Rhetorical Analysis #5

The following is an analysis of an article called “The effects of binge drinking on college students’ next-day academic test-taking performance and mood state”:

What are the consequences of binge drinking on college student’s next day academic testing performance and mood state?

Claim: Binge drinking decreases academic performance and mood.

Reason: Because high blood alcohol levels are detrimental to memory, self-esteem, and the ability to focus.

Implicit assumption: Whatever is detrimental to memory, self-esteem and the ability to focus also decreases academic performance and mood.

Audience: Other researchers and medical professionals who are concerned about how much college students drink.

Goal: Do more research on this topic and help college students realize that drinking can be detrimental not only to their physical and emotional health but also to their mental health.

How: This is a peer reviewed article, which gives it a lot of credibility. What adds to this credibility is the fact that it was conducted by researchers that are from the Youth Alcohol Prevention Center at Boston University School of Public Health, the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University, the Abt Associates, and the Boston Medical Center. They also explain in detail how the study was conducted, so the reader can trust them and their results because they are explained step-by-step. Also, they were very honest about their findings. From the beginning of the article, it seemed like they were convinced that they would find evidence to support their claim, yet they did not. They did not try to spin the results in a way that would favor their claim, they simple stated the facts. At the end, they did say that they still believed their original claim: binge drinking would affect academic performance. However, they realized that the way they tested academic performance was not the only way performance is evaluated. So it is possible that drinking affects other areas, just not the area that they tested. There is not much pathos in this article, mostly statistics and concrete evidence. The logic of the article goes hand in hand with ethos. It is credible and logical research. Their methods are well-thought out and carried out carefully. There is logic in the way they conducted the research, they made sure other factors like sleep deprivation, caffeine and alcohol consumption, and pregnancy would not get in the way of their results. The article gives sufficient information. As I read it, some of the information went a little over my head, and I would be able to have read the article without it, but considering the target audience, I’m sure this technical information was needed. It is typical for a research study. It was actually quite a bit easier to read than other studies I have read before, so they may have wanted to make it typical for a larger audience, so not just other researchers and medical professionals could understand it. It must be accurate since it is peer-reviewed. It is very relevant to the target audience and the topic of drinking.

Effectiveness: Unfortunately, it does not persuade me to believe their claim, simply because the research could not prove it. Therefore, the lynch pin is the research.