Introduction
The article, written in the New York Times and dated 1 February 2011, expounds on the dangers of energy drinks to children and presents scientists’ concern about the high content of caffeine in the energy drinks (Maisto et al, 2010).
These scientists question whether these drinks are fit for human consumption, especially teenagers (Nix, 2005). The objective of this piece of writing is to analyze its relevance in the social circle, as its origins are in the science circle.
Analysis
Brody is a writer with a vast experience of writing scientific papers as can be seen by the collection of news articles listed in the NY Times website (Brody, 2011).
The article achieved its purpose although some of the long-term effects of energy boosters were not conclusive especially when it came to cardiovascular diseases as well as diabetes and insulin resistance. These findings have been documented by other writers such as Wanberg and Milkman (1998).
Brody used language that cut across the board, i.e. regardless of age or academic level, one is able to understand the content. The language she employed brought out a formal tone that captured anyone who interacted with it, and thus made everyone understand the serious nature of the article (Kaplan, 2008).
Kaplan explains that a formal tone capitalizes on the active rather than the passive voice as has been done by the author.
Brody’s article is well researched and this is evidenced by the number of credible references that she uses, these include the joint research carried out by the University of Texas Health Science Center and the University of Queensland on the chemical contents of energy drinks.
Since the article addresses a health issue, the author has engaged the professional opinion of medical doctors such as Dr. John P. Higgins and Dr. Troy D. Tuttle, whose input is reliable. It is important that one employs the opinion of germane experts in the field of discussion, as emphasized in an article in “Saching.com” (Deena, 2008).
Besides citing other sources, Brody was able to carry out her own research work; thus, her argument was well founded. From one of her sources, she was able to find out that a 16-ounce energy drink contained around 13 teaspoons of sugar and an amount of caffeine equal to that found in four colas (Alexander et. al., 2009). This kind of statistic is essential in building one’s thesis statement (Calmorin, 1997).
The writing was succinct and articulate: the author was able to round up the article in a few paragraphs despite giving much detail about her research. She had well arranged paragraphs, though according to George J. the size of a paragraph ought to be four to five sentences long, whose application lacked in some instances (George, 2007). The sentences were sound, and they brought out the formal facet of the article.
There were a couple of grammatical errors cited in the document, such as the use of “But” in the beginning of a sentence. Other mistakes included the failure to capitalize proper nouns, spelling mistakes, not leaving a space after placing a comma, just to mention but a few.
However, the mistakes had minimal effect on the readability because they did not necessarily change the meaning of the sentences. She did not cite any of the references she used in her research, yet, for a piece of writing to be complete, it must have references tagged at the end of the document (Sutherland, 2008).
Conclusion
The article had enough accurate facts; it was clear and generally well organized. The sources that the writer used helped make her argument legitimate, since they backed her claims. The document is well researched and is very informative.
References
Alexander, L., Larosa, J., and Alexander, J. (2009). New Dimensions in Women’s Health (5th Ed). Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett publishers.
Brody J. E. (2011). Scientists See Dangers in Energy Drinks. New York Times. Web.
Calmorin, L. (1997). Statistics in Education and the Sciences: meaning and importance of statistics and research. Manila: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
Deena, D. (2008). Researching for article writing: Gathering ideas and writing a good article. Web.
George, J. (2007). Judicial opinion writing handbook: writing effectively (5th Ed.). New York: William S. Hein Publishing.
Kaplan. (2008). Kaplan Sharp Writing: Building Better Writing Skills (4th ed.). New York: Kaplan Publishing.
Maisto, A., Galizio, M., and Connors, G. (2010). Drug Use and Abuse: the issue of energy drinks (6th Ed.). Connecticut: Cengage Learning Publishers.
Nix, S. (2005). Williams’ basic nutrition and diet therapy: nutrition throughout the life cycle (12th Ed.). Amsterdam; Elsevier Health Sciences.
Sutherland, W. (2008). Plagiarism, the Internet, and student learning: improving academic integrity. New York: Routledge.
Wanberg, W., and Milkman, B. (1998). Criminal Conduct and Substance Abuse Treatment: Strategies for self-improvement and change: The provider’s guide. California: Sage.