Academic articles are one of the most popular
stomping grounds for the Official Style—and this is no exception. “Mass
Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown” an article written by James Foxx and
Monica DeLateur, works to debunk the myths following the Newtown Connecticut
mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing twenty-six students and
teachers. The piece goes through the specific misconceptions created by the
media’s coverage of America’s mass killings—everywhere from the body counts,
murderers, and warning signs to school security, gun laws, and mental health
services. They critically examine the media’s role in the intensification of
fear encompassing these mass killings, questioning the spark in controversy and
initiative for change by the country’s government and citizens. The authors
take an opinionated stance, and essentially downplay the severity of the issue
as a whole. They use this piece as a means to closing the gap between the
perceived truth of mass shootings from the camera’s eyes and the ‘factual’
truth derived from a criminologist standpoint.
Cited by one hundred
researchers of various disciplines; criminal psychology, forensic
psychiatry, human communications, etc., the article is presented in a way that
benefits those studying human behavior, governmental policy, and/or
criminology. The audience is geared toward individuals studying this phenomenon
or simply looking to gain general knowledge and/or an insightful perspective,
whether that be students conducting research at a university, their professors,
or simply people in this field of work. Overall, Foxx and DeLateur demonstrate
an expertise and credibility within “Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond
Newtown” by building legitimate knowledge for their readers through the drawing
of previous research and their counter argument.
In this article, The
Official Style works to include and exclude individuals in various ways. First
off, its appearance in SAGE Journal, an independent international publication
website , automatically prevents the general public from
accessing it without a pricey subscription that most individuals aren’t
factoring into their monthly expenses. Access of this goes to those with an
institutional and/or research affiliation or those with the financial freedom
to do so, naturally omitting a hefty percentage of the United State’s
population. Another way this example of the O.S. omits readers is through the
diction used throughout. This stems from the background of the authors— James
Foxx being an American criminologist at Northeastern University and Monica
DeLateur being a doctoral student in the School of Criminology in Chicago, IL.
The diction throughout the piece—again, creates inclusion and exclusion by
tailoring its jargon to those familiar with law and criminology terminology.
Foxx and DeLateaur collaborated on this article to contribute homicidal studies
research by disproving popularized claims, and adding a challenging/undesirable
perspective on this current topic.
Sectioning the
article in a way that allows one by one addressing of the specific myths surrounding
mass killings, allows the authors the ability to add contrasting assertions to
each one presented. This is done in a rather passive voice with the assistance
of existing research claims. Being a sensitive and ethical topic for a majority
of it’s readers, the text diverges away from personal convictions and uses
evidence to reinforce its statements. In this instance, the text provides an
abundance of numerical statistics and past recollections of individual mass
shootings throughout America—“The news coverage of Sandy
Hook had Americans glued to their TV sets. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll
of more than 1,000 adults, half the respondents watched the news reporting
“very closely,” while 90% indicated watching at least “somewhat closely” (Saad,
2012). Fox and DeLateur 131 The extensive news focus on school shootings
certainly had an impact on perception and fear. The same USA Today/Gallup poll
found that nearly one quarter of those surveyed believed that a shooting spree
such as Sandy Hook was “very likely” to occur in their own community and more
than half thought that it was at least “somewhat likely” (Saad, 2012). This is
done commonly for the reason that discrediting another source, especially with
a stance as strong as this, the research behind it has to be impeccable.
Without it, other researchers could discredit their claims similarly to the way
they did the media’s misconceptions. Offering others this sort of statement,
Foxx and DeLateaur needed to compact as much knowledge and credibility into one
academic article as they could to allow themselves the evidential support that
would check out upon another’s further inquiry. Maintaining a sort of consistency
in sentence structure, the Official Style was able to do this—using official
punctuation and language to achieve a sense of credibility.
As
far as successfulness in it’s function, “Mass Shootings
in America: Moving Beyond Newtown” does a satisfactory job at supporting it’s
claims with backed research and relevant illustrations. This provides an
adequate counter argument for the myths that developed in the midst of mass
murders unfolding and increasing throughout the country. Within the discipline
of homicidal studies, research is critical, as well as the focus on both
psychological and governmental/policy aspects—which the article touches on.
Criminology highlights both the criminal and institutional/structural makeup
that influences him/her to carry out their atrocity; Foxx and DeLateur address
both. The content richness of the text allows the article to function on a
competent level.
Abby Walkush
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