Informal
Writing #5
The two articles that I chose to critique are “I
wasted four years of my life-don’t make the same mistake” by Belinda Parmar, and
“Why Does College Cost So Much—And Why Do So Many Pundits Get It Wrong?” by
Cathy Davidson. These two articles differ in multiple ways especially with the
audiences and the rhetorical appeals. The effectiveness also differs and although
both are successful, one is superior to the other.
The arguments in the first article, “I wasted four
years of my life-don’t make the same mistake” discusses the challenges that a
woman, Belinda Parmar, had with trying to find a job after getting a degree in
French and Spanish. She describes the struggle of finding a job and realizing
that she would have been better off had she been a science or math major. Belinda
believes that this is the best way to be successful in life. The audience that
she is appealing to is women who are trying to be successful in life. She
believes that the only way to be truly successful is by getting a career in the
technical side, not languages or arts. She is empowering woman by showing them
that they can do anything they put their mind to. While she is somewhat
successful in targeting her audience she does alienate them to some extent.
Belinda singles out women who are trying to get a career in languages and arts
and is degrading what they are trying to accomplish. Her take is a bit harsh,
but depending on the woman it may or may not be effective. The rhetorical
appeals that she utilizes more frequently are pathos and ethos. She establishes
herself as a credible woman right in the beginning by discussing her
accomplishments and introducing herself as an artist. By including facts and
statistics she is also trying to attain credibility because she wants the
readers to believe her point of view. In this way she is not using it for
logos, which is where she may fall a bit short. With more facts about women and
the amount of women that find jobs in languages compared to sciences and
technology it would be more effective. Her use of pathos though allows the
readers to feel for her and relate by maybe not getting the job that they had
wanted either. With this being said I feel as though she was effective for the
most part, but could have been even more convincing with more concern with the
rhetorical appeal logos.
The second article, “Why Does College Cost So
Much—And Why Do So Many Pundits Get It Wrong?”, takes a different standpoint on
why colleges cost so much. Unlike in the previous article, the author Cathy
Davidson, utilizes the rhetorical appeals of logos and ethos more frequently
then pathos. She often uses facts and statistics to bolster her points, which
at some points can be a little overwhelming but do appeal to the audience that
is reading the article. The audience that she is appealing to is more general
in anyone that is upset with the cost of college or anyone that is trying to
attend college. She discusses the right fit options based on the amount of money
that you have or the amount of money that you are able to spend on a college
degree. She believes that its not the colleges that are too expensive but the
unreasonable thoughts of those people who cannot afford to go to private or
more expensive universities that are continuing to try. Although she does not
reference pathos nearly as much as in the previous article with Belinda, she
does incorporate it at times. In referencing the cost of pre-schools and
nursing care she states that in California they are more expensive then the
college education and we are willing to pay for those. She again references her
concern with the public not funding education where it leaves those students in
their own states without a school to go to, including community colleges. The
many statistics that she gives demonstrates her knowledge of the topic, which
establishes her credibility but also appeals to logos because of the reasoning
she is giving for her points. This article resonates more
strongly then the other because of the overwhelming amount of information given
about the cost of colleges, although I may be impartial because I disagree with
Belinda about having to go into a career with math and sciences. Wanting to be
an elementary school teacher myself I am somewhat bias towards that aspect, but
I do believe that the second article was more effective and persuasive due to
the extended use of the rhetorical appeals. The way the second article does so
and appeals to the audience is more effective overall and convinces the reader
of her point. In this way I believe the second article is more effective and
persuasive.
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