Holly Skinner

ENG 2001
10/3/14

A Rhetorical Analysis of The Wall Street Journal
In the growing world of medicine, researchers, medical professionals, and those
pioneering new discoveries need a way to convey those to people who are not familiar with
intense medical or scientific jargon. One of the most prominent ways to do this is through
newspapers. The Wall Street Journal is no exception. The only really science-based section it has
is the Health section under Life and Wellness. It seems that the writers main scientific
concern is to convey new discoveries, especially human-health related ones, to those reading The
Wall Street Journal who may not be familiar with current health news. As a result, most of the
articles in this section are in very simple terms so that almost anyone could understand the
majority of what they say. Three specific articles pertaining to the future of medicine and
medications reflect this attribute of scientific articles in this journal, and the authors of these
articles utilize a number of rhetorical strategies to convey their information.
One of these articles, entitled Francis Collins Says Medicine in the Future Will Be
Tailored to Your Genes, relies heavily on an ethos appeal to make the reader trust in the
authors predictions. The authors name is Francis Collins, and the fact that he included his own
name in the title indicates that he strongly believes he is qualified to comment on the future of
medicine, and he wants the audience to believe it, too. After the first paragraph, he even includes
a little picture and a blurb about himself that says Dr. Collins is the director of the National
Institutes of Health (Collins), which bolsters his ethos appeal even more. He further establishes
his credibility by writing in the next paragraph, From my vantage point at the helm of the
worlds leading supporter of biomedical research, I see a broad horizon filled with exciting
opportunitiesmany with the potential to transform medicine. (Collins). He asserts his high
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14

position in the medical world to the reader. He uses this ethos appeal later to make a strong
claimthe greatest epidemic of modern times, HIV/AIDS, will ultimately be conquered
(Collins). This incorporates a pathos appeal as well, as HIV/AIDS is something that deeply
affects many people, and the reader may have an emotional reaction to this claim. He expands on
this pathos appeal in the next paragraph by saying Imagine the socioeconomic impact of no
child anywhere being born with HIV, of teenagers being vaccinated, and, for those individuals
who do happen to become infected, the availability of a cure (Collins). Earlier in the article, he
lists some diseases and conditions, such as epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, and cancer, which
affect many peoples daily lives, furthering his pathos appeal to the reader.
Collins begins the article by discussing some of the medical practices from the late 1800s
through the mid-1900s that are deemed primitive today. A few paragraphs in, he relates the way
we now view those older methods of medicine to how we will view current medical practices in
the future. He writes, if all goes as we envision, todays mostly one-size-fits-all approach to
medical care will seem as outdated to future generations as bloodletting leeches and patent-
medicine potions are to us (Collins). He uses this comparison to establish logos with the reader.
He incorporates many definitions and explanations of more futuristic medical practices to help
the reader grasp his concepts. He uses common language or phrasing throughout the article to
help establish a connection with the reader, such as when he talks about building a high-tech
phalanx of cellular ninja warriors to take out the [cancerous] tumor (Collins). Because of this
use of highly unscientific language, one might assume while reading the article that the audience
is any common person interested in the future of medicine. Once one reaches the end of the
article, however, the audience is obviously those individuals or businesses willing to invest in
research, which matches up with a good number of The Wall Street Journals typical readers.
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14

The final words of the article are Todays investment in the biomedical research enterprise truly
is an investment in tomorrows medicine (Collins).
This all being said, the purpose of the article seems to be primarily to attain funding for
biomedical research, though for the common reader, it could include giving some insight into the
future of medicine. Some constraints for this article include the lack of any proof for his
assertions; the reader really just has to take his word for it. He also obviously knows how to
write in heavily medical jargon, but he chooses not to, which takes some of the logos appeal
away.
A second article explores the question of how one should dispose of excess prescription
drugs. It is titled U.S. to Allow Pharmacies to Take Back Unused Prescription Drugs, and it
says that as a way to get prescription drugs off the street, the government is now allowing people
to mail them in. Early on, the author employs a logos appeal when he states, [the change] will
address a long-standing complaint from people fighting opioid addiction that government rules
make it difficult to safely dispose of unused pills (Barrett). This enforces the new policy by
showing the reader that addicts, as well as officials and common people, have recognized the
problem. The author uses logos again when he informs the reader that close to four in 10 teens
who misused prescription drugs obtained them from family medicine cabinets (Barrett). This
also could be seen as pathos appeal, as many people and their families are affected by drug
addiction. He goes on to quote the Attorney General Eric Holder, who recognizes the national
state of this problem, also lending to pathos appeal. By quoting the Attorney General, the author
establishes ethos for himself.
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14

While this mail-in take-back is new, the author recognizes that the DEA has
already been holding pill take-backs; he tells the reader that, according to the Justice
Department, a nationwide effort in April brought in 390 tons of prescription drugs at
more than 6,000 sites (Barrett). This also establishes a logos appeal by showing the
efficiency of these types of programs. He goes on to cite that CVS and Walgreensboth
nationally established pharmacy chainshave drug-disposal programs, furthering the
logos appeal. The author gives another statistic that lends to logos in the next
paragraphIn 2011, more than half of the 41,300 unintentional overdose deaths in the
U.S. involved prescription drugs, and opioids were involved in nearly 17,000 of those
(Barrett). This statistic could be of interest to people in businesses related to prescription
drugs as well as any concerned adult with prescription drugs around the house. Later in
the article, he quotes a woman whose son died of an overdose; she fully supports this
movement to get pills off the streets. This is a pathos appeal by the author; not only does
he say that her son died, he names her and her son in the next paragraph, giving the whole
program a face of humanity. Soon after, though, he quotes a man whose son committed
suicide while addicted to prescription drugs; this man wasnt supportive of the program,
fearing it will invite new forms of abuse (Barrett). This mans comments are used as
both pathos appeal and logos appealpathos because of his tragic loss, and logos
because of his beliefs about the system failing.
The author of this article writes about a variety of topics for The Wall Street
Journal with no real expertise on the issue at hand (which could be considered a
constraint), but he bolsters his report through quoting officials and people directly
affected by it. The audience for this piece seems to be the general public, especially those
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14

who have family members with prescription drug addictions or have those addictions
themselves. Because of this, the purpose of the article seems to be to inform the reader
about this new government policy in the best way possible, and the author uses very little
of his own opinion, which is beneficial to his arguments. People in the business of health
insurance could also be interested in how this problem could affect health insurance rates
and statistics. The article is laid out pretty well, with only one awkward transition
between paragraphs. Some constraints for this article could include that the author had to
write it in simpler terms for the common reader, leaving out a lot of the political jargon.
A third article, written by Heidi Mitchell, uses the expertise of an assistant
professor of medicine at a southern university, who she calls an expert (Mitchell), to
address the issue of taking expired medications. Above the title, there is a tiny blurb that
says Burning Question (Mitchell), and the whole first paragraph is the author quoting
herself. Both of these things could be seen as a way to establish ethos for herself,
showing that she has a right to talk about this question. This article is structured in four
separate sections, entitled Its the Law, A Military Study, Potency vs. Efficacy,
and Keeping Your Own Stockpile (Mitchell). This is a logical way to organize the
authors ideas for the reader. In the first section, she tells the reader that the pharmacist is
required to put a discard label on bottles. She quotes the assistant professor throughout
this section, establishing ethos for herself and logos through the numerical values the
professor gave. The second section relies heavily on logos, in which the author talks
about a study done by the Food and Drug Administration on the Drug Enforcement
Administrations stockpile of drugs. The professor told the author that 88% of the lots
could be extended beyond their expiration date for an average of 66 months (Mitchell).
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14

The author does comment on the fact that these drugs are kept in an area with a specific
temperature and humidity that most people wouldnt be able to maintain, further
establishing her logos appeal.
The third and fourth sections also rely mostly on logos appeal by giving facts and
tips about common drugs; there is little to no pathos appeal in this article. The author is
once again a normal writer for the newspaper, and she is not an expert in the healthcare
field, which could limit her ability to present a full argument. This is combatted by her
reliance on the assistant professor of medicine, lending the author credibility in the topic.
The audience of this article is any regular person wondering if an expired Tylenol will
kill them. Its made very clear that this article is not intended for anyone with any
knowledge of medicine by the way the author writes; at one point, she tells the reader to
not leave [the pills] in a hot car (Mitchell), which seems like common sense. Some
constraints of this article include the lack of medical terminology and the authors
reliance on just one persons opinion about the topic.
The Wall Street Journal is a widely-read newspaper that provides many people,
mainly those who are wealthy or involved in big business, information on a myriad of
topics. This newspaper is not a scientific journal, though, so the scientific aspects of the
newspaper can be found lacking. A rhetorical analysis of three articles found in the
Health section brought to light a lot of constraints in these medical articles as well as
some successful assertions, but an overall theme of relation of health facts and
discoveries in a way that any reader of The Wall Street Journal could understand and
relate back to his or her investments or business is present.
Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
10/3/14


Works Cited
Collins, Francis S. "Francis Collins Says Medicine in the Future Will Be Tailored to Your
Genes." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 7 July 2014. Web. 03 Oct.
2014.
Barrett, Devlin. "U.S. to Allow Pharmacies to Take Back Unused Prescription Drugs. The Wall
Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.
Mitchell, Heidi. "Are Expired Medications OK to Take?" The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones &
Company, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.