Al Mohsin 1

Formatted: Justified

Murtada Al Mohsin
Dr. Valerie Fazel
ENG 107, 10:30 AM
6 February, 2016
A Rhetorical Analysis of A Review of The Sign of the Burger:
McDonalds and the Culture of Power

Missing quotation marks :]1Commented [VF

The author of the review of the book The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of
Power informs his or her audiences of the exploitative nature of McDonalds to its stakeholders,
using convincing evidences to justify McDonalds being the target for anti-globalization. The
review presents the significance, history, strategies and secrets that perhaps lead to the
conclusion that McDonalds deserves to be the topic of fascination and discussion while evoking
emotions and feelings of Americans and the rest of the world. Through some elements drawn
from the book, the author presents a straight analysis for his or her review, while successfully
advancing using at his or herthe rhetorical appeals of theto persuade audiences the book is

okay, but do you mean :]2Commented [VF

?straightforward analysis
wording is awkward :]3Commented [VF

worth reading because [ ]. My paper analyzes the author's review of the book, The Sign of the
Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power which makes powerful appeals of McDonalds as a

?word choicewhat do you mean :]4Commented [VF

signifier of global culture, an influence to people's lives and an exploitative organization, as

justified byfor the rhetorical appeals, namely ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos, detailed in this essay.

While you use a lot of fancy language :]5Commented [VF

.in this thesis statement, its meaning is unclear

First of all, the review conveniently appeals to ethos of its audiences in a rather unusual
manner. The identity of the author of the review is conspicuously hidden, and in its place are
served the acronyms T.S.-M (Harvard Graduate School of Education). Arguably, the
credibility of the review is done by an anonymous author and stands to be questionable. The
readers do not easily get to trust information from an unknown person or source. The audiences
thus may be quick to form misconceptions about the identity of the author of The Sign of the
Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power review and thereby developing feelings of mistrust.

ethos is an appeal to the author's :]6Commented [VF

credibility

Al Mohsin 2

However, the author of the review may prefer to stay anonymous for reasonable cause. The
authors prefer to hide their identity as a show of the high regard they hold for an author of a
journal publication. Therefore, it can be argued that the author strives to inform rather than to
persuade. This leaves the choice of the audiences to determine the credibility of the review from

But our anonymous author is the the :]7Commented [VF

author of the journal publicationI think you have confused
the authors in this statement

the details provided. The audiences should further find the review credible as it is in an academic
journal adapted from the credible source Harvard Educational Review site.
The author also appeals to ethos of the readership using use of effective language that is
relevant to the subject and topic under discussion. The level of vocabulary is acceptable, and the

Because you continue to discuss the :]8Commented [VF

appeal to ethos but have moved onto a another lengthy

.example I suggest a paragraph break here

sentences are grammatical. For instance, in presenting the major aim of the journal publication
by Kincheloe, the author uses a grammatical statement with intelligible vocabulary which

This is confusingwho is this? make it :]9Commented [VF

clear all the time for your reader

expresses the ideas of the publication. The author says that Kincheloe presents multiple views of
Golden Arches, including the anti-globalization activists target, exploitative company and
global signifier, Joe L. Kincheloe offers a multifaceted view of McDonalds, the Golden
Arches, from the impact on people lives, as a global cultural signifier, and as a corporation
viewed as ranging from an exploitative company to a target for antiglobalization activists (par.
1). He or she cites the significance of the review to the audiences by terming it a revelation of the
significance, history, strategies and secrets associated with McDonald's (Harvard Graduate
School of Education).
Secondly, it is evident that the author of the review for The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and
the Culture of Power adequately appeals to the logic of the readers as a series of factual information
that is detailed in the review. The author uses arguments in his or her review which have been
lifted from Kincheloes publication. For instance, the author takes a direct quote which presents
the source of impetus to the discussions surrounding McDonalds debate (Harvard Graduate
School of Education). This serves to justify the validity of the facts as presented by the author

Okay, so now where is your analysis :]10Commented [VF

of this quotation? How does it support your claim that the
author of the review is appealing to ehtos through this

?example

Al Mohsin 3

from Kincheloe's work. Furthermore, the author gives factual data concerning the previous
studies on the issue of McDonalds and the power culture. Specifically, the author talks about the
1993 Societal McDonaldization by George Ritzer and the Golden Arches East of 1997 by John
Watson, The book includes a review of previous studies on this topic, like George Ritzers
McDonaldization of Society (1993) and John Watsons Golden Arches East: McDonalds in East Asia
(1997) (par. 2). Therefore, the author enhances the view of the information presented in the
review as being factual, thereby appealing to their logos.

So far this is good, but to be really :]11Commented [VF

strong I want a statement from you that analyzes how these

.examples are appeals to logos

Thirdly, severally, by using several phrases that evoke different emotions and feelings in
the read, the author's review appeals to pathos. The review author prepares his or her audiences
mentally by informing them that the arguments in the book are coherent and fluent. This ensures
that the audiences develop free willingness to follow the arguments in the book. What is more,
the author of the review invokes the readers emotions by directly quoting sections of the book
that could arouse their emotions. For instance, as a boy growing up in the rural mountains of
East Tennessee (par. 4). This serves as an opener to the author of the book's personal journey
to modern ideas, methods, and styles. This could easily make the reader to follow up how the
boy growing up in rural mountains opened up to a modern world. In addition, the review author
views McDonald's as a strong symbol of culture, an argument that could easily spark a reader's
emotions, than just a fast food multinational corporation. This is achieved by camouflaging in its
inability to note its symbolism effects. Its role in a positive market and its association to values
that are highly accepted by society like any family appeals to pathos by strategically appealing to

sentence style issue :]12Commented [VF

I am not sure I follow this :]13Commented [VF

?commentwhat do you mean

their audiences to find out how these values exactly helped McDonald's maintain its role and
popularity. The review greatly appeals to the reader's emotions as the author directly quotes part

This sentence's meaning is a little :]14Commented [VF

unclear

of the book's segments to directly address his or her audiences and make a heartfelt appeal to the
reader's emotions. This easily makes the reader want to go through the arguments of the book.

I don't know if it easily makes :]15Commented [VF

readers want to read the book, but by including these
examples in his review, the reviewer might make audiences
curious to read the book

Al Mohsin 24

Finally, because the review was written at a suitable time, states the right subject and
allows the reader to develop deeper insight to everyday happenings, it appeals to kairos . The
author of the review informs the reader that the book includes previous studies on this topic,
and current topics on the topic and it, in fact, advances the current talks and arguments on how
influential McDonald's has been by bringing in new prospects about the conversation. This is
achieved by bringing in economic, educational and sociological views into the discussion. This
happens at a time when there are heated critical analysis and cultural studies that not only
focuses on McDonald's as a cultural signifier. Modernity and postmodernity are remarkably
continuous times that cannot be outdated. It is a continuous debate that stays timely. It focuses
on daily happenings to clearly articulate the difference and developments in both. This review
comes at a time when scholars and educators are curious about new and crucial critical thinking
tools for both their students and themselves. The reviewer's focus on how McDonald's
maintained its popularity and maintained customer loyalty both in campaigns and services is a
real time issue. The author of the review hints on the history of fast food and how these
enterprises relate to the American lifestyle. With this, the review author successfully makes the
review focuses on contemporary issues as the active emergence of fast food across the globe, the
entrance of women into the labor market and women's need to stop by fast foods to buy family
meals. All these are current issues, either emerging or already in varied debates and discussions.
This is a good appeal to kairos that cannot be underestimated. It suggests the shift from staying
at home and entrance into the labor market.
In conclusion, the author of the review of The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of
Power teases his or her readers with a fascinating review which focuses on contemporary issues
that are affecting people across the globe in their daily activities. The review is interesting and
provides many sensible information without being petty and nonsensical. It focuses on real-time
facts and appeals greatly to its readers. The author achieves various appeals by creatively quoting

To me, this is an empty sentence :]16Commented [VF

that does not really provide an analytical statement that
clearly explains how this is an appeal to kairos

Al Mohsin 3

parts of the publication. The author of the review provides a sound reason to follow through the
arguments of the book. The review makes The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power
a must study publication.

5
Works Cited
T.S.-M. The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power. Hepg.org. Harvard
Graduate School of Education, 2002. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

There is a lot of good strong writing happening in this analysis, but still there remains the need
to polish some of your statements and further explain some of your analysis. Overall, however,
this is a good start. Is there anyway you can reset your .docx to American English? I cannot offer
clear comments using the review pane.

Essay formatting (MLA formatting style, see example essay in NFGW on

page 524ff)

19/20

Introduction including a working thesis statement

19/20

Body paragraph for each the appeals; body paragraph begins with a working
topic sentence prepares readers for the appeal analyzed in the paragraph.

38/40

For each appeal: examples (quotations) from the review including the
introduction of those examples and a working analysis for each example
included.

17/20

93/100

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