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Colton Chacon Professor Harris-Ramsby English 1010 November 5, 2013

Revised Rhetorical Summary of a Written Text

In the article Playing Video Games May Help Boost Older Brains, published in The Washington Post, Tate Gunnerson makes the argument that playing video games can help people over a certain age optimize their cognitive brain function. Gunnerson says, In fact, when referencing how playing video games improves brain function, The interesting thing is that less than 24 hours of training not only improved mental and cognitive functions, but also enhanced their ability to functions in some other tasks. There was no specification as to what the other tasks referred to in this statement were. Gunnersons argument provides evidence that video games are not just a waste of time and offers specific details on what benefits playing video games can have on an older persons cognitive brain function and also what positive effects it can have on their everyday life. This article comes from the December 11, 2008 publication of The Washington Post, a highly revered and accredited newspaper publication that has been in circulation since the late 1800s. The post has received many top awards in lots of different categories. The post has received many top awards in lots of different categories. The post circulates in Washington D.C and a few surrounding states and is mainly centered around politics and white house news.

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(Wikipedia) However, The Washington Post also has sections that cover sports, cartoons, and it even has a style section. Gunnerson writes this article in an attempt to convince his audience that playing video games can help older people maintain brain function and even in some areas help improve thinking. He mentions in the article that, The research (that came from the study done in the December issue of Psychology and Aging, that Gunnerson refers to), which was not funded by the gaming industry, is the first to indicate that playing video games after receiving training may improve the cognitive functions that typically decline with age. The people that Gunnerson is referring to and the ones participating in the training are people in their 60s and 70s. He then explains to us that playing these video games can help people with aging brains keep their brains ability to function at high levels. Gunnerson is providing here, a foundation for us to go off of by saying that the research done for this study was not funded by the video game industry to promote sales or improve societys outlook on playing video games.

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Works Cited Gunnerson, Tate. Playing Video Games May Boost Older Brains. The Washington Post.11 Dec.2011.Web 12 Oct. 2013. Fram, Allen. Tompson, Trevor. Many Parents Avoid Video Games With Kids NBCnews.com 12 Nov. 2007. Web 12 Oct. 2013. Wikipedia.com. search Washington Post, Web 12 Oct. 2013

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This article speaks from the larger conversation that video games are just a waste of time and have no real benefit to our everyday lives. There is always controversy involving video games. Some arguments have been that parents want their children doing other activities besides playing video games, activities that have some lasting value.(nbcnews par. 2) other discrepancies have been that parents Dont think its good for them, the violence, the obsession. (nbcnews, Par.6) Gunnerson addresses this conflict when he says While a growing number of studies have found that playing video games can be beneficial, experts warn against too much of a good thing, noting that playing video games can be an isolating experience that mitigates other health benefits. Gunnerson is highlighting here how even though a number of studies have been done regarding video games and the results of these studies show that playing video games can in fact be beneficial, there are still those that will find arguments against these ideas. The primary audience for this article could be older people who belong to the age category mentioned earlier who are looking for ways to maintain strong brain function, or are concerned about the declining state of certain brain activity. Others that could be a part of the target audience for this article could include: gamers looking to justify game play, parents looking to find reasons NOT to take their childrens video games away, or even the video game industry that might want to find arguments to help boost game sales. Gunnerson indicates that the main people for his target audience are older people when he states, These are the kind of things that older people do in their everyday lives, so if youre not very good at juggling different tasks it does impact your lifestyle. He is providing an example of one of the many concerns that older people have about their declining brain activity as they age. He later offers a few

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comparisons of things that older people struggle with that a younger person may not even find difficult.

We all want to live a long and healthy life with minimal difficulty. This texts appeal to ethos and addresses the worry that is grounded in the idea that as we get older our brains dont function as well as they once did, that activity is always declining, and it can have a big effect on the condition of life. This article rests on the ethical assumption that we value long and healthy lives full of independence and the functionality of our brains to get us through the day as we age. Other ways that this text might appeal to ethos is our sense of logic and reason. The examples given of the results that Gunnerson has found in his studies and the studies of others mentioned in the article indicates that his argument is founded on well researched evidence.

There are lots of conversations about video games and lots of different arguments to be made for whichever side of the conversation that you sit on. This article simply offers some insight into one side of this ongoing debate about the video game culture. If we gather nothing else from it other than one persons opinion and a few supporting study results, we at least can take from it the peace of mind that if we get old and suddenly find ourselves worried about the state of our brain activity, all we have to do is pick up a joystick ourselves and have some fun.