preview

The American Red Cross Website

Decent Essays

The American Red Cross organizations main focus is recruiting blood donors and volunteers; this is very clear from the first click on their website-a pop up window asking for the reader’s zip code in order to find a donation site near them. The tabs up at the top labeled with large print are inferred to be their most valued ideas. Below each of those tabs is a list of resources related to those individual tabs that help better define their purpose. The American Red Cross website uses the all three of the main types of rhetoric-pathos, ethos, and logos-in a way that benefits their organization and successfully grasps their audience.
Once the “Give Blood” tab has been clicked, a very large photo of a child in a hospital bed covers the page. This is a good example of the use of the pathos rhetoric. This child, who is possibly dying, along with similar photos, spark something in the reader’s heart. It definitely calls for an emotional response that will require action that accompanies their message (the donation of blood or money). This entire website is full of pictures and short messages that warrant an emotional feedback. That being said, the Red Cross is not begging for sympathy or toying with the public’s emotions in a way that makes them seem superficial. They maintain a balance of sensitive content through pictures and messages and dignifying stoicism in their data.
This website has a lot of ethos appeal as well. The tab “About Us” has a subsection of

Get Access