Bellybutton Lint

“The demographics of newspapers readership are more than discouraging for the industry. Young people, simply put, are not reading the newspaper as much as their parents or grandparents did – and the numbers keep declining with each new generation. One study found that in 1972 a majority of the people in every age group above the age of 30 read a newspaper every day; three decades later, in 2002, daily newspaper reader were in the majority only among people in their late 50s or older.”

This paragraph equally demonstrates usage of pathos, logos, and ethos. The very first paragraph very distinctly directs the reader emotions of discouragement and distress. It adds emphasis on the emotion with the phrase “more than discouraging”. By doing this it points out just the deep level of discouragement involved. The next sentence is a simple fact of the issue at hand, but by adding the phrase “simply put” it adds credibility to the author. It does this by emphasizing the point that the author isn’t just concerned about facts, but shows that the author is concerned about the audience, enough to paraphrase the detailed facts and explanations. The last paragraph talks about a study conducted and the results of the study. By referencing this study, it builds the author’s credibility because of the acknowledgment of a bigger source. But also be referencing this study, it builds the logical argument of the issue by addressing straight statistics.

The first sentence references a current state of time. In doing this, it creates the level of importance of the issue as being urgent and current. With the discussion of the study, it talks about the decreasing readership as a process over time, which builds the pressing urgency of the issue. By doing these things, the paragraph creates a strong level of kairos.

Filed under: English 150, Rhetorical Analysis on April 8th, 2007