Sarah Kells: Outside Reading Editorial

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/opinion/09collins.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Oct 9
"Awful, Awfuler, Awfulest" by Gail Collins
"Awful, Awfuler, Awfulest" is written with a very informal tone, as if the author is a personal friend of the reader.  Not only does this cause the reader to feel the same way towards the author, Gail Collins, as they would towards a friend, but it also leads to a more casual, everyday feel.  This tone, if used correctly, tends to make editorials more successful because any reader would be, as I was, more likely to agree with someone that they feel a connection with than with someone that seems distanced and unknown.
This editorial begins with the word "I," so it is clear from the beginning that it is written in first person.  This makes the piece more personal and perhaps more effective in reaching the reader, but it also makes it seem very informal.  This is perhaps Gail Collin's goal in this editorial as she also uses very informal diction: ("Raese is a very rich guy") and many rhetorical questions as well: ("And you know what?...")
Another technique that Collins uses is sarcasm.  After she states that a correspondent 'demanded' a response, she turned around and called him/her a "gentle reader."  She also calls Florida "The Place Where Other State's Officials Stash Their Loved Ones."
The sarcasm used in this is clearly intended to persuade the reader to agree with the author's opinion that elections have moved from decided who would be the best candidate to who can demolish their opponent's reputation the worst.  Collins gives many examples of how ridiculous elections have become recently in different states, and uses diction, sarcasm as well as exaggeration and understatements to convey these to the reader.
Gail Collins uses a very strong voice in her editorial by the confidence of the writing style that she employs.  By using some very simple and easy to understand sentences, Collins makes everything she says seem to be common knowledge, even if it is merely an opinion.  When she says "...and we appreciate the way...," she adds the reader into the speaking group, and people would be less likely to disagree with this than if she had said "...and I appreciate the way..."  This is a technique used throughout the entire paper to add confidence to all of Collin's statements.
Even in the very beginning of the paper, I had a clear idea of what Collins was writing about and I also knew where she stood on the issue.  These are very important to an editorial piece, but if this were an AP English essay, it probably would not have been graded very well because it is very informal and this leads to not having very advanced diction or word order throughout the paper.  As an editorial, however, it succeeds at its goal to persuade the reader to agree with the author.