Usage of Rhetorical Strategies: Approaching Extremist Politics

The Arak Journal’s “Purity and Extremism: An Examination of Identity” by Kyle Lacey shows how our political culture affects who we are and our ability to compromise with people with opposing views. Lacey breaks down his article by providing background information and the rest of the article mirrors a cause and effect relation. He does this by using ethos, logos and simple diction.

His background information establishes how his view is reliable and what the two major political parties in the United States are and what their focuses are. He doles by providing a personal story and talking about the two political parties.

He has three main “causes” on how our political culture became so polarized. He uses the “Fake News” popularity, how both parties are misrepresented and the rise in name calling. He structures this by providing logical (logos) and reliable (ethos) evidence and then giving context to it (simple diction).

For example, he quotes from professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Turkey to provide evidence of how “Fake News” affects the public, “information- seeking behavior, long heralded as one of the strongest political tools for citizens” (Unver 128, Lacey 12). You can see how the source is trust-worthy and logical because its from a professor that specializes in a field involving politics.

His use of diction is represented in this quote, “In other words, if a politically-active member of society strives to be informed before voting, he or she may now find “evidence,” no matter how dubious, (Lacey 13). He uses clear and simple word choice which puts the quote into context to the argument.

He is very successful in how he structures, provided evidence and context to his argument. His essay provides a great model on how to approach an argumentative essay.