Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "Arne Duncan blasts House effort to revise No Child Left Behind"

In the blog post below, I will be looking specifically into how my article uses an appeal to several different rhetorical areas to influence its audience, as well as analyze how those appeals reflect on the author and their purpose. This will be done by referencing A Students Guide and going further how the information applies to the article.

Appeals to Character and Credibility

Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Credibility and Character (Ethos)" on page 182 can you recognize in your text?

•   Reference to Credible Sources

•   Tone

•   Word Choice

•   Author Reputation

How and why would the author(s) use these strategies?

         Reference to Credible Sources: The author is addressing a topic that requires specific insight in order for the readers believe the information. While the author does not go into extreme detail in regards to a large portion of this information, it provides the reader with numerous hyperlinks to many credible sources, which provide more specifics.

       

       Tone: The author uses a rather harsh tone to convey her frustration regarding the state in which the education system is in. The tone frequently switches between critical and condescending to analytical. These shift convey a feeling of passion, as well as credibility in regards to the subject. 

       Word Choice: Similar to tone, the word choice wanes between critical and analytical to generate an urgent feeling of frustration from the reader. The word choice does have a tendency to slip into informality, but that only servers to enhance the authors passion regarding the subject. 

       Author Reputation: The author does not allude to their own credibility much, but they do provide the reader with a description of their subject of writing and Emma Brown frequently writes about student and teacher rights, the state of the education system, and politics surrounding education, making her a very credible source.   

How do these strategies affect the audience’s perception of the author's/authors' credibility and character?

The strategies are very convincing of the author’s credibility. They demonstrate a level of confidence and composure that make the readers comfortable with trusting the information they are presenting and the claims they are making.

How does the use of these strategies impact the effectiveness of the text’s overall message?

These strategies are very effective in validating its argument. The author uses the strategies above to present themselves as someone the reader can trust to provide with credible, valid information. The message of the text regarding the presence and importance of the inequality in education becomes much more convincing based on how credible and reliable the author presents herself.

Does/do the author(s) seem to have any biases or assumptions that might impact their credibility?

The largest biased that is apparent in the article is that the author is evidentially liberal, based on their response to Duncan and their agreement to his argument. However, this does not impact their credibility very much since it does not inhibit their ability to make valid arguments or disregard the opposition.

Appeals to Emotion

Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)" on pages 182-3 can you recognize in your text?

• Repetition of Key Words 

What emotional responses is the author attempting to create?

                 Repetition of Key Words: The phrase inequality and privilege is repeated in an effort to create a response of frustration to the situation from the reader. The word loss is also heavily focused on to emphasize the severity of the negative effects of the current legislation. 

What is the actual result?

                 Repetition of Key Words: This strategy does well to accurately do what it set out to do and gets the reader thinking about the unfairness and irrational of the situation, creating frustration and desire for change. 

Are these emotions effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?

The article is not heavily reliant on pathos due to the nature of the topic. Political discussions try to avoid relying on emotion to stimulate their readers because it seems invalid. The few instances the author uses pathos, they do so in a very composed, thoughtful manner that makes it seem like they are not driven by emotion, which is what makes it successful in this situation. Duncan's address itself does play more toward emotion, but that is expected from a quoting source. 

How do these emotional appeals affect the credibility of the author(s) or the logic of the text?

As I mentioned above, the author avoided pathos. This ensures that their credibility is not heavily questioned based on relying too much on emotion.  

Appeal to Logic

Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Logic or Rational Decision Making (Logos)" on page 183 can you recognize in your text?

• Statistics
• Interviews
• Arrangement of Images for Emphasis

What response is the author attempting to create by employing these strategies?

Statistics: Statistics are used as a means of bringing to light several extremely pressing issues with modern legislation and to fill the reader with frustration and concern regarding the loss that will be suffered by underprivileged school systems based on where the system is heading. 

Interviews: The Arne Duncan speech used by the author throughout the article is meant to be both an argument in it of itself, as well as a point of argument for the author. There are also several additional interviews provided that allow the reader to see a more analytical take on the issue, which makes the arguments of the author all the more convincing. 

Arrangement of Images for Emphasis: There are several images used throughout the article which contain statistics and these are placed in the center of the document very blatantly to emphasize the issue of funding inequality in a very in-your-face way and what the school systems stand to lose. 

What is the actual result?

Statistics: The statistics are presented well and convincingly, but the author occasionally relies too much on those provided by Duncan in is speech, rather than producing their own.  

Interviews: The author does well to include Duncan's speech and their own opinion in the text,

however, they occasionally fall back on the speech and fail to elaborate on its details. 

Screenshot "Article Graph" 10/13/15 via Washington Post

Arrangement of Images for Emphasis: The image is very striking in regards to its presence in the article. However, it does lose some of its impact based on the fact that it is somewhat unclear to read. 

Are these strategies effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?

These strategies are very effective for this audience because it is important for political debates to reply primarily on logic to convince the readers of the audience. The audience is looking for clarity and fact in order to form a conclusion for themselves or even begin to think about believing the authors claims. This author does a great job of relying on logic to convince their points.