THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

Purpose

Audience

Rhetorical appeal

Modes & media

Purpose

The author wants to persuade readers to admit him into the law school at Penn.

Audience

His readers are people on the admissions committee at Penn Law School.

Rhetorical appeals

The author establishes ethos by noting his credentials. For example, he mentions his “role in the successful renegotiation of a multimillion-dollar contract with Blue Cross/Blue Shield.”

He appeals to pathos in his discussion of teaching emotionally disturbed students.

Modes & media

Mode = written The author uses text for his personal statement. It is not appropriate to include visuals or audio as part of a personal statement, unless the application specifies that these are acceptable modes.

Medium = print The author probably delivered his personal statement digitally by e-mail.