Running head: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS 1

Rhetorical Analysis:

Crisis on the Rio Grande

by

Dianne C. Betts and Daniel J. Slottje

Amber Najera

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Dr. Vierra

October 16, 2018

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Abstract

The abstract summarizes the contents of your paper. According to the APA 6th, the

abstract contains five elements: (1) problem under investigation; (2) participants or who the

paper focuses on; (3) features of study (what type of research are you doing); (4) findings; and

(5) conclusions and implications. Compose one sentence for each element. Do not spend too

much time on the abstract; the body of your paper deserves 99% of your efforts.
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Rhetorical Analysis

Crisis on the Rio Grande

The use of the three appeals, (ethos, pathos, and logos), will be explored in this essay.

Covino and Jolliffe (1995) argue insist that they have their own opinion on what rhetoric is.

According to Covino and Jolliffe (1995), rhetoric is not an easy term to define. They consider

rhetoric as the study and featuring instead of shaping content. In this case it is used in special-

interest groups. In these groups, certain terms are endorsed while other are ignored. Covino and

Jolliffe define the word text as any instance of spoken or written language that could be

considered in isolation as an entity of its very own. This includes jokes, speeches, chapters, and

even contribution to a conversation. As epistemic art, rhetoric leads auditors to see ‘truth” not as

something that exists in their own minds before communication and not as something existing in

the world that must be reported objectively. These authors effectively used all three rhetorical

appeals within this monograph.

According to Betts and Slottje (1994), the irregular settlements and negative

characteristics that come along with them are caused by the maquiladora industry coming to the

border. The two believe that these problems can be solved by a Free Trade Agreement between

the United States of America and Mexico and also be able to prevent future problems as a result

as well. Within colonias there is a world of hunger, destitution, unemployment, and

despair. Consider the impact that a Free Trade Agreement could have on this specific region and

then suggest more policies that could also help these situations. There are many places one could

research into these suggestions considering there are plenty of genres to investigate.

According to Vierra (2018), genres are a form of writing down information. Your genre

depends on the subject and the audience. The two genres Vierra spoke about were monographs

and anthology. A monograph is a book proving only one thesis written collaboratively by one or
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a few people. An anthropology on the other hand has a single editor but each chapter has his/her

chapter in the book in which they each make their own individual claims. According to Hughes

(2005), genre is the grouping of texts on the basis of formal, thematic, or stylistic criteria (p.

912). He claims genres do not have universal boundaries.

Discussion (2 FULL PAGES)

Audience

Betts is an adjunct assistant professor of economics and history at Southern Methodist

University. Slottje is an associate professor of economics at Southern Methodist University. This

study will interest economists, policy analysts, U.S.-Mexico border region specialists, and

students of the North America Free Trade Agreement. This monograph, although published in

1994 has been used as a reference in works as far back as 1995 and as most recent 2018. Still

used today by the same groups of people proving that some of these ideas did end up working for

the benefit of both countries.

Ethos

In order for a book to be pressed and published by a university, it must go throw an

extended process of being edited many times by many times to ensure the final product is the

best it can be at the time. With Slottje being an associate professor of economics and Betts

adjunct assistant professor of economics and history, one can be assured that the content of this

monograph is not only reliable but also mostly accurate. There are also twelve pages in the

monograph’s bibliography that one can check themselves to ensure there’s accurate information

being provided within the book (p.173-184).

Pathos
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One way to get the reader’s attention that some would even argue is the most affective

would be the pathos appeal. Pathos is the appeal to human emotion in order to sway them in to

believing what the author is trying to prove. Betts and Slottje (1994) speak on the conditions the

average family living in one of the colonias would be. The two claim that these so called

colonias are defined by a few conditions; “substandard housing, inadequate roads and drainage,

and substandard or total lack of water and sewer facilities.” (p. 67). These conditions are

considered much less than comfortable yet they must live in them anyway for the sake of having

a place to live.

Logos

If the pathos appeal is not enough to sway the reader, an author might consider adding the logos

appeal. The appeal to logic is the inclusion of tables, charts, and graphs. This is solid evidence to

back up the claim of the author. There are eleven tables in the first chapter alone (p.8-24). These

tables include information such as population characteristics, overview of households and

families, per capita and median family incomes in the following places: U.S., Texas, Cameron

County, Hidalgo County, Starr County, and Willacy County.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Betts and Slottje (1994) successfully reached their intended audience even

to this day twenty-three years later. This proves that this piece of work is not only reliable but

also relatively timeless in the sense that it will always do its job. Using the three appeals, ethos,

pathos, and logos, Betts and Slottje prove to be intelligent and educated authors. The monograph

in itself is a conversation starter, especially for those that did not know there was a conversation

to begin.
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References

Betts, D. C., & Slottje, D. J. (1994). Crisis on the RIO GRANDE: Poverty, unemployment, and

economic development on the Texas-Mexico border. Boulder; San Francisco; Oxford:

Westview Press.

Covino, W., & Jolliffe, D. (1995). What is rhetoric? In W. Covino, & D. Jolliffe (Eds.),

Rhetoric: Concepts, definition, boundaries (pp. 3-26). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.