The United States of America is the only industrialized country that doesn’t provide a public health care option, and so Americans need to find other ways to get their health care. Many get health care benefits from work, and others get it for little to nothing because of their position in the federal government or military. Others may qualify for federally administered health care programs, such as Medicare, which is available to persons aged 65 and over, and Medicaid for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. The rest of the population, however, is stuck paying full costs - 1/6th of Americans have no insurance. It has been estimated how much Americans without health insurance pay per year at 124 billion dollars, which is more than the cost of the Iraq war during a one-year span. This enormous number has resulted in medical debt for many people; 62% of foreclosures in America are a product of medical debt.
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A compelling character arises in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism by being someone who you can someone connect with – either in their characteristics, background or experiences. You have to actually care about the character in order for them to be compelling. For example, in ‘The Covenant’, an article from The New York Times, there are many opportunities for you to make a connection with the main character, Francis Collins – possibly in his religion, his career, his childhood, or maybe his political stances. Even if you are unable to make a specific association, you are still interested because all of these things make for an interesting read.
An attention-grabbing plot in a narrative nonfiction or literary journalism comes from the author knowing his audience, and writing in a way that they will find intriguing and are able to understand. For example, in the article ‘FDA rules won’t require labeling of genetically modified salmon’, from The Washington Post, you find yourself interested because the plot involves something that really affects everyone, and you want to know more about the topic. In addition, he doesn’t write in jargon, but rather in a way that the audience will be able to comprehend.
In order to write an article with non-jargon science, the author has to write in a way that the average reader will be able to understand. This means using terms that the audience would be familiar with, and explaining what various things mean, rather than just assuming the reader will know.
Authors encourage their readers to connect with their stories by, for one, writing about a topic that is both interesting and has something to do with the audience. Readers won’t want to spend their time reading something that they can’t connect with in any way. Another way that connects readers to the author’s story is to have characters that are compelling and relate to the average reader in some way. As I said earlier, if the reader is able to connect themselves to a character in the book, such as though their experiences or personalities, they will find themselves more involved in the writing.
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