Writing derives from a variation of styles and many author’s have their own approach to writing; in order for the author to better his/her own skills, it is helpful to analyze the writing skills of others, paying specific attention to ethos, logos, pathos, and style. This allows the writer to develop his/her own writing, often making the piece sound more knowledgeable. Seeking out rhetoric when reading will help the reader not only in their writing, but in numerous everyday situations as well. Rhetoric is persuasive speech that is used in most conversations. Robert Kaplan, a contributing editor for Atlantic Monthly, wrote an article detailing the stark contrasts between America and Mexico. His feature “The Rusted Iron Curtain” focuses specifically
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Often language and formality differs depending on the target audience. When writing this article, Kaplan has his particular audience in mind and his writing style and language work accordingly, reflecting the ethos. Since his audience is all Americans, when writing, he includes himself saying “Our appetite for drugs may be turning this ancient non-Western civilization, into an amoral yet dynamic beast of the twenty-first century.” By including himself as a part of the audience using the word “our”, Kaplan is able to bond better with his audience. He includes himself a few more times, using “We” and “Our” again. Using himself as both the author and the reader is a good method in his writing because it appeals to the reader’s feelings, instead of singling him/her out he incorporates himself with them. This is ethos because ethos shows the authors respect for his audience through the language he uses and the way he presents his evidence to the readers. We can use his writing as an example of how to set up our argument to appeal to our target audience when writing or …show more content…
The accounts he shares are often powerful and emotional which appeals to the pathos as well. Kaplan does this to evoke a response in his readers, so that through his examples, they can use imagery to connect the article to their own lives. By using strong emotionally loaded language as he does when discussing the payment of Mexican laborers, who make our microwaves, televisions, clothing and other everyday items, writing, “They earn three to five dollars a day- not an hour but a day!” He uses an example that we can all connect to as earning American citizens, we have minimum wage, the state is required to pay us at least $7.25 an hour, while over in Mexico the laborers are earning less than that in a whole day. Through examples such as this, Kaplan is able to get his point across to the reader with greater
Often language and formality differs depending on the target audience. When writing this article, Kaplan has his particular audience in mind and his writing style and language work accordingly, reflecting the ethos. Since his audience is all Americans, when writing, he includes himself saying “Our appetite for drugs may be turning this ancient non-Western civilization, into an amoral yet dynamic beast of the twenty-first century.” By including himself as a part of the audience using the word “our”, Kaplan is able to bond better with his audience. He includes himself a few more times, using “We” and “Our” again. Using himself as both the author and the reader is a good method in his writing because it appeals to the reader’s feelings, instead of singling him/her out he incorporates himself with them. This is ethos because ethos shows the authors respect for his audience through the language he uses and the way he presents his evidence to the readers. We can use his writing as an example of how to set up our argument to appeal to our target audience when writing or …show more content…
The accounts he shares are often powerful and emotional which appeals to the pathos as well. Kaplan does this to evoke a response in his readers, so that through his examples, they can use imagery to connect the article to their own lives. By using strong emotionally loaded language as he does when discussing the payment of Mexican laborers, who make our microwaves, televisions, clothing and other everyday items, writing, “They earn three to five dollars a day- not an hour but a day!” He uses an example that we can all connect to as earning American citizens, we have minimum wage, the state is required to pay us at least $7.25 an hour, while over in Mexico the laborers are earning less than that in a whole day. Through examples such as this, Kaplan is able to get his point across to the reader with greater