Ha 1 Hoang Viet Ha Vu Thi Diem Phuc MSc. Advanced Writing TAN209E 27 September 2023 Rhetorical Analysis of “Plagiarism in America” Published in 2014, Stephen Reid’s “The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers” tenth edition is a prestigious and succinct instruction of the writing process at Colorado State University. The text “Plagiarism in America” written by Dudley Erskine Devlin is one work contained in the book. This critical analysis will provide a summarization and scrutinize the effectiveness of the text’s rhetorical, to evaluate the efficacy of the author’s communication to the audience. In his work, Devlin examines strategies for preventing plagiarism and proposes the implementation of heightened surveillance and stricter penalties within the American educational system as recommended solutions. Firstly, he addresses an alarming situation of plagiarism in America. By using data collected from different surveys, he once again confirms the urgency of this issue and suggests that penalties are necessary. Secondly, the author mentions two contrasting perspectives on plagiarism reduction: increasing surveillance and punishment for plagiarized students and underscoring the significance of education. The first viewpoint uplifts the vigilance of teachers and encourages them to levy stringent punishments, meanwhile the second elaborates on both internal and external reasons for the phenomenon and suggests honor codes and tutorials as an educational treatment. Finally, Devlin delivers his assertion. He contends that although educational solutions have a positive result, it is inadequate for this "tidal Ha 2 wave of cheating" since students have already acknowledged the immorality of plagiarism. The author exhorts imposing strict punishment and surveillance. He believes that only swift penalties can help students recognize the consequences of their unethical acts. As observed from the essay, Devlin's target audience is schools and teachers as he intends to promote the idea of a "zero tolerance policy" as a solution for plagiarism according to the gradual expansion of this problem across American educational institutions. The text has successfully transferred its statement to the intended audience, with the use of text organization, language, style, and evidence. The rhetorical appeals which are ethos, pathos, and logos are perfectly applied. Initially, to reach ethos and logos, Devlin uses references from reputable resources or eminent researchers as evidence. He operates data from Pew Internet & American Life Project a nonpartisan organization and McCabe's report in Education Digest to illustrate the current plagiarism situation in America. Devlin also cites quotes from researcher Timothy Dodd of Duke University to gain deeper insights into students’ plagiarism excuses. He mentions the Mountain Lakes High School's honor code and Trip Gabriel's statistics in the New York Times as successful applications of educational solutions. In terms of proving the effectiveness of the surveillance and punishment system, Devlin quotes the description of Trip Gabriel about a testing system at the University of Central Florida. Overall, the evidence applied in the text has been carefully and wisely opted by the author, helps straightforwardly support the ideas of the author and appeals to the audiences’ sense of credibility and logic, since facts and statistics used make the claims of Devlin more prestigious. Subsequently, the text’s appeal to logos and ethos has also been endorsed by the logical outline and clear, rational connections between ideas. Devlin first claims plagiarism’s popularity Ha 3 in America to aware the audience aware of the situation, then introduces swift punishment and educational treatment as two approaches to mitigate plagiarism among students. He continues by analyzing the pros and cons of two suggested methods to help the audience gain deeper insights, as well as listing out reasons that students claim for their excuses. In the end, he concludes that surveillance and punishment are more suitable for potential solutions. Moreover, by analyzing both two methods objectively, using facts and data collected from various credible resources, Devlin avoids bias and maintains credibility. Last but not least, via the language, style, and tone, Devlin influences readers with pathos. The author employs various words to show his concerns about the phenomenon and a sense of urgency: "dramatically" increased numbers of plagiarism, or plagiarism in America has "reached an epidemic stage". The tone also appears to be persuasive and assertive when analyzing two solutions. Devlin unapologetically uses dispirited words and phrases while pointing out the ineffectiveness of honor codes and tutorials. For instance, he makes a comparison between students' copying issue and the "tidal wave of cheating", insinuating that teachers' efforts to educate through honor codes tutorials are merely a drop in the bucket. Nevertheless, when referring to the zero-tolerance approach, the author uses descriptive language to make a parallel with the "DUI penalties" to emphasize the efficacy of the solution, highlighting his favor of this method. Imperative and forceful language is also applied to make the audience feel the urge to apply suggested actions immediately, for example, Devlin writes "teachers must be more vigilant" and "students who plagiarize must be punished swiftly and severely". It can be seen that Devlin's style in this text is persuasive when convincing readers that strict action should be taken to reduce plagiarism in schools. Ha 4 In conclusion, Devlin achieves his purpose of conveying his message to the intended audience. By applying a competent, well-mixed combination of rhetorical elements, he effectively reaches the aim to exhort surveillance and punishment application. Ha 5 Works Cited Devlin, Dudley E. “Plagiarism in America.” The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. 10th ed., authored by Stephen Reid, 2014.
