Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis
Ashley Cavender
Paige Clemens
Megan Dickey
Daniel Jackson
Carol Sieverts
English 1010
24 October 2018
The writer of this article, Karl Thompson, is the Head of Sociology at Reigate Sixth Form
College. Thompson claims he has taught A level sociology for 15 years and has worked as an
examiner on all of the modules for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) (The Free
Dictionary). The AQA compiles specification and holds examinations in various subjects at
GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education), AS and A Level. (“About Us”) The
credibility of Thompson is questionable due to his article being self published, however,
The site this article came from revisesociology.com which is a blog site specifically
designed to help students taking the sociology course. Much of the blog posts contain course
notes and exam preparations to help students with their sociology course. The author states that
much of what is written on the blogs is his own interpretations. This consequently makes the
Thompson’s blog focuses on families and households, education and research methods,
global developments, crime and deviance with theory/methods, and AQA focus. As we
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previously mentioned, Thompson does give a disclaimer stating that the information and advice
that is posted is his own interpretation and students use the information to their own discretion.
Thompson argues that the labels that teachers give to their students have a lasting impact
on those children, even as they grow into adults. This is especially true, he believes, as it relates
For the purposes of his article, Thompson defines labelling as “the process of defining a
person or group in a simplified way – narrowing down the complexity of the whole person and
fitting them into broad categories.” He states that labelling can occur when a teacher evaluates a
student based on behavior or it can occur if a teacher labels a student based on preconceived
notions of ethnicity, gender, or age. Thus, teacher labelling can be founded on stereotypes.
He further believes that the effect these labels have on students is connected with the
Thompson then discusses previous studies on the issue of teacher labelling. The first
study he examines was conducted by David Hargreaves and two other men. Thompson believes
Hargreaves found that teachers often will speculate on the personalities and traits of a student
and then label them according to their perceptions; it is often difficult for the teacher to change
He also mentions a study by Ray Rist. Thompson says that Ray argued that teacher
labelling often occurs because of the students social background, not on their actual abilities. He
also cites research from Rosenthal and Jacobson to back up his argument.
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prophecy. He uses Margaret Fuller’s research to show that sometimes labelling has an opposite
effect. He states that girls in this study by Fuller, when labelled as under-achievers actually
performed better because they pushed themselves harder because of the label. He also points out
that labelling theory is based on the autonomous influence of the teacher without outside
influences, which he states is obviously not a reality. According to Thompson, each child is
He ends the article by reinforcing his belief that the teacher labelling theory is accurate
by presenting a study by Waterhouse. In this study, the way teachers interacted with students was
examined. Thompson says that the study found that once teachers labelled their students as either
“normal” or “deviant” they found it hard if not impossible to interact with the student differently
than the way they would based on their notion of that student.
Logos is established half way through this article. It gives a good overview on how
labeling is affecting students and teachers in the classroom. The labeling theory is one of the
main parts of social action. By applying this method, it gives us a better understanding for human
In a lump sum, it can be compared to looking at social life through a microscope, from
the ground up. There is a consistent message being told in this article and makes the concepts
very easy to understand for both experienced and novice readers. The article conveys its message
in a way that gets the intended message out there. The article uses credible sources that are taken
directly from the classic book, “Deviance in Classrooms.” In this book, they analyze the ways in
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which students are “typed” and “labeled.” Additionally, they interview both teacher and student
Audience awareness is essential for an article to be successful. Thompson knew that his
audience was his own group of college students, and any loyal readers to his educational blog.
Knowing this, he uses simple yet precise language to get his message across. This creates and
increases his appeal to pathos. Often when people see large words, they shy away from the
article for fear of boredom or misunderstanding. However, Thompson fixes this problem by
making it easy for the average college student to understand and learn from.
Thompson states his ethos by pointing out his 15 years of teaching and states he presents
information to help give perspective on sociological topics and to help pass the course. The
author properly cites information and uses good academic language to professionally give
information.
As was previously mentioned, Thompson uses effective language. His message comes
across clearly through simplified word choice, making it easier for the average person to
understand. He uses a professional and informational tone. His choice of using easier words
shows that he would like his message to reach far and wide, through most levels of education.
Thompson uses minimal jargon or slang. He does not develop stereotypes but rather explains
There are both textual and visual elements to this text. Thompson provides a flow chart at
the beginning of the article that breaks down labelling in the classroom and how it can lead to
self fulfilling prophecy. He also provides an image of the cover of the book “Deviance in
Classrooms,” which helped him further the research upon this topic.
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The flow chart was especially helpful to develop the argument of the article. It
summarizes the message of the article very well and makes it simpler to understand how one
things leads to another in the process of labelling. If there were more than two visual elements to
this article it may have been more helpful, but we were able to find more than enough
Thompson has excellent document design. Each time he introduces a new topic, he bolds
it which makes it easier to understand what the next section will be about. He also uses lists to
make it easier for the eyes to move along the points he wants to make. In the bullet lists, we are
given facts that pertain to the article. In the numbered lists, we receive information in
chronological order. For example, he shows us the steps in the labelling process and how one
Thompson utilizes frequent paragraph breaks which again makes it more likely that his
article and message will get out there. The average person does not like to read long blocks of
In conclusion, we feel that this article from Thompson is a well written document and a
good resource to help support our strong response. He summarizes and conveys the research
clearly and informatively. He uses appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos effectively. We plan to use
Works Cited
“About Us.” AQA | Cells | Cell Structure | Structure of Prokaryotic Cells and of Viruses,
2018
REVISION EXPLANATION: