8/12/2019 Essay Explication Write Up

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Lets Stop being Hysterical, Shall we and Start Selling Water to Those Who Need It

Essay Explication Write up

The central argument appears to be summed up by the sentence Byspitefully refusing to

market an abundant renewable resource, they deprive Canadians of economic benefit far into the future

(pg 462 p2). This seems to be the explicit thesis as the entire essay is aimed at proving the authors

belief that water exporting practices should be allowed because water is an abundant, renewable

resource and that such activities would benefit the economy.

In an effort to support his central thesis, the author uses three main sub-points. Firstly, he

points out that Canada controls a vast amount of the water and is easily able to meet its domestic water

needs (pg 460 p1). Secondly, the author contends that water is a renewable resource and the proposed

amount being exported is only a fraction of our total water reserves (pg 460 p4). Lastly, the author

argues that the clean, fresh and highly demanded water could reek tremendous economic benefits for

Canadians in the global marketplace (pg 461 p5).

The author uses verifiable facts, personal experience and humor as methods of proof in order to

reinforce his argument. A verifiable fact is any piece of information that can be easily confirmed by the

reader. The first example of this method is found as the author points out how abundant Canadas water

supply is. With .5% of the world's population Canada is blessed with 20% of the world's fresh water

supply (pg 460 p1)This statistic clearly illustrates the fact that Canada has more than enough water to

satisfy its domestic needs. This method is used again to demonstrate the fact that vast amounts of water

is renewed annually. 121 cubic KM of new water is renewed annually alone; enough to fill about 600

000 very large tankers which, tied bow to stern, would encircle the earth five times (pg 461 p1).This is

an effective method of proof because it provides a sense of objectivity and credibility to the essay while

helping reinforce the authors belief that water is an abundant and renewable resource. The use of

humor also appears multiple times as it aims to present the arguments against water exports in a

satirical way. For example, the author attempts to poke fun at Cheryl Gallant following her public

condemnation of the practice Like most MP's her grasp of math is apparently limited to counting the

votes that may be gained by appealing to public prejudice and misinformation (pg 461 p1).By making

fun of his opponents arguments, and exploiting her ignorance, the author invariably strengthens his

own argument that water is plentiful. Essentially, the author is trying to show that despite the

propaganda and public opinion regarding the scarcity of water, Canada has more than enough to ensure

a sufficient supply. Finally, the author uses first hand observations to prove his notion that exporting

water can be economically beneficial for the Canadian economy. The author discloses how much he

pays for water in an effort to support his argument that fresh, clean Canadian water could be sold for

extensive profits in countries abroad.I pay about 1/5 of a cent for the foul tasting discharge from myhousehold taps. Sparkling mountain water should be worth substantially more (pg 461 p 5).This

method of proof is effective as it highlights the economic benefits of exporting water while providing a

personal connection to the essay. Since all Canadians pay for water those reading the essay can easily

relate to and understand the authors point of view.The author chose to use these three method of

proofs because they each reinforce the argument while providing balance to the essay. The verifiable

facts provide strong factual evidence that boosts the integrity of the essay while the humor adds variety

and the first hand observations engages the audience on a personal level.

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In an effort to improve the effectiveness and flow of the essay, the author uses a number of

rhetorical devices such as position, hypophora and asyndeton. Position is a device in which the author

places certain words or phrases in specific places in the sentence to emphasize or highlight an idea. This

is done to draw the readersattention and establish the authors opinion that water is just like any other

marketable resource and should therefore be exported. A lot of nonsense has been written about

water being too precious to sell- the very blood in the veins of Mother Earth (pg 460 p1).The final

phrase appears to mock societys misplaced reverence for water and the placement within the sentence

catches the readers interest.The author urges the audience to abandon this notion and think of water

as just another marketable commodity like lumber oil or electricity. Additionally, the author utilizes

hypophora and asyndeton in the same sentence to highlight the idea that Canada possesses good

quality water and that exporting it could be economically beneficial. How much could fresh, clean,

easily accessible water be worth? The lack of conjunctions catches the readers attention and provides

a steady cadence to the essay. It also works to prove the idea that Canada has in its possession a large

quantity of extremely clean and sanitary water available. Since the author poses a question and then

proceeds to answer it, this sentence also qualifies as a hypophora. This device is used as a segway tobegin his argument that exporting water can be extremely profitable. Instead of a simple topic sentence,

the author begins his argument by posing a question to the audience, which captures their attention and

demands a response. The use of this rhetorical device is effective because it keeps the audience

intrigued while adding to the flow of the essay. The author uses these three rhetorical devices because

they enhance the readability of the essay and work to reinforce the authors arguments.

The author appears to be writing in an annoyed tone based on his arguments, evidence and

diction. The essay is riddled with sarcastic remarks like When it's gone, our lives will be much less

comfortable but we'll still have 20 times the water we need. Oh joy! (pg 460 p1) and This country

came with in whisker of selling as much as 600 million litres of our precious water each year. Oh my . It

left unexplained that this is less than one-eight of 1% of the amount that Lake Superior loses toevaporation (pg 460 p4). The presence of sarcasm helps develop thetone as the audience usually

associates sarcasm with the feeling of being annoyed . Additionally, the use of certain words and

phrases like xenophobic and masochistic convey the overriding tone of the essay. Less harsh words

could have been used by the author, but by electing to use such diction, the audience is able to pick up

on the tone. Finally, the concluding sentence Its time to grow up perfectly encapsulates the annoyed

feeling of the author as the audience can almost sense the frustration.