Rhetorical Analysis Paper

Arianna Nicolas

Professor Storm

ENGL-121

September 10, 2015

Rhetorical Analysis Paper: Racism and Police Brutality

Racism and police brutality have always been controversial topics of conversation. One side believes there is no correlation, and one side believes that there is. The author of the article, “Racism Promotes Police Brutality”, Salim Muwakkil, strongly believes in the correlation between the two variables. Throughout the article he persuades his audience of his views and supports all of his claims. This article fulfills its initial purpose in a well-rounded manor.

The author of this article uses certain phrases and words in order to convey emotion throughout the article. The phrase “sworn emotion” is used which gives the audience a sense of division between the black community and the police department. The phrases “black anger” and “seething with anger” are also used within the article to let the audience know that there is anger due to unfair actions. The use of these words are very effective in helping the audience understand how the black community feels about this situation that has been ongoing for years. This is the correct way to use emotion throughout the article. The author is able to capture the black community’s emotion without making the entire article about emotion. These words and phrases are only used a few times throughout the article. The author also uses real life scenarios to help the audience understand why the black community feels the way they do. He states the lives lost due to police brutality and the repercussions from the lives lost. By doing this, he is helping both the supporters of his views and the non-supporters empathize with how people have been treated.

This article also is written around an intended purpose. Just by reading this article, an audience participant can come to a conclusion that the purpose of this article is to raise awareness of a very serious issue in the United States. The author makes sure...