ENG-105
May 8th, 2016
Rhetorical Analysis of a Public Document
The Centers for Disease Control, or CDC for short, is an agency that is associated with the United States’ federal government with the mission of helping to protect Americans from “health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.” (Mission, Role and Pledge, 2014). This mission also encompasses educating all Americans about diseases and disorders. The public website about ADHD is used to inform the public about this disorder, and uses the three rhetorical appeals introduced by Aristotle of logos, ethos and pathos to persuade the audience about the information being presented about ADHD.
Logos is the Greek word for “word”, and is the rhetorical appeal which aims to persuade the audience’s powers of reason and logic (Ethos Logos Pathos: The 3 Modes of Persuasion, n.d.). In this aspect, the document contains a clear and logical organization of the evidence supporting the different aspects of ADHD, starting with a concise introduction and continuing on with the different signs and symptoms, how the disease is diagnosed and ending with the current treatment options that are generally accepted in the medical community. Another example of the use of logic and reason is contained within the section that discusses causes of ADHD. The author details the information that is currently available from the research that has been so far, noting that there is no definite link to the exact cause(s) of the disorder. It then goes further to describe that there is a belief that there is a genetic link, and because there have been twins that both have similar genes and have had this disorder, that the logic helps support the concept that genetics play a role in the disorder. (Facts About ADHD, 2016)
Ethos is derived from the Greek word for “character” and is the word that is the basis for the English term “ethic” (Edlund,...