Sunday, March 30, 2014

TOW #23 - Article: "Vertical Farming Explained: How Cities Could Be Food Producers of the Future " by Nicola Davis

Writing Goals: 
Have my analysis support the thesis

Reading Goals:
Analyze a piece that is not just informative

Farm Up!

     During the American Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, cities started booming. the economy flourished, and the people moved cities. However, this resulted in increased urbanization, thus a smaller number of farms. Nicola Davis, the commissioning editor of Tech Monthly who has a degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oxford, has a solution to this predicament: vertical farming. Rather than presenting us with a bland and boring article, Davis strategically employs essential questions and a conversational tone to encourage cities to consider vertical farming as a solution.
     Beginning her article, Davis first introduces the context for which she decided to write this by asking, "could we soon see skyscrapers turned into centres for crop production?" This provides the audience with something to think about, which effectively allows Davis to transition through her article and provide necessary information. To do this, however, Davis divides her article into sections that each answer an essential question. Questions include the following: what is vertical farming, why do we need it, how high are we talking-skyscrapers, etc. Such questions set the reader up with something to expect and it even leaves them thinking about some potential answers. In turn, thinking about vertical farming subtly forces Davis's audience to consider it as a possible solution.
      However, an article that continuously questions its audience will make the readers feel as if they are being interrogated for a crime they did not commit. In order to make sure her purpose is successfully achieved, Davis speaks in a conversation tone. By using the words "we" and "you," Davis is able to establish a sense of ethos, making it seem as if she is directly talking to her audience. Additionally, she avoids jargon, making her tone more colloquial. Doing so allows Davis to easily convey her thoughts and ideas, which results in the encouragement of cities to start considering the use of vertical farming.
     Nicola Davis, an advocate of vertical farming, successfully achieved her purpose of encouraging cities to integrate this method. By using essential questions, Davis was able to have her audience think about the current situation of farms. Furthermore, her conversational tone created an atmosphere in which ideas were casually shared. To conclude, Davis asserts that with the given technological capabilities nations currently have, vertical farming is very huge possibility.

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/06/vertical-farming-explained-erik-murchie

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