TOW #1: "The three scariest words: I don't know"

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/13/opinion/cohen-i-dont-know/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
300-350 words

In classrooms across America, fear is spreading. Children are becoming afraid of being wrong; they're starting to fear ignorance. Students have been taught that answer is more important than the thought process. The pressure to know the right answer is spreading from students in classrooms as far as politicians in society. Under No Child Left Behind, enacted in 2001, Leah Hager Cohen now fears that there's too much emphasis placed on memorization in place of inquiry. Children– and consequentially, adults– feel unable to admit that they don't understand, to utter just three simple words: "I don't know". Cohen's purpose in writing "The three scariest words: I don't know" is to convince the reader that ignorance shouldn't be feared, but rather embraced and helped. This intended reader of this article is the general public. When Cohen writes, she emphasizes that it's "our fear of ignorance", not just students's or politicians's. To achieve her purpose, Cohen uses first person to connect with the reader. In fact, she picks on herself to point out problems that other people wouldn't necessarily want to be accused of having or causing– which only helps her to "break the ice" with the reader. Also, she uses italics four times throughout her article to reinforce the importance of her purpose. She really reinforces her emphasis. Leah Hager Cohen has written 10 books (five novels and five nonfiction books), In addition, she currently holds the Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. Cohen certainly achieved her purpose. She used drawn-out, explained logic to lead the reader down her trail of thought. Additionally, she used simple language to reach out to people of all walks of life, since she explains fear of ignorance is common in many people. Based on Cohen's credentials, it's very clear that she could have many her essay more confusing and flowery; the fact that she didn't only shows how she successfully shared her purpose with her audience.