Rhetorical Analysis In a persuasive essay, rhetorical appeals are a very important tool for influencing 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 highly respected man in the political world. 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 H. W. Bush. His essay titled “Leave Marriage Alone,” published in Newsweek, June 3, 1996, is 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 supporter of family values. The purpose of Bennett's essay is to expose the negative aspects of Andrew Sullivan's argument for same-sex marriage. He wants to convince those who have read Sullivan's essay to side with him. His audience appears to be mostly middle-aged heterosexuals who have already taken his position on the issue. Bennett's essay is clear, concise, and to the point. Talk about the key issues from 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 same-sex unions would strengthen or weaken the institution. The second has to do with the basic understanding of the mar... middle of the paper... historical appeal will help expose the errors in the authors' arguments. William Bennett has some 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 shows no appeal to emotion and appears cold and without compassion. He provides no facts or statistics behind his arguments, just generalizations about a group of people he appears to know very little about. All in all, Bennett's essay is very weak because he chose to ignore the literary laws established by Aristotle many centuries earlier. This essay is proof that these laws are truly effective. Works Cited: Gruber, Sibylle, Ed. et al. Building others, building ourselves. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 2002. Bennett, William. “Forget about marriage.” Gruber 29-30.