Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions"

In this post, I will analyze the article "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions" for appeal to credibility, appeal to emotion, and appeal to logic.

Appeal to Credibility and Character:

Acknowledges the counter arguments: This is one of the biggest things gives this article credibility. The article talks about different view points from all the perspectives rather than trying to convince the audience of just one view.

Tone: The tone of this article is very professional and knowledgeable. This increases the credibility because we know the way they think by the way they portray themselves as the author of the article.

Visual Arrangements: The author chose to use the white space to make the article easily skimmable. But he also used it to break it up into sections to help readers understand.

The layout of this article, the tone and overall writing is mainly what gives this article credibility. Because the author is not specifically listed, they chose not to give personal stories which in turn took away some character. But, the Associated Press is a credibly news company that is committed to honest new stories, which gives the article more credibility.

Jordan, Bri. Screenshot of WSJ on my computer. 10/2/2015

Appeal to Emotion:

Shocking Statistics: There are some stats that the author uses to emphasize the relevance of the story, like "A full-time worker in New York making minimum wage now can gross $18,000 a year. That's not enough to support a family, Cuomo argues, sketching out "typical" costs of $11,000 for housing, $9,000 for food and $6,000 for clothing.."

Repetition of relevant words: The word workers is a really key word in this article because it represents a side of the argument. The author chooses to use this word all throughout the text.

Again because there is no specific author listed, it was hard for them to tell personal stories. But, the statistics that the author chose to use really helps the audience understand the side of the worker and sympathize with them. I think it is effective to stir up emotion within someone because they are able to relate. 

Appeal to Logic:

Statistics: Once again, these stats really help appeal to the logic side as well. An example of another stat that appeals to logic is, "A $15 minimum wage equates to roughly $31,000 a year — or a raise of roughly $13,000 a year." 

Effective organization of text: The organization of this article really helps the appeal to logic. The clear sections help the audience to follow easily. The sections also help the text to flow easier. 

I think that the appeal to logic is done tactfully. I think that it is done better than any of the other sections even. It properly implies what the author is trying to say and relays it well. 


Reflection:

I read through Casey and Alex's posts on rhetorical strategies. They both laid their posts out completely different than mine. They way theirs was laid out was a lot more in depth and thorough. I feel like mine was hard to do because my author wasn't actually named. It also made it hard because the author wasn't taking an actual definite position but rather explaining the different perspectivese of the discussion of minimum wage.