There are five paragraphs in this article and about 80 percent of it is information on the Amazon explaining its importance and the damage that is being done. The information that is presented is poorly constructed because the information is stated and then there is nothing to support it. Furthermore, the author fails to even explain or expand on how it is important or relate to the readers. For example, the author writes “Overwhelmingly, it is estimated that every single passing second witnesses the destruction of nearly one and a half acres of rainforest” (Author of the article, 2010). This is the concluding sentence of a paragraph. There is not even speculation of what might happen and what consequences humans could face if the rainforest approaches depletion. An example of something that could have been said instead of just cutting it off as they did is “If the destruction of the Amazon continues at this rate, then we will face major consequences. For example, due to decreased carbon dioxide absorption, there will be much more intense global warming and therefore flooding in coastal cities”. This would have been a better conclusion to that paragraph because it explains why the destruction of the Amazon is so detrimental to the environment. Also, this alternative ending shows how eventually there are people’s lives in danger and therefore will reach out to more people and raise an urgency among some readers. This is only one example of where there is a lack in structure in the article.
Throughout the article the author entirely relies on appealing to the sympathy of the audience. Even though this may be an easier way to get the reader’s attention, it should not be the only way to convince the reader that destruction of the rainforest is bad. There should be another way appealing to audience. For example, the author writes “The rainforests are home to more than a half of the world’s population of flora and fauna and a fifth of the fresh water of the world lies in the Amazon Basin” (Author of the article, 2010) but does not show its significance. If the author were to show how the populations of plants and animals were important then it would give the audience a better understanding and not just make the reader feel bad about the little animals that were dying. The author could have included something such as “the flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest are important to the rest of the world because together they make up the biodiversity of the rainforest which largely contributes to the cleaning of the Earth’s atmosphere. The higher the integrity and stability the biodiversity of the Amazon is, the more functional it is to the rest of the planet” could quite possibly educate the reader and not only appeal to the readers sympathy but appeal to their reason as well. This could be more effective in conveying the author’s argument of the destruction of the Amazon will bring dire consequences.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723162113.htm
For an article to article to actually covey its main point or thesis (if in fact that is what it is actually trying to do), it must have a sufficient conclusion to wrap up and complete the article. In this article it only summarizes the previous points and paragraphs, and leaves the reader with a very broad conclusion. Since this article is about the depletion of the rainforest and how we are the cause as well as how important to the rest of the world it is, the author should give some alternatives to what an average person could do to stop their contribution to its depletion, for example, the author could write “to help this ongoing crisis, boycott certain products that are a result of the destruction of the Amazon”. Also, the author could even give an opinion to a sustainable solution to this crisis. Something such as “to reap the benefits of both have having clean air and the goods that come from the rainforest, major changes must occur, such as setting new laws and standards that limit how much rainforest can be harvested. As well as, ways of replenishing the rainforest must be created before it is too late”. This ulterior example gives a solution that is easy to understand by the average reader. Both a solution to the problem and ways of aiding this crises are not displayed in the article. Even though the author writes “This problem can be solved only when people realize that the wealth and prosperity obtained by plundering nature unscrupulously will not last for ever” (Author of the article, 2010), this is very broad and even could be interpreted different ways by different people, so is therefore not an effective conclusion.
As important as the Amazon rainforest is to the planet and to its species, this article has many flaws in conveying its message, being that the ignorance of people is the reason for its depletion and eventual destruction. The article loses its impact through poor structure, only appealing to sympathy of the reader and a very lacking conclusion.
By Oliver Moir
Work Cited
Amazon Rainforest – The last Green Frontier on Earth. In Endangered animals. Retrieved on November 7, 2010, from http://endangered-animals.co.uk/amazon-rainforest-the-last-green-frontier-on-earth.html
Note: The author's name was not found, they are referred to as "Author of the article".
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