Reaching for the Right Answer

Authors

Hannah Gaitan, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Department or School

Science and Mathematics

Essay Genre

Argument

Instructor's Note

When writing an argument, students often believe contention or even aggression are required, but good rhetorical strategy requires the opposite. It requires knowing exactly who one’s audience is and discerning ways to create unity with the audience, fostering respect, before accentuating differences. Aristotle identified this as an art – the art of persuasion – to be practiced and finessed, as opposed to verbal mud slinging. In this very well written argument, who do you think Hannah Gaitan’s audience is? What strategies does she use to create unity and show respect for her audience. Can you point to specific word choices that achieve artful persuasion?

Copyright

© 2015 Hannah Gaitan. All rights reserved

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

About the Author

Hannah Gaitan is a second-year Pre-veterinary Medicine major from Boulder, Colorado. Hannah enjoys scientific writing, specifically dealing with animals, but finds creative writing and poetry to be difficult. She spends most of her time, however, studying for her classes and gaining hands on experience in the field of veterinary medicine. Her hobbies include equestrian sports, running, and hiking. She also enjoys hanging out with her family, boyfriend, and black lab, Buddy.

Recommended Citation

Gaitan, Hannah (2015) "Reaching for the Right Answer," The Idea of an Essay: Vol. 2, Article 13.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/idea_of_an_essay/vol2/iss1/13