Analysis of “Putting in Hours” written by James Lang
a. To whom the author is writing target audience.
The author of this article has tailored his or her message to reach the University or college management board. This message is therefore meant for the stakeholders who oversee that the day-to-day activities of such institutions are running as per the expectations of the work ethics.
b. What the author is trying to accomplish/ intended purpose.
A close analysis of the author’s assertions reveals that the purpose of this piece of work is to bring to light some irresponsible and unethical behaviors practiced by some office occupants. Although in a light note, the author explicitly reveals the various characters that most if not all of the office occupants in the public institutions have developed that are unethical. These characters may not be easily noticeable by the casual observers as they assume the office holders have the right to do what they are doing. In fact, the management may similarly remain unaware of the sage as everything is tactfully done provided the “office hours” are accomplished.
c. What the author’s "tone of voice" is: how he/she treats the audience?
Throughout the piece of art, the author has employed a light and humorous tone. He describes the main character simply as the North American professor and the observers as casual. In the description of the various subsets of “species”, he has not exposed any particular emotion or attitude towards the professors or the character in question. Instead, he lightly but humorously describes their distinct characteristics.
For example, the author humorously but lightly gives a description of the Early Bird as someone who tactfully avoids rubbing shoulders with the authority. This professor is lazy and to cover up for this they schedule their office hours early in the morning when most of the students are still asleep. This saves them the burden of attending to them as at the same time they cloak their “office” hours.
Similarly, the terms used to refer to the “species” of the professors are humorous as they serve to describe their characters. For instance, The Door closer and the Chatterer who avoid attending to the students by keeping their office doors locked and chatting with other colleagues respectively. Finally, by attributing the reason behind the Fugitive’s behavior to stay in the office to the living creatures in his or her household is also funny.
d. Your reaction to the author’s message: agree or disagree.
According to the message, the author has been trying to portray, I completely agree with his assertions. The behaviors described in this article are a common phenomenon in most of the public offices in the various institutions. Here, the officers in charge simply avoid performing their duties by finding insignificant and illogical excuses. These behaviors are unacceptable and should always be discouraged.
e. How much the author’s analysis helped you understand the author’s reasons for believing as he/she does?
The author’s analysis has been comprehensive and descriptive throughout the article. Not only has he mentioned the different behaviors but also has he gone as far as describing each of the individual behaviors with relevant illustrations. For instance, when talking about the Fugitive, he brings about the picture of their household by explaining the living creatures that are in their houses. This includes spouses, children, dogs and cats.
C. ANSWER SEPERATELY: Which article did you choose to analyze for WA1? Why did you choose this article? How did it help you to understand analysis of an argument?
The article I considered in my analysis is “Putting in Hours” written by James Lang. I considered the article because it helps me as a student understand the number of challenges I encounter while trying to get assistance from my lecturers who have been entrusted to address the issues affecting students. Although the article, I have been able to appreciate the series of procedures that have to be followed when analyzing an argument. For instance, the argument must first be expressly stated. This should be followed by an objective analysis of the author’s opinion before you summarize with your own general perspective of the article.
