First Draft

Grace Park

Rhetorical Analysis 

Jessica Perez in her article Act would give education to undocumented youths sheds lights on our governments approach (or lack there of) to the issue with the undocumented youth in America. Perez uses a lot of statistical background information on the issue at hand but because her argument is completely one sided and lacks any room for rebuttal- she leaves her readers questioning the other side of the issue and how credible the author’s sources are.  Perez is able to utilize logos and ethos to further pursued her audience that the dream act should be passed but could’ve consolidated her argument by instituting ethos.

The Dream Act was created and introduced a decade ago for undocumented youth in America. It gave them the opportunity to become a citizen so long as they preserved a good sense of character and either graduated college or joined the military. Perez goes on to explain that recently many of the republican senates have become against the Act despite it’s previous bipartisan support. She uses senator Mccain as an example of a senate who once supported it but “now refuses to have a conversation with undocumented youths about the legislation”(Perez). Perez’s argument brings up questions of her credentials and also compels the reader to question what is the opposition against this act? The reader is  also left to question why would a logical, respected and fairly liberal man such as McCain reject the Dream Act? Why would he make such a bold statement as to refusing to talk to undocumented youths on the subject matter? Because Perez only gives the reader positive information of the Dream Act and leaves her claim irrefutable, the reader does not attain the ability to make a clear informative opinion and is compelled to question her credentials. 

Perez does a impressive job providing the reader with logos throughout her article. The reader is able to see from credible sources that enabling the act would reduce deficits by 1.4 billion dollars. She also gives statistics conducted by UCLA to establish her point- that the Dream Act would be an investment for our future. She later goes on to address the courageous undocumented youths who are conducting strikes and rallies chanting “Undocumented and Unafraid”.  Inserting ethos, she gives her readers the an estimate of 2.1 million undocumented youths that are living in fear. In her statistics and estimations, the reader finds themselves once again questioning what the down side or the negative side effects of this Act? How would this impact our population and the availability of potential jobs for the documented youth of our nation? Perez’s argument is weakened by her lack of information and her lack of possible downfalls of the Act. She could have fortified her argument by giving her audience (which is mostly higher educated students) both sides of the Act but asserting the positive aspects would outweigh the negative side of the issue.    

From the context provided within the article, the reader is aware that Jessica Perez is a underclassmen at Cornell University and has no real credibility other then her sources. Since this is clearly an editorial, Perez could’ve strengthened her argument by utilizing pathos. She could’ve appealed to her audience with a personal experience, or some sort of emotional tie that would connect the reader to the Dream Act in more of a poignant way. Since her audience is mostly an accumulation of Cornell and Ithaca College student’s she could have also shed light on how it would affect us as students, or what way it would impact us on a regular basis. Because Perez’s editorial is very logos based, the reader may feel enlightened of the situation but not moved. By instituting more pathos and emotional connections it would further help her purpose- which is to keep her readers aware and also compel them to do something.

Overall Perez does an adequate job informing her readers of the issue at hand. Although she had much room for improvement; by providing her readers with the negative aspects of the Act or pulling the reader closer to the issue with emotional ties- her point was clear. Although she does not allow her claim to be refutable, her topic is interesting and of current national concern.

Work Cited 

Perez, Jessica. "Act Would Give Education to Undocumented Youths | The Ithacan." The Ithacan | News, Entertainment, Culture and College Sports. 08 Dec. 2010. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://theithacan.org/6059>.