Question

Read the excerpt from Pat Mora’s essay "The Leader in the Mirror."

I began by congratulating the family members and teachers for being steady beacons for those young people. In a society that undervalues families and educators, they had truly lived their commitments.

As I was planning the talk I would give to this group, I wondered how best to create an occasion for reflection. What could I say to the audience about the daily struggle to create a meaningful life?

Which explains why Mora uses two modes of communication?

The reason for both the speech and the essay is to congratulate hardworking students.
The reason for both the speech and the essay is to raise money for underprivileged families.
The reason she writes the speech is to encourage thoughtful reflection, while the reason for her essay is to encourage a larger audience to do the same.
The reason she writes the speech is to celebrate teachers, while the reason for her essay is to share with a larger audience her accomplishments in teaching.

Answer 1

The reason she writes the speech is to encourage thoughtful reflection, while the reason for her essay is to encourage a larger audience to do the same.

Evidence: she’s planning a talk to create “an occasion for reflection,” and the essay lets her share that reflection more widely.