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Nora Benson

English 250
Ms. Fender
September 28, 2014
Every president has to deal with an American tragedy, and to help the American
population understand and cope with what happened. President George W. Bush had
to help Americans all over the country understand 9/11. President Barack Obama has
to help the American people understand the ISIS terrorist group and what they are
capable of doing. On September 5, 1988 President Ronald Regan had to explain to the
American public what happened when the Soviets attacked a Korean Airliner.
In Ronald Regans speech, he stated that what had happened wasnt justified at
all. There had been another incident in 1978 that the Soviets shot at an unarmed
civilian airliner. In his speech, he sounds very frustrated and unsure and nervous about
what to do going forward. He talks about what happened, and his thoughts about
what to do next. He stated that he had already talked to Congress about passing a
joint resolution of condemnation of what the Soviets did.
The speech used pathos by appealing to the American public and Ronald Regan
repeatedly kept stating that it was such a tragedy which appealed to the American
population. He shared how he felt about everything that had happened, and stated
the importance of getting everything figured out to make sure it wouldnt happen
again. The speech used ethos by stating what was ethically right. Personally, I think
this speech was very strong in its uses of ethos. Thats how I think Presidents

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speeches appeal most to the American public. A speech would appeal to me mainly if
the speaker promised that they were going to do ethically right if the American
people were wronged by any country or group of people. Currently, President Obama
talks about how hes going to make things right by the American people for all the
wrongs ISIS has done, and that makes me more appealed to listen to what he has to
say. The speech uses logos by Ronald Regan stating off the facts about what
happened. This was the weakest rhetorical appeals that was used during the speech, I
personally believe that he wanted to have the American people come together during
the tragic event.
The speech was organized by sympathizing with the American people in the
beginning. He shared a personal story from one of the victims family. Then he stated
that there was no justification for what happened. There was absolutely no
justification, either legal or moral, for what the Soviets did. (Ronald Regan,
September 5, 1983) Next, he provided information about what he was trying to do
with Congress and his opinion about what should be done. He ended the speech by
saying, Thank you. God bless you, and good night. (Ronald Regan, September 5,
1983). It makes the listeners feel like hes talking specifically to them. He quoted
Abraham Lincoln, which I think helped the reader relate more to the speech. He
wanted the American people to have faith in what Abraham Lincoln said. The speech
was formal, stating many facts and what his decisions were to move forward with the
situation.
I believe that this speech was effective in getting to the American people.
Ronald Regan used many pathos which was effective emotionally to the American

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people. Personally, I believe that it was effective. I really enjoyed the fact that he
included a lot of pathos and quoted another president. It helped create a relationship
between two different time periods, and helped me feel a connection with what the
American people were going through at that time. It might not have been the same
experience, but they had to go through a hardship and come together as a society.
This speech has made me feel a connection between what we Americans are going
through now, and what the Americans in 1983 were feeling. Speeches are an effective
way to communicate with fellow Americans, speeches make it easier for Americans to
be informed about what is going on with the society. It also makes it easy for the
public to hear what the president has to say. If they arent available to listen to it
right away, they have other ways to be able to hear what they have to say.

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Work Cited Page
Regan, Ronald. "Miller Center."Speech on the Soviet Attack on a Korean Airliner (September 5,
1983)-. Miller Center, 5 Sept. 1983. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.!

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Nora,
You do a generally good job of introducing your analysis. Your first two paragraphs
set a context and background for your analysis. However, where I think the analysis
fails is when you cover more than one main idea per paragraph. For example when
you speak to the pathos, ethos, and logos appeals in one paragraph, it appears that
you rushed through your analysis and did not put much thought into how each appeal.
You also talk about the organization of the President Reagan speech, but you do
not fully develop this rhetorical strategy. This would be a good essay to revise for
your final portfolio. If you decide to do so, please fully develop the rhetorical
appeals and discuss at least two rhetorical strategies.
Ms. Fender