1. This is a part of the project that my group was working on.

We
were focusing on the positive and the negative effects on the family. I
was in charge of the negative effects. I was the researcher for the
group and I have learned much about how technology affects the
family both positively and negatively.

2. While in class, I was able to learn about Rhetorical Analysis,

Annotated Bibliography, and Cover Letters. As my group has
researched this information, I have learned that technology has a lot of
potential for good and that it is the parents fault that technology is
misused. Children will mirror their parents.

3. Professor Sieverts spends a lot of time teaching her classes

about the different styles of writing. When she taught the class about
the importance of researching everything thoroughly, I wanted to try. I
ended up spending several hours researching the positives and the
negatives of technology. After I have read several different articles and
have had to search deep in the web for credible articles that met the
criteria for the group. We collaborated as a group and learned even
more from each other.
4.

Meaghan Barrett
Alex Creasey
Trevor Newman
Carol Sieverts
English 1010
27 March 2016
Rhetorical Analysis
Technology Harming Family Life? Blame the Parents
The article Technology Harming Family Life? Blame the Parents written by
Joanne Orlando was published in The Sydney Morning Herald, a daily compact
newspaper. Dr. Joanne Orlando is a Lecturer at Western Sydney University. She is a
leading expert in the field of children and technology. She has a PhD from the University
of Technology in Sydney, Australia. In 2015, she was awarded the Outstanding Research
Impact Award from Western Sydney University, a university that is ranked amongst the
top three percent. (Staff Profiles)
The main focus of this article is that parents have the ultimate influence of a
familys use of technology. Orlando begins by giving a clear vision of what a happy
family experience is, and then shows how it was destroyed by technology. She explains
how multiple aspects of the modern family are being corrupted by the use of technology,
and then turns the blame to the parents. From examples in the article, it is shown that
children are beginning to learn how to live a life with less parental influence and more

technology. Orlando states parents are the ones who ultimately make the decisions
concerning the use of technology at home. She also emphasizes the importance of
warm and cohesive connections, and how crucial they are to family life.
After explaining the importance of these connections, Orlando puts the
responsibility on the parents to make sure that these values are help up in the modern
home. It doesnt take much to influence a child, and parents must take the initiative to
make a good influence. Orlando shares that children are always observing their parents. If
parents want their children to center their values on family life instead of a technological
life, they have to show them how to do it through their own example.
According to The Sydney Morning Heralds website, its purpose is to give their
readers independent, quality journalism, regardless what the topic is, as shown in their
logo, Which states Our passion for the truth means you [the reader] always know whats
really going on.
The Sydney Morning Herald is one of the oldest continuously published
newspapers in Australia since 1831 (Dick). Since then The Sydney Morning Herald is not
longer just a daily compact newspaper, a fairly small pages that deal with serious news
issues (Types). In 1995, The Sydney Morning Herald became a worldwide website known
as smh.com.au (Monteiro). By having online access, it has become available to audiences
worldwide. It is a credible source not only because of the newspapers history, but because
of all the available resources there are on the website.
Orlando is very clear and consistent in her stand that parents are to blame for the
misuse of technology, stating it clearly in her bolded title. She uses strong logos as she
states valid points and explains with logical reasoning as to why parents are to blame.

Orlando uses a firm and professional tone, which could show some frustration, but also
applies the blame to herself, shown in her use of the pronouns we and us. She
believes that parents need to show children exactly what it is to move offline to enjoy
and value family life.
The Pathos of the article was strong. Orlando made absolutely sure that parents
knew she was talking to them, and didnt fail to include herself in the audience. She
argues, parents must first think about their own use of technology. Orlando does not
just push the responsibility onto other parents. As a parent herself, she expresses her
views and concerns, making it easier to relate to the situation.
The details of this article help with making it appear to have excellent ethos. The
image of the woman using her iPad fits in with the first part of the article perfectly. The
explanation of who Dr. Joanne Orlando is makes you gain a respect for her and leads you
to believe in what she is writing. Orlando has strong ethos, but the fact that she did not
have a work cited page made this article questionable.
Although this article does not have a work-cited page and may be questionable,
we feel that this article was well written.
The article is broken into small paragraphs, making it easy to read and follow.
There was one image used of a woman using technology while surrounded by nature
which helps show how distracting technology can be. The title was bolded and a standard
font was used. The article was clear and effective enough that more visual aids were not
really necessary.
Orlandos article was very effective in communicating the issues we have with
modern technology. You can see where she stands just by reading the title of the article.

She maintains a firm tone throughout the article and makes very logical and valid points.
Although the article was not very long, Orlando did an excellent job at communicating
her thoughts. Orlando makes it very clear that parents hold the responsibility to keep
technology from harming the family, and makes sure that readers understand that point
with a strong conclusion.

Work Cited
Dick, Tim, Joel Gibson, and Amy Lawson. History of the Sydney Morning Herald. The
Sydney Morning Herald: National, World, Business, Entertainment, Sport and
Technology News from Australias Leading Newspaper. 2005. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Monteiro, Carlos. A Brief History of smh.com.au smh.com.au. 17 Apr. 2005. Web. 29
Mar. 2016.
Orlando Joanne. Technology Harming Family Life? Blame the Parents. The Sydney
Morning Herald. 9 July 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.
Staff Profiles | Western Sydney University. Western Sydney University, 02 Mar. 2016.
Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Types of Newspaper or Magazine- Synonyms or Related Words."
Macmillan Dictionary. Macmillan Publishers, 2009-2016. Web. 8
Apr. 2016.

5. I have learned so much, not only from the Signature Assignment, but
also from the Issue Project as a whole. I have learned that I am really
good at researching topics. I am able to find the information that I am
looking for. I decided to use this Rhetorical Analysis because I played a
big part with its creation. I felt like with this assignment I was able to
help my group in a big way, which is great.

6. This class has made me a better researcher and writer. For example,
in my Introduction to Radiology class, I was able to find credible
articles for class discussions and become a better persuasive writer.

7. I have been able to learn how to write and communicate more

effectively with others not only because of this wonderful writing
community, but also because of the Amazing and Glorious Professor
Carol Sieverts. She has a teaching style that helps you understand. The
other Gen-Ed classes have helped.