Susan Price, Hana Gnaoui, Max Grable, Jennifer Weinstein, Michael Dworken ENGL101 BL09 David Brookshire Rhetoric:

Withstanding the Test of Time Rhetoric, as defined by Aristotle, is the ability, in each case, to see all of the available means of persuasion. Rhetoric is essential when forming a proper argument promoting one side of a situation over another. In order to do so, one must use a combination of logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos to make the argument relevant and effective to its audience. In the article Tylenol During Pregnancy Linked to a Higher Risk of ADHD, the author, Alice Park, uses kairos, or timeliness; logos, or logic; ethos, or credibility; and pathos, or emotion, to develop her argument about the possible detrimental effects of Tylenol upon fetal development. Kairos, or exigency, is integral to the proper rhetorical formation of an argument. One way to develop exigency is through relevance. The article speaks of the possible serious effects of a common, over-the-counter household pain reliever, Tylenol, which is the staple of every medicine cabinet in the United States. It is labeled as being safe for pregnant mothers and for babies, but this new study, if reinforced, could cause agencies like the Food and Drug Adminstration to rethink the label. warn users to avoid the medication during pregnancy. New discoveries in maternal health are always relevant since this topic is one of high interest, as pregnancies are so common. There is also a sense of urgency due to the rising instances of ADHD in children. If ADHD in children is

not a developmental disorder, rather one that is caused by a pregnant mothers actions, then many will be pushing for it to be researched and resolved very quickly. An important component of exigency is the warrant. Alice Parks main claim in the article is that Tylenol is potentially harmful to fetuses due to the fact that animal and human worksshowndrug can interfere with hormone systemsprenatal exposure may adversely affect developmentbrain. This finding is shocking because as stated above, it has been considered safe for so long, but moms who used the pain reliever saw a 37% increased risk inADHD diagnosis and a 29% chance increased risktheir kids needed ADHD medications compared with moms who didnt use. Park argues that the results from this study, while not conclusive, are alarming enough that there needs to be further research into the subject. The warrant is the value, belief, or principle that the audience must hold if the soundness of the argument is to be guaranteed. Here, the warrant is that there should be follow up on this study and more research should be done to conclusively decide whether or not Tylenol is, in fact, safe or harmful. If it is harmful, there should be appropriate labeling of the drug and careful decision-making on the mothers side regarding its use. Logos is one of the rhetorical tools used in this article. It is defined as the rational appeal, or the appeal to logic. It is backed up by facts, statistics, etc. and uses data and statistics to state its case. As cited above, Alice Park uses statistics from the study to back up her claim, as well as choosing statistics from a trustworthy agency to support her argument. The study was done by the Danish University of Aarhus by a team of international researchers. One of the discoveries included the percentage risk increase in children who would be diagnosed with ADHD and would need ADHD medication, as

well as the fact that more than half of the 64,322 women using acetaminophen. This especially shows the risk that Park is emphasizing, because Tylenol use is so widespread among expecting mothers, so the population of developing children that is affected is enormous. Another important finding was that acetaminophenover the counter drugfreely buy and use at their discretion. To add to the logos of the article, she addressed the fact that this is only a preliminary study on the subject, the information is not certain, and that more research is necessarythe findings only suggest an association.too early inform clinical practice. She also uses statistics to represent both sides of the article and in this way factually and accurately represents the multiple facets of this issue. Ethos, the Greek word for character, is another integral aspect of rhetoric. It indicates the credibility of the writer, and whether he or she can be trusted as a purveyor of information. Ethics are established in this article in numerous ways. One way is through indicating the research institution and team that performed the study. Research from universities is generally trusted because universities are seen as being competent research bodies with adequate materials and the ability to perform reliable experiments and studies and come up with trustworthy information. Also, it is important to eliminate bias of any kind in experiments, and by emphasizing that the team of researchers is international, Park eliminates the possibility of cultural bias towards maternal health. As a result of that, there are no questions about the trustworthiness of the study. Also, citing the exact number of women in the study64,322indicates the sample size is significant, and a rule in the study of Statistics is that the larger the sample size, the more accurate the information will be.

Clark also acknowledges other views on the subject as well, such as the fact that more studies needed using different sets of data to confirm replicate what found. Clark also indicates another reputable source, a professor at a university in Wales, using that professors findings to support the other side of the article, that the findings only suggest an association and do not establish that acetaminophen causes ADHDtoo early for it to inform our clinical practice at the moment By indicating that there are sides that oppose the view that Clark espouses, and by going into detail about that point of view, she establishes ethos by writing about the issue in an unbiased, impartial way. This article contains extrinsic and intrinsic ethos. The extrinsic ethos is due to its design as an informative article in Time magazine, which is considered to be a reputable source, so it would not have articles of uncertain truthfulness. She establishes intrinsic ethos through her language style, which is also strictly journalistic and does not use hyperboles, extreme words, or word phrasing to subtly promote one side over the other. The fact that she has obviously done research on the subject also adds to her credibility. The last major element of rhetorical analysis Clark included in her article is pathos, which is an emotional appeal, when the writer uses stories that tug on the heartstrings to make the point. Clark uses pathos to back up her main claim, which is that she is wary of Tylenol use during pregnancy. She begins the article with the quote Pregnancy fraught time for expectant moms more research shows foodsair compounds exposed.affect their growing child. Already, Clark is appealing to mothers to think of how necessary it is to be vigilant and protective of the fragile life they are carrying. The fear of a threat to ones developing child makes parents hyperaware of

threats to their childrens health, so the parent becomes more receptive to the article. Clark then introduces the study, saying,The results are worrisome. Right away, the parent is on red alert, waiting to see what could go wrong or what new harmful substance has been proven to hurt developing fetuses. The mother is already prejudiced against the culprit, regardless of whatever the other side says about the veracity of the statement. The word worrisome is perfect at evoking the fears of every parent which creates a sense of suspense about the article. Clark includes the quote from a scientist who says, but as a woman would be worried, and wouldnt take Tylenol during pregnancy... quote plays on the trust the audience has for scientists, who are experts in their fields, and displays the knowledgeable scientist speaking on how they would implement that information in their own lives. Its strong emotional support for Clarks argument and is the closest she comes to a direct appeal. She does also include one bit of support for the other side, appreciates how difficultfor expectant momsto wait studies to be completed, but this is much weaker than her support for her main claim due to the fact that it does not help the audience think of the other side in a new way, but rather is more pacifying. By using kairos, logos, ethos, and pathos, Alice Clark creates a skillful argument that women should not take Tylenol during pregnancy due to the risk to their unborn children. She creates exigency by choosing to write about ADHD, which has only recently become a topic of public interest. At a time when ADHD diagnoses in children are on the rise, Parks argument pertains to a particularly important issue. She uses logos to support both sides of her claim with credible facts and statistics, and therefore make the article based in fact so that it is reliable and trustworthy. She uses ethos to establish

the fact that she and the study both understand their topic and can portray it thoroughly. She further reinforces ethos intrinsically in her overall language style and word choice, and extrinsically by identifying the funders, researchers, and other contributors. She also fairly addresses both sides of the argument. She uses pathos to make her audience focus on the emotional ramifications of disregarding this study through subtle language which biases her audience in favor of her point of view. By not using a strong amount of pathos in the other side she keeps it from being quite as well developed as her main claim in the article. Due to her use of the rhetorical elements, the argument is persuasive, with accurate, sufficient, and relevant evidence. She includes all rhetorical elements and thereby makes a well-rounded argument. The only real way to have improved this argument was to wait until more studies have been done on the subject, so Park could write with more authority and more knowledge to draw upon. She acknowledges that so far, there is solely a proven association, not causation, but that the initial findings are quite troubling. Hopefully there will be more research done into this topic so that mothers can make more informed decisions about their and their babies health during pregnancy.