“Trial by Jury Should Be Abolished.” Christie Davies delivers the strongly opinionated purpose of her essay immediately in the title. The author believes that no institution would last if its decisions were made by a jury. She supports this belief by saying that jurors are not actually randomly selected and that jurors make wrong decisions. She also thinks that judge and jury should switch places. The author makes these claims without much factual support to back them up. While the essay may rely mostly on assumptions, it is still interesting and persuasive. Plenty of strengths are applied in this essay with only a few weaknesses. To begin with, Davies uses tone to get the audience on her side. The tone is effusive, angry, and slightly sarcastic.
…show more content…
The author’s credentials are stated below the article. She is a professor of sociology and an author of published books and essays. This establishes credibility, or ethos. Another characteristic of the essay that verifies credibility is the author’s formal diction. The author applies pathos when she testifies, “They are alleged rapists who have been set up by vindictive women whose favors they once enjoyed but later spurned. They are small-businessmen done for ‘serious’ fraud who were quite incapable of keeping one set of account books let alone two. They are all unfashionable little people…” This appeals to the audience’s emotions by making them feel sympathy for the wrongly accused. Aristotle’s appeals validate the essay …show more content…
The author could have employed more facts and examples or personal convictions and stories instead of relying on assumptions and overgeneralizations to strengthen the essay. However, where the facts lacked, there was a surplus of pathos and ethos. The author could have also stated the opposition, but she did a good job of expressing a way to solve the jury challenge. The paper remained engaging and interesting to read. It maintained the reader’s attention and focused on the problem at hand without going off
The author’s credentials are stated below the article. She is a professor of sociology and an author of published books and essays. This establishes credibility, or ethos. Another characteristic of the essay that verifies credibility is the author’s formal diction. The author applies pathos when she testifies, “They are alleged rapists who have been set up by vindictive women whose favors they once enjoyed but later spurned. They are small-businessmen done for ‘serious’ fraud who were quite incapable of keeping one set of account books let alone two. They are all unfashionable little people…” This appeals to the audience’s emotions by making them feel sympathy for the wrongly accused. Aristotle’s appeals validate the essay …show more content…
The author could have employed more facts and examples or personal convictions and stories instead of relying on assumptions and overgeneralizations to strengthen the essay. However, where the facts lacked, there was a surplus of pathos and ethos. The author could have also stated the opposition, but she did a good job of expressing a way to solve the jury challenge. The paper remained engaging and interesting to read. It maintained the reader’s attention and focused on the problem at hand without going off