Introduction
The news article titled “At least 1 dead, 8 injured after U-haul truck driver’s ‘violent rampage’ in New York City” under analysis focuses on an event whereby a truck driver went on a violent rampage, leading to the death of one individual while injuring eight others. The article covers how the accident happened, the location, and the outcomes. According to the article, the accident was a significant event because the truck driver decided to go on a rampage, harming people in the process (Slack & Yancey-Bragg, 2023). This article analysis will focus on the author’s purpose, audience, rhetorical appeals, and other aspects of the news article.
Article Analysis
Author’s Purpose and Target Audience
Slack & Yancey-Bragg’s (2023) purpose is to inform people about the accident and the injured or casualties. They focus on explaining what occurred. In this case, the accident led to the death of a person while several others were injured.
The purpose is also to inform people about the suspect behind the accident while also providing some possible reasons as to what might have caused the rampage. For instance, the driver of the truck was an older man who also had a history of being jailed and harmful behavior (Slack & Yancey-Bragg, 2023). The audience of the news article includes pedestrians and bikers in New York City, who are at a high risk of getting hit by motorists using busy roads.
Rhetorical Appeals
The news article has several rhetorical appeals, in this case, logos, ethos, and pathos. It appeals to the logos since it relies on the logical appeal that the driver of the vehicle had a mental illness, which is why he caused the accident. Slack & Yancey-Bragg (2023) appeal to logic by conducting additional research about the driver to have information about the cause of the accident.
The authors also try to persuade the audience by using credibility so that they appeal to the ethos. In this case, the character of the lorry driver is questionable, and this is enough evidence to support the reasons behind the accident (Slack & Yancey-Bragg, 2023). The article also tries to appeal to emotions using pathos. In this regard, it uses the example of the people injured or harmed by the accident. The audience will feel sympathetic to the victims and angry with the driver for the harm he has caused.
Modes and Media
The article uses various modes and media, including a video clip that shows how the accident occurred. The video clip provides a better description of the events and how the victims were harmed. The article also relies on images, such as a picture of the crime scene where police officers are already there trying to make sense of what has occurred (Slack & Yancey-Bragg, 2023).
Genre Conventions
Genre conventions include cause and effect. In this case, this is a strong convention, as the article tries to explain the cause of the accident and its effects. In this regard, the lorry driver had a mental issue, which caused the accident.
Style, Design and Sources
The style of the article is the structure of an “inverted pyramid” where essential information is at the start, while the least important information is at the end of the news article, in this case, a brief description of New York City and that it is a melting pot of immigrants. The article is designed to contain both text and images to support the story (Slack & Yancey-Bragg, 2023). The source of information includes police officers at the crime scene and the driver’s son, who provided more details on the driver’s background.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the news article is informative since it explains a recent New York City accident while detailing the main suspect’s background. The story analyzes a truck accident that led to injuries and death. The article also uses numerous rhetorical appeals to make the story understandable to the audience. The article relies on videos and graphics to make it graphically appealing while adopting an inverted pyramid structure.
Reference
Slack, D., & Yancey-Bragg, N. (2023). At least 1 dead, 8 injured after U-haul truck driver’s ‘violent rampage’ in New York City. USA Today. Web.