Summary: Rhetorical Analysis

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There are over one billion printed volumes in the world today and sifting through this vast amount of text to find a reliable source can be daunting. Rhetorical analysis is a longstanding method to depict the validity and or shortcomings of writing. The purpose of this paper is to analyse two sources, one peer reviewed and one web searched, in order to determine which one is a better research tool. The web searched article, J. Dill, S. L. Handy and J. Pucher’s, How to Increase Bicycling for Daily Travel [1], May 2013, research brief, argues that, to increase cycling, innovative infrastructure, including on and off street bike paths, and integrated systems are needed. The peer-reviewed source, L. Kang and J. D. Fricker’s, “Bicyclist commuter’s …show more content…
Dill, Handy and Pucher’s article [1] argues that “…bicycling to school has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness and overall health among children and adolescents” [p.1]. This claim is backed up by several citations which include medical journals and reports. By referencing experts in the medical field Dill, Handy and Pucher’s article [1] adds credibility to their claim. Another way [1] appeals to ethos is that the credentials of the authors are stated in the paper. All three authors have their PhD’s in fields related to transportation, sustainability, and urban planning. This lends credibility to their work because they have practice doing research and finding valuable sources. Just as the web article [1] used citation to support their claim so too L. Kang and J. D. Fricker’s article [2] has multiple appeals to ethos. For instance [2] argues that to create a cycle friendly city with limited funds it is important to know where to invest. They reference the Highway Capacity Manual [p.888], National Association of City Transportation [p.898], and Federal Highway Administration [p.888] to further their argument. The Federal Highway Administration is a study which indicates that cyclists would prefer to bike where there is a separate path or lane. Including these three sources indicates thorough research …show more content…
Appeals to ethos are substantial in both [1] and [2] which is a sign that they are reliable sources for research.
As well as having considerable citation both articles back up their claims with well researched data. Dill, Handy and Pucher’s article [1] makes the claim that, “At the city level, bicycling infrastructure is strongly associated with overall levels of bicycling…” [p.2] To support this statement, the authors provide a graph of studies done in fourteen American cities