Reading Off from Computers - Critical Review Essay Example

Critical Review Essay Example

The two articles are similar in that the speakers draw heavily from their personal experiences. They base their thoughts and actions on their past happenings. Taking the first essay, for instance, the writer starts off by telling us how he does not like reading off a computer screen. Of course he sources this from a book and redirects us to the initial speaker but it says something about his reading preference. This essay was written in the recent past as a response to the current lifestyle which is punctuated by technological and media overstimulation. The writer’s target audience is the current generation which is gradually replacing old ways of doing things with technology. One can tell that the writer aims to reach the current generation especially scholars as they are getting so drawn into the technology advancements. This generation is quickly losing touch with the normal and acceptable ways of doing things. Therefore, the laziness standards of this generation have been raised substantially. Simple life tasks have now been replaced by advanced and complicated methods, thanks to the advancement in technology.

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The speaker uses his personal experience and preference to persuade the current generation not to let the technology take the best of them and their time. The approach that the writer uses to deliver this message is persuasive. From his choice of words and perspective, his tone is soft and he brings out the mood of patience and understanding. The writer is fully aware of his target audience and he knows that they tend to be rebellious and resent being told what to do. He also knows he has to be keen if he wants his advice and words to be taken seriously by his target audience. On qualifications and mastery of skills, the writer is excellent on this. His sentence construction, practical examples and practical allusions are put together carefully and with much expertise that one cannot afford to question his skill. His introduction is great and catchy. It captures the attention and motivates him to keep reading through. The stylistic devices employed in this introductory part are compelling. Imagery and similes make the readers enjoy reading through the article.

Article Review

The author’s main point is to discourage reading off a computer screen. He is however, not entirely against the invention of computers or the fact that computers have some added advantage on them but when it comes to reading; the fact that there are so many things one can do on the computer makes it a major distraction and attention thief. For this reason, scholars who read off from computer screens end up getting way less than they should be.

On the second essay, the author also uses personal allusion to come up with the article. His introduction, just like the first reading is catchy and uses stylistic devices such as monologue and use of rhetorical questions to entice the reader. Irony and satire are also employed in the introduction hence keeping the readers on their toes and a little bit of mystery and suspense what the telephone calls and emails had to do with the article’s title; distraction. Unlike the first writer who tells us why reading off computers is unadvisable, this one hits the nail on the head by addressing the problem first. Of course, this is a more effective way of reaching and convincing the target audience. He uses a personal experience which is conversant and everyone can relate to.

The writer then goes on to define the key terms such as “attention” and “distraction”. Although this goes against the unspoken basic writing rules, the writer cannot be faulted as he drives his point home just fine. Just like the first author, he uses practical examples. For instance he talks of how unable he was to open the emails before getting text messages and phone calls almost simultaneously. He calls for the readers to make inferences such as the effect of distractions. He goes and explains in details why distractions are negative and how they affect the human brain. For instance, at some point he digressed and expounded on the anatomy and physiology of the human brain. He talks of the language channel of the brain and how task specific it is. The author goes ahead and criticizes multitasking by referring to it as a myth. The level of language used by both authors is simple language hence increasing the scope of readers without having to go through much hustle. However, the second author stresses on distractions and evaluates them in detail as compared to the first author who touches lightly on these distractions and emphasizes on technology and screen compatibility issues. The second author also seems to be more interested about piracy and owner’s copyright as opposed to the distractions affiliated with reading off from computers.

In conclusion, both writers are convincing in their articles about the limitations and disadvantages of reading off from computers. However, the style, language and examples used by the second author are superior to the first one.