and to generally educate readers about mushroom farming. It is clear from the writer’s choice of words like atrocity, injustice, and misfortune that he uses when discussing the dilemma that the family faces that the author is highly troubled and upset by the issue. The article was written at a time when farmers in the U.S. were facing many problems including drought, increased costs of production, and agriculture-related health concerns involving salmonella. It is plausible that the writer felt compelled to write the article in response to the farming crisis in order to offer insight into farming from a scientific perspective and thereby encourage support of farmers. He uses statistics to reference other similar cases across the country in which farmers have been driven off their land for one reason or another. By discussing the benefits that such farming as mushroom farming has on the environment and soil, the writer seemingly aims to show why farming is important by educating readers.
I believe that the author did a pretty good job of accomplishing his purpose. After being assigned to read the article, I certainly gained a greater respect and appreciation for farmers in general and I know that many of my classmates did as well. The article showed how beneficial the work of farmers is not only for the purpose of food production but for environmental benefits as well. I think that the writer could have made the article even more effective had he given the reader more intellectual credit and not explained basic fundamental concepts of science like photosynthesis. Many readers might have seen this as patronizing. Anyone who reads an article in a scientific journal will presumably have some background in and knowledge of simple science concepts. However, it can be argued that the writer’s assumption that not all readers would have a foundation in science makes the article more comprehensively accessible and interesting to a wider range of readers and also shows that the writer does not stereotype readers of such articles as geeky science people.