Running Head: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Carolina Alvarado
UTEP
Rhetorical Analysis








2
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
Introduction
Rhetorical analysis is a deep analysis of a piece of material that is meant to be persuasive,
in this case a website. Rhetorical analysis is important to understand because it improves ones
ability to think and write through the purpose of persuading an audience by understanding
someone elses argument. If the argument is not successful in its structure through the use of
ethos, pathos, and logos then its purpose will not be completed. Ethos is defined by the ethical
appeal of the presenter and the credibility they/it holds. Pathos, also important in rhetorical
analysis, is defined by the emotional appeal on the audience that the persuasive material creates.
Logos is then defined by the use of reasoning and logic behind all that is being presented to the
audience. This essay will discuss the rhetorical analysis of a website. The website, seo-usa.org,
states that their philanthropy is to prepare young college students to lead not only in their careers
but as well as in their communities and families. The way that this website is able to achieve
their goal is by providing students the opportunity to intern with big name companies, such as
Goldman, Sachs and Company, through Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO). The SEO
website is successful in persuading their audience, young college students, that this website is the
best way to go when looking for an internship. They do this through their strong use of ethos,
pathos and logos.
Rhetorical Analysis
In rhetorical analysis there is not only ethos logos and pathos, in order to have the
potential to be effective the structure of the rhetoric must also be made up of exigencies, text,
knowing the targeted audience, an author with credibility, and having knowledge of any
constraints and is also influenced by factors that produced the argument. Exigence is the reason
or need of the author to create and deliver the rhetoric. The text is the form in which the rhetoric
3
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
will be delivered to the audience. The audience are the ones that were in the mind of the author
when creating the text and anyone else who may become knowledgeable through the rhetoric.
The author is the creator of the rhetoric and is also responsible of the delivery of the text. Finally,
constraints are anything that may affect the outcome of the rhetoric that the author may have
little control over but can deal with them by addressing the concerns in the delivery of the text in
order to mend the constraints.
SEOs reasoning behind creating this website for young college students, specifically
students majoring in business or any business related major, is to provide us with an opportunity
that will leave doors open for us and solely work to benefit their targeted audience. SEOs
purpose is to specifically convince business majors that interning through this program will
facilitate a future job search. College students suffer because it is difficult to find a full time job
after an internship if we were not properly prepared for the job that we interned for. SEO decided
to fix that problem by giving us the chance to intern through them in a more professional way.
The circumstances that lead to the creation of this website were to improve communication with
college students and make it easier for us to become informed about the opportunities that SEO
has to offer. The text they use in order to accomplish their goal is the website seo-usa.org which
was created by the company itself. The constraints that they have are that students are scared
away from applying to the program because it is difficult to get accepted. Other factors that may
scare the audience away from applying to this program are costs. SEO pays the interns directly
throughout the internship but they leave all financial decisions up to the intern, including where
interns decide to live, food, and transportation. Seo-usa.org deals with this constraint through
their use of logos, ethos, and pathos.
Logos
4
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
One of the best ways that this websites uses logos to persuade their audience that SEO is
the best choice to pick for internships is by showing numbers and percentages. +75% of interns
are offered to come back and work full time for their company after graduation, 90% of scholars
are accepted into highly ranked graduate school and that in the past two years +600 internships
have been provided with more than fifty partners. Logically, young college students that know
about this website can conclude that the numbers show a success of previous students that have
interned through the use of this website. To add to the credibility of these statements more
evidence is provided for the audience to see, for example, in overall average 91.25% of students
that get involved with SEO-USA are successful. The different percentages of success of the
interns are distributed among the success in getting a long term contract with the company they
interned for, graduating with a bachelors in four years, and getting accepted to and graduating
from a top rank graduate school of business.
Ethos
In addition to the credibility of the success rate that the website provides, it also lists the
partnerships that they have with other companies. SEO-USA is partners with over one hundred
companies, big name, successful companies. Some of the companies listed are Xerox
Foundation, Johnson and Johnson, JP Morgan, NBC Universal Inc, Morgan Stanley and
Goldman, Sachs & CO. The ethos that this website uses is the credibility that being partners with
such highly respected big name companies gives SEO. Not only that but state recruiters from
SEO-USA have explained to their targeted audience that this companies continue to be partners
with SEO because each year, they are so pleased to see the professionalism and preparation that
SEO interns have when the internships take place. Just incase that is not enough for the audience
to be persuaded to apply to the program, the website also provides information for SEO-Africa,
5
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
SEO-China, SEO-London, and SEO-Vietnam. By provided this information, SEO-USA is
allowing students to see that they are not only nationally successful but internationally as well,
meaning that they provide more internship opportunities than other companies.
Pathos
In order to connect with the audience emotionally, SEO-USA has alumni share their
testimonies on the website. The testimonies are all videos of the alumni speaking of their
experience interning through SEO. Each testimony varies in the information that is provided for
the audience to see. Some concentrate more on the things they learned throughout the internship,
others on how they grew up and were exposed to real life, and others on the experience of the
internship. Although they all concentrate heavily on one thing or another, they all conclude with
the same ide; that they do not regret interning through SEO because the program prepared them
greatly through training, mentoring, and mixers with professionals in their field of study all
before the actual internship training for their individual companies began. The website also
works with alumni and state recruiters to go speak to students in their universities to speak about
their experience and answer any questions or doubts that future applicants may have. I have been
part of this and heard three alumni speak about their experience interning through SEO, all three
shared the idea that they noticed how much better prepared they were than all the other interns
that were not through SEO and how it was noticeable to the company as well. Overall the
emotions that these testimonies are meant to evoke on the audience are of excitement and
security. As the target audience I can say that when I talked with the alumni and saw some
testimonies my first instinct was to apply begin the application right then and there. I was so
excited by the stories I heard that all I could think about was how happy I would be if I applied
and got accepted into the program. After I calmed down from my excitement I also felt a sense
6
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
of security. This sense of security came from understanding that if I am to become part of this
program and intern through SEO I will have a better shot at having a job offer before graduation,
resulting in me not stressing. The website is successful in evoking these emotions on their
targeted audience by only asking the alumni to speak with sincerity when talking about their
experience and not holding back on what they speak about.
Conclusion
After analyzing all parts if this rhetoric, I have concluded that it is effective. As the exact
audience that this company/website has been created for I have successfully been persuaded into
believing that they are the best company to intern through. Although it is difficult to be accepted,
I believe that this adds to the credibility because of the prestige it has. Unlike other companies
which may advertise that anyone can apply and will get accepted, SEO-USA speaks the truth and
works with the applicants that have been rejected to improve their application for the next year
so that they have a better chance of being accepted. Another reason to add to my being persuaded
by this website is the fact that the internships are paid unlike others. The comparison I have
made between SEO-USA and other interning companies has convinced me, the audience, by 100
percent that SEO-USA is the better choice. The evidence that I was provided with, knowing that
they are partners and are sponsored by more than 100 big shot companies, and being allowed to
speak with alumni about the opportunities that SEO offers is what makes this website a
successful rhetoric. Although I had pervious knowledge of this website, I personally had my
doubts because I thought it was too difficult and out of my reach to be accepted. Now that have
analyzed all parts of this rhetoric, I have more confidence in being accepted, and the doubts that I
still have are not strong enough to scare me away because I believe it is worth trying for, I state
this as the audience.