How successfully the writer communicates her message

Introduction

Part of your assignment asks you to assess if Bryce Covert is successful in communicating her message in “The Trump Administration Says Poverty Is Over. They’re Lying.” To assess this aspect of the article, you should consider to whom and how the writer delivers her message.

Poverty in the US is real

Part of Bryce Covert’s message is that poverty in the US is a real, complex phenomenon that has reached unacceptable levels. She contrasts this with the Trump administration’s intention to impose work requirements on welfare programs, which indicates the administration’s belief that poverty is only is caused by citizens failing to work: “The true problem, the administration claims, is not that people are poor, but that they’ve been made lazy and have to be forced to work.” (ll. 8-10)

Broadly speaking, Covert’s message targets all Americans and people who are interested in American society’s issues. She draws their attention by creating pathos from the beginning of the article and in the title, arguing that the American people are being lied to: “The Trump administration would like you to believe that poverty doesn’t really exist in the United States of America” (ll. 1-2). This will also draw the sympathy of readers who already dislike the Trump administration, as they might be more inclined to believe her statements.

To send the message that poverty in the US is real, Covert relies on the authority of researchers and institutions (ethos), offering readers statistics that show the dimensions of poverty in the US: “15.6 million American families were food insecure for at least part of 2016, meaning they had limited access to food because they couldn’t afford what they needed.” (ll....