Joel Stein is the author of an article about society’s views on millennials entitled “Millennials: The New Greatest Generation” which is featured in Time magazine in 2013. Stein argues how millennials will be the change the future needs and express his unwavering belief in them as a generation. In his attempt to persuade his readers, he makes cruel generalizations about the peer group saying that they are “lazy, entitled, selfish, and shallow” (Stein 28).Stein uses rhetorical strategies called pathos and ethos to help him effectively write this article. Pathos is the use of emotion to persuade readers while ethos is used to prove the credibility of the persuader. Stein’s purpose for writing the article is to persuade his audience that millennials are in fact innovative, creative, and inspired. Through his organization, use of rhetorical statements, and facts and opinions, Stein’s article is ultimately effective in persuading his readers his point of view on millennials. Stein's organization of his article helped pull his audience and lock them into the article. He begins his article with his counterargument. In the article, he emphasizes his abundant stream of evidence: “I have studies! I have statistics! I have quotes from respected academics! Unlike my parents, my grandparents and my great grandparents, I have proof” (28). He uses this statement to reassure his readers that his assertions are authentic. Introducing his counterargument in the beginning of the article captured the attention of many including the most dissimilar of the generations: the millennials and the baby boomers. Capturing his audience attention with his counterargument allowed him to hold their attention until he voiced his true purpose of the article. Choosing to reveal his real argument at the end of the article helps to leave an impact on his readers persuading them not only with facts and statistics but with what can be argued to be the most important, emotion. In addition to organization, Stein frequently uses rhetorical scenarios and examples to be persuade his readers and prompt them to think about what the author is saying more deeply.
…show more content…
A rhetorical statement or scenario is used to reiterate an author's point or get readers to think deeply about a situation. For example, he states in his article, “Now imagine being used to that technology your whole life and having to sit through algebra” (Stein 32). This rhetorical statement forces both his audience and each generation before millennials to think about how different they would have acted if they had unlimited access to the kind of technology that this generation has now. Stein continues by saying later in his work how he has been constantly calling millennials lazy throughout the entire article but then he says how he was “supposed to finish this article nearly a year ago”(Stein 30). This statement makes the readers think about how maybe millennials and the generations complaining about millennials really are not that different. Stein also suggests how “Yes they check their phones during class but think about how long you can stand in line without looking at your phone” (32). This statement is another instance of a rhetorical statement to convince his readers of his purpose.. Including rhetorical statements adds overall success and influence on his readers' to view millennials the way he does. To develop more credibility with him and his argument Stein offers up many
A rhetorical statement or scenario is used to reiterate an author's point or get readers to think deeply about a situation. For example, he states in his article, “Now imagine being used to that technology your whole life and having to sit through algebra” (Stein 32). This rhetorical statement forces both his audience and each generation before millennials to think about how different they would have acted if they had unlimited access to the kind of technology that this generation has now. Stein continues by saying later in his work how he has been constantly calling millennials lazy throughout the entire article but then he says how he was “supposed to finish this article nearly a year ago”(Stein 30). This statement makes the readers think about how maybe millennials and the generations complaining about millennials really are not that different. Stein also suggests how “Yes they check their phones during class but think about how long you can stand in line without looking at your phone” (32). This statement is another instance of a rhetorical statement to convince his readers of his purpose.. Including rhetorical statements adds overall success and influence on his readers' to view millennials the way he does. To develop more credibility with him and his argument Stein offers up many