Analysis of the Article: "Reading in a Whole New Way" by Kevin Kelly

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In “Reading in a Whole New Way,” Kevin Kelly points out that digital screen illuminate our lives. He emphasizes that digital screens have changed the way that we look at the world. Kelly is trying to persuade his audience that in today’s society we rely heavily on new technology to further enhance our reading skills. He outlines how the act of reading has changed. Kelly’s rhetorical choices help him persuade the audience that digital screens are becoming something people depend on. The act of reading has changed; people tend to read more due to the advances of technology.
“Reading in a Whole New Way” was published in August 2010 in Smithsonian magazine. This issue focused on what will happen in the next forty years; this allowed Kelly to give his knowledge on how technology is and will change. Around this time, Kelly may have been influenced by the releases of the new technology. We were introduced to the Xbox Kinect, which is a game console that is based off motion control. This device can track the movements and voices of players. Apple also released a new tablet in 2010 which was the iPad. This sold over three hundred thousand units the first day. The releasing of these new digital screens impacted how we do things today.
Kelly shows ethos by establishing expertise and reputation. He is trying to get his point across to teens and adults. By addressing this certain age group, Kelly shows that these are the people who uses more of the digital screens and who reads often. Kelly proves to the reader that due to digital screens, reading alone has increased tremendously. He is the founding executive editor of Wired magazine. Which Kelly was awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. He founded Walking Journal in 1...

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...tion. Doing this allows the reader to imagine this idea. Giving digital screens human qualities allows Kelly to expand on the how we input everything into our devices. He simply says that “Millions of people use pocketable screens to input their locations, what they eat, how much they weigh, their mood, their sleep pattern and what they see.” This gives Kelly the opportunity to persuade the reader that screens know and watch everything for society already.
In conclusion, Kelly does a great job of connecting with the readers in the use of rhetoric. He makes his point that digital screens have illuminated our lives and has changed the way we read and write. Kelly’s point of view is very clear throughout the article. Kelly uses ethnical appeal, logic, emotional appeal, intonation, and personification to persuade and connect with his audience with his use of rhetoric.

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