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Rhetorical Analysis of an Argumentative Essay
In the article “NRA Woman’s Voice,” Elizabeth Swasey argues that the state levels of
government should pass laws allowing concealed carry laws in their state. She argues vulnerable
citizens, especially women, should be allowed to carry concealed weapons to defend themselves
against criminals like Mark Steven Hughes. The target audience for this article is conservative
Americans, especially policymakers at the state levels. This audience includes Americans in
support of the Second Amendment and believe in personal freedom and self-defense and are
concerned about the safety of vulnerable Americans, like women. Elizabeth Swasey’s essay also
appeals to women who feel threatened by increasing crime rates against women and seek
protective measures. Swasey develops her argument to resonate with individuals in authority and
willingness to advocate for concealed laws. In the article, Elizabeth Swasey effectively applies
ethos and pathos to advocate for women to be allowed to carry guns but her logic is weak and
faulty even though she shares relatable stories and facts supporting her argument.
Elizabeth Swasey establishes her credibility by discussing a topic that affects women. In
the article, Elizabeth advocates for the state-level government to pass laws allowing concealed
carry laws. She uses women to validate this claim by illustrating why women are victims of most
gun-related crimes. Elizabeth states “The January 4 cover story featured in Newsweek reported
that 30,000 to 50,000 Muslim women have been raped in Bosnia. But twice that number of
women--106,593 to be exact—were raped in the United States in 1991 alone” (Swasey par. 8).
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The target audience values women and believes them to be very important for every state. The
women value justice, equality, self-protection, independence and safety, which Elizabeth
advocates for. Also, the audience generally believes women to be more vulnerable than their
counterparts men. Through advocating for women to be allowed to carry guns anywhere they go,
Elizabeth appeals to these audiences' beliefs and values illustrating that guns allow women to
defend themselves thus keeping them safe. She uses women and the fact they are vulnerable to
persuade the audience, especially policymakers, because the lives of women are at stake and
there is a need to act.
Elizabeth’s argumentative essay evokes the emotions of fear, anger, and sympathy in the
target audience. The author evokes the emotions of fear through Suzanna’s case. Elizabeth
narrates how a criminal killed Suzanna’s parents and several other people, something Suzanna
could have prevented if she carried her gun with her from the car. Elizabeth states “On Oct. 14,
1991, Suzanna dutifully left her handgun in the trunk of her car while she joined her parents for
lunch at Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen, Tex. Minutes later, a madman entered and slaughtered 22
people—including Suzanna’s parents” (Swasey par. 4). This evokes the emotions of fear and
illustrates to the target audience why it is of much important to allow women to carry weapons.
Elizabeth also successfully evokes the emotions of anger and sympathy through Mark Steven
Hughes's case. She narrates how Mark Steven Hughes bludgeoned a 10-month-old James Pompa
to death and even pleaded guilty during the trial. He was released on parole six months before he
was even sentenced (Swasey par. 11). This case makes the audience sympathize with the victim,
James, and his family. The case also evokes the emotion of anger through what Mark Steven
Hughes did and he did not pay for the crimes he did. Instead of receiving punishment for his
crimes in jail, he received parole months before his sentence due to a “good time” jail credit.
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This case urges the target audience particularly policymakers to enact strict laws that ensure
criminals get what they deserve. This helps ensure women do not meet people like Mark Steven
Hughes in the streets who have cruel intent. Elizabeth successfully employs ethos by evoking
emotions of fear, anger, and sympathy that further advocate for her argument of allowing
concealed carry laws.
Elizabeth's argumentative essay ineffectively uses facts and statistics to appeal to the
audience's logic. Elizabeth uses several facts and statistics to support her argument but fails to
cite her sources. She argues why women are the most vulnerable to gun violence and other
crimes. For instance, Elizabeth states “The January 4 cover story featured in Newsweek reported
that 30,000 to 50,000 Muslim women have been raped in Bosnia. But twice that number of
women--106,593 to be exact—were raped in the United States in 1991 alone” (Swasey par. 8).
She argues for the states to enact concealed carry laws that will see women defend themselves
against crimes like rape and others. She gives numbers of women victims in different countries
but fails to mention the sources she borrowed the numbers from, rendering them just claims.
However, Elizabeth also acknowledges counterarguments to her argument. She gives the
example of AI Gore, a U.S. senator who “voted against the instant criminal background check
while voting in favor of a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons” (Swasey par. 7). She states
that people like AI Gore believe allowing concealed carry laws is a threat to national security.
She addresses these counterarguments by illustrating how Americans face a major enemy that is
real, criminals. She quotes President Clinton stating violent crimes terrorize the people of
America and instill fear in them. This narrowly intensifies the article’s appeal to the audience’s
logic by illustrating the severity of the issue at hand. Overall, Elizabeth ineffectively uses
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statistics and facts to illustrate why her argument is valid and why the audience should act. She
states several figures and facts without mentioning their sources, rendering them bogus claims.
In “NRA Woman’s Voice,” Elizabeth Swasey effectively employs ethos, pathos to
convince conservative Americans to enact concealed carry laws. However, she ineffectively
employs logos through stating claims and numbers but does not cite her sources. Elizabeth states
facts, statistics, and a few crime examples to convince the why the audience must act and allow
vulnerable citizens like women to carry weapons anywhere they go but does not show her
sources where the audience can verify them. This renders her numbers bogus claims that may fail
to sway conservative Americans to support her argument even though she believes enacting
concealed carry laws will greatly reduce crime rates across the different states.
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Works Cited
Swasey, Elizabeth. "NRA Woman’s Voice." The Informed Argument: A Multi-Disciplinary
Reader, edited by Robert K. Miller, Harcourt Brace, 2001.
