"Rediscovering Central Asia" by S. Frederick Starr

     In "Rediscovering Central Asia", S. Frederick Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University, seeks to inform readers. He writes to an audience with at least a basic knowledge of Central Asian geography, which is likely high school or above. Starr's purpose is to teach readers some of the history of Central Asia, which he believes is understood by far too few people. Throughout the essay he focuses on South Asia's golden age, and specifically the region's rise to it and fall from it.
Starr presents readers with the common view of Central Asia to establish the problem. He states that most people "[dismiss Central Asia] as an inconvenient territory to be crossed while getting somewhere else." By stating the majority's opinion, Starr gives readers the chance to connect to what he writes. He then presents readers with facts from Central Asia's past (around 1000 AD): "it was Central Asians who first accepted irrational numbers ... invented trigonometry ... estimated the earth's diameter to a degree of precision unmatched until recent centuries ... In chemistry ... first to reverse reactions." He lists many more of these facts to show readers the stark difference between what they think they know about Central Asia (that it is unimportant) and what they need to know (that Central Asia was in fact a great hub of scientific and mathematical discovery). In this way, Starr appeals to both pathos and logos.
By contrasting the common perception of Central Asia with the truth, Starr shocks his audience, and through this pathetic appeal they realize how little they know about the region. He then lists a significant number of facts about the development of science and math in Central Asia, and through this logical appeal, he successfully teaches readers the importance of Central Asia. At the end of the essay, Starr combines his logical and pathetic appeals to teach readers a message: the public needs to learn about Central Asia's past in order to respect the region today and promote this kind of scientific growth again.

Important Central Asian Scholars/Scientists/Mathematicians:

Left: Abu Nasr al-Farabi (c. 872-961), from what is now Kazakhstan, analyzed the ethics of Aristotle and, according to Starr, these analyses "surpassed all those of Western thinkers except Thomas Aquinas".

Center: Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (973-1048), who lived near the Aral Sea, "[distinguished] himself in geography, mathematics, trigonometry, comparative religion, astronomy, physics, geology, psychology, mineralogy, and pharmacology."

Right: Abu Ali Sina (c. 980-1037), from Bukhara in now-Uzbekistan, focused on medicine, philosophy, physics, chemistry, astronomy, theology, clinical pharmacology, physiology, ethics, and music.

(Source: http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=1058)

"Gyromancy" by Ron Rindo

"Gyromancy" was written as an informative piece about Ménière's disease. The author, Ron Rindo, has the disease and can therefore accurately describe what it's like. He uses few complicated medical terms, and can appeal to anyone high school age or older. The essay explores his experience during an attack, the causes of Ménière's, and how Rindo deals with the disease. Through these topics, Rindo presents his purpose of informing readers about Ménière's disease.
Rindo uses logical appeal to show the severity of vertigo, the main symptom of a Ménière's attack. He states, "on the severity scale of human suffering, uncontrolled rotary vertigo ... is listed second behind chronic, excruciating pain." Explaining that vertigo is nearly on the same level as the worst pain imaginable puts into perspective how terrible chronic vertigo (and therefore Ménière's disease) must be. Rindo then uses statistics to show readers the prevalence of experiencing vertigo: "40 percent of American adults ... will, at least once, experience the spins. ... about 5 percent will endure chronic vertigo." The use of statistics shows readers that Rindo has significant knowledge of Ménière's disease.
Since severe vertigo is something not everyone has experienced, Rindo uses a lot of imagery to help readers understand. He writes, "...instantly the world around me began to spin wildly. ...I lurched back toward the door, listed to the right, then bumped into a chair, the bookshelf, the wall. Because the floor seemed to be moving, walking became almost impossible." The imagery of spinning and the quick pace of the writing show readers the utter disorientation that Rindo feels during an attack. Also, by sharing a personal experience, he connects with his audience, which allows them to further grasp the concept.
To effectively inform his audience about Ménière's disease, Rindo employs both logical and pathetic appeal. Using statistics puts information in perspective for readers, and his use of imagery, quick writing pace, and personal experiences allow readers to connect with him. They can then imagine Rindo's discomfort during an attack, which successfully achieves his purpose.

Vertigo:

Ménière's disease includes severe vertigo, which is a sensation of often disorienting, seemingly never-ending spinning.

(Source: http://thewondersofdoing.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-vertigo-came-back.html)

"My Genome, My Self" by Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker, a psychology researcher and Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, writes "My Genome, My Self" to discuss discovering oneself. As a psychologist, he states that he has had "access to tools that allow you to carry out the injunction to know thyself." He focuses this essay on one of those tools – genome sequencing. Throughout the piece, Pinker explores what genome sequencing can and can't tell him about himself. "My Genome, My Self" was written as an informative piece directed towards a college-age and above audience who can understand some scientific language.
Much of the beginning of the essay discusses how one's genes can affect personality traits. Pinker writes, "[Genes] affect the wiring and workings of the brain, and the brain is the seat of our drives, temperaments, and patterns of thought." Since he is a psychologist, readers know that Pinker states valid information, and through this appeal to ethos, he gets closer to achieving his purpose.
When discussing the results of his genome sequencing, Pinker adopts a more casual form of diction to connect with readers. He asks, "Who wouldn't be flattered to learn that he has two genes associated with higher IQ and one linked to a taste for novelty?" Casual diction makes Pinker's discussion of his positive traits unpretentious and makes his audience more comfortable reading about his genes. Towards the end of the essay, Pinker introduces his opinions on knowing oneself. He writes, "So if you are bitten by scientific or personal curiosity... by all means enjoy the fruits of personal genomics. But ... if you want to know whether you are good at math, take a math test." By directly addressing his audience, Pinker creates a stronger connection between himself and his readers and, as a result, successfully shares his opinion.
Through ethical appeal, Pinker effectively informs his audience about genome sequencing and how it can be used to learn about oneself. He then wraps up his essay by using pathetic appeal to show readers that to truly know oneself, one must figure it out – there is no foolproof scientific way to do so.

Personal Genomics:

Our genomes are made of unique (except in identical twins) combinations of G's, C's, A's, and T's, and they determine our appearances and (possibly, as Pinker discusses) our personalities.

(Source: http://www.jenometech.com/product.php)

"When Writers Speak" by Arthur Krystal

     "When Writers Speak" discusses how talented people perform when trying to do something that is out of their element. The world expects writers to be outstanding at anything that deals with words, and this essay attempts to convince the public that that is not true. Arthur Krystal, a writer who knows what it feels like to be out of his element, wishes to share his message with the entire world, so he writes to a broad audience: anyone high school age or above should be able to read and understand his essay. He uses "When Writers Speak" to teach a lesson: people often make mistakes when they are in unfamiliar situations, and they should be forgiven for that.
To convey his message to his readers, Krystal uses his own experiences with speaking (as opposed to writing) as examples. This shows readers that he understands what he's talking about. He states, "I'm willing to bet that more gray matter starts quivering when I sit down to write than when I stand up to speak. ... How do I know this? Because I'm writing!" Readers are much more likely to accept Krystal's message when they see that he has experience with being out of his element.
Krystal also uses examples from famous writers' lives to teach his lesson. He writes, "Not bad, I think ... In fact, a damned good line to come up with off the cuff. But wait! ... [Vladimir Nabokov's] turning over index cards. He's glancing at notes. He's reading." By showing that other people (perhaps people his audience has heard of or even look up to) are in the same situation as him, Krystal shows that his message affects many people.
Arthur Krystal effectively achieves his purpose of teaching a lesson through the use of ethical and logical appeal. By demonstrating that he and many other writers have been out of their elements before, he teaches his audience that they should forgive anyone for behaving incorrectly or making mistakes when they are in an unfamiliar situation.

Fish Out of Water:

In unfamiliar situations, people often feel like a "fish out of water", and Krystal's message tries to lessen that feeling.

(Source: http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/653-02634344/A-goldfish-outside-of-a-fishbowl)

"The Elegant Eyeball" by John Gamel

     Written by John Gamel, an ophthalmology professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and author of many scientific articles and personal essays, "The Elegant Eyeball" gives readers a deeper look into Gamel's experience of being an ophthalmologist. The essay was written mainly as a memoir for an older audience – high school and above – who would be able to understand a few medical terms and appreciate Gamel's sometimes-mature humor. Gamel's purpose is to recall experiences from his time as an eye doctor and, through those memories, evoke emotion in his audience.
Gamel mainly uses pathetic appeal to achieve his purpose. When writing about his experience with patient Hans Bergerman, Gamel uses imagery and a personal tone to elicit emotion. Through imagery, he shows the reader the danger of Bergerman's treatment: "The zone that divided success from disaster was devilishly narrow, no greater than the width of a few human hairs." The image of such a small space creates a feeling of stress and anxiety in readers, which is perpetuated when, in a personal tone, Gamel shares his own feelings: "Doug Jacobson [another doctor] ... could not have guessed the quantity of sweat that soaked my armpits as I fired dozens of blue-greens flashes into Bergerman's eye." At the end, Gamel again explains his own emotions when he writes, "My treatment had failed. ... the sight of that dark clot mounded beneath his retina broke my heart." Since Gamel's previous pathetic appeal had allowed readers to connect with him and the patient, they also feel the crushing sadness and even despair that Gamel describes.
Gamel effectively accomplishes his purpose of evoking emotion. He incorporates his own feelings into his various stories via a personal tone and imagery, which allows readers to connect with him and often the patient he describes. Through these appeals to pathos, Gamel successfully produces strong emotions in his audience.

Macular Degeneration:

Normal vision (left) and the same image as a person with macular degeneration (the disease Hans Bergerman had) would see it (right). (Source: http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp)