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Katherine Martinez

Jon Beadle

English 115

10-04-2021

Project Space Essay

Building emotions, credibility, and logical reasoning are all critical factors when

developing an effective and well-written essay. In essence, rhetorical strategies are the key

factors in building a good argument-to convince your audience of your opinion or connecting

your ideas to your audience. In the following two argumentive essays, “Curbing the Spread: How

Lockdowns are Helping” by Khushi Virval and “ Election Reform in the United States” by

Andrew Armitage, both authors implemented a variety of examples regarding rhetorical

strategies, yet it becomes evident how much stronger Armitage’s rhetorical strategies are in terms

of credibility, emotion, and logical reasoning.

In “Election Reform in the United States”, Armitage firmly elucidates his claim referring

to the American Electoral College and its “dire need to reform” due to the fact that it undermines

the popular vote which disregards America’s idea of equality and results in unheard voices. In an

attempt to build a connection with his audience, Armitage appeals to emotion when he conveys,

"In short, it causes unequal treatment in a country where everyone is presumed equal, so it

goes against American values and therefore should be done away with." (Armitage 20)

Armitage strongly builds an instant connection with his audience by mentioning America’s equal

values. Many people come to the United States in search of more opportunities and equality,

Armitage is reminding people that the Electoral College is undermining what they came in
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search for. His use of the rhetorical strategy allows his audience to feel like he understands them

in a more meaningful way. Armitage supports his claim with logical reasoning when he asserts,

"This is discussed in an article published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, where they

describe how “[s]ince Trump was elected, media have been awash in reports of hate incidents

around the nation, including at schools. Some detractors have characterized the reports as

isolated, exaggerated, or even as hoaxes” (Armitage 18) Armitage’s argument involves logical

reasoning which is critical when trying to defend your position about politics and to convince

your audience of your standpoint. Throughout his essay, Armitage employs a lot of factual

evidence which not only builds his credibility but it also helps persuade his audience of his

argument regarding the Electoral College’s need to adjust. Without the use of factual evidence,

Armitage’s essay would come across as a weak argument. Armitage further builds his credibility

through valid evidence when he shares, "There have been five instances in which a Presidential

candidate won the election without the popular vote.. the most memorable of the bunch was

Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, which was awarded even though Hillary Clinton won the

popular vote by almost three million people." (Armitage 18) Credibility allows for the author to

come across as competent and prepared which in fact persuades their audience of their

standpoint. Armitage proves his credibility through his entire essay by mentioning factual

evidence, showing understanding of his text, along with voicing his own opinion about the

evidence. Thus creating a stronger stand and deems himself more trustworthy, in order to get the

point of his argument across.

In “Curbing the Spread: How Lockdowns are Helping” Virval passionately explains the

importance of Covid-19 restrictions. Nonetheless, they explain how lockdowns are more

effective when attempting to decrease Covid-19 case rates. Virval passionately speaks of his
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personal experience when they express, "India implemented strict lockdown rules and focused on

supervision, too. My family back in India shared video clips showing the country’s strict

implementation of lockdown rules, as well as the strict supervision by policemen on the streets.

After lifting off restrictions gradually, India experienced a steep rise in infections." (Virval 29)

The idea of pathos is to build an emotional connection with your audience which can be done in

a variety of different ways. Virval creates an emotional tie with their audience by speaking of

their own life experience with Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns. Through the use of pathos,

Virval is able to gain their audience’s trust being as the audience feels they can relate to the

author’s situation.Without this emotional connection, it can cause the audience to believe that the

argument is somewhat meaningless. Virval supports his argument with logical reasoning when he

adds, "Similarly, as stated in the same article by The Guardian, when Spain implemented

strict restrictions on the operations of bars and restaurants, there was a 6% decrease in

Coronavirus patients in Madrid. As a result, Madrid’s positive test rate declined from 20% to 8%

(Henley)." (Virval 29) Virval uses logos as a rhetorical strategy by using factual evidence to

support their claim about Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns. By using logical reasoning,

Virval is convincing his audience that Covid-19 lockdowns restrictions are necessary to decrease

case rates and help build his credibility. Logos is necessary when constructing an argument as it

strengthens and emphasizes your claim. The author displays their credibility by referring to

sustainable evidence when they explain, "...The Guardian states that Germany began a second

lockdown on November 2. After ten days, Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany’s disease control

agency, said that the curve of the infections was flattening and that he was “cautiously

optimistic.” (Virval 28) Credibility is a critical factor to an argumentative essay due to the fact

that it allows an author’s claim to be considered valid in eyes of the audience. Virval does a
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good job establishing his credibility by demonstrated logic and factual evidence to further

convince his audience of his claim and position.

To bring both essays to comparison, Armitage’s essay is evidently stronger owing to the

fact that they implemented more powerful and meaningful rhetorical strategies, analysis, and

evidence. For instance, Virval utilizes logical strategies very well, yet, Armitage was capable of

creating a stronger use of the rhetorical device in order to get his point across to his audience.

Virval provided sufficient evidence and rhetorical strategies but didn’t build a formal profile

along with a significant connection to his audience. Not to disregard Virval’s argument

nevertheless, Armitage’s argument had a more meaningful impact.

Works Cited

Filbeck, Melissa “Election Reform in the United States” WAVES, edited by Amber Norwood,

4th ed, Macmillan Learning 2021, pg 18-21

Virval, Khushi “Curbing the Spread: How Lockdowns Are Helping ” WAVES, edited by Amber

Norwood, 4th ed, Macmillan Learning 2021, pg 28-30