Rhetorical AnalysisIn a persuasive essay, rhetorical appeals are a very important tool to influence the audience towards the author's point of view. The three rhetorical appeals first developed by Aristotle are pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions, logos appeals to facts or evidence, and ethos demonstrates the credibility of the writer. William Bennett is a well-respected man in politics. He served as Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Ronald Reagan and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George HW Bush. His essay, “Leave Marriage Alone,” published in Newsweek on June 3, 1996, was a response to an article written by Andrew Sullivan advocating same-sex marriage. Using rhetorical analysis, I will determine whether or not this essay is effective and why. Bennett is a conservative Republican who is a strong advocate of family values. The purpose of Bennett's essay is to expose the drawbacks of Andrew Sullivan's argument for same-sex marriage. He wants to persuade those who have read Sullivan's essay to side with him. His audience seems to be mostly middle-aged heterosexuals who already embrace his stance on the subject. Bennett's essay is clear, concise and to the point. He talks about the key issues in the first sentence of the first paragraph. The structure of his essay is deductive, beginning with "the two key issues that divide supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage." The first is that legal recognition of homosexual unions would strengthen or weaken the institution. The second has to do with the basic understanding of mar...... middle of paper...... etoric appeal will help expose errors in the authors' own argument. William Bennett has good arguments, but his lack of rhetorical appeal weakens his essay. He writes from the perspective of a stubborn politician who shows little regard for his opposition. He makes no appeal to emotion and appears cold and without compassion. He doesn't give any facts or statistics behind his arguments, just generalizations about a group of people he seems to know very little about. Overall, Bennett's essay is very weak because he chose to ignore the literary laws founded by Aristotle several centuries earlier. This essay is proof that these laws truly work. Works cited: Gruber, Sibylle, Ed. et al. Build others, build yourself. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 2002. Bennett, William. “Leave the marriage alone. » Gruber 29-30.