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Lexi Petrozza

Yeaton

ELA 10H Pre-AP

19 February 2018

The Columnist Project #2

Citation:

Kristof, Nicholas. “How to reduce shootings” Editorial. The New York Times [New York] Feb.

2018: n. pag. How to reduce shootings. ​www.nytimes.com​, 15 Feb. 2018. Web. 19 Feb.

2018.

Part 1: Article Analysis

After the recent mass shooting in Florida, Nicholas Kristof discusses why the United States

suffers mass shootings so regularly. Kristof supports his opinion throughout the article by citing

numerous statistics and studies. He describes how the United States has the highest rate of gun

ownership and gun death rates over any other country and suggests a new approach with how

gun violence can be reduced. Kristof also cites the history of car regulations and their positive

effect on reducing the death rate and suggests a similar public health approach in reducing gun

violence. With this approach, he outlines many different changes such as background checks,

protection orders, and safe storage. By using these public health steps, Kristof believes that they

could “reduce firearm deaths in America by one-third.”

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Tone:​ Kristof’s tone is mainly informative, but also demanding when he discusses the need for

the change of gun control laws in America.

Context:​ The reader would need to know about the mass shootings that have occurred and know

that there has been a lot of discussion about current gun control laws.

Appeals:​ Kristof uses ethos by providing numerous charts and statistics to prove his point. He

appeals to the readers emotions by saying things like “there is more rigorous screening of people

who want to adopt dogs than of people who want to purchase firearms.” Logos is also used when

Kristof describes how “After tightening gun laws, firearm homicide rates dropped 40 percent in

Connecticut.”

Strategies and Devices:​ One of Kristof’s main writing strategies includes the use of research

from credible sources. He uses rhetoric by citing statistics to support his position and to persuade

those against gun control.

Organization:​ The article uses extended definition with examples by citing many statistics and

studies and defining how they contribute to Kristof’s argument.

Diction/Word Choice:​ This article is very understable to read and could definitely be

understood by a high school student. The diction and vocabulary used is neutral. Words with
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negative connotations like “terrible, furious, and sadly” show what Kristof’s opinion is on this

issue and makes the reader realize the effect that this issue is having.

Part 2: Personal Response:

Nicholas Kristof begins the article by talking about the recent mass shooting in Florida. He

includes evidence about why the United States has mass shootings occur so regularly and why he

is demanding for a change in gun control laws. Kristof notes that more Americans have died

from gun violence than any other country. Kristof makes it apparent that the intended audience

for this article is Americans. He includes many statistics and facts that support his argument like

“The U.S. has more than 300 million guns- roughly one for every citizen - and stands out as well

for its gun death rates.” A main point that the author conveys is that he doesn’t want thoughts

and prayers for the dead, he wants change. Kristof describes the change for gun control laws as a

“long, uncertain, uphill process”, but he is “optimistic that there can be progress at state level,

and some of the necessary research funding will come from private foundations.” At the end of

the article, Kristof explains that there is no perfect solution for his argument​.​ Even though

making gun laws stricter could help, it could still not completely solve the issue. He talks about

how the “10-year assault weapons didn’t accomplish much for reducing gun violence.” Instead

of gun control, Kristof suggests taking a public health approach for this issue. Some of the public

health approaches he suggests include “background checks, protection orders, and safe storage.”

Although this could be a long process, Kristof believes that a “feasible set of public health steps

over time will reduce firearm deaths in America by one-third -- or more than 10,000 lives saved

each year.” He compares this process to almost 100 years of increased automobile safety
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regulation which has been successful in reducing the “the death rate per 100 million miles driven

by 95 percent since 1921.” After reading this article, I have really realized how it is time for a

change in gun control laws. It also makes me worried about how long it will take for the change

to happen, and because of that America should start now making changes to public safety.