Reading Analysis - using Ethos; Pathos and Logos

Homework Should Be Banned

Persuasive Reading Analysis:

Take another look at the persuasive piece of reading/ writing.

What strategies does the author use to try to persuade you?

Below are strategies writers often use for this form of writing.  Read through each

strategy and decide whether the author used that strategy by writing yes or no in the second column. If you write yes, then explain how the author used that strategy.

Persuasive strategy	Yes / No	How the author used it?
Claim – States the main   point or stance	Yes	The writer’s main idea is about persuading the reader to agree with his statement, ‘Little kids get way too much homework’
Big Names –  Mentions experts and important people to support the argument	No
Logos – Uses logic, numbers, or   facts to support the argument	Yes	While the writer feels that children’s fitness levels are not what they could be due to reduced opportunity for play, he does not include research information to back up this idea. But he also has another powerful argument that can back his argument up which says “Homework is hideously difficult to complete for many kids therefore they need help from the teacher and lots of resources which they can’t get at home”.
Pathos – Appeals to the audience’s emotions	Yes	The author thinks about all the other kids in the schools/classes but also the parents of those children.    He looks at the topic of homework for small children from the perspective of both child and parents. The statement  ‘homework should be banned in primary schools!’ is a powerful opinion given.
Ethos – Tries to build trust and credibility	No
Kairos – Builds a sense of urgency   for the cause	Yes	The author made a good statement saying that some kids might not have the supplies they need to have for their homework given to them many kids therefore they need help from the teacher and lots of resources which they can’t get at home”.
Research – Uses studies and   information to make the   argument seem more convincing;   this can be in the form of words, graphs, tables, or illustrations	No