The Baltimore Sun
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Book Topics: Unity, Overstatement, Mood Changes
The unity of this article is essential to the voice of the subject, a 29-year-old woman seeking a state court ruling to honor her request for divorce. The topic is same-sex marriage and the ambiguity surrounding recognition by Maryland court systems. The mood of the article is unified by the quotes of both parties and their lawyers. The author accurately covers the topic providing state law information and true stories of other Maryland residents who faced difficulties divorcing their same-sex partners. Zinsser's paragraph on "think small" and "be content to cover it well and stop" is made true by the author of this newspaper article. She provides a clear message on the state’s struggle to meet the concerns on same-sex divorce in conjunction with not recognizing same-sex marriages legally. There is an overstatement by the author that since Maryland does not recognize same-sex marriages, a person already married to the same-sex could legally marry the opposite sex and not be considered a bigamist. I feel this is a necessary overstatement since it shows a loophole in the legal system. This could be an argument used to provoke voters to choose between what is right and what legally makes sense on the topic. Mood changes are used to bond the opinions of lawyers and lawmakers who have experience in the cases surrounded by the issue of same-sex marriage.
Mood Changers:
- “However, in the 2010 census, 2,321 same-sex couples in Maryland identified themselves as spouses…"
- “Difficulties over divorce led California to adopt a measure last year exempting same-sex couples, who travel there to wed during the five-month window when it was legal, from a requirement that one or both parties must be a state resident to file for a divorce. This month, the District of Columbia Council approved a similar bill. It has yet to clear the mayor’s office and Congress.”
Zinsser also states "there's no material you can't work into your frame" which explains how the material can lead you to topics outside of pre-determined unities. The author does this to include some local mentions including University of Baltimore and University of Maryland law schools, making the reader aware of its local scope. The support and opinions of these law schools has not added value to the topic discussed in the preceding paragraphs. Overall the article is written well providing the reader with "truism" as described by Zinsser, on the states struggle to be legally consistent on its opinion of same-sex marriage.
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