Rhetorical Analysis of a Research Paper in the Subject of Global Change

The original research paper that I chose to analyze is an empirical test of the relative and combined effects of land-cover and climate change on local colonization and extinction by Yalcin and Leroux (2018). This topic of understanding the effects of global issues is a common one to be studied, but I found this one interesting because this is the first one I came across that includes various variables. This research focuses specifically on the way certain bird species are affected. It is mentioned several times that this combined study is rare, which was further intriguing. The purpose of this rhetorical analysis is to observe the author’s writing strategy and understand how they chose to convey their message. I will be observing the author’s purpose, intended audience, tone, how they chose to give importance to some information more than others, how they use ethos, logos, and pathos, etc.

This text is most likely intended for conservationists and other scientists who have already done research on this field or were planning to find resources to use as a basis to conduct further research. The discussion at the end of the report mentions that this topic needs further exploration to come to a more definite conclusion. The text also says that a greater understanding of the effects of global changes can be achieved if there were “continued observational studies based on long-term monitoring data” (Yalcin and Leroux, 2018, p. 3858). It is also unmistakably directed to conservationists who can use this research “to develop successful conservation strategies for biodiversity” (p. 3858). This helps to give meaning behind the research. The language of this text is fairly clear, there are clarifications provided in a lot of the methods and analysis. The purpose, topic, and findings of this text can be understood clearly. However some knowledge of this topic is required beforehand since some aspects were left without further elaboration.

The authors of this study are Semra Yalcin and Shawn James Leroux. They both studied at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada. This research was published by Blackwell Publishing. The Wiley-Blackwell company is an oxford-based international publishing company that edits and produces scholarly journals in science, medicine, and technology. Their fortitude is in every major academic and professional field, and partnerships with many of the world’s leading societies (Wiley-Blackwell, n.d.).  Yalcin and Leroux (2018) is funded by Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Several previous studies are cited within the text to show the author’s knowledge of the subject and research they are conducting.

The information of the authors, their funding, and their publisher were all within the paper itself, appealing to ethos by showing their credibility. The main purpose of the authors is to inform. Their hypothesis is that changes in bird species behavior can be explained by land-cover changes and the temperature of different seasons. At the introductory section of this study, it was mentioned that this would contribute information to develop ideas to face the global changes and save species from extinction. This aspect of the text strongly appeals to the pathos by connecting the study to a world cause, which helps the readers support and take interest in this original research. The part of the research that appeals to logos are mostly in the methods and results section. Every method is justified by stating how and why it is being implemented into their study and citations are included, which appeals to both ethos and logos. It is also implied that some variables were included because previous studies on this topic suggested that it could enhance the research. Multiple representations of their data was given in the results, it included plot point and bar graphs.

Yalcin and Leroux (2018) includes and has specific labels for introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion, which follows the IMRAD format. This structure was easy to identify because it was organized in the exact IMRAD manner, the authors most likely chose to sort their information this way for the reader, so that it can be familiar and effortless to follow. It also creates a research space (CARS), it establishes a territory by claiming centrality and making generalizations. This is done by repeatedly addressing that this research is important to help future species preservations and by citing and summarizing previous research and talking about what those studies were missing. By doing this it gives the research study more significance, showing why this will add to existing information, and helps to build a sense of necessity.

Lastly, this study also establishes a niche by indicating a gap and continuing a tradition, this was done by mentioning what previous studies were missing and what they have implemented in their own studies to improve results. They also explain how they were able to plan out their methods despite it being complex due to multiple variables. This gives the paper a sense of uniqueness by further proving how it is unlike the research that has been conducted before. Lastly, the paper occupies a niche by announcing their purpose of research in introduction and include principal findings in the later sections. They address that their hypothesis was wrong, and make assumptions on what could have enhanced their data collecting abilities. Other conclusions were stated based on the data, despite them not supporting the hypothesis, and justifying why this information would be useful. They were able to give more urgency to the cause by admitting that their research showed more inconsistency with assumptions made about species and what the data proves. It gives importance to future studies that are needed to observe and measure more variables than what they have included.

By writing this rhetorical, I have further improved my skills of analyzing a piece of text. This is my first time going in depth with writing strategies that an author uses. Being able to identify the way the author chose to structure their text and why they did it this way, helps me discover skills that I can utilize in my own writing. With this original research, one of the strategies for giving importance to the study was by showing why the data was just as significant despite it not relating to their assumptions. It emphasized on what they did find, rather than what they were unable to prove.

References

Wiley-Blackwell. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Brand/id-35.html

Yalcin, S., & Leroux, S. J. (2018). An empirical test of the relative and combined effects of land-cover and climate change on local colonization and extinction. Global Change Biology, 24(8), 3849-3861. https://doi-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/10.1111/gcb.14169