Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "Print Thyself"

In this post, I will analyze this text's appeals to credibility, emotion, and logic. I will identify the instances of these rhetorical strategies and analyze the effectiveness of these strategies.

Jordan, Brett, "Rhetorical (1 of 2)." 07/08/11 via Flickr. Attribution License.

Appeals to Credibility or Character

1. Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Credibility and Character (Ethos)" on page 182 can you recognize in your text?

• Personal stories: The author uses several personal stories, either from his own experience or from other experts' experiences, to show the usefulness of 3-D printing technology in medicine. For instance, the author writes, "In my lab, for example, I study endothelial cells, which line the insides of our veins, arteries, and capillaries" (para. 14). The author goes on to write about how 3-D printing is applicable in his own field, thus giving a personal story to add to his credibility.
• References to credible sources: The author references credible sources such as Jennifer Lewis, a materials scientist at Harvard.
• Word choice: The author uses just enough formal and scientific diction to make him seem informed about the topic. For example, he writes, "Sickle-cell anemia is caused by a single, shape-altering gene mutation" (para. 15). 
• Author's public image: The author is a reputable medical writer and researcher, and he uses his reputation and expertise to add to his credibility.  
• Information about author's expertise: The author cites his own research in the text. 
• Appeals to values or beliefs shared by the audience: The author alludes to a shared desire for treatment and progress within the medical field. 

2. How and why would the author(s) use these strategies?

The author might use these strategies to appeal to the audience's esteem for authority. By establishing himself as an authoritative figure, and by citing other well-respected individuals in the field, the audience might be more prone to listen and be persuaded by what the author has to say.

3. How do these strategies affect the audience’s perception of the author's/authors' credibility and character?

These strategies cause the audience to perceive the author as a more credible, well informed individual. His use of credible argumentative strategies make him seem to be a reputable individual who is worth listening to throughout the article.

4. How does the use of these strategies impact the effectiveness of the text’s overall message?

The use of these strategies strengthens the overall message of the text. By building the author's credibility, the argument seems to be more credible. This causes the overall message and purpose of the text to appear strong and well-supported.

5. Does/do the author(s) seem to have any biases or assumptions that might impact their credibility?

The author does seem to be biased in favor of this medical technology, and this could undermine his credibility. He seems to hold the assumption that 3-D printing can only advance and better the medical field, and he does not even address the opposing ethical and safety concerns that accompany the use of this technology.

Appeals to Emotion

1. Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)" on pages 182-3 can you recognize in your text?

• Personal stories or other emotionally compelling narratives: The author uses a series of narratives that are often personal and emotionally appealing. For instance, the author begins the article by speaking of "an unusual operation on a three-month-old boy" (para. 1). This narrative is emotionally compelling and personal, so it appeals to the audience's emotions.
• Repetition of key words: The author does repeat words such as "challenge" and "achievement" periodically throughout the text.

2. What emotional responses is the author attempting to create?

By using these appeals to emotion, the author attempts to create an emotional response in favor of the 3-D printing technology used in medicine. While the author does not use a lot of pathos, the emotional anecdotes he tells are meant to sway the audience's opinions.

3. What is the actual result?

The author does cause the audience to empathize with the anecdotes he tells to a certain extent. However, these narratives, while they are compelling, are perhaps not as emotional as he intended them to be. They do not have a powerful emotional impact, causing the emotional appeal to not be very compelling.

4. Are these emotions effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?

These emotions are effective to a certain extent. They do make the text more personally appealing, which could help the audience empathize with the topic more. However, the audience most likely consists of people who are scientifically inclined, either because they work in the field or they are interested in it. Because of this, the emotions might only be effective to some extent, as this audience might be looking for more of a factually based argument.

5. How do these emotional appeals affect the credibility of the author(s) or the logic of the text?

These emotional appeals might, if anything, decrease the credibility of the author in this context. It makes it seem as though the author has to use appeals to emotion in place of a factual argument, and this might be looked down upon by this particular audience. However, because the emotional appeals aren't used too often, it does not affect the logic of the text too much.

Appeals to Logic

1. Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Logic or Rational Decision Making (Logos)" on page 183 can you recognize in your text?

• Historical records: The author makes some references to the history of this technology, and this might be used as an appeal to logic. For instance, he writes, "The first microscopes were invented in the sixteenth century, around the time of the invention of the telescope."
• Interviews or expert opinions: The author does cite several experts' opinions, such as that of Jennifer Lewis, a materials scientist at Harvard. 
• Effective organization of sentences, paragraphs, ideas, images, etc.: The author's ideas seem to logically lead to one another, which increases the organization of the text.
• Clear transitions between sections of text: While the author doesn't use subheadings, he subtly changes the font of the first letter of the first word of each section. This hints that a new section is beginning, and aids the transition between sections of text.

2. What response is the author attempting to create by employing these strategies?

The author is attempting appeal to the rational sides of his audience. By using these strategies, he is trying to demonstrate that the use of 3-D technology logically makes sense in the field of medicine.

3. What is the actual result?

The author is mostly successful in using these strategies, since his evidence seems to show that this technology is logical. The only aspect of his logical appeal that might undermine his argument is that he does not offer any statistics to support his opinion. Rather, he cites case studies, which, while effective, might not be as effective as the use of statistics.

4 Are these strategies effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?

These strategies are effective for this audience, since the audience is again composed of people who are interested in the field or science and medicine, or are a part of it. These types of people are often affected by appeals to logic, so these strategies are effective in this case.

Reflection

After reading Evan's and Chelsea's posts, I feel that I was able to reflect on my own analysis more clearly. Evan briefly touched on each of the rhetorical strategies, but I would have been interested in some more specific examples of how his text used these strategies. Chelsea's analysis was very well developed, and it sounds like she gave each of the strategies a lot of thought. It was interesting to see that her text seemed to use each strategy equally.

Overall, I feel that my own analysis was relatively well developed. It might have been beneficial for me to go into more detail on how useful and effective each strategy was, so this is something I will keep in mind as I continue to work on this project.