Tweens:Ten Going Sixteen is an article written by Kay S. Hymowitz and dedicated to the “tweenhood” – kids tendency to “mature” at the age of 8-12 years. Throughout the text the author precisely and meticulously describes the process of entering an unreal adulthood and precipitous changes that kids come across. The key purpose of the author is to show tweenhood from a dismal perspective and evaluate its detrimental effect on children.
The beginning of an article is rather successful because of narration of some personal facts. It is widely known that introductory paragraphs of an article should begin with provoking and interesting facts that will give the hints what the article is going to be and to “grab readers attention” (Sumner et al. 92). The author tells about her daughter and, therefore, becomes closer to a reader. Kay S. Hymowitz seems to be an expert in a raised topic, which is proved by using a variety of examples as “posters of adorable puppies and the drawings from art class”, “airbrushed faces of Leonardo di Caprio” etc. She focuses the reader’s attention to such burning issues as changing behavior, negative impact of surrounding and friends, outrageous outfits, crime, eating disorders, alcohol and drug addiction as well as sexual relationships. From the very first words it is obvious that the writer has very strong emotions about the problem while using a great deal of negatively connotative words – “Bad Ideas”, “vulnerable”, “vulgar”. Author’s tone always shows the attitude towards the problem (Foster 199). Kay S. Hymowitz tone is rather sarcastic and hopeless because of a wide usage of dreadful facts about the tweens.
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Without a doubt, author’s persuasion is rather strong and convincing. The writer uses additional sources of information and experts to decently prove her point of view: “research psychologist Michael Cohen of Arc Consulting”, “Bruce Friend, vice president of worldwide research and planning for Nickelodeon”etc. The usage of statistics, personal experience and observation is an appropriate tool for influencing people (Richards et al. 39). The author used all these methods to make her narration more vivid and influence the consciousness of a target reader.
While writing an article, the author used another unique technique of depicting the problem – the usage of parallels. It seems that every word or statement seems to have its opposite sides. Result is inescapable – the reader visualizes everything, dividing problem into to halves. On the one side, the usual acceptable situation is demonstrated: “teen fan magazines featuring glowering movie”. On the other hand, reveals the essence of what is appalling: “ten- or 11-year-old girls arriving at school looking like madams, in full cosmetic regalia”. However, the writer did not except some moments into consideration. Judging from the written, first what comes to mind is that the author is so deeply focused on telling all the sides of a problem that forgets to systematize the material. The article has a look of the first draft. Smooth progression and coherence from one body paragraph to another is not achieved due to the lack of linking details. It is like a “salad”, ingredients of which are cut into pieces and scattered in the bowl. Nevertheless, the mastery of narration and author’s cogency surpass all expectations.
The article Tweens:Ten Going Sixteen is a detailed analysis of the present day problem – tweenhood. The writer reveals the key elements that influence begetting the vital issue – media and increasing role of peers. After reading an article one may get an impression that the author uncovers every aspect of the raised topic as well as explains all facts so accurately that the reader has nothing to do but agree with the writer.