Vilella 1

Maria Villela.

ENGL 115.

Approaches to University Writing.

Professor Beadle.

Project Space Final Essay .

Oct 4, 2021.

Khushi Virval vs Sofie G. L. Hansen

Aristoteles and Plato are two of the greatest figures of Western philosophy in ancient Greece,

together they make amazing discoveries related to philosophy, science, and mathematics. They both have

different perspectives, Plato's philosophy is abstract and ideological, while Aristotle's is observational and

practical. They both disagree in the use of rhetoric, Aristoteles believes that for the use of rhetoric to be

used as an effective communicator, there must be three concepts into consideration; Ethos, Pathos, and

Logos. Today we can understand, compare, use and identify rhetoric, we even used it for our daily life, in

school, work, etc. This helps us to present the most effective arguments while writing. When comparing

two essays it is good to determine which one presents the most effective argument by their use of

rhetorical strategies that will appeal to our emotion, logic, and trust. Sofie G. L. Hansen's essay “Living in

a Science Fiction Reality'' shows a great use of pathos and logos that are similar to Virval, but its

credibility is not as strong as Viral, which makes my Virval essay more effective. The essay by Khushi

Virval, “Curbing the Spread: How LockDowns are Helping” presents the most effective argument by

showing a strong use of rhetoric by applying to our emotions, using logical arguments, but mostly by its

credibility that the text emerges by setting and using more resources that make the essay more trustful.

In the essays, “Curbing the Spread: How LockDowns are Helping” and “Living in a Science

Fiction Reality” we can appreciate the use of Pathos through them, applying to our emotions. Most of the

Pathos in the essays was a constant repetition throughout the texts. We can assume that both essays are
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using pathos at the same level/their argument is equally strong. In Hansen's essay, we can appreciate

pathos when she says "We could reduce the rates of cancer diagnoses, prevent the mental deterioration of

our loved ones," and "can secure the health of our children and grandchildren who might already be

genetically predisposed to terminal diseases such as cancer" (22). The author speaks to our emotions by

making us make connections to our families; a sensitive and strong bond, to feel sympathy, concern,

interest, worry, and even sadness. Through Virval' s essay, we can appreciate pathos when authors refer to

the most recent global pandemic, which is a sensitive topic for all since we all lose something and it

brings us bad memories, especially when referring to the pain of losing lives, death, loved ones and how

we had the power to prevent them. We can appreciate this when he states that " Losing a loved one is one

of the hardest mental traumas one can go through. Losing a loved one suddenly is unimaginably traumatic

and painful "(Virval 22).Both essays have a great use of pathos ,but Virval's essay is still better by

specifying more how the loss of a loved one can affect our emotions ,while Hansen only used the

words,but not explaining more.

Virval's use of logos is more effective than Hansen's because of his logic statements and logical

reasons. Hansen makes good use of Logos by using logic to explain that Genetic engineering is safe, and

is not new and trustworthy. One example is when she said "This way of manipulating human genes would

be very similar to the way we currently improve fresh produce, and it might effectively slow the

progression of certain diseases through generations" (Hansen 22). Her arguments present details or

reference names of fresh products. Khushi makes great use of Logos by using logic to explain how many

lives could have been safe if all countries went to a lockdown and strict norms. Virval uses fact to base his

arguments for example when he says "Irlanda shut down all its bars, restaurants, non-essential businesses,

and banned non-essential travel... Ireland reduced its daily recorded infections to 240 from more than

1,200 in October "(28-29). Both essays showed great use of logical arguments (logos), they both show

logical and great speech from the authors; capable of convincing their audience, but Viral's logic

statements and arguments were based on reasons and real facts that help to show the author knows his

topic.
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The essay that has the strongest use of Ethos is in Khush's essay "Curbing the Spread: How

LockDowns are Helping” the use of Ethos is strong/great by using trustful resources and the use of

personal experience. The author shows a lot of credibility by including details of his resources, like the

number and the name of the article he used, as well as personal experience. For example when the author

mentions " My family back in India shared video clips showing the country’s strict implementation of

lockdown rules"(personal experience)" as well as " Jon Henley’s article “Global Report: Lockdowns Start

to Limit Covid-19 Spread in Europe” in The Guardian states that Germany "(Virval 29); The use of

personal experience gives the readers a way to relate,it give them a feeling of security that someone else

went to this experience which make the article more credible. In Hansen's essay “Living in a Science

Fiction Reality” the use of Ethos is good, but they don't transmit much credibility. Since her statements

can be considered assumptions, they are not backed up with enough resources. A great example is when

Hansen says "We now have technological advancements available to take a more preventative approach.

We have the knowledge as well as the instruments to make taking these steps possible "(22), his

statements are not from a specific source.

In sum of all what I have stated before, both Viral and Hansen's essays are well-formed and

express their author's points efficiently. The use of rhetoric in both is great, Hansen appeals to the viewers

emotions and mind as good as Virval, but her credibility was not as strong. Hansel's statements and

arguments don't transmit much credibility, since her statements can be considered as assumptions, they

are not backed up with enough resources. Meanwhile, Viral shows a lot of credibility by including

personal experience and details of his resources, like the number and the name of the article he used. Even

Though both essays show a great use of rhetorical strategies," Curbing the Spread: How LockDowns are

Helping” by Khushi Virval presents the most effective argument by his stronger use of Ethos.Rhetorical

devices help the writer to make stronger their arguments that help them to better communicate their ideas.

Aristoteles was a great philosopher that believed that rhetoric could have a positive impact on society and

it did. Will he be proud of the impact rhetoric has today ?Will you be able to use rhetoric effectively?.
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Work Cited

Duignan, Brian. “Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?” Britannica,

https://www.britannica.com/story/plato-and-aristotle-how-do-they-differ. Accessed 1 Oct

2021.

Virval, Khushi. "Curbing the Spread: How LockDowns are Helping.” Waves, edited by Amber

Norwood.Accessed 1 Oct 202, pn;22-24.

https://platform.virdocs.com/r/s/0/doc/1982785/sp/250272543/mi/731314857?cfi=%2F4

%2F4%2F2%2C%2F1%3A0%2C%2F1%3A0.

Hansen, Sofie G. L. “Living in a Science Fiction Reality'' Waves, edited by Amber

Norwood,Accessed 1 Oct 2021,pn; 28-30.

https://platform.virdocs.com/r/s/0/doc/1982785/sp/250272543/mi/731314857?cfi=%2F4

%2F4%2F2%2C%2F1%3A0%2C%2F1%3A0