Time Article Precis

Ashley J. Lewis
Per. 6: AP English Language
March 17, 2009

Rhetorical Précis:
A New Approach to Designing the AIDS Vaccine

The article A New Approach to Designing the AIDS Vaccine by Laura Blue discusses the efforts made by several scientists and researchers to come up with a new and effective vaccine for AIDS by using antibodies naturally produced in the body. Blue investigates the new approach to finding a cure for the growing AIDS epidemic while also exposing a number of the failed attempts at discovering a cure. Through the use of expert opinions and quotes from known researches, statistics, and facts Blue is able to better interpret the ideas that researchers have for designing a new AIDS vaccine. In her article Blue quotes a top researcher at Rockefeller University in New York who studies the antibodies that can possibly help to prevent AIDS; Michel Nussenzweig stated, “It’s the first time that anybody’s really looked at what the antibody response is.” Blue demonstrates the drastic need for an AIDS vaccine when she cites the significantly high number of AIDS cases throughout the world in 2007 alone, “…with some 2.5 million new HIV cases worldwide in 2007, including nearly half a million children.” Blue’s purpose is to spread knowledge about, what appears to be, promising breakthroughs with AIDS. Her audience is comprised of health enthusiasts and people who care about the increasing AIDS epidemic.
Discussion Questions:
Style: Does Blue’s constant use of quotes make the writing appear too filled with face and not enough writing?
Application: Would the general public do anything to possible aid the researchers?