In “Lighten Up, Sir David, Our Wildlife is Safe,” Matt Ridley expertly combines simple and apt diction to the public with ample evidence. to counter the Malthusian concerns raised by Sir David Attenborough. Throughout the passage, Ridley also uses clearly organized structure and key rhetorical appeals, such as appeals to ethos, to support his argument that the human population will not leave substantial negative effects on the environment in the decades to come. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay While the passage was first published in the Times newspaper of London, Ridley cleverly adjusts his writing style to the demands of writing for a large and varied audience. This is clearly seen through the organization of the passage, which centers on two premises of Sir Attenborough's argument: that the world will be more populated and have fewer wild animals in 100 years. After introducing these premises in paragraph 1, Ridley moves on to formulate his claims in paragraph 3. Each of his claims is explained in two easy-to-follow paragraphs: paragraphs 4-5 and 6-7 respectively, before reaching to a clear conclusion. » in paragraph 8. Such simple organization ensures that Ridley's message is delivered with maximum impact and allows his ideas to shine loud and clear. But Ridley doesn't just stop at an easy-to-follow organization. He skillfully uses relatively simple diction and sentence structure to increase his audience reach. Although some parts of the essay can get technical and data-heavy, such as paragraph 4, Ridley is careful to use a casual tone to maintain the audience's interest. For example, Ridley uses simple, simple terms such as "richer countries" (paragraph 7) instead of "more economically developed countries", as well as colorful, everyday words such as "spring", "moved", " pleasant" and happy." (paragraph 8) All of these techniques serve to reduce the distance between writer and reader, with the ultimate effect that the article reads like a friendly conversation. This of course makes for an excellent persuasion technique – who wouldn't trust a friend? This is not to downplay the role of data in this essay, which should provide a solid basis for Ridley's assertions. However, even if the figures used in this passage add to the. logical reasoning and evidence, they also serve a much more important purpose: increasing the credibility of the author By opposing the claims of a well-known naturalist and therefore expert on the subject, Ridley appeals extensively to ethos. to solidify its credibility. Besides using quantitative figures, as in the last sentence of paragraph 4, Ridley also makes another notable appeal to ethos: convincing his audience that they share his moral beliefs. Rather than attack Sir Attenborough's argument as unhelpful, for example by claiming that humans do not benefit from nature or wildlife, Ridley instead takes a more nuanced approach. By describing Sir Attenborough's view as "one that I shared" (paragraph 2), Ridely assures his audience that he is not a cold-hearted monster who only wants technological innovation, even at the expense of the environment. This assurance allows the audience to trust the author more, thus opening a key door to persuasion. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get an article now.