preview

Rhetorical Analysis Of Divorce

Decent Essays

Divorce is an unfortunate event for any family, especially those which have children. ”Currently, about 46 percent of all marriages are projected to end in divorce” (953). It is slowly becoming considered more, and more normal everyday. In the article “Strengthening marriage is an appropriate social policy goal”, Paul R. Amato discusses how government funded programs are crucial to the stability of a healthy marriage, and how this further contributes to the upbringing of a healthy, functioning child. Frank F. Furstenberg then presents a counter-argument in response to Amato’s article. While both Amato’s and Furstenberg’s articles use logos as their main rhetorical appeal, Amato also uses pathos to strengthen his argument and persuade his …show more content…

He doesn’t believe Amato is wrong, he just believes there are more things that Amato could have considered, which is true. Looking beyond the obvious, there are so many situations that these programs could be applied to. Specifically, although Amato’s article is organized into clear points, it is missing an introduction and has a weak thesis statement. He opens his writing by simply stating exactly what the topic of his essay is and how he is going to organize it. “I believe that government involvement in the promotion of healthy marriage is a good idea. My position is based on five points” (952). This is an ineffective thesis and introduction because it is lacking a “why” statement. It doesn’t allow the reader access to any background information about the topic; the reader is therefore unprepared for what they are about to read. Amato also uses a five point method to organize his writing (five individual paragraphs with each their own title). This is helpful for the reader because of how weak the introduction is. Despite the organization of his writing, only the last three points are relevant to his argument. The first two points are explaining the effects of unhealthy marriage on children, and the commonality of divorce in the US,

Get Access