For my blog this week I read an article in the New York Times titled “Americans Are Finally Eating Less” written by Margot Sanger. This article discusses the implications of eating less and being healthy. This is such an important topic because obesity has been a large issue that many Americans are faced with for many decades. For this subject, the most prominent use of rhetorical appeals was logos. One of the most persuading points in the first section is “The number of calories that the average American child takes in daily has fallen even more — by at least 9 percent.” This quote proves with statistics that the decline is actually happening. I believe this is more persuasive than just saying the decline is occurring. Along with statistics and facts on the subject, the author also uses graphs to support her argument. Getting a visual representation is very helpful. The graph illustrates the decline of calorie consumption since 2004 among Americas. Another convincing fact that was added to this article is: “By 2003, 60 percent of Americans said they wanted to lose weight, according to Gallup, up from 52 percent in 1990 and 35 percent in the 1950s.” Americans wanting to lose weight is a very important persuasion factor used to promote healthy eating and drinking. This article’s use of logos was very influential and persuasive for the readers.
To learn about the decrease in obesity in America read the article yourself!
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/upshot/americans-are-finally-eating-less.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&abt=0002&abg=1
Alex Stojanoff says
Really interesting topic! I agree with your point of view. You also did a great job of explaining rhetorical appeals used.
dlp5382 says
You did a great job explaining the rhetorical appeals and describing the visuals that were used! It very good to hear that America is starting to eat the right amount! Good work!
cqm5609 says
Really interesting topic. You wouldnt expect Americans to be eating less. Good work doing your research and giving the statistics to really add credibility to the post.
Jenna Costello says
You really displayed logos by showing the facts of the article with the percentages of calorie intake and the poll where Americans said they wanted to lose weight. Great job!