Utilizing sources and evidence to support claims is a vital aspect in the process of writing. With nothing to support arguments, any claim being made will come off as mere speculation. In order to persuade the audience to favor my side of an argument, evidence from outside sources is necessary to include in my writing pieces. As an example, in my piece “College Student’s Macro-obsession Over Microaggressions” I included a series of quotes from Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt’s “The Coddling of the American Mind,” where they discuss the of censorship in college campuses across the United States, specifically, the trending topics of microaggressions and trigger warnings.

“…Practically out of the novel 1984 by George Orwell, the authors added an example of an incident at Ithaca College, where students ‘went so far as to propose the creation of an anonymous microaggression-reporting system. Student sponsors envisioned some form of disciplinary action against “oppressors’ engaged in belittling speech. One of the sponsors of the program said that while ‘not … every instance will require trial or some kind of harsh punishment,’ she wanted the program to be ‘record-keeping but with impact'” (Lukianoff and Haidt 480-481). Lukianoff and Haidt acknowledged that these aspiring Thought Police have good intentions to ‘raise questions and initiate discussions about such cases’ in which ‘people make subtle or thinly veiled racist or sexist remarks on college campuses,’ nevertheless, they effectively refute actions of the students by presenting a fair counter argument that readers can understandably get behind (480)…”

When selecting quotes from Lukianoff and Haidt’s article, I wanted to portray the authors’ rhetoric and uses of pathos to intimate the reader. By including examples of the authors’ attempts at coercing the audience, it allows the reader of my rhetorical analysis to see for themselves the specific persuasion techniques being applied. In addition, by subtly explaining the quotes and forming connections, it takes the pressure off the reader to do the effort themselves, allowing for a more enjoyable reading experience. Lukianoff and Haidt’s description of the student activists reminded me of the book 1984, so I thought it would be entertaining to add reference to the classic novel in order to further display the intimidation card that the authors’ are playing.