Ayleana Crabtree Mr. Salow English 11 9th January, 2017 Big Outline Thesis: Any person who has ever tried to win an argument understands that the best way to persuade their listeners is by using extensive logic, emotional appeal, credibility, or a combination of the three.
Hadderman, Margaret. "School Choice. Trends and Issues.", 2002.
First Point: This document was very logos heavy, used very little pathos, and had strong ethos due to credible sources. First Sub-point: This descriptive report was very logos heavy, providing quotes and statistics from previous school-choice studies. The author used very little pathos in her writing, relying mostly on solid facts and persuasion through her word choice. Her constant reference to past studies made her argument more credible and her opinions really struck home with every added statistic. Evidence: parents reasons [behind school-choice] fell into five broad categories: educational philosophy, a childs special needs, school climate, family lifestyle/parenting philosophy, and religion and ethics (Hadderman 63). Interpretation: The report went into great detail about each of the points listed in this quote, so I felt
Crabtree 2 that it was a good example of the organization and confidence that the author had in her argument. Lips, Dan, and Evan Feinberg. "Homeschooling: A Growing Option in American Education. Backgrounder. No. 2122." Heritage Foundation, 2008. Second Point: This article was mainly guided by statistics, but it also utilized small amounts of pathos when explaining the views of parents on their childrens education. Second Sub-point: Logos was an important aspect of this article because it constantly referred to previous studies, which increased its credibility in the readers eyes. It tried to play off of the readers emotions so that they may feel more persuaded to sympathize with one side of the argument more than the other. Appealing to the reader through fact was the main method this author used. Evidence: many of Americas founders were educated at home, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson (Lips 2). Interpretation: As said above, this article mainly tried to appeal to the reader through fact, so information like what is provided in this quote were the strong points of the authors argument. The article later went on to discuss how traditional schooling eroded the foundation of home education, so I felt that it was obvious that these two ideas were placed near each other to convince readers of homeschooling superiority.
Crabtree 3 Noel, Amber, Patrick Stark, and Jeremy Redford. "Parent and Family Involvement in Education, from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012. First Look. NCES 2013028." National Center for Education Statistics, 2013. Third Point: This article included numerous, rather sketchy attempts at logos that was backed by an incessant use of pathos. Third Sub-point: The author was obviously trying to appeal through emotion and almost sounded whiny at certain points. The paper lacked credibility; an allegation would be made, but no evidence would be presented to back it up. Pathos was of course the major tool used here because the article only stressed the concerns that adults have with traditional schooling instead of explaining the basis for said concerns. Evidence: ninety-one percent of homeschooled students had parents with major concerns about the environment of alternative schooling (Noel 14). Interpretation: While statistics are a good argumentative tool, this author failed to explain where her statistics came from and instead focused on the emotional side of her argument. Evidence 2: under demanding (Noel 53). Interpretation 2: This statement was in reference to public schooling, but this only hurt the authors argument because it lacked any sort of basis and no evidence was offered up to justify her point.
Crabtree 4 Ray, Brian D. "Research Facts on Homeschooling." National Home Education Research Institute, 2015. Fourth Point: Although just a short summary, this report was packed full of logos and ethos that were both stressed skillfully. Fourth Sub-point: Confidence in delivery affected the authors credibility greatly and showed his passion for his work. He had a blunt and straightforward way of informing readers that got his point across swiftly. All statistics were reported clearly and in a serious manner. All in all, his confidence was hard to ignore, and it helped his argument greatly. Evidence: typically above average, on measures of social, emotional, and psychological development (Ray 2). Interpretation: This quote was in reference to homeschooled students and based on all of the other indisputable facts presented in the summary, it was easy to believe. The authors direct and confident nature proved ethos to be an effective argumentative tool.
Ray, Brian D. "Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics." HSLDA, 2009. Fifth Point: Strong use of logos and highly credible delivery that made for excellent ethos. Heavy ethos and steady doses of logos are what defined this article. Fifth Sub-point: This article was based around a single study that the author conducted himself. The study was explained in great detail, which increased its reliability when compared to other articles on the same topic. He
Crabtree 5 described how each statistic was gathered, had confidence in his findings, and had a genuine argument. Evidence: homeschoolers scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests (Ray 4). Interpretation: I chose this specific statistic because its origin was discussed in detail, and this gave it value in my eyes. This authors argument could only be described as authentic, and each of his findings were carefully outlined.
Sorey, Kellie, and Molly H. Duggan. "Homeschoolers Entering Community Colleges:
Perceptions of Admission Officers." Journal of College Admission, vol. 200, 2008, pp. 22-28. Sixth Point: This article had a good mixture of logos, ethos, and pathos. It discussed the success rates of homeschooled children entering higher education (college). Sixth Sub-point: Logos was present when actual statistics and concerns from colleges were presented to the readers and then explained thoroughly. Including the sources for each major concern was a good use of ethos, and pathos was included when explaining the stress that homeschooled students experience when applying to college. The combination of these three tools did an excellent job of persuading readers. Evidence: the prevalence of homeschoolers attempting to enter higher education is escalating (Sorey 2). Interpretation: I included this quote because it was followed by a lot of pathos as the author outlined the difficulties that many homeschooled children have when trying
Crabtree 6 to apply for colleges while also using logos to explain the concerns that many colleges have with accepting homeschooled students.
