TOW #10- Nonfiction Text 1

     With Thanksgiving just around the corner, November could not be a better time to give thanks.  Whether it means expressing gratitude towards your friends, family, or even the stranger that stops the elevator doors from closing in on you, being thankful not only lifts the spirits of others, but also your own.  In the opinion article from The New York Times, "Choose to Be Grateful.  It Will Make You Happier", Arthur C. Brooks appeals to logos by providing examples of specific studies and includes a personal anecdote in order to argue his assertion that being grateful leaves the positive impact of making a person happier.
     In order to prove the great cure to chronic grumpiness is an unexpected dose of appreciation, Brooks appeals to logos with the support of different scientific studies based off of gratitude.  Results showed that happiness follows right behind being thankful when "researchers in one 2003 study randomly assigned one group of study participants to keep a short weekly list of the things they were grateful for, while other groups listed hassles or neutral events".  When the 10 weeks of research were over, the first group reported significant "greater life satisfaction" than the others.  By providing real life experiments that exemplify his argument, Brooks is able to appeal to the logical thinkers in his audience, and show that there is scientific truth that gratitude can stimulate joy within a person.
     After making his argument, Brooks includes a personal anecdote that illustrates the theory in use.  He explains that in the past, he "published a book about charitable giving" and allowed his audience to give him feedback in the form of radio and email.  However, one night, he received an email from somebody with differing beliefs than his.  The email read, "you are a fraud" and "in brutal detail, [gave] a case against every chapter of my [Brooks's] book".  While a response like this would typically bring somebody a feeling of ingratitude, Brooks had a feeling of appreciation that somebody had at least read his book.  He included this feeling in his email back to the reader, and "felt great writing it".  This personal experience supports Brooks's argument in a different way from the research examples.  Rather than only appealing to logos, this broadens his audience by appealing to pathos on the more intimate level with the author.  By using a story from his past, he is able to give an everyday example of thankfulness and happiness coming hand-in-hand.
     When people are thankful, they not only create an optimistic atmosphere for others around them, but they also create one in themselves.  In "Choose to Be Grateful.  It Will Make You Happier", Arthur C. Brooks makes an appeal to logos with various examples of scientific studies and includes a personal anecdote of his own experience in the happiness that is caused from being grateful.  So be grateful this Thanksgiving: not only may it become a good habit, but there may be something else to come out of it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/opinion/sunday/choose-to-be-grateful-it-will-make-you-happier.html?ribbon-ad-idx=8&src=trending&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Trending&pgtype=article