Crosswalk Persuasive Speech

Ever since the first day of classes, I’ve thought that crossing Chandler Road is tedious. As each day passed, I looked for the shortest paths leading to my classes, while still using the crosswalk at the traffic lights. It all began with crossing the road, when there were no incoming cars, even if the pedestrian crossing asked to stop. Shortly afterwards, I stopped using that crosswalk, since it was too slow to let me cross the street in the first place. I thought it was only a personal problem, until I saw that I wasn’t the only one crossing the street outside the crosswalk every day. I’m sure they’re also crossing the street because the crosswalk on Plant Drive is just too ineffective. Other than that, there are no real issues affecting me.

Kristi J. Bryant, the Director of the Office of Parking & Transportation Services, as my audience. I chose her because the Office of Parking & Transportation has enough reputation and influence to decide how the streets should be marked in Georgia Southern. I considered writing to the resident director of my residence hall, Erin Cleary, but then I realized that it would be better if I wrote directly to somebody who was in charge of the streets. Ms. Bryant has enough authority to make a change, and the office she belongs to is responsible for traffic control around campus. Since residents can’t use numbered parking lots without a permit, (except for the RAC parking lot) it is just assumed that we can get to main campus quickly because of the bus routes they’ve added. That is why I have chosen to refer to my problem as a result of neglect. If they’re neglecting an area, that just means they’re not doing what is expected, and nobody likes to hear that. I took advantage of that factor; I presented the area as a place with poor accessibility, and then built my argument over

Therefore, I have used each of these strategies as tools to persuade my audience. Starting with logos in the second paragraph, I stated a fact that was published by the NHTSA in 2013. Since it is a recent fact, it gives credibility to my argument, but it was not the only strategy I used. I also utilized deductive reasoning in the second paragraph to explain why people have been crossing the street. Not only did I use these two strategies in this paragraph, but also all throughout the letter. I mainly used deductive reasoning to specify the place where the crosswalk would work best, to explain why other solutions wouldn’t work as well, and to show why it is the best solution. I classified these strategies as part of logos, because that what these statements are about; arguments of logic (Heinrichs 292). Logic will help persuade the audience most of the time, but it needs more connection. Therefore, I also made use of pathos, which is defined as an “argument by emotion” that can influence the audience to connect, feel, and listen to what the author is saying (Heinrichs 290). During the second paragraph I planted an experience on the outcomes of a possible accident, where I used parents as an example to make my statement get across with an emotional appeal. Since most of us have family, it would also give a sense of understanding to her, and there aren’t many other factors