Rhetorical Analysis of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking was selected as the rhetorical analysis subject due to its impact on contemporary society. Human traffickers are preying on poor, weak, and isolated people. Beth Williams’ article is entitled “Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking.” The article addresses efforts towards stopping human trafficking. In her article, Williams defines human trafficking, describes the victims and the traffickers to give the reader an overview of the problem. Beth Williams recently served as the Assistant Attorney General Office of Legal Policy US Department of Justice until December 2020. William’s purpose for writing this article was to persuade the reader on the impact of human trafficking, call for public support and highlight current achievements so far. Williams Beth’s article was very successful due to her emotional connection to the audience, extrinsic ethos evident by her credentials, intrinsic ethos through her extensive knowledge on the subject, and fact-based evidence she used to support her claims, all of which are necessary to convince a scholarly audience in the field of criminal justice.
Rhetorical Appeal
Emotional Appeal
Williams uses emotional appeal (pathos) to capture the feelings of the reader. In criminal justice writing, voice, tone, and format should be appropriate to purpose and audience (Greene, 1389). Williams uses a conversational tone to build goodwill with the audience. For example, the author uses the background of the victims to create compassion. “Traffickers most often prey on individuals who are poor, vulnerable, in an unsafe or unstable living situation. Trafficking victims are often deceived by false promises of love, a good job, or stable life. They are forced or lured into working in situations where they are forced to work under deplorable conditions with little or no pay” Williams (624). Sentimentality encourages readers to sympathize with human trafficking victims. It is the most persuasive rhetorical strategy since an emotional appeal is the most influential human rights strategy. William’s purpose for writing this article was to persuade the reader on the impact of human trafficking, call for public support and highlight current achievements so far. In the quoted text, Williams uses the victims’ background to create feelings of compassion so that the readers can have sympathetic pity and concern for the victims’ suffering or misfortune.
Ethical Appeal
Ethos relates to ethics and is used to persuade the reader of the integrity of the author. Intrinsic ethos relates to how a writer portrays themselves through text hence building their character. The author uses her professional knowledge in explaining the intricacies relating to human trafficking. For instance, Williams quotes that “Under the federal law, it is a crime to compel another person to provide labor, services, or commercial sex through prohibited means of coercion and to exploit a minor for commercial sex”(623). Extrinsic ethos relates to who the author is, her professional background that gives the information credibility. From her LinkedIn profile, it is evident that she has vast criminal justice experience as she serves in the Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General leading the Office of Legal Policy (OLP). She also has a Doctorate in Law from Harvard Law School. Both the intrinsic and extrinsic ethos illustrates that the author is a very ethical, credible, and reliable person who lives by abiding by the law and upholds the highest professional standards in her career; thus, the information she conveys is authentic. Williams uses ethos to convince their position and build moral ground by using her professional credentials to authenticate the information’s credibility. It draws belief from the audience.
Logical Appeal
Williams also uses logical appeal (logos) to convince the reader. In criminal justice professional writing, an accurate and concise discussion is valued as a writing convention (Writing about Criminal Justice n.p.). The logical appeal uses logical reasoning, facts, and data to make readers more conscious of sex trafficking as a prevalent social problem. Rationality makes readers recognize that human trafficking is more widespread than they realize, making the writer’s argument more persuasive and efficient. Williams quotes facts about human trafficking, for instance: “Under the federal law, it is a crime to compel another person to provide labor, services, or commercial sex through prohibited means of coercion and to exploit a minor for commercial sex”(623). Logical reasoning is evident from her analysis of the number of forms the prohibited coercion can be manifested. Williams explains that “This unlawful coercion can take several forms, not just physical force. It includes force or threats of force, threats of serious harm, which is defined to include any harm, whether physical or non-physical, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm as long as it is sufficiently serious to compel a reasonable person in the victim’s situation”(624). Williams uses logos to appeal to the audience via a clear and logical reasoning line in her argument. The effect on the audience is that it offers something to contemplate.
Williams has used qualitative evidence in her article. It is argued that such techniques should be used more often and highly regarded and seen as unique, often superior approaches to the development of knowledge of criminological and criminal justice due to the unique contributions that qualitative methods can make, with the depth of understanding being primary (Richard 38). For instance, “An experienced sex-trafficking prosecutor from the local US Attorney’s Office here in Boston has joined us here today-Leah Foley. Last year Leah obtained a guilty plea from a defendant who exploited several women-whom he met at a driving instruction class, outside a needle exchange location, and at a detox location center-for commercial sex, using heroin as well as actual and threatened physical violence to coerce them into prostitution for him” (Williams 626). From a personal perspective, qualitative evidence helps the reader understand how coercion plays a role in human trafficking.
Conclusion
The rhetorical analysis helped shed light on the tools that will help me to develop my successful argument through the use of persuasive techniques and also be able to look at an argument objectively without bias. The article by Beth Williams elaborated on victims’ and families’ emotional effects, thereby generating meaningful information to raise awareness of human trafficking. She successfully used voice and tone to create an emotional appeal to the victims’ background to create compassion. Williams has also used her intrinsic and extrinsic ethos to demonstrate her credentials and persuade the reader of the information’s credibility through her professionalism. Similarly, she employed accurate and concise discussion backed up by qualitative evidence through logical appeal to make readers more conscious of sex trafficking as a prevalent social problem.
Works Cited
Beth Williams (2020) LinkedIn Profile linkedin.com/in/beth-williams-12135150
Greene, Jamal. “Pathetic Argument in Constitutional Law.” Colum. L. Rev. 113 (2013): 1389. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23561267
Richard, Tewksbury. “Qualitative versus quantitative methods: Understanding why qualitative methods are superior for criminology and criminal justice.” (2013): 38-56
Williams, Beth A. “Efforts to stop human trafficking.” Harv. JL & Pub. Pol’y 41 (2018): 623-629
“Writing About Criminal Justice.” University Writing Center/ Writing Across the Curriculum. Appalachian State University, 2019, http://wac.appstate.edu/writing-disciplines/writing-about-guidelines
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Introduction,
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Rhetorical Appeal,
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Emotional Appeal,
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Ethical Appeal,
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Logical Appeal,
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Conclusion
