2nd Essay 1st Draft

In America, most people believe that everyday citizens going about their daily lives have

a right to self-defense. In fact, most people as well as governmental institutions are under the impression that self defense is a natural right and is protected by our second amendment. There are even certain laws on the books that protect a persons right to self defense. Many times, authors may use certain techniques in order to try to get their point across to readers. In Ta-Nehsi Coates’s “Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice” and Darrell Miller’s “Self Defense, Defense of Others, and the State” both authors allow the readers to connect and understand their writing pieces by the method in which they publish their work, the time period/circumstances in which they publish and the way they cite and use information from other sources. Both authors are able to grasp and hold on to the attention of their respective audiences throughout the reading.

In Ta-Nehisi Coates piece, he specifically gears the reading towards a general population of people who don’t really know much about the law. It seems to be geared toward people who are more interested in the actual Trayvon Martin case rather than people who are interested in the law regarding it. Coates provides an interesting perspective on the case. Coates says that according to Florida law, the jury in the case got their decision right. Coates also published his work with the Atlantic. The Atlantic is known for having a more liberally leaning viewership

base. This is an online published piece that means that viewership will also probably be younger as they tend to make up most online journalism audiences.

In Darrell Miller’s writing, he makes sure to use factual data to get his point across. Miller does this by providing foot notes at the bottom of almost every page. These footnotes take up almost as much room as the actual writing does. Providing these footnotes is an example of Ethos being utilized as he as historical and legal documents for readers to reference to help him get his point across. Miller’s piece is mainly for an audience of scholars in the field of law and jurist. The piece is published in Duke University’s Law Journal. Not only is any law journal well respected but the law journal of one of the most respected law schools in the country is icing on the cake.