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Rhetorical Analysis - 3

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44 views4 pages

Rhetorical Analysis - 3

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api-741567530
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Rachel Bryant

Ms. Madeline Scott

RC 1000-108_Expository Writing

28 February 2024

Analysis of Akana’s Video Essay

“An Argument for Positive Psychology”, a YouTube video by Anna Akana, speaks on the

benefits of positive psychology, a study done by psychologist Martin Seligman. Akana builds her

argument through the use of credibility, rhetorical devices, and logical examples and reasoning.

In this rhetorical analysis, I will discuss the successful effects of Akana and Seligman’s rhetorical

strategies of logos, ethos, and pathos as they relate to building their claim and persuading the

audience.

Akana utilizes logos to support her agreement with the study by bringing in research and

factual evidence from a TedTalk done by the “father of happiness science”(Akana), Martin

Seligman. This TedTalk by Seligman is called A New Era for Positive Psychology, and it goes

over his years of study and what his conclusions came to be and including this is not only the

basis of her video, but it also demonstrates the impacts of positive thinking on mental health and

well-being. Bringing in the science aids Akana in solidifying her argument and appealing to

readers’ logic and rationalism.

As referenced in the video essay by Akana, Martin Seligman’s authority coming from his

fifty plus years of experience as a psychologist, serves as a form of ethos. Akana emphasizes the

fact that Seligman holds his PhD in psychology and by this statement, the audience can form a
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sense of trust in Seligman because he obviously knows what he’s talking about. Additionally,

Akana mentions that Seligman served as the president of the American Psychological

Association in 1998 and that he founded the learned helplessness theory. Including these pieces

of information about Seligman strengthens his credibility and really tops the cake on Akana’s use

of ethos. Akana too knows what she’s talking about because she is able to list off facts and

details that describe Seligman’s study and this gives credibility and authority to her by allowing

her to show off her dedication to learning about the topic and allowing the audience to trust her

as well. Mentioning Seligman’s background in psychology and demonstrating her knowledge on

the topic, Akana’s use of the rhetorical strategy ethos ties the video together by making it seem

reliable and trustworthy in the eyes of the viewers.

Akana also utilizes the rhetorical strategy pathos when she references Seligman’s TedTalk

by bringing to light the many hardships and roadblocks that Seligman went through with his

mental illness that ultimately led to his creation of positive psychology. She speaks about

Seligman being looked down upon and ridiculed about his theory because he struggles with

mental illness in a storytelling manner and this is an example of pathos because it tugs on the

audience’s heart strings and influences them to feel bad for him. The tone in Akana’s voice while

telling her audience about Seligman’s struggles was melancholy and almost longing sounding

which turned on the audience’s feelings and allowed space for the audience to sympathize for

Seligman and even gets them to empathize with him by possibly thinking about their personal

experiences with mental illness.

Akana uses several visuals to strengthen her persuasiveness. The video uses visuals such

as text, images, and including her face while she talks in the video. She uses text to emphasize
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certain phrases and sentences like putting Seligman’s approach of The Pleasant Life, The Good

Life, and The Meaningful Like on the screen to highlight the importance of those three things

because they shape her claim on positive psychology. Her inclusion of adding text to the screen

while discussing the topics adds visual interest to her video and helps to reinforce her claim. The

video also uses images of Seligman during his TedTalk, the website he created, and a cognitive

behavioral therapy book that relates to positive psychology. These images are there to help her

audience understand the topic and stay present and intrigued in her video.

By using a wide variety of rhetorical strategies, Anna Akana builds an argument for

positive psychology in her video ‘An Argument for Positive Psychology.’ The video as a whole

is attention grabbing, but her use of rhetorical strategies and multimodality really demonstrates

why Akana’s videos are so successful and how she effectively constructs a valid argument in this

video essay. Akana uses logos, ethos, and pathos in order to create an argument that is logical,

credible, and emotional. Because Akana uses a conversational and persuasive tone, the argument

has an engaging appeal to her audience and is able to encourage critical thinking.
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Work Cited

Akana, Anna, director. An Argument for Positive Psychology. 2023. YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ta6sJmXgNs.

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