Is the underlying reasons for the belief, impression or thought that the US government must continue to invest in NASA overlooked, misunderstood or unheeded. In his essay “Space Technology: A Critical Investment for Our Nation’s Future,” author Bobby Braun builds a cogent, detailed and absorb-ing argument by employing a variety of rhetorical techniques and persuasive strategies, most notably, an array of pertinent facts and statistics, appeal to emotions, and the citing of respected authorities to persuade his audience on why the US government needs to continue investing in NASA. Braun skillfully incorporates facts and statistics to build his argument. For example, aerospace “is the largest positive contributor to our nation’s trade balance” (par. 1) and “Modest sustained federal investment in space technology, at a funding level approaching 5 percent of NASA’s budget (well below the R&D budget of many corporations), is the key ingredient to their success.”(par. 7) As a result, the use of these facts and statistics helps ground the …show more content…
1, 3, 4, 7) This vivid language engages the reader. As a result of Braun’s repeated use of vivid language evokes strong feelings and draws the readers into the passage by alerting them to the serious-ness of the issue and develops an emotional connection with a sense of pathos towards the author’s position. Language like “America expects no less” and “breakthrough technologies that will expand the frontiers of aeronautics and space” (par. 2, 9) play on a reader’s emotions in ways that make them react passionately to concepts and consequences. Thus, Braun’s use of vivid lan-guage to build an argument causes readers to emotionally (rather than logical-ly) agree with the