16. Man eating nothing but Olive Garden speaks out: “I have not had one meal that was not just perfect”

 Different from the other articles I have read and analyzed, this one was rather humorous and entertaining to read. The article is about a man who has eaten in the famous American chain-restaurant called "Olive Garden" twice a day for the past 6 weeks. While people might find this weird and extraordinary, the reason behind this man's act is that he purchased something that Olive Garden calls a "Never Ending Pasta Passes", where a person can eat anything for seven weeks by paying $100 for the pass. Though many think that nobody would be insane enough to accept the challenge, a man called Alan Martin was capable enough to accept the challenge, which led him to dine there over 100 times in the past six weeks. Shortly after this small introduction of Olive Garden's challenge and the man who accepted it, the author inserts a light interview/conversation he had with the very own Alan Martin. The interview is very light and quick, and also covers information such as the menu Martin picks and the total cost of all the Olive Garden he ate during the challenge.
  Joanna Rothkopf did a good job giving readers an introduction saying what Olive Garden was and what the unlimited pass was all about. She also added a small background about the man she interviewed, giving readers idea what kind of man he is. Right after the introduction, Rothkopf inserts a Q&A section, bolding the questions she asked and then righting Martin's answers. The way she organized her sets of questions made it easy for readers to notice the flow of the questions. The humor and funny snippets also made it fun to read. The length of the article itself was not long at all, which probably pleased readers. The author successfully transmitted her message to the readers, and by interviewing the man, it was a reliable article.

16. The Brain Makes Its Own Ghosts

Editor Julie Beck's article begins with a reference to everyone's childhood; running up the stairs when it's dark, felling like there's someone, something chasing after you. This feeling is called, rather uncreatively, "Feeling of Presence," or FOP. This phenomenon is not fully understood, and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, or EPFL, in Switzerland, is doing some research on the matter. What studies on patients with mental disabilities has shown is lesions in parts of the brain responsible for self-awareness, movement, spacial positioning, or sensorimotor signals. The EPFL has developed a robot that touches one's back with the same movements made by the person on a joystick. When the touch on the back is given a slight delay, the FOP can be induced in regular, healthy test subjects. Researcher Giulio Rognini explains that the research has brought results, but it is still unclear what goes on inside the brain. The next step, he says, is to use the robot to test schitzophrenics or other mentally disabled patients. He also explains how consciousness involves our brain creating multiple projections of what our body is, not all of which we are fully aware. Thus, the sensation of someone else being there, rather than just ourselves, can be created. Julie Beck concludes by saying that there are no ghosts behind us, "the ghosts were always us."

Julie Beck's article is largely informative in nature, focusing on the research done by EPFL. She explores various views on the matter of consciousness and theories about FOP, but does not take a biased stand for either side. However, she uses methods of typical rhetoric to enforce the different views and to convince the reader of the legitimacy of the research done on the matter. She quotes Giulio Rognini, a reliable source. She also refers to each of our simila childhood experience, as well as a story of a mountain climber who felt a third climber beside himself and his brother. Finally, she gives lots of detail on the research done, especially by EPFL, whoch solidifies the claims about what is clausing FOP. She does a good job of explaining complex terms and elaborating on confusing ones, keeping the reader on track without having to slow down. Beck's only problem lies in the inconclusiveness of her article

http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-brain-makes-its-own-ghosts/382527/

15. 90-year-old Florida man faces jail time for feeding homeless

Arnold Abbott and two other pastors are about to face 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for feeding a homeless person in public. “I was arrested for feeding the homeless and received a citation to appear in court. However, only 4 people were fed before an officer told me to, ‘Drop that plate immediately!’As if it were a weapon I was holding, and to go with him to the police car.” He later explained that the same cop that arrested him allowed him and the pastors to relocate and continue to distribute food. On October 22^nd, a city commission was put into place regarding when, how and where outdoor feeding could be allowed to happen. It all came down to the size or amount of the homeless population. This commission also made it illegal to sleep in public places and beg for money. Abbott runs nonprofit group Love Thy Neighbor, and is advocate for homelessness issues, this is not his first time encountering the law.

The author of this article, Joanna Rothkopf, is very brief in her explanation of what happening to Arnold and she uses informal language throughout her piece. The purpose of her essay was to inform, however, it felt a lot more as if she were telling the reader a story rather than informing about a recent event. Her tone is a very strong and confident tone; although, I did not personally like her article, the reader can sense throughout the article that she knows what is talking about. This essay had the intention to reach out for an audience such as Habitat for Humanity; community service, volunteering centers or people who are just willing to volunteer for things like distributing food. Joanna got sources from both sides of the story: from Arnold Abbott and Commissioner Dean Trantalis. Her comparison was well thought of and used. This article compared to others is relatively small, however, it is a perfect example that a good essay does not necessarily need to be a long and full of descriptions.

http://www.salon.com/2014/11/04/90_year_old_florida_man_faces_jail_time_for_feeding_homeless/

15. Too Many Kids Quit Science Because They Don't Think They're Smart

             Everyone is different, they all have something they’re good at and something they're not so good at. But one thing that is undeniable, by the statistics, is that most students feel incompetent when it comes to science class. Science is an imperative course that allows for a greater understanding of how the world functions, physically, chemically, biologically, etc. Many have the qualifications and ability to succeed in various science classes, but lack confidence in themselves to do so. Carol Dweck, a professor in psychology at Stanford University, believes that like other subjects and destinations in life, the student must feel awarded and praised. Simple encouragement and mild praises drive a student forward in all areas of academics, not just science.

             This article by Alexandra Ossola, a science writer and producer based in New York City, talks about students and their general lack of self-confidence. She stresses the importance of constructive encouragement that is imperative for student success. She writes formally and critically stresses that the lack of praise in our crazily praise oriented society, is what discourages students and lowers their self-confidence. Ossola writes a brief summary in the first two paragraphs to provide a foundation for the argument, then further explains by having the reader read and understand the conversation that went down between herself and a psychology professor at Stanford University. The rest of the article is about the conversation and is a transcript that quotes the sayings of Carol Dweck.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/11/too-many-kids-quit-science-because-they-dont-think-theyre-smart/382165/

15. That Devil on Your Shoulder Likes to Sleep In

“It is often asked why good people do bad things. Perhaps the question should be when.” Research has shown that as people become more tired they also become more prone to immoralities. According to the journal Psychological Science “To the extent that you’re cognitively tired, you’re more likely to give in to the devil on your shoulder.” These findings were because on a test taken two test groups both tested in the mornings and afternoons. A screen with dots on it was placed in front of the subjects, the subject then had to tell if the dots were on the left or right side of the screen. Foe every time that the subject said the dots were on the right he would earn 5cents, regardless if he was right. This test showed that the subjects would cheat 25% more in the afternoons. Similar finding were concluded at a test run at Harvard. The conclusion was the following, as the brain gets worn out moral discussion making suffers the consequences. Not only can that but simple things such as, coosing wat to wear or what to eat tax the brain.
            In the article, Mat Richtel, uses a impersonal objective tone. He simply pulls together information from science journals and makes a collage with some rewording. This is evident by Richtel`s citations and by the lack of new material. Just a simple article. None the less his collage was expertly mad e and was easy to read and much better then sifting through pages incomprehensible jargon of the intellectual journals.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/business/that-devil-on-your-shoulder-likes-to-sleep-in.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below

15. China Is Trying to Curb Its Smog Problem Before the World Visits

China is known to be the most productive country in the world. Being the most active country in the world, it gives them a major problem: Pollution. Sometime this week, President Obama along with Vladimir Putin will be arriving in China to participate in The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. In advance, China has been preparing for these important people to come visit China by building hotels, villas, and a highway linking to the heart of China. However, one thing they did not find a solution for was pollution. China is the most polluted country in the world, this being said, it gives China many disadvantages. Studies in 2013 by The World Health Organization, shows that it caused more that 1.2 million deaths in China just from pollution. In addition to deaths, China's tourism industry has fell 2.3%  in 2013.

Matt Schiavenza, the author of this article, writes about China in order to inform us about China's problem with pollution. Schiavenze is not a specialist in pollution or in China, however, he makes his article credible by citing his sources. He does a good job stating out the problems and the statistics from the problem. However, I believe if he made his article more descriptive, it would be more informative as well as interesting. Overall, Schiavenze does a good job staying in the topic and stating his objectives.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/chinas-vain-attempts-to-halt-air-pollution/382263/

15. "The Dangers of Eating Late at Night"

     With such an active daily basis, people today are constantly busy checking e-mails and answering phone calls. Consequently, dinner time has significantly changed from past decades to today. Dr. Koufman, a physician who specializes in voice disorders and acid reflux, states that over the past decades, the time of the evening meal has been trending later and later among his patients. Work is followed by late night exercising or shopping, causing people to return home late. Consequently, this has lead most people today to eat dinner at a relatively late time. According to Dr. Koufman, dinner must be served at around 6-7 P.M. for a healthy diet. However, most of his patients were dining at around 10-11 P.M. This significant time change has increased the acid reflux epidemic in the American society. Acid reflux symptoms include postnasal dip, hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, chronic throat clearing, coughing and asthma. These dangerous symptoms has been increasing rapidly and will continue to increase with the absence of change in the dining hours of Americans.
     The author of this article, Jamie A. Koufman, writes to increase awareness on the dangers of eating late at night. In proposing her message, Koufman is very effective in her evidences supporting her claim. A very effective factor was that she herself is a physician specialized in voice disorders and acid reflux, having first-hand experience with what she is talking about. Thus, to support her claim, she uses personal experiences with her recent patients, giving the article a strong credibility. Koufman's article is relatively short and straight to the point engaging the reader to continue reading. Her word choices are easy to comprehend as many times she uses informal language. Overall, I was well interested in her article to the point of actually researching on acid reflux. All to say, Koufman succeeds in conveying the dangers of eating late at night using good word choices and effective writing.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/opinion/sunday/the-dangers-of-eating-late-at-night.html