"The Decline and Fall of the English Major" by Verlyn Klinkenborg

The next article I read by New York Times editorial writer, Verlyn Klinkenborg was "The Decline and Fall of the English Major"  As I said in the last post, Verlyn Klinkenborg doesn't have article titles that are very intriguing, but I think that it one of the editorials best quality. The difference between the article titles and the articles is insane. The titles give you false mind set that the article is going to be simple, but they are actually full of eye boggling details. Although the fun, descriptive titles are usually what draws readers in, these drew me in for the reason of wondering if the article would be just as simple and to my delight that was not the case. Another reason wanted to read this article is because the topic of english majors. English is my favorite class and also the reason I am reading these editorials so I thought 'Wow perfect article!'. The article is about how precious literacy and writing is and how people aren't taking english majors that much anymore. The editorialist is a big believer in taking english majors and according to the story he started out with, he was an english teacher! The author's love for english majors is shown through out the article and it is nice to read because his enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge rubs right off on the reader. Just like the other editorial "Locust Moon", Verlyn Klinkenborg has a fancy way of using adjectives to explain the point he is trying to make which I think its a very good rhetorical device. Other rhetorical devices he uses to convince the readers is great sentence structure, repetition and of course imagery. The editorialist is trying to convince the readers that english majors are more important than people see them as and I think he is even trying to persuade the readers to take more english classes. The style that Klinkenborg uses is quite an effective way to draw people in. He tends to start off with a personal story of his. I think it is good that he starts out with this because it draws readers in on a personal level. For me, it made me feel like I actually knew Klinkenborg and wasn't just reading one of his editorials. Then he goes off saying what point he is trying to make- he talks about how less and less students are graduating with english majors, less students have learned about humanities and how even students parents are questioning why people are still taking english majors. After,Verlyn states facts pertaining to his topic. This was a way for the editorialist to give more knowledge to the reader while still persuading about his side of english majors. Although Verlyn does use many rhetorical devices, the most effective one that I saw is diction. The way his words flow, freely and colorfully, really brings life to all of his articles.