Andraea Capers

Professor Jamie Burgess

UWRIT 1101
October 17th 2014

Rhetorical Analysis
I choose to analyze an article from the U.S Green Building council describing a school in
India that has achieved LEED EB Platinum. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design. It is a system set in place by the U.S Green Building Council in the
efforts to promote sustainable design. LEED can be achievable by anyone as there are many
levels starting at the bronze level and ending at the highest level, Platinum. A familiar aspect of
LEED is the Energy Star rating system which can be recognized on household items such as
your refrigerator (blue sticker with a star). Pathway school Gurgaon in India is an institution that
is the highest rated in the world. It was constructed using traditional Indian architecture and only
native materials were used.
I would describe the genre to be a call to action. The article is set up in a way that
it almost gives a suggestion to build using greener products and techniques. At Pathways we
believe that being an education institution, apart from imparting good all around education, it is
our duty to educate children about sustainability and creating a better world tomorrow. And
what better way than to help them experience and live a sustainable life? In this quote extracted

from the article, the author uses language such as we believe, and its our duty to back up the
reason they choose to reach for LEED platinum level.
The format of the article is pretty generic. It has a title, picture, author, date, and where it
was posted. Within the article there are in text citations and also some statistics. The title is in big
bold letters and catches your eye immediately. It also isnt vague as soon as you read the title
you know the main idea of the whole piece. I feel this is a good skill because with informational
articles people want to know exactly what youre researching. In addition, the article includes an
attention grabbing picture of the subject. It isnt too big so it does not overwhelm the page and it
is centered so it is one of the first things you notice. The other small details such as the author
and date are placed directly in between the title and the picture which is ideal because you dont
have to hunt for that information.
The primary audience for the article in my opinion would be LEED enthusiast, people
who deal with the topic on a day to day basis. From my experience interning with the USGBCNC chapter, I know that those involved with LEED are constantly reporting events such as the
one I am analyzing, and reporting them at gatherings such as a luncheon. LEED to them another
primary audience would be schools all around the world, not only because the article is
highlighting a school, but because the USGBC constantly holds events promoting the association
with sustainable design and schools. Both audiences Ive described to be primary because these
are people who are knowledgeable about LEED certification. Anyone without a background or
association would probably not willingly research sustainable design.
The purpose for the primary audiences is to encourage and inform. I say encourage
because the article was written in a way that was exploiting and accomplishment without
boasting. The language used was very open and welcoming almost as if the writer wanted to
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allow anyone to join the journey in sustainable design. In fact, language such as we believe
and game changer were used which are very inviting terms.
Two secondary audiences Ive created were architects and architectural/ engineering
students. Ive came to this conclusion because architects are active and architectural/ engineering
students are soon to be active. Architects are our designers. They are the ones who create and
map out what buildings and homes should look like, and how big a project should be. Most
importantly, they decide what materials should be used and how the construction should be
executed. If sustainable design is their forte or area of interest they are going to want to know
whats big and how to achieve it as well. They want to know how to mimic such an
accomplishment in their own work. Architectural/ engineering students constantly have projects
either designing on a computer or building a scale model of something. In some cases they are
told to take a project, renovate it, and make it green (I know from experience).
I would define the purpose for the audiences described to be to inform. Both Architects
and students could use such an article as a research mechanism. They can also utilize the article
as a road map in their own design.
A tertiary audience I would attribute to this article is anyone who stumbles upon the
article while doing an internet search or someone who was looking to make their home more
sustainable. This group would be anyone who has not heard of LEED or vaguely know of it.
The purpose of the article for them would be to give an example of what LEED can do.
It can also be an example of how attainable LEED certification is.
All and all this article is an easy read. It is not full of language and statistics that would
make it hard to understand. The article is very brief and concise which makes it an easy read but
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does not lack any information. The article almost acts as a testimony inviting others to jump on
the bandwagon of LEED certification. Instead of bragging of the accomplishment made by those
who built the school in India, it uses language that is very inviting and realistic. It is also is very
informative without being dry. By dry I mean it isnt drawn out with statistics and technical
terms that only a few in a related profession would understand.

Work cited
"India and the First LEED EB Platinum K-12 School: Pathways School Gurgaon." U.S. Green
Building Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.