RHETORICAL ANALYSIS SAMPLE ESSAY

Harriet Clark

Ms. Rebecca Winter

CWC 101

13 Feb. 2015

Not Quite a Clean Sweep: Rhetorical Strategies in

Grose’s “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier”

A woman’s work is never done: many American women grow up with this

saying and feel it to be true. One such woman, author Jessica Grose, wrote “Cleaning:

The Final Feminist Frontier,” published in 2013 in the New Republic, and she argues that

while the men in our lives recently started taking on more of the childcare and cooking,

cleaning still falls unfairly on women. Grose begins building her credibility with

personal facts and reputable sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and

successfully employing emotional appeals; however, toward the end of the article, her

attempts to appeal to readers’ emotions weaken her credibility and ultimately, her

argument.

In her article, Grose first sets the stage by describing a specific scenario of house-

cleaning with her husband after being shut in during Hurricane Sandy, and then she

outlines the uneven distribution of cleaning work in her marriage and draws a comparison

to the larger feminist issue of who does the cleaning in a relationship. Grose continues

by discussing some of the reasons that men do not contribute to cleaning: the praise for a

clean house goes to the woman; advertising and media praise men’s cooking and

childcare, but not cleaning; and lastly, it is just not fun. Possible solutions to the problem,

Grose suggests, include making a chart of who does which chores, dividing up tasks

based on skill and ability, accepting a dirtier home, and making cleaning more fun with

gadgets.

Throughout her piece, Grose uses many strong sources that strengthen her

credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build her argument. These sources include,

“sociologists Judith Treas and Tsui-o Tai,” “a 2008 study from the University of New

Hampshire,” and “P&G North America Fabric Care Brand Manager, Matthew Krehbiel”

(qtd. in Grose). Citing these sources boosts Grose’s credibility by showing that she has

Hook

Context

Article author’s claim or purpose

Thesis

Summary of the article’s main points in the second paragraph (could also be in the introduction)

Third paragraph begins with a transition and topic sentence that reflects the first topic in the thesis

Quotes illustrate how the author uses appeals to ethos

done her homework and has provided facts and statistics, as well as expert opinions to

support her claim. She also uses personal examples from her own home life to introduce

and support the issue, which shows that she has a personal stake in and first-hand

experience with the problem.

Adding to her ethos appeals, Grose uses strong appeals to logos, with many facts

and statistics and logical progressions of ideas. She points out facts about her marriage

and the distribution of household chores: “My husband and I both work. We split

midnight baby feedings …but … he will admit that he’s never cleaned the bathroom, that I

do the dishes nine times out of ten, and that he barely knows how the washer and dryer

work in the apartment we’ve lived in for over eight months.” These facts introduce and

support the idea that Grose does more household chores than her husband. Grose

continues with many statistics:

[A]bout 55 percent of American mothers employed full time do some housework

on an average day, while only 18 percent of employed fathers do. … [W]orking

women with children are still doing a week and a half more of “second shift”

work each year than their male partners. … Even in the famously gender-neutral

Sweden, women do 45 minutes more housework a day than their male partners.

These statistics are a few of many that logically support her claim that it is a substantial

and real problem that men do not do their fair share of the chores. The details and

numbers build an appeal to logos and impress upon the reader that this is a problem worth

discussing.

Along with strong logos appeals, Grose effectively makes appeals to pathos in

the beginning and middle sections. Her introduction is full of emotionally-charged words

and phrases that create a sympathetic image; Grose notes that she “was eight months

pregnant” and her husband found it difficult to “fight with a massively pregnant person.”

The image she evokes of the challenges and vulnerabilities of being so pregnant, as well

as the high emotions a woman feels at that time effectively introduce the argument and its

seriousness. Her goal is to make the reader feel sympathy for her. Adding to this idea

are words and phrases such as, “insisted,” “argued,” “not fun,” “sucks” “headachey,” “be

judged,” “be shunned” (Grose). All of these words evoke negative emotions about

cleaning, which makes the reader sympathize with women who feel “judged” and

shunned”—very negative feelings. Another feeling Grose reinforces with her word

choice is the concept of fairness: “fair share,” “a week and a half more of ‘second shift’

work,” “more housework,” “more gendered and less frequent.” These words help

Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of pathos, as noted in the thesis

Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of ethos, as noted in the thesis

Quote that illustrates appeals to logos

Quote that illustrates appeals to logos

Transition and topic sentence about the second point from the thesis

Quotes that illustrate appeals to pathos

Transition and topic sentence about the third point from the thesis

Analysis explains how the quotes show the effective use of logos, as noted in the thesis

This document was developed by the

College Writing Center STLCC-Meramec

Created 2/2015 by HSC

establish the unfairness that exists when women do all of the cleaning, and they are an

appeal to pathos, or the readers’ feelings of frustration and anger with injustice.

However, the end of the article lacks the same level of effectiveness in the

appeals to ethos. For example, Grose notes that when men do housework, they are

considered to be “’enacting “small instances of gender heroism,” or ‘SIGH’s’—which,

barf.” The usage of the word “barf” is jarring to the reader; unprofessional and immature,

it is a shift from the researched, intelligent voice she has established and the reader is less

likely to take the author seriously. This damages the strength of her credibility and her

argument.

Additionally, her last statement in the article refers to her husband in a way that

weakens the argument. While returning to the introduction’s hook in the conclusion is a

frequently-used strategy, Grose chooses to return to her discussion of her husband in a

humorous way: Grose discusses solutions, and says there is “a huge, untapped market …

for toilet-scrubbing iPods. I bet my husband would buy one.” Returning to her own

marriage and husband is an appeal to ethos or personal credibility, and while that works

well in the introduction, in the conclusion, it lacks the strength and seriousness that the

topic deserves and was given earlier in the article.

Though Grose begins the essay by effectively persuading her readers of the

unfair distribution of home-maintenance cleaning labor, she loses her power in the end,

where she most needs to drive home her argument. Readers can see the problem exists in

both her marriage and throughout the world; however, her shift to humor and sarcasm

makes the reader not take the problem as seriously in the end. Grose could have more

seriously driven home the point that a woman’s work could be done: by a man.

Works Cited

Grose, Jessica. “Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier.” New Republic. The New

Republic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos

Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis

Analysis explains how quote supports thesis

Transition and topic sentence about fourth point from thesis

Conclusion returns to ideas in the thesis and further develops them

Analysis explains how quote supports thesis

Quote illustrates how the author uses appeal to ethos

Last sentence returns to the hook in the introduction

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CHM 1020L Density

This lab uses the following simulation https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/arct15-sci-densitylab/density-lab/

If the link does not work for you it can also be accessed using the following link https://www.simbucket.com/simulation/density-lab/ Learning objectives

1) Understand the concept of density 2) Relate the value of density of a substance to the physical characteristics of the

substance. 3) Predict the effect of volume on density of pure substances 4) Predict the effect of mass on density of pure substances 5) Organize a given list of substances from least dense to most dense with supporting

evidence. 6) Apply knowledge gained in the experiment to explain relevant real-world situations. 7) Apply knowledge gained in the experiment to create a density gradient column.

Introduction Density is a characteristic physical property of a substance which means each substance has its own characteristic density that can use used to identify it. All substances have density including parts of the human body. Have you heard of the term osteoporosis? This happens when the density of human bones reduces, making them susceptible to fractures1. Lets get oriented first : ) Go to the following website https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/arct15-sci-densitylab/density-lab/ You need not download the simulation but if you click on it, it will open on your computer. If you have technical issues please reach out to FIU Online technical help to get the issues resolved in a timely manner (details on how to reach FIU technical help are on the course homepage). Once you have the simulation open it should look like the figure shown below. Examine the figure shown below and ensure that you identify the parts on the simulation that are clearly marked. This will allow you follow directions and to perform the experiment stress free 1Chemistry a Molecular Approach, Nivaldo Tro, second edition (2011)

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Please familiarize yourself with the following parts of the simulation (play with the simulation a bit to familiarize yourself with it)

1) Button to select water as the liquid 2) Check to see if the fluid density is 1.00 g/mL if you already selected water as your liquid. 3) Reset button 4) Balance to check mass 5) The display that shows you the mass of the material 6) Meniscus for volume 7) Location to choose materials to determine density 8) Location to change mass 9) Location to change volume

Procedure Part 1 – Let’s define some terms first Initial volume – volume of just the water (without the red block in the water) Final volume – volume with the red block in the water Change in volume = Final volume – initial volume (this should be a number greater than zero)

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Section 1 – Relationship of mass and volume 1) Press the reset button (label #3) to clear the simulation 2) Press the “Turn fluid into water” button (label #1) 3) Check to ensure the fluid density is 1.00 g/mL since we are working with water (label #3) 4) Notice that the red block is floating above the water. 5) Move the blue mass button to around midway until the red block is completely

submerged in the water. 6) Note down the final volume of the meniscus in mL (volume with the red block in the

water) in Table 1 7) The balance should be at 0.0 grams – please check that.

8) Then take the red block and move it onto the balance taking care to place it in the center of the balance.

9) Leave the red block on the balance for now. 10) Record the mass of the red block in Table 1. 11) Is there a change in volume? Note down the initial volume of the meniscus in mL. (volume

of just the water ….without the red block in the water) 12) Enter the initial volume into Table 1

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13. You have completed one observation. Second observation 14. You need to change the mass by moving the blue ball a little to the right and go thought steps 1-12. This will be observation 2. Third observation 15. Then you need to change the mass one more time by moving the blue ball a little more to the right and go through steps 1-12. This will be observation 3. Fourth Observation 16. Next move the blue ball all the way to the right so that the block sinks to the very bottom. go through steps 1-12. This will be observation 4.

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Fifth Observation 17. Remember you need two more observations making sure that the red block is submerged in the water. So keep the blue ball to the very right and make changes with the volume by moving the red ball only, making sure that the red block is submerged in the water. Complete observation 5 by changing the volume and not the mass Sixth Observation 18. Remember you need two more observations making sure that the red block is submerged in the water. So keep the blue ball to the very right and make changes with the volume by moving the red ball only, making sure that the red block is submerged in the water. Complete observation 6 by changing volume again one more time but not the mass. Table 1 Effect of changing mass and volume on density (make sure you include units)

Observation number

Mass Final volume (Vf)

Initial volume (Vi)

Change in volume (DV) = Final volume (Vf) – initial volume (Vi)

Mass/DV (Do the calculation and plug in the number)

1

2

3

4

5

6

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Part 2 – Density of same material when you change the liquid

1) Press the reset button (label #3) to clear the simulation 2) DO NOT Press the “Turn fluid into water” button (label #1) yet. It should instead say fluid

density is 2.5 g/mL 3) Move the blue mass button and the red volume button around until the red block is

completely submerged in the water. 4) Note down the final volume of the meniscus in mL (volume with the red block in the fluid)

in Table 2 5) The balance should be at 0.0 grams – please check that. 6) Then take the red block and move it onto the balance taking care to place it in the center

of the balance. 7) Leave the red block on the balance for now. 8) Record the mass of the red block in Table 2. 9) Is there a change in volume? Note down the initial volume of the meniscus in mL. (volume

of just the water ….without the red block in the water) 10) Enter the initial volume into Table 2 11) Next Press the “Turn fluid into water” button (label #1) 12) Check to ensure the fluid density is 1.00 g/mL since we are working with water (label #3) 13) Do not touch the red and blue buttons 14) Repeat steps 4-10 and enter the data into table 2

Table 2 Effect of changing fluid on density (make sure you include units)

Obs #

Fluid density Mass in Final volume (Vf) in

Initial volume (Vi) in

Change in volume (DV) in ___ = Final volume (Vf) – initial volume (Vi)

Mass/DV (Do the calculation and plug in the number) Units?

1 1 some other liquid (fluid density = 2.5 g/mL)

2 water (fluid density = 2.5 g/mL)

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Section 3 – Density of various materials in water For each material you can choose (label #7) please follow the same directions. I am using ??? as an example to show how you need to work with the simulation to gather data.

1) Press the reset button (label #3) to clear the simulation 2) Press the “Turn fluid into water” button (label #1) 3) Check to ensure the fluid density is 1.00 g/mL since we are working with water (label #3) 4) Note down the initial volume in the meniscus in mL 5) Choose “???” from the panel (label #7) and a unknown (green colored) bar should appear

inside the beaker.

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6) Is there a change in volume? Note down the final volume in the meniscus in mL. 7) The balance should be at 0.0 grams – please check that. 8) Then take the gold bar and move it onto the balance taking care to place it in the center

of the balance. 9) Write down the mass of the unknown (???) bar. 10) Enter all the values into Table 3

11) Repeat steps 1-10 to get similar data for the gold, lead, foram, ice, iron, wood, and rubber and enter them into table 3.

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Table 3 Examining different materials (don’t forget the units)

Material being used

How does the material behave when immersed in water

Mass Final volume (Vf)

Initial volume (Vi)

Change in volume (DV) = Final volume (Vf) – initial volume (Vi)

1

unknown

2

3

4

5

6

7