Rhetorical Analysis- "Customer Service Calls Routed to India," Beth Duff-Brown

In Beth Duff-Brown’s, “Customer Service Calls Routed to India,” she combines the use of a precise and strong tone coming from her diction and writing style, professional yet personal diction, and use of rhetorical devices, to work in harmony to strongly support the arguments she makes in her article.

Duff-Brown’s tone in her article “Customer Service Calls Routed to India” is detectable throughout her article. By examining her use of diction, one can infer her tone both through her choice of words, and her writing style. Because Duff-Brown’s diction is very intellectual, although very personal and not too “tight up,” as one would say, she creates a tone of formality, but personal connection to the reader, as if she were speaking directly to her audience. Duff-Brown’s writing style support her unique tone because of the way her words flow, and how she accurately made a great choice on words to support her arguments in this article. Because her tone is strong, it gives the audience a sense that they are not reading just another news article, but one coming from a reliable, and identifiable, knowledgeable source. Duff- Brown also throws in hints of comedy and humor into her article, also altering her tone into being still formal, but casual and lighthearted at the same time. This not only builds her ethos, but it also pulls in readers. Her tone is used precisely to pull in readers and keep them in the article’s grasp with its uniqueness. By using this slightly modifying, unique tone, Duff-Brown achieves a strong argument in this article because her tone, which is part of the structure of her article, is strong, memorable, and strengthens her argument alongside her writing style.

Duff-Brown’s choice of words reflects her writing style, and the argument itself. Examples of Duff-Brown’s strong use of diction reflect when she says, “the city is awash with tech billboards and knapsack-laden geeks in a hurry,” where her choice of words build a mental image for the reader, while still keeping her professionalism and slight seriousness in her article. Because she writes in such a flowing manner, her diction is what makes reading this article smooth, and makes the audience or the reader feel that she is speaking personally to them. She builds this “relationship” with her audience, but keeps it professional at the same time. Her diction supports her argument because with the use of words and phrases like “intellectuals,” “work conditions,” “deregulation,” and “globalization,” she builds her argument in terms of the meanings of these words and how they support it. A perfect example of this correlation between diction and the strength of her argument is when Duff-Brown says, “Website designers here have left for overseas companies or work in Bangalore for them, filling the technology vacuum in the United States, Britain and other European countries.”

Using  rhetorical devices of ethos and pathos, Duff-Brown successfully applies these to her article which ultimately strengthens it by drawing in the audience, and maintaining their attention. Throughout her article, Duff-Brown strengthens her ethos by building a connection with her audience. She qualifies her argument by using quotes from other sources such as Arhundati Roy, and showing knowledge in the topic of globalization and outsourcing/offshoring. She introduces the story of “Betty,” as if she were speaking directly through the audience instead of this being text. This builds her ethos and her connection to the audience overall. Duff-Brown’s use of statistics and quotes from other sources also builds her ethos by showing her outside knowledge and strengthens her argument by providing actual data and proof of claims she makes. Duff-Brown’s use of slight humor throughout the article also strengthens her argument. When she says, “they bone up on sports terms and slang and a good dose of Baywatch and Friends to bridge the cultural divide between Boston and Bombay,” one can note the slight use of humor she uses in her article. This humor is the use of the rhetorical device of pathos, which is one of the strongest in strengthening an argument through audience connection.

 Duff- Brown’s combination of a precise and strong tone, professional yet personal diction, and use of rhetorical devices, works to strongly support the arguments she makes in her article. Her audience is captivated by her tone through her writing style, her diction, and her use of pathos and ethos. As the audience is pulled in by these devices, her argument is qualified and strengthened, making her article successful in serving its purpose.