Non-fiction Response Analysis

1.When she was younger and she was auditioning in Manhattan, after surfacing from the subway her
father would always ask her “Which way is north?”. That seemingly small lesson, is now very valuable
for her because she recently became a mother. With the beginning of her motherhood, she also came to
the realization that the U.S.’s current policy on maternity leave, which entitles women to a 12 weeks’
unpaid leave, is faulty. Every American family is expected to “back to normal” in under three months and
without income, and many go back to work two week after giving birth because they can’t afford it.
Fortunately, the UN can change this for the better if they follow example of the 66 counties already
giving provisions for parental leave.
2.The connections I can make between this text and other text I have read are that America has serious
issues with the policies regarding American jobs and the workers’ rights.
3.The author’s purpose is to inform and describe the problem with the U.S.’s policy on maternity leave
and the possible solutions to it.
4.The audience are the members of the UN, their assistants, and any important politicians.
4a.I know this because she addresses who her audience is before beginning her speech.
4b.The choice of audience affects the text because she appeals to them with intellectual words (jargon)
and she appeals with small stories to the women in her audience so the context of the speech is relatable
to them.
6.The most relevant details that the author uses to argue her position are the statistic of the U.S.’s policy
on maternity leave, and the facts from other nations that have started to better their own policy on
paternity and maternity leave.
6a.The most prevalent in the writing is logos.
6a. “One in four American women go back to work two weeks after giving birth because they can’t afford
to take any more time off than that. 25 percent. Equally disturbing, women who can afford to take the full
12 weeks often don’t because it will mean incurring a “motherhood penalty”— meaning they will be
perceived as less dedicated to their job and will be passed over for promotions and other career
advancement” (Hathaway).
“A study in Sweden showed that every month fathers took paternity leave, the mothers’ income increased
by 6.7 per cent. That’s 6.7 per cent more economic freedom for the whole family”(Hathaway).
“Data from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey shows that most fathers report that they
would work less if it meant that they could spend more time with their children”(Hathaway).
6b. The author exercises her credibility by reminding her audience that she is in iconic and important
figure to the American society for she is a famous actress, but also a mother herself.
7.A possible theme for this text is that the United States policy on maternity leave is wrong and faulty
because it creates stereotypes and it burdens American families.
7a.“One in four American women go back to work two weeks after giving birth because they can’t afford
to take any more time off than that. 25 percent. Equally disturbing, women who can afford to take the full
12 weeks often don’t because it will mean incurring a “motherhood penalty”— meaning they will be
perceived as less dedicated to their job and will be passed over for promotions and other career
advancement” (Hathaway).
“A study in Sweden showed that every month fathers took paternity leave, the mothers’ income increased
by 6.7 per cent. That’s 6.7 per cent more economic freedom for the whole family”(Hathaway).
“Data from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey shows that most fathers report that they
would work less if it meant that they could spend more time with their children”(Hathaway).
8.This text helps me understand the topic this text addresses by giving me facts and statistic on the topic
being addressed and by describing the problems it causes.
9. An element that I might change is the way the author links the beginning to the whole text and try not
to go on tangents.
9a. This might change the meaning of the text because it will capture the audiences’ attention better by
delivering in a clear way that is easy to follow.
10. OPTION 1: Although the U.S’s policy on maternity leave is meant to aid those who have recently
become mothers by giving them a temporary break from the workforce, it is very and helpful and it is
faulty because it creates negative stereotypes on the roles in a family and it urdens American families.
This policy imposes an unneeded economic burden on American families that live from paycheck to
paychecks. “One in four American women go back to work two weeks after giving birth because they
can’t afford to take any more time off than that. 25 percent. Equally disturbing, women who can afford to
take the full 12 weeks often don’t because it will mean incurring a “motherhood penalty”— meaning they
will be perceived as less dedicated to their job and will be passed over for promotions and other career
advancement” (Hathaway). Clearly, the maternity policy that the U.S. enforces only burdens the families
because it forces them to go back to work since they cannot afford to take a break. This policy is wrong
and full of errors should be eliminated, or should be fixed.