"Are You My Cousin?"
In Jacobs' article, the author writes with casual diction through his use of average-level vocabulary and a witty tone, appealing to the average reader interested in reading an entertaining piece. Jacobs discusses the expanding World Family Tree, with nearly 75 million family members, while also hinting on his upcoming global family reunion. Jacobs is obviously very emotionally attached to the topics described in the article because of his personal connection to the topics, by making the tree more widely known and creating the Global Family Reunion. He constantly brings readers into that personal connection by describing the family tree and adjoining reunion as, "It's not really my tree. It's our tree" (Page 1) and repeatedly addressing readers as follows, "And that means, my cousin" (5). The quotes demonstrate, in a subtle way, how Jacobs is in favor of the tree and wants readers to join in on it too. Jacobs advocates for the World Family Tree and Global Family Reunion frequently, even listing the pros of the tree and refuting the cons. It is very apparent that Jacobs forms a witty tone throughout most of his articles in order to lighten the mood and get his point across, shown on Page 3: "Look! Jackson Pollock is just 26 links away. And here's my fellow writer Saul Bellow , only 22 steps removed." Overall, Jacobs' comical tone and casual diction add to his strong emotional attachment to the topics in the article to convince readers to join the World Family Tree and attend the Global Family Reunion.