Running head: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Rhetorical Analysis on The WIC Program: Trends

Carolina Rojas
University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Through out the years WIC has shown improvement in the health of women and their
children. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
is a program that provides federal grants to States for supplement foods, health care referrals, and
nutrition education. It is intended for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum
women and their infants up to the age of five who show to be at a nutrition risk. WIC has become
one of the central components of the Nations food assistance system and is the countrys third
largest food and nutrition program. The program goes through many important changes as it
continuous to develop. Victor Oliveira, Elizabeth Racine, Jennifer Olmsted, and Linda M. Ghelfi
are the writers of this article. They provide the reader with valuable information about the WIC
program. This rhetorical analysis on the WIC program includes logos, ethos, and pathos, and
who the article pertains too and is intended for.
The authors use logos through out the article by using facts and statistics to support their
claims on the WIC program. They provide the audience with information as to who is eligible for
it, what the program offers, and how the program operates. They use facts collected from sources
and their research to give logical information. For example, the authors state that the WIC
program offers three types of benefits to the participants, which are supplement food packages,
nutrition education, and referrals to health care and social services. Supplement food packages
are high in nutrition that participants may lack and result in health problems. According to
Oliveira, Racine, Olmsted, and Ghlefi, (2002) the food packages are chosen for their broad
cultural and ethnic appeal, commercial availability, versatility in preparation and use, and
administrative feasibility (p. 3), but they are not intentional to meet the total nutritional needs.
They provide a table titled WIC food packages that shows how much food and the type of food
each of the participants receive, for example an infant of four to twelve months would receive

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

403 fl oz. and 96 fl. oz. The packages are custom-made to the specific need of the participants
and WIC regulations specify the maximum quantities of supplemental foods given to
participants. Oliveira et al., (2002) also provide information on Nutrition education and how
local agencies are required to offer participants at least two nutrition education sessions during
each 6-month period in either an individual or group setting (p. 4). Referrals to health care and
social services also play an important role in the program such as the food stamps program,
Medicaid, and immunization programs. These benefits assure good health care and nutrition for
the mothers and their children during critical times of growth and development.
The authors display ethos in the article as well because they are qualified and have
focused their career on food assistance and nutrition. One of the authors, Victor Oliveira, is the
Assistant Deputy Director for Program Research and Information in the Food Economics
Division. He also conducts research on many food assistance issues. He is given a lot of
credibility by his background and especially since his primary focus has always been the WIC
program. Another author, Elizabeth Racine, is a registered Dietician whose research interest has
been maternal health, child health, breastfeeding, nutrition and food assistance. She has also
evaluated many programs and published other articles, which give her credibility in writing and
evaluating WIC. The article is published from the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) which is credible source who is responsible for developing and carrying out policies on
agriculture, farming, and food. This makes the reader feel comfortable and more likely to believe
what the article is stating. Most of the statements the authors make were by gaining information
from the WIC program itself. The article contains tables and graphs that gather information and
trends by evaluating the WIC program and its participants. This helps the reader see that the

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

evidence and facts were not just created out of nowhere but were actually taken from the
program and the people that are enrolled in it.
The article does provide pathos but not much since it is mostly to inform the reader about
WIC. The authors did not want to convince the audience by making them feel or empathize with
them but instead just provide them with facts and credible information. One of the few times the
authors do use pathos is on the first page of the article and it is expressed with pictures. The
pictures appeal to emotion of the reader because they show a mom taking care of her baby and
another mom buying healthy foods. This would create an emotional response to moms and make
them think about their childs nutrition which would then make them want to learn more about
what the WIC program can offer. Oliveira et al., (2002) use pathos at the beginning of the article
by stating The mission of (WIC) is to safeguard the health of low income women, infants,
and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk (p. 1), this would invoke emotion,
especially to mothers because the authors are saying that this program will protect not only them
but their child from any issues they might face during their growth and development years.
However, the rest of the article consisted of logos and ethos.
The intended audience for this article is low-income women who are pregnant or have a
child. This article is for those women that know they cannot provide all the nutrients to their
child and themselves to be able to grow healthy together. The article provides those women with
much information about the program to learn more about it, how it works, who is eligible, and
what it can provide for them. This article may also be intended for families, not just mothers.
However, this article is very informative and it may be for the whole public who may have
question about WIC and simply just want to know what the program is about.

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

The authors of this article did a great job of explaining and evaluating the Special
Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children. It has credible sources that
support their information. This article gives an overview of WIC and how it is designed to help
low-income mothers and their infants to not have to worry about being in nutritional risk.
Mothers who are interested in joining the program would gain a lot of knowledge about WIC by
reading this article and help them decide if they want or are eligible to become a part of WIC.
The authors, Victor Oliveira, Elizabeth Racine, Jennifer Olmsted, and Linda M. Ghelfi use their
research, information, and understanding of WIC to be able to write this article.

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6
References

Oliveira, V. , Racine, E. , Olmsted, J. , Ghelfi, L. M. (2002). The WIC Program:

Background, Trends, and Issues. United States Department of
Agriculture. Retrieved from
http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/327957/fanrr27_1_.pdf

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Choice of subject:
a) My subject does match the assignment because I analyzed the article I chose and
identified the logos, pathos, and ethos in the article.
b) The thesis is clear but I do not mention my main points that I write about. I need to go
back and rewrite my thesis.
c) There is a title that is appropriate, but I feel that is could be a little more specific on
what the article is focusing on.
Thought and interpretation:
a) I feel that my paper is a discussion of my topic and that I analyzed it instead of just
putting quotes with no purpose.
b) I thought that the article was effective especially to the intended audience which I
described in my essay.
c) In this paper I did not offer my point of view because the guidelines said to remain
objective.
d) Since I did not state my point of view I could not differ it from the point of views
held by other writers.
Use of material:
a) I am sure all the quotations I mentioned are accurate and when I would paraphrase I
made sure I rewrote the information correctly and accurate.
b) I am sure my references are accurate.
c) The paper does not contain a bibliography; it was not part of the assignment.
d) Yes, my documentation is in the proper form which is APA format, with in-text
citations, and a reference page.
Organization:
a) I think my introduction prepares the readers for what is to come but it does not get
their attention right away. I have to work on my introduction in order for it to flow
and get the readers attention right away.
b) My paragraphs are not too short; I think they are an appropriate length. They are also
coherent and well-developed.
c) The paragraphs do follow the preceding one with good transitions, they dont jump
from one topic to another.
d) My conclusion is relevant to my introduction paragraph and the rest of the body
paragraphs by restating what I wrote about.
Style:
a) I think that my word choice is precise but could use little work to make the sentences
flow. My word choice is sometimes dull also.
b) Each sentence is clear and effective but some may include grammatical errors that can
make the sentences hard to understand.
c) Most of my sentences are lengthy that include important information.

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Spelling, punctuation and mechanics:

a) My paper is neat and legible and has the adequate margins and appropriate numbers
and headings.
b) Yes, spelling and capitalization are accurate and consistent.
c) I do read my paper over and over to find and correct punctuation and sentence errors.
I probably still have some errors that I need to fix.
d) Yes, direct quotes are properly introduced and spaces and punctuated.