Rhetorical Analysis
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- Date Submitted: 04/22/2015 04:53 PM
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Christina McCollum
English 1900
February 4, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis of What is it About Pit Bulls?
Writer, Rose Frosek, in her article in “Modern Dog” magazine, discusses many of what she feels are common misconceptions about the pit bull breed. She does this in an attempt to alter the public opinion on these “frequently misunderstood dogs” (2). Throughout the article she uses a critical yet informal tone to address the general public and to get them to grasp the idea that there is more to the breed than what is portrayed in the media.
The article opens with Frosek clarifying that there is no such thing as an actual pit bull breed. She states, “‘Pit Bull’ is, in fact, a loose term for many distinct “bully” breed dogs, such as the American Staffordshire Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier” (1). The author then uses inductive reasoning to appeal to the readers’ logos (reason or logic). To put it briefly, a temperament test was performed on dogs of all different kinds of breeds with all different sorts of reputations. This test is commonly given to see if a dog is ready for adoption or not. “While the average score of the 231 breeds tested was a mere 82.4 percent, Pit Bulls scored a 86.5 percent” (1). The results of this particular experiment leads to the belief that out of all of the breeds tested, a pit bull performed better than the average dog. She appeals to the audience’s sense of reason this early in the reading in order to establish a basis for opposing the popular fallacy of pits being the most aggressive of all the dogs breed. Using facts in this article becomes a beneficial tactic to Frosek because it creates an opportunity for her to continue to challenge any other negative opinions about the dogs.
Following this, the author utilizes the use of an anecdote to show the transformation of the pit bulls that were involved in the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal. As Frosek puts it,...
English 1900
February 4, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis of What is it About Pit Bulls?
Writer, Rose Frosek, in her article in “Modern Dog” magazine, discusses many of what she feels are common misconceptions about the pit bull breed. She does this in an attempt to alter the public opinion on these “frequently misunderstood dogs” (2). Throughout the article she uses a critical yet informal tone to address the general public and to get them to grasp the idea that there is more to the breed than what is portrayed in the media.
The article opens with Frosek clarifying that there is no such thing as an actual pit bull breed. She states, “‘Pit Bull’ is, in fact, a loose term for many distinct “bully” breed dogs, such as the American Staffordshire Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier” (1). The author then uses inductive reasoning to appeal to the readers’ logos (reason or logic). To put it briefly, a temperament test was performed on dogs of all different kinds of breeds with all different sorts of reputations. This test is commonly given to see if a dog is ready for adoption or not. “While the average score of the 231 breeds tested was a mere 82.4 percent, Pit Bulls scored a 86.5 percent” (1). The results of this particular experiment leads to the belief that out of all of the breeds tested, a pit bull performed better than the average dog. She appeals to the audience’s sense of reason this early in the reading in order to establish a basis for opposing the popular fallacy of pits being the most aggressive of all the dogs breed. Using facts in this article becomes a beneficial tactic to Frosek because it creates an opportunity for her to continue to challenge any other negative opinions about the dogs.
Following this, the author utilizes the use of an anecdote to show the transformation of the pit bulls that were involved in the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal. As Frosek puts it,...