Analysis of “Come to the Institute of International Studies”

We want to protect the world we live in

Some people may say that international relations are not important. However, it is very
relevant if we want to protect the world we live in. This is what the student tries to convince
us about in the text. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how the student uses
language features and literary devices to enhance the message.

Overall, the student tries to convince the reader that international relations is the key to all
our futures. As well as, informing you that if you are interested in what is happening to the
world, the institute of International Studies is the school for you. The student has written an
argumentative and persuasive text in which the writer tries to make the reader want to go to
the school.

To convince the reader, the writer emphasises on the fact that “the study of international
relations” is very important “if we want to protect the world we live in” (line 5) Furthermore,
the student repeatedly returns to different things that are happening to the world, among
other, the environment and poverty. If we close-read the text, we can see that the writer
repeats several words to enhance the point. “You” is repeated numerous times and so is the
word “international relations”. (line 4, 5-6). This anaphora emphasizes the importance of
international relations and the fact that the writer refers directly to the reader. The student
continues to use anaphora later in the text. The writer uses anaphora to explain what the
school has to offer from “the well of experience and expertise”(line 15): “Where the
international news tells you about events, we`ll analyse them. Where people spontaneously
react to an incident, you`ll learn to make informed decisions. (...)” (line 16). Together with the
fact that the writer is a student, these three aspects make the student and the school
trustworthy. In other words, the writer builds ethos to make the reader consider the school.

In paragraph three, the student uses literary devices such as similes, metaphors and
symbols. The writer uses similes to describe the ideas about international relations: “like the
small fish a good angler will throw back into the water, saving them to fatten for another day”
(line 13). However, the student uses metaphors to inform that the Institute of International
Studies is full of education and learning: “the sea of knowledge” (line 14). Both of these
devices appeal to the feelings (pathos) and make abstract concepts more concrete. It could
be argued though that a metaphor is stronger than a simile, because it is more direct. To
strengthen the reader's pathos, the writer uses a symbol to inform that if you decide to study
international relations, you will have a positive future and an interesting career: “We'll put
you in the driver's seat on the road to a positive future and interesting career” (line 22).

The student also manages to use rhetorical questions and personal pronouns in the text. In
line 11 the writer asks: “Can you convert your care into positive action?”: In this way the
student in a way forces the reader to reflect about their opportunities to stop poverty or
global challenges for an example. The high occurrence of the personal pronouns “you” and
“we”, show that the student tries to create a connection with the reader. This is especially
evident in the second paragraph: “While you may think this is a subject you already know
something about, you don't know the half of it” (line 7) and in the first paragraph: “we want to
protect the world we live in” (line 5).
In conclusion, this analysis discussed how the student used different language features and
literary devices to enhance the message. The language features like anaphora and
rhetorical questions are used to build the student and the schools ethos. The literary
devices, simile, metaphor and symbol, were used to illustrate the idea of international
relations and how the institute of international studies give you important knowledge, a
positive future and an interesting career. Overall, the arguments to study International
relations are well represented in the text.