Rhetorical Analysis Ray

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Ray

Rhetorical Analysis

College Board, a website for students, parents, and professionals, created an article,

“Counseling First-generation Students about College”, suggesting many ways in which these

first-generation students can be counseled to succeed in their first year of college. The website

supports this information by addressing different solutions and multiple outcomes for the student

while also being very realistic. College Board’s purpose is to inform current counselors of ways

to deal with situations involving a first generation college student, and informing the counselors

of ways to help the student adapt. College Board’s article was essentially effective with their

argument because the article starts by establishing credibility (ethos), relating the audience to the

background of the article, shows its ineffectiveness of logos, but proves its effectiveness by

structuring the information in a logical manner.

College Board’s purpose of writing the article was to inform counselors with techniques

to help first-generation college students transition process run smoothly. The article addresses

many different forms in which counselors should try different techniques when working with

these students. College Board includes eight strategies to use when working with first-generation

students. The techniques are: reach out early, extend the scope of your counsel, involve the

family, give special help with college search and selection, give special help with college

applications, give special help with financial aid applications and packages, explain what college

will be like, and finally work with other organizations. The strategies that they present show the

importance of the article by allowing the reader to engage in the techniques in order to use them

in their practice. Overall College Board effectively presented an article that could be used for

counselors, students, or even by the family of the student to create a smooth transition for first-

generation college students.

Ray

Immediately, as College Board begins the article, they establish their purpose for writing

the article; they explain what a first-generation college student is, and how to help them. By

doing this, the author is using ethos to create a sense of credibility with their audience. College

Board is a well known website for anything college related, so this also gives them credibility

without the presence of the article itself. College Board acknowledges that first-generation

college students are different then other college students. They said, “those who are in the first-

generation of their families to go to college — presents a counselor with special challenges”, by

doing this College Board is targeting a specific audience that they would like to reach. The

professional manner that the topic is introduced in creates a trusting atmosphere and persuades

you that their eight strategies for working with first-generation students are essential and

necessary.