In the article “Energy drinks are killing young people. It’s time to stop that” the authors have effectively applied the three persuasive appeals of ethos, logos and pathos to support their argument. Crawford and Gosliner (2017) have used ethos when they state that; last month, a 16-year-old tragically lost their life after consuming as energy drink, a soda and latte. They further support their premise by illustrating that the coroner reported that the boy’s heart could not cope with the amount of caffeine in the beverages leading to his demise.
Logos has been effectively used in the form of a statistical data when the authors state that, “From 2005 to 2011, energy drink-related emergency-room visits rose from 1,494 to 20,783” (Crawford & Gosliner, 2017). This is a factual statement which the authors used to illustrate their premise on the consequences of drinking energy drinks to the health of the user. Finally, pathos is applied in the article when the authors explain that the marketing and advertising of energy drinks to children and teens must stop given the danger and health risks they pose to them.
The authors have effectively used rhetorical appeals because the article contains accurate real-life occurrence such as the demise of the 16-year-old as well as the use of various factual statistical data to support their claims. In the article, there are no logical fallacies used as all statements have been backed by supportive premises. Upon reading the article by Crawford and Gosliner (2017), I was convinced that indeed energy drinks result into health problems particularly to young people who are the majority consumers of the same due to their high caffeine content. Generally, the authors made a good case in illustrating the dangers of consuming energy drinks by young people.
Reference
Crawford, P., & Gosliner, W. (2017). Energy drinks are killing young people. It’s time to stop that. The Washington Post.