SAT Essay Practice #3

The Best News You Don’t Know Analysis – Javier Lam

Poverty is a huge topic in this world, and Nicholas Kristof, a writer for the New York Times, shares his thoughts on fighting against extreme poverty. By using evidence, reasoning, and persuasive elements, he builds an argument on his viewpoints about poverty in this world.

First, Kristof uses a lot of evidence, including data and opinions from professionals, to back up his opinions. He argues the misconceptions set by people in America, stating, “… about 9 out of 10 Americans believer that global poverty has worsened or stayed the same over the last 20 years.” Then, he backs it up with a claim from the United Nations, arguing, “The number of people living in extreme poverty has tumbled by half in two decades.” This is a smart way of arguing because he assumes we are the ones who believe that global poverty increased, and confronts us by using a claim from professionals who study poverty. Without one of the two evidences used, the other evidence would not have the persuasive element that supports the other claim right now.

Then, Kristof uses reasoning to prove his viewpoints on poverty. He points out, “… if more children’s lives are saved, they will just grow up to have more babies and cause new famines and cycles of poverty.” He argues against this point with his opinion, stating, “Not so! In fact, when parents are assured that their children will survive, they choose to have fewer of them.” He backs this point up with statistics of births per mother in each country to support his claim. It is a clever way of arguing because he can show both sides of the field, advocate for one side using evidence, and backing it up with an original thought. This makes reasoning an effective tool in his argument.

Finally, Kristof uses different persuasive and stylistic arguments to convince the readers. His first sentence, “The world is a mess…” uses a solid entrance to his argument by giving his stance right away. Continuing on the sentence, he states, “… with billions of people locked in inescapable cycles of war, famine and poverty, with more children than ever perishing from hunger, disease and violence.” This sentence has two Magic Three’s, used to describe billions of people and children under problematic issues, giving us an image on suffering in this world. This solid first sentence claim is an extremely effective persuasive element that convinces the reader to head straight into the main points of his argument.

Poverty is a huge topic, and Kristof’s effective uses of evidence, reasoning, and persuasive elements convince the reader to understand poverty. As a journalist, Nicholas Kristof’s way of analyzing poverty is effective and does persuade the reader to understand the main issue much easier.