Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82

William McAllister

AP English Composition

Ms. Hyatt

September 13, 2012

Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82

John Wilford (2012) in his New York Times article “First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82”

writes about the man who made the “giant leap for mankind” and was the first person to step on

the moon. Wilford (2012) informs the reader that this man, Neil Armstrong died recently and

specifies the cause of death which was “complications resulting from cardiovascular

procedures.” The author likewise provides an account of Neil Armstrong’s life, professional

career, describes his personality and pays a special attention to the historic Apollo 11 space flight

and landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. The article mentions Neil Armstrong’s both

appreciation of privacy and his public expression of his position in matters pertaining to NASA

programs. The article concludes with Armstrong’s family statement, saying encouraging words

during the sad time of experiencing his loss: ”While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we

also celebrate his remarkable life”.

John Wilford wrote this article for a number of purposes. First of all, as this is a

newspaper article, he wrote to inform the reader of the sorrowful news – the death of the

American national hero Neil Armstrong. As he is making the news known, he likewise wants to

remind all reading this article of why this man was so valued by his nation – his historic landing

on the moon together with his co-pilot Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. This is the most well-known part

of his biography. However, the author writes this article also to give a short account of his more

expanded biographic data to help his readers regain the feeling of what kind of personality

Armstrong was, not just his deeds as an astronaut. Finally, the author wants his readers to know

how the public has responded to the news of his death, specifically including the response from

the President Obama.

Looking through the article one can say that the author chose a kind of a “time machine”

method of structuring his article. Wilford jumps back and forth in time, speaking about the

present time, then flashing back to the moon landing, then again to the current response to his

death , then Armstrong’s expanded biography, then again back to the present with his family

statement about his death. Another important aspect is that the author wants to produce various

kinds of evidence to consolidate the information he offers in his article. He accomplishes this by

producing quotes from various sources, like Armstrong’s biographer, his family and even

President Obama himself. This all serves to make the article highly informative, able to connect

the past and the present and pay good honor to the man who, according to the quote by President

Obama, “was among the greatest of American heroes.”

Works Cited

Wilford, John. Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82, New York Times, August

25, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/science/space/neil-armstrong-dies-first-man-on-

moon.html?pagewanted=all