Mallari Miller

Composition 2

Professor Stephanie Williams

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: Homework is Wrecking our Kids

Does homework have an impact on a childs life? Homework is wrecking our children.

Homework should be banned from elementary school children. Homework is not good for

children because it leads to problems such as personal relationships, limits physical activity and

relies on parents to do their homework. Kids slide into the habit of relying on adults to help

with homework or, in many cases, do their homework (Shumaker). Elementary children do not

need homework because they are learning other important responsibilities. Shumakers article is

effective because of ethos such as facts and sources, pathos such as tone and diction, logos such

as statistics.

The author use of ethos show the audience that she has done research. The author is well

qualified in this subject because she has a major in sociology and she has two children in school.

She uses well qualified sources to back up her argument. She uses sufficient facts by giving

examples of how homework should be banned in the elementary schools.

The author expresses pathos by using a serious and concerned tone. Shumakers use of

diction expresses how she conveys the audience. She uses words like overtired, academic

performance, and patrol cop to express to affect the readers attitude. Shumakers intended

audience are teachers and school officials. Parents are her secondary audience because she is

persuading by giving them important information on no homework.

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The author uses a minimum amount, of logos which makes her argument weak. The

authors argument does make sense, but should include more facts. She shows minimum

statistics to support her claim. This comprehensive analysis of multiple research studies found

no evidence of academic benefit at the elementary level. It did, however, find a negative impact

on childrens attitudes toward school (Shumaker). The statistics that the author used are invalid

because they show that homework does have a benefit but at specific grade levels. The facts that

she uses are from personal experience and credited experts.

Shumakers use of rhetorical devices helps communicate her argument better. She uses

epizeuxis to show emphasis by repeating words such as ban, responsibility and benefit.

Homework has no place in a young childs life. With no academic benefit, there are simply

better uses for after-school hours(Shumaker). She repeats these words to convince the audience.

She uses syntax to show various sentence structures and to help influence the readers

understanding of her writing.

Shumakers argument is effective because she uses the appeals of ethos, pathos and

logos. Although the author needs more logos it is made up by ethos and pathos. The author can

include more facts and statistics to strengthen her argument.

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Works Cited

Shumaker, Heather. "Homework Is Wrecking Our Kids: The Research Is Clear, Lets Ban

Elementary Homework." Salon. N.p., 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/05/homework_is_wrecking_our_kids_the_research_is_cle

ar_lets_ban_elementary_homework/