SWA 21

1.) I believe what the author is trying to argue is that society has come to expect a shortcut for everything, especially learning information. We have moved away from long text like books and journals and now learn from images, websites, and summaries. The average person is likely to ignore a long block of writing if they cannot skim it and understand almost immediately. The author is arguing that society has become lazy and would rather remain ignorant rather than read in-depth for understanding.

2.) The author uses hyperbole by exaggerating the reaction of average people to a long block of text. The article describes a long block of text as a crisis that people do not know how to handle. Using hyperbole enhances the argument by showing how pathetic it is that society can no longer focus on long pieces of text without looking for a shortcut. Reading a long block of text is a simple task and the author uses hyperbole to show how a simple task has become impossible for the average reader.