Ohaya 1

Vanessa Ohaya

Professor Granillo

English 101

26 September 2018

Analysis of Exotic Fruit

The use of Rhetoric in an argumentative essay holds a huge importance in trying to

persuade the audience. Rhetoric such as ethos, pathos, and logos is so much more than really

strange names that sort of sound like a name for a really exotic fruit. Each type of rhetoric

appeals to the audience differently and collectively as a means to strengthen a proposed

argument. Each Rhetorical Strategy has its own job and importance. Ethos is the ethical value

that a person may have that could have sparked the argument in the first place. Pathos is the

emotions that the speaker exudes to make the argument more relatable and Logos is the

evidence, such as: data, statistics, and quotes that help build the argument as well. An article

written by Gabriela Moro called “Minority Student Clubs: Segregation or Integration?”,

discusses the disadvantages of race related clubs and how they could be harming students instead

of aiding individuals, specifically students, feel more inclusive. This article explains how cultural

and minority student organizations have become an important factor in schools as a way to build

a comfortable environment for students. But the the author explains that on the other hand, clubs

like this could also serve as a disadvantage. Moro states that minority student clubs can help as

well as hinder students. The speaker uses the rhetorical modes, logos, ethos and pathos in order

to provide reasoning for the main idea that these clubs are belittling diverse interactions within

the school.
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Attending a school with a variety of students from different backgrounds gives the author

a clear motivation for this topic​.​Gabriela Moro attended the University of Notre Dame where she

was required to write a persuasive essay. The author was inspired by her racially and culturally

diverse student body. Another motivation is the fact that many schools are presented to an

assortment of racial backgrounds and culture. For example, Gabriela Moro, in her article, “

Minority Student Clubs: Segregation or Integration?,” explains how many schools have made it

more of a priority to create an environment where students feel more comfortable around similar

peers. In the first paragraph of Moro’s article she states that, “Minority representation on United

States college campuses has increased significantly in recent years… schools prepare students

for a diverse democratic society”(269). Being that the author’s first year of college was spent at

such a diverse school shows that a racially diverse campus was the focus which makes the

speaker a primary source and therefore reliable. Lastly, another motivation could be the current

racial tensions that are present in the United States. This article was published in 2015, which

was not too far from when the present United States president was running for office. During this

time, many issues of discrimination and self-segregation were being shown in the media which

could also be a motive for this article. Not only does the author's personal experience help build

her credibility but so does the author's credentials.

The Author's credentials also builds her credibility as well. Gabriella Moro is a

pre-health and neuroscience major. “Fresh Writing; An interacting archive of exemplary first

year writing projects,” states that Moro’s research paper was “ inspired by her experience as a

first year college student exposed to both minority and multicultural student clubs”(Moro 259). It

is evident that essay writing is one of Moro’s specialties due to the fact that one of her essays
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was previewed on such a website. Moro is an exceptional writer with first hand experience of

racially exclusive. Though the reader is not professionally pursuing essay writing, it is apparent

that she excels in that particular ability. The authors motivation branches off of the personal

experience that comes with attending a school such as her own. The educational environment

had a huge influence on the content of her article. Her values and ideals with promoting diversity

builds her argument.

The author uses ethos in order to expand on her argument to her advantage. Moro states

that, “ minority groups can lead to self- segregation and that is what most universities claim to be

their diversity goals” (Moro 270). This shows that the author believes that although minority

based groups do create a comfortable environment, they also promote a seperation of races. The

speaker believes that creating clubs that consists of majority of the same race is also a way to

“enrich an educational experience” (Moro 276). The author uses ethical values in her argument

in order to build the argument but she also has a lot to improve on when using ethos.

Though the speaker utilizes ethos to her advantage, the main argument would have made

more of an impact to the audience if her values were obvious and not hidden within the article.

Rather than including the “they say, I say” she only states the “ they say” without really

including any clear argument (Moro 269). In order to make an argument stronger it is important

to include commentary. The author does not effectively utilize that. She only includes her own

commentary in the introduction which does not properly illustrate her point of view. Being able

to include ethos also helps to make the argument more personal. This could help give the

audience the assumption that the main argument is significant to the speaker.
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To build the argument’s significance and credibility the author also uses logos

effectively. Throughout the article, the author includes various reliable outside sources to prove

her point. She does an amazing job of this. Moro’s ability to use various articles and sources

adds more credibility to her argument. For example, the speaker states,” To frame my discussion,

I will use an article from ​College Student Journal​” (Moro 270). Moro uses other sources and

testimonials that assist her in proving her point to the audience. Another example of this is the

evidence that she pulls out from multiple studies. Each paragraph begins a new point and in each

point another study or article is used to her advantage. Not only does the author pull information

from scholars and professors but she also gets supporting claims from members of her age group.

Three students from Harvard University also assisted her with proving her point (Moro 272). She

appeals to her targeted audience (college students) by including arguments presented by other

college students. This makes it possible for members inside of her age group to relate more.

Another example of logos is the author's ability to tie all her sources back to her central argument

within her article. For example the author clearly states that “These findings indicate that

minority students can be helpful to those who have not previously engaged with other minority

student clubs”( Moro 272). Every example that the author uses connects back to the central idea

that minority student clubs are indeed helpful. All the evidence that is used in the article helps

build the argument more. The author makes use of the outside information that was gathered and

makes sure that the audience recognizes the reliable sources used in order to increase her

credibility.

The author incorporporated commentary and analysis done by actual students. Which

helps the readers to sort of get the authors point of view. Given the fact that the author is also a
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college students. This serves as a primary source and this also helps the reader to understand the

argument through the authors eyes. Though Moro purposely refrains from adding her own

opinion into the argument the inclusions of other college students allows for a more personal

stance on the particular argument. For example on page 272, she includes commentary about the

issue form three students at Harvard College. These students briefly explain how they prefer

having clubs like this on their campuses and how it is beneficial to them. A student names

Delgado explains, “ I missed speaking Spanish and I missed having tacos, and other things like

that,” this is an example of students who need to feel inclusive in a campus filled with a plethora

of different cultures ( Moro 272). The author does a great job of including sources from people

her age to create an emotional appeal for the essay.

The author does an exceptional job of arguing that minority based student clubs are

promoting self-segregation but nonetheless it can still help create a more comfortable

environment for students. In an environment where there are many different backgrounds and

cultures, it may come to feel is if representation is lacking in that particular school. In order to

state this the author uses ethos by stating her beliefs in the first paragraph of the article. She

clearly states that minority based clubs are both positive and negative towards students. The

author includes pathos by stating the motivation which ties to the current racial tensions that are

occuring in the United States whilst including real college student opinions into her essay. The

author also Utilizes logos to her advantage, by including multiple outside sources and statistics in

order to make her argument more reliable for the readers.

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Works cited

Moro, Gabriela. “Minority Student Clubs: Segregation or Integration”. ​Fresh Writing: An

​ niversity of Notre
interactive Archive of Exemplary First- Year Writing Projects, U

Dame. ​They Say, I say, ​NORTON, 4th Edition, New York/ London.