How does she decide her research question: She went to a panel of experts and asked questions. She is already upset that old houses in her neighborhood are being torn down. She combined what she heard from the panel with what’s going on in her own life.
Her claim: The desire for bigger houses in America has grown widely as time has gone by. The growth of our houses impact our neighborhoods and environment.
Why do you think she makes a caption and a picture: It captures your eye and it appeals to a different sense for the reader. It also makes her words weigh more because she shows a literal example of what her words are saying.
Is she biased in that statement: Yes I do believe she was biased in that statement because that is very specific information very specific to her situation. Even though it is a persuasive paper, bias in any paper leads to a decrease in the appeal of ethos.
Why does she start to use more direct quotes starting on page 156: Up to this point she has only used her own personal experience as well as paraphrasing others. When she brings in direct quotes from experts, it gives her credibility about what she otherwise probably doesn’t have the authority or experience to talk about. The quotes are singularly about the environmental impact of the big houses and it also goes in depth about what goes into building these houses and what exactly makes them so unhealthy. This is something only people who build houses could have authority to talk about.
Why she address homebuyers in the end: She starts out as “here’s a question, let’s figure it out together” because it keeps people with her. Then at the end with this, she is explicit and addresses exactly what her intention of the paper was and exactly what she wants from her audience.
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