Rhetorical Analysis Of Em To Work By Ben Sasse

Ben Sasse’s Op-Ed (EPL) Today, youth unemployment during the summer is an issue that is very common in the United States. Teens no longer have to face drastic amounts of hard, exhausting manual labor. Common factors that interfere with a child’s work and limit their experiences consist of parenting time, innovations in technology/machinery, and the media. Throughout Ben Sasse’s Op-Ed, "What to Do with the Kids This Summer? Put ‘Em to Work," Sasse effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos to support his argument. His argument describes the treacherous issue of teens not growing up due to parents limiting their experience by parenting for too long; therefore, they and the nation will become endangered.
To begin, in paragraphs 1–8, the author's

Sasse begins to argue that teens sometimes become quite lethargic when it comes to advancing into adulthood. He states that teens are "not obligated to immediately become emotionally, morally, and financially adult" (Sasse par. 8). This explains the issues many teens face today. This is an issue that will affect them and the nation. The children themselves do play a role in this issue, but so do their parents. Here, Sasse uses diction as he describes this issue using powerful words and statements. By using diction, it sounds more professional and appealing, as it gives the writing a more powerful tone, attracting the audience. Next, in paragraph 9, Sasse states that "adolescence is a greenhouse phase, but adolescence should not be an escape from adulthood" (Sasse). This explains how Sasse believes that kids should not use adolescence as an excuse or way to get out of adulthood and the responsibilities of an adult, although some things should be easier. Here, Sasse uses the analogy as an appeal to logos, along with using embedded arguments to support himself. The analogy is used as he describes kids, responsibility, and growing to a greenhouse phase. In this section, embedded arguments are also used, as he argues that children should take on more responsibility and not be parented by their parents for a long period. In paragraph 11, as Sasse continues to explain his

In paragraphs 12–13, Sasse thinks of ways to solve this issue. He then provides an example as he describes how he wanted to "create experiences for [his child]... [so he] sent [his] eldest child... to [work] on a cattle ranch" (Sasse). Sasse argues that giving a child more manual, challenging work will allow them to be more successful in their lives. Here, the audience can take his word for it, as he uses ethos by listing anecdotes about his life through what he put his daughter through. These anecdotes give Sasse more believability and trustability, as the author now knows his child experienced something challenging as well. Also, later on in this section, Sasse begins to offer job ideas for the youth community. He describes that jobs are available everywhere, and they just need to "look around [their] neighborhood... Serve [their] community…lawns need to be mowed" (Sasse par. 15). Sometimes children don't know where to start and need a boost. Sasse lists multiple different ways teens can help their community and the new perspective they can gain from it. By listing examples, the author effectively uses scenarios in this section, to persuade and give ideas as to what teens can do in their community. The appeal to pathos continues to be used as Sasse uses a call to action or urgency. Sasse doesn’t ask, but instead, he demands that youth look around and