Rhetorical Critique Article Analysis: Banning Cell Phones and Laptops in the Class Essay

By stating the opposite viewpoint that sometimes students need to use laptops for the academic needs during the work in the classroom Lucy Morsen claims that she “questions the academic motivation of the classmates” (Ramage, 2015, p. 397). Lucy Morsen, the author of the practical proposal concerning the banning of cell phones and laptops in the class, successfully used rhetorical strategies and approaches supported by arguments and results of the recent researches proving that logically expressed thoughts can help the author to achieve the goal.

In the proposal, the author states that banning cell phones and laptops will have certain benefits for the students, namely the improvement of the working atmosphere in the classroom and educational performance (Ramage, 2015, p. 398).

Lucy Morsen writes her proposal to the members of the Faculty Senate. For the proposal to succeed she addresses to the professors’ by stating that “professors, fearing resentment and poor evaluations from their students, would be reluctant to enforce a ban in their classrooms, even if they feel it would improve the classroom experience” (Ramage, 2015, p. 397). However, it should be stated that the author of the article also refers to the opposite viewpoint highlighting that sometimes students use laptops for the academic needs; although, she refutes this statement making the accent that she has never seen the evidence that prove that students use cell phones to improve their working conditions.

The author of the proposal successfully uses the results of the recent researches and statistics. By stating that the students who perform multiple tasks have problems with concentration the author makes an accent on the importance of her proposal, as it will be beneficial not only for her but also for the every student as it will improve their educational experience. Lucy Morsen supports every argument that shows the significance of the limitation if the technical gadgets usage. Being skeptical concerning the fact that students use laptops for the class-related purposes she draws the reader’s attention to the issue that according to recent researches more than 75% of the gadgets’ usage has no connection to the subject discussed in the classroom (Ramage, 2015, p. 398).

The author of the article provides the reader with the information concerning her attitude towards the significance of the students’ freedom and ability to make choices. However, it should be pointed out that she turns this argument to support her idea by drawing the conclusion that banning of the cell phones and laptop usage during lectures and discussions should be considered for the students to succeed in the studying process.

It should be pointed out that the author of the proposal tries to address the reader’s emotion by showing the attitude of the professors concerning the banning of the cell phones usage. It should be stressed that the writing is well organized in a logical manner and is supported with arguments. The author makes good language choices that help to draw the reader’s attention to the key issue of the problem and the significance of the finding solution.

The successfully structured proposal concerning the limitation of the cell phones and gadgets usage proves how beneficial the proposal supported with arguments may be. The analyzed writing shows the significance of the logical structure and successful usage of logos, pathos, and ethos while organizing the thoughts in a logical manner.

Reference

Ramage, J. B. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2015. Print.