Running Head: RETHORICAL ANALYSIS

Rhetorical Analysis
Julio C. Jaramillo
University of Texas at El Paso

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Rhetorical Analysis
The audience, a purpose, and the issue are the main components of a rhetorical situation
that help one dissolve an article to fully analyze the authors work. For example to fully analyze
an article such as Food provision and the nutritional implications of food choices made by
young adult males, in a young offenders' institution by Anita Eves, one must utilize the
rhetorical strategies to understand authors Intentions. These strategies help one break down the
article to find authors credibility and also who is the intended audience. Finding the logo, ethos,
and pathos help the topic of food nutrition in prisons help the audience become more engaged
with reading the article.
The article by Anita Eves, explained an investigation of the nutrition value the food
young individuals were consuming in a correction facility. Eves performed a study on several
inmates in a course of a one week period. Throughout her research she focused on studying the
inmates diet and the menu the prison kitchen provided for the inmates. The author focused on an
investigation of nutrition, vitamin, sodium and many other components of nutrients to see if they
surpassed the required amount each individual must consume. Also how nutritious foods replace
fattening meals that also affect inmates way of acting.
The title of this journal made it really simple for me as the reader, to come up with an
idea of what the article was going to talk about. The author wrote about the topic of food, and the
components of nutrition in correctional facilities, and the complications that occur due to this
problem. This article is a journal concerning health and nutrition inside a prison. The text
contained some specialized characteristics such as charts explaining vitamins, acids, and other
nutrient components. All these charts can be referred as a type of specialized language
intentionally used by the author. The types of lexis used in this text make this article unique and

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

simpler to catch my attention. The text overall was written a purpose and that was to go in detail
about nutrition inside the prison.
With the used of specialized vocabulary the author gave me some clues on who was the
intended audience for this text. Overall it was more convincing that the author made this text for
people who are concerned with nutrition and health. However subject matter experts such as
nutritionist can be also interested in reading this type of article. Also inmates or their families
concerned with their nutrition can also be interested in becoming more knowledgeable on
nutrition inside prisons. The audience also helped me identify what the authors purpose was and
how he tried to communicate it to its readers. For example the authors purpose was to create an
analysis to prove how the diet of an individual affected him/her inside of prison. According to
Eves (2003) in a study of which the current study forms part, found a 37% reduction in serious
offences amongst young offenders who received dietary supplements (containing vitamins,
minerals and essential fatty acids) whereas those receiving placebos remained within standard
error (did not change). (pg168) This proves how this study can explain how improved diets in
prison menus can improve inmates behavior and the decisions they make.
This article lacked the necessary amount of information that explained authors
background or profession. However she provided legitimate contact information that can help us
come in contact for maybe more facts and what not. However this article was published by The
British Dietetic Association which is a credible source to get information dealing with nutrition.
The author also acknowledged an organization that helped with founding for this research. I felt
that the lack of background information can affect the authors ethos in establishing credibility to
convince his audience of this purpose he is trying to achieve with this paper.

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Overall the author made a great work in the use of logos in the article by having well
organized information. The author used facts and information supporting her research from
previous studies done by other subject matter experts. The author also used charts with
information of nutrient components making it simple to comprehend. I felt that the author used
pathos in some sort of tricky way trying for her audience to emotionally appeal to the text but to
the inmates who were part of the research. I felt that the author tried to make connection between
the audience and his research to create an emotional appeal towards the inmates. I felt that this
would support her research trying to prove how inmates nutrition does really affect the decisions
they make. Some of the limitations the author could had dealt with could have been time and
access restrictions. This could be due to the fact that she is conducting research in a prison and
time is a huge factor that can affect the research in many different ways. Also restrictions from
inmates themselves could had impacted this research. Also the use illegal substances that could
have affected this research could be taken into consideration to the limitations. Overall I felt that
the author had the exigence of writing this paper to prove how nutrition affects inmates
behavior. The author is responding to that problem, which is the influence that food has over
inmates way of making good or bad decisions behind bars
Overall this article was well written providing enough information to get an idea of the
situation and the complication there was in this research. The author did a great job in the use of
the rhetorical strategies such as Ethos, Logos, and Pathos to make this paper more credible and
factual. I felt the author did a great job using rhetorical strategies to create connections to explain
her purpose and engage with the audience. With all this included in the paper it is more than
clear that the author meet its goal which was for the reader to emotionally appeal to the research

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and create doubt about nutrition in prisons. Also to inform us on how the diets these inmates are
consuming can affect them.

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References
1. Eves, A., & Gesch, B. (2003). Food provision and the nutritional implications of
food choices made by young adult males, in a young offenders' institution. Journal
Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 16(3), 167-179. doi:10.1046/j.1365277X.2003.00438.x