Last Tuesday I turned in my first essay for ERH-102. Within this essay, I talked about two different articles with opposing views on abortion. Instead of talking about which view was in my opinion better, I wrote about the rhetorical devices used to convey the arguments. Writing this paper taught me a lot about which questions need to be answered when an author uses ethos, pathos, or logos. The author uses those rhetorical devices for a reason, writing the paper allowed me to dig deep into the article and understand why the author chose to use them. Also, each rhetorical device portray some sort of effect on the audience. It might have a different effect on one type of audience vs another. When authors write they have a specific audience so in my paper I learn to identify how he is trying to make that specific audience feel.

From this paper, I also learned when you should add your own opinion and when you should not. This specific paper called for only the rhetorical strategies that each author uses. Therefore, personal opinions were not necessary and would cause a distraction from the paper itself. I realized that not added your own opinion seems much easier than it really is. However, this paper allowed me to gain knowledge on how to keep it out of my writing. Finally, I learned how to be “fair” to an author. In my paper I used “baby” or “fetus” depending on how the author uses it. This allows my word choice to be fair to the author when describing her opinion. Overall, this essay taught me a lot about use of rhetorical devices, opinion usage, and fairness.

1. Yes, i agree that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report do keep their audiences up to date with important news. Although these shows are not what someone would first think of as a source of national news but they both do well to provide the significant events happening around the country. Both shows want to make there views understand the national news but also make them enjoy and laugh about it. Most views would not find traffic accidents interesting or important to there knowledge. Therefore, they only focus on the biggest topics in the news to grab all of their viewers attention.
2. Reading the news rhetorically means to read a persuasive piece of writing and then being able to understand the other side of the argument. To make this case he uses the satire portrayed on the shows. The use of satire allows the framed news to be completely opened and showcased. The Daily Show may use satire by exaggerating one side of the argument, by doing this views realize how one sided they are making the argument and come to the conclusion that there are two obvious sides. This is persuasive because he uses examples from the shows that he has already mentioned.

To make my doubting paper persuasive, I need to include both sides of the argument. The argument will have the most strength if i present both sides of the argument and then show how the side I doubt is better. My rhetorical aim is to use as many examples out of my articles as i possibly can. The use of examples allows for concrete details and will allow the audience to better understand the subject. Also, I want to show the tone of each article. The tone conveys how the author wants the subject to be seen. Therefore, it is important to use the authors tone as one of the rhetorical effects.

1. What makes the first summary unfair? How can you tell? – The first summary is unfair because of the language the author uses to describe her and her views. He begins his summary with calling the article a “biased” article. In the first few words of the summary he has already taken an unfair stance, he does not even try to give Turner’s opinion a chance. Also, he does not give a single unbiased opinion about Lisa Turner, every sentence in the summary is derogatory.
2. What strategies does the writer use to make the opposing view seem weak and flawed? In the fair summary how is the view made strong and clear?- The author uses a lot of harsh diction to make Turner’s view weak and flawed. He says, “lacking scientific understanding” and “misinformed attacks” to make her argument seems like it has to truth whatsoever. In the fair summary, his use of diction changes the way a reader might feel about Turners argument. He says, “health food advocate” to describe Turner. By giving Turner a neutral title that shows her line of work, he is being fair to her argument. He shows that she is a reliable source which makes her argument seem strong and clear.
3. In the unfair summary, how does the writer attack turners motives and credentials? How does the writer treat turner differently in the fair summary?- In the unfair summary, the writer attacks turners motives and credentials. He calls her a natural food huckster, basically calling what she does as a profession, a fake and unneeded job. He also attacks her motives by exaggerating her claims to show that genetically modified food is bad. In the fair summary, the writer simply gives the details and facts about Turners argument on genetically modified food. The writer does not show his stance or add an details on how he feels about the argument.
4. Do you agree with our view that arguments are more persuasive if the writer summarizes opposing views fairly rather than unfairly? Yes, arguments are more persuasive when the writer is fair. This is because if you give too much of your own opinion and use harsh language the reader will know that the writing is completely bias. Also, the argument will be confusing, the reader will not be able to see the strengths or weaknesses of the argument.

Section 1:

-use of ethos as she includes a quote from Goodman

-introduction into topic

-thesis statement that conveys parts of the essay

Section 2:

-develops the thesis in each body paragraph

-gives specific details

-looks at both sides of the argument

-conveys the result of strategies that she uses

Section 3:

-Universal idea of Goodmans article

-how it affects the readers

Thesis Statement:

-analyzes the overall argument of the article

-he does not take a stand on either side of the argument

-there is room to explore the thesis, it is not too broad or too specific