Cedar Rapids Gazette contributor Jessie Hellmann, in her article about the Cedar Rapids Prairie bond issue, argues the necessity of the bond issue. Hellmann’s purpose is to inform the readers the issues that are present in the school district and exactly how the bond issue will be used to update those certain areas of need. She uses a serious tone to persuade her readers just how important this issue is. She effectively addresses her audience through her message using pathos, ethos, as well as logos to purvey her argument. With the issue that Hellmann has presented, her target audience is generally for the people that live in the College Community district. However, Hellmann does a good job of using evidence and statistics to inform the people
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There are a lot of ways that Hellmann uses ethos in her argument. One way that she uses ethos was when she incorporated Patti Seda into her argument. Patti Seda is a booster club member at Prairie and has had two children go through the district. She knows a lot about the school and is very intelligent about the topic. She stated that, “‘We’re just running out of space,’ Seda said. ‘It’s 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5-pound bag. You can only do so much. ... It’s just time to spend the money.’” She is appealing here to our ethos because she is stating the motive. The motive in this case is the expansion of the high school. They are running out of space and have to build on to the high school to meet the needs of the increasing population of the high school. She adds earlier in the article that the district is increasing by 100 students per year. She makes it seem like expanding the high school is the only option they have. Hellmann includes the likes of Superintendent John Speer to add to the credibility of her argument. If she didn’t include Mr. Speer in her argument people would dispel this argument because they would question whether or not she is qualified to make these arguments. Although she isn’t an expert in the field, she makes sure to include numerous people are knowledgeable on the topic to benefit her argument. Hellmann, however, is qualified, albeit on a much smaller scale, because she has received her Master’s degree in public affairs. Having a master’s in public affairs means she has training in public policy and the operation of government. Public schools belong to state and federal governments, so her knowledge on this topic is credible. Hellmann has many ethos tactics to persuade her readers into believing her side of the argument. She does an excellent job of providing credible sources to help her argument as well having a solid background on the
There are a lot of ways that Hellmann uses ethos in her argument. One way that she uses ethos was when she incorporated Patti Seda into her argument. Patti Seda is a booster club member at Prairie and has had two children go through the district. She knows a lot about the school and is very intelligent about the topic. She stated that, “‘We’re just running out of space,’ Seda said. ‘It’s 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5-pound bag. You can only do so much. ... It’s just time to spend the money.’” She is appealing here to our ethos because she is stating the motive. The motive in this case is the expansion of the high school. They are running out of space and have to build on to the high school to meet the needs of the increasing population of the high school. She adds earlier in the article that the district is increasing by 100 students per year. She makes it seem like expanding the high school is the only option they have. Hellmann includes the likes of Superintendent John Speer to add to the credibility of her argument. If she didn’t include Mr. Speer in her argument people would dispel this argument because they would question whether or not she is qualified to make these arguments. Although she isn’t an expert in the field, she makes sure to include numerous people are knowledgeable on the topic to benefit her argument. Hellmann, however, is qualified, albeit on a much smaller scale, because she has received her Master’s degree in public affairs. Having a master’s in public affairs means she has training in public policy and the operation of government. Public schools belong to state and federal governments, so her knowledge on this topic is credible. Hellmann has many ethos tactics to persuade her readers into believing her side of the argument. She does an excellent job of providing credible sources to help her argument as well having a solid background on the