Last Name 1
Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name:
Course Number:
Date:
Rhetorical Analysis of Chillag’s Article
Amy Chillag’s article, “US cities are losing 36 million trees a year. Here's why it matters
and how you can stop it,” discusses the importance of controlling the increasing tree loss in the
US. It is an objective article because it incurs facts and statistics to support its ideas. In many
instances of the article, the author mentions figures to bring about the significance of the topic.
She quotes a recent study,” we lost 36 million trees annually from urban and rural communities
over a five-year period. That's a 1% drop from 2009 to 2014.” (Chillag) Moreover, the author
presents her opinions and backs them with facts to captivate the reader. “The risk of limbs
damaging your house is significantly lowered when there's tree upkeep,” she iterates from
Nowak’s study. This approach indicates that the author has used concrete information to
underpin her points and the article’s purpose.
In my opinion, the article is not biased as the author also mentions both the positives and
negatives of planting or having trees. She states from the study, “...there's a downside to trees
too, such as pollen allergies or large falling branches in storms." (Chillag) She incorporates these
to guide the reader into the possible issues that can arise due to trees. Along with these
drawbacks, she also mentions how they can be efficiently managed and controlled. This strategy
helps the reader get a broader view of the issue and understand the circumstances.
The intended audience for this article is the people living in different cities in the US. The
author successfully communicates her point by first informing the audience about the rising issue
Last Name 2
of the trees and then providing solutions to overcome the situation. She establishes a factual
conversation following the study by US Forest Service, shares the benefits of planting trees,
advises them of the possible downsides of it, and then provides a sound plan of ideas that the
audience can look up to and implement to help the cause.
Last Name 3
Works Cited
Chillag, Amy Cnn. “US Cities Are Losing 36 Million Trees a Year. Here’s Why It Matters and
How You Can Stop It.” CNN, 18 Sept. 2019, edition.cnn.com/2019/07/20/health/iywcities-losing-36-million-trees-how-to-help-trnd/index.html.