http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/making-us-safer-one-ipad-at-a-time.html?pagewanted=2&ref=opinion
Making us safer, One iPad at a time
By Steve Cohen
In his article, “Making us safer, One iPad at a time,” Steve Cohen examines a way he thinks would help the justice system become more effective and accurate. The current system the police use for arrests and witness statements relies on paper. Almost everything is recorded on paper and transferred from department to department using paper. This often causes mistakes in the records, delays in prosecution and overall confusion. Cohen believes the solution to this problem is to give every police officer an iPad. He uses the techniques of figurative language, details and syntax to help show why giving officers an iPad is an excellent solution to the problems the police face.
The details that Cohen includes in this article emphasize the problems the police department deals with. He describes the whole process after an arrest: officers write down the information and clerks have to transfer the data to computer systems. Then, the information is faxed to the prosecutor’s office and clerks have to re-enter the information into more computer systems. These details help the audience understand why the whole process causes errors and why it is an unsatisfactory system. Cohen also includes details about online shopping and FedEx, which don’t seem to be related to the article. However, by comparing the technology used in the shopping industry and the technology used in the police force, Cohen creates a contrast that shows how much the justice system needs to be improved.
Cohen uses a couple examples of figurative language to help show how the current system is faulty. This emphasizes how using iPads would improve the quality of police work. He describes New York’s justice system as “a catch-and-release fishing resort.” This is referring to how the prosecutors frequently let people go with severely reduced charges, only to have them commit other crimes. By comparing a serious subject such as criminal activity with something as trivial as fishing, Cohen shows that the current system doesn’t treat the situations as seriously as they should be. When describing the process the police go through to send reports, Cohen says it “resembles the children’s game of telephone.” Again, this compares a topic that is serious with something that is trivial.
The syntax of this article also helps Cohen show his point. Cohen uses many colons in his writing. For example, he writes, “a basic principle of criminal defense practice: delay helps the accused.” Another example is when he says “there is one simple thing that can be done, that would create overnight change: give every police officer an iPad.” The use of the colon creates a delay in the information. This delayed information is similar to the delayed information that the justice system receives. These techniques of syntax, details and figurative language help Cohen to show that iPads would help New York’s justice system improve.
In his article, “Making us safer, One iPad at a time,” Steve Cohen examines a way he thinks would help the justice system become more effective and accurate. The current system the police use for arrests and witness statements relies on paper. Almost everything is recorded on paper and transferred from department to department using paper. This often causes mistakes in the records, delays in prosecution and overall confusion. Cohen believes the solution to this problem is to give every police officer an iPad. He uses the techniques of figurative language, details and syntax to help show why giving officers an iPad is an excellent solution to the problems the police face.
The details that Cohen includes in this article emphasize the problems the police department deals with. He describes the whole process after an arrest: officers write down the information and clerks have to transfer the data to computer systems. Then, the information is faxed to the prosecutor’s office and clerks have to re-enter the information into more computer systems. These details help the audience understand why the whole process causes errors and why it is an unsatisfactory system. Cohen also includes details about online shopping and FedEx, which don’t seem to be related to the article. However, by comparing the technology used in the shopping industry and the technology used in the police force, Cohen creates a contrast that shows how much the justice system needs to be improved.
Cohen uses a couple examples of figurative language to help show how the current system is faulty. This emphasizes how using iPads would improve the quality of police work. He describes New York’s justice system as “a catch-and-release fishing resort.” This is referring to how the prosecutors frequently let people go with severely reduced charges, only to have them commit other crimes. By comparing a serious subject such as criminal activity with something as trivial as fishing, Cohen shows that the current system doesn’t treat the situations as seriously as they should be. When describing the process the police go through to send reports, Cohen says it “resembles the children’s game of telephone.” Again, this compares a topic that is serious with something that is trivial.
The syntax of this article also helps Cohen show his point. Cohen uses many colons in his writing. For example, he writes, “a basic principle of criminal defense practice: delay helps the accused.” Another example is when he says “there is one simple thing that can be done, that would create overnight change: give every police officer an iPad.” The use of the colon creates a delay in the information. This delayed information is similar to the delayed information that the justice system receives. These techniques of syntax, details and figurative language help Cohen to show that iPads would help New York’s justice system improve.
I think you did a really nice job with this. It was very well organized, supported with details and easy to follow. Nice job! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThis is really well written and I think your paragraph on figurative language is especially effective at showing how the author uses language to influence the reader. I think the last paragraph could use a little work. Your syntax example seems a bit far-fetched and as a reader I question if that was his purpose as opposed to perhaps trying to offset his idea to emphasize its brilliance.
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