SAT

September 18th, 2019

Link to Prompt!

It is undeniable that poverty exists in our world today. While many people seem to think that the situation is worsening, there are a few who believe we are winning the war on extreme poverty. Nicholas Kristof is one of those few people. In his article, The Best News You Don’t Know, he argues that humanity is actually bringing positive changes to the world’s problems. Kristof’s article is highly persuasive as it includes a wide range of statistics, provides specific examples, and anticipates the readers’ thoughts and emotions. 

Throughout the essay, Kristof uses different statistics to bring about his point. For example, he lists that extreme poverty in the world has dropped from 44 percent to less than 10 percent since 1981 and that 85 percent of adults are now literate (in 1960, most the adults were illiterate). Such evidence is effective because by including specific numbers it allows the readers to clearly visualize the growth that had happened in the last 50 years, making the reader realize that the situation is reverse of what they had previously thought. In addition, Kristof’s statistics include those relating to literacy, world poverty, and inequality. This provides multiple reasons from different angles for how the situation of poverty is actually improving, and not declining, removing any doubts the reader might have.  Lastly, Kristof’s evidence is from well-known sources like the World Bank and the United Nations General Assembly. This is important because the reader is then not able to question the validity of the information, and so it provides more strength to the argument. 

Besides using statistics, Kristof also provides very specific examples to help illustrate his points. One of his examples is a story of how in 1980, he frequently encountered blind beggars in the developing world, but today, the works of President Jimmy Carter,  Vitamin A capsules costing 2 cents, and antibiotics have all helped to prevent blindness. This example is highly effective because it appeals to both ethos and pathos. When the reader reads about this, he or she is filled with a sense of justice and will definitely feel sorry for the blind beggars. Additionally, Kristof’s use of phrases like “ubiquitous” and “robbed of dignity” help strengthen the example. Then by providing specific ways of how the situation has improved in multiple areas, it helps convince the readers that in developing countries, poverty is actually getting better. 

Though Kristof uses both examples and statistics, the article is arguably most convincing because it is able to anticipate the reader’s thinking. In the sixth paragraph, the author writes “OK., you’re thinking that I’ve finally cracked up after spending too much time in desperate places.”, and then he proceeds to list statistics to disprove the reader’s thinking. This is very effective because it is a direct answer to any of the doubts that the reader might have had in the beginning, and it also allowed the article to smoothly transition into listing some statistics. Another example of Kristof anticipating the reader’s thinking is when he writes “I wonder if those of us in journalism and the humanitarian worlds don’t err by focusing so much on human misery that we leave the public with the misconception that everything is always getting worse”. This is subtle but smart because the whole argument is about proving a huge misconception among our society. Humans do not like to be proven wrong, and so to lighten the argument, Kristof shifts the blame for this misconception on himself and the journaling community.

This then allows the readers’ ego in some sense to not be destroyed, but it also allows them to be more accepting of the argument Kristof is making, as well as to continue reading the article.In conclusion, Kristof’s article, The Best News You Don’t Know, is able to persuade a reader of why the situation of world poverty is actually improving as he uses numerous compelling statistics, provides specific examples, and steps in the reader’s mind to establish his argument.

Click HERE for the writing process!

Reflection: Not counting the one we did in class for practice, this essay was my first SAT essay in over a year. When reading the prompt, I was really trying to find a specific argument that would provide a strong argument on why Kristof’s article was effective in convincing its readers about winning the war on poverty. Although it did take me some time, I was able to catch the specific phrases that he used to tap into the reader’s minds. Once that happened, I structured my whole essay around around it. I chose to use the standard five paragraph structure because I believed it was most effective in presenting my arguments. Overall, I am proud of this essay because I believed it is one of my strongest persuasive essays that I have written.