Essay: Which article is more persuasive and reliable : Wolfe or Shiao?

I am writing regarding your request to identify the more persuasive and reliable article of the two. To evaluate these factors, I have taken into consideration the authors’ tone, argumentation and evidence provided. After consideration, I have identified that the article published in Balance Careers by Wolfe would be the most ideal to send out to the heads of departments.
Tone
The tone of the article written by Wolfe is the more persuasive article of the two. This is evident from overall objective tone established in the article Wolfe’s conveys. Using a quote from Wolfe’s article, “…let’s look at statistics to answer…” (Wolfe, 2017, para.3). Using this quote, we can see that the tone used by Wolfe is neutral, fair-minded and has substantiation to its claims.
In comparison, the tone used by Shiao is more emotionally charged as the author tried to invoke the feelings of its readers. Using a quote from Shiao (2016, para.2), “…if that wasn’t already dismal enough”, we can see that the tone used is full of emotions and incorporates negative expressions in it. While her emotionally charged writing can appeal to the right audience, a negative tone can dissolve its readers interest if they view it to be biased and unappealing (Stratford, n.d.).
Thus, it is evident that the objective tone set by Wolfe’s article would be able to convince its readers.
Argumentation
Shiao’s frequent emotional involvement in her arguments may undermine the reliability and persuasiveness of her arguments. This can be seen from Shiao’s article quoting “Admit it, we all have a female boss that we tend to hate” (Shiao, 2016, para.2) and “We all know there is not enough women at the top” (Shiao, 2016, para.3). The repeated use of the collective pronoun ‘we’ are indications that the author is trying to connect with the readers by drawing back on her personal experience. However, the overuse of collective pronouns assumes that all readers share the same opinion as Shiao does (First-Person Pronouns, n.d.). Thus, arguments put forth by Shiao may come across as personal opinions which will undermine the reliability and persuasiveness of her arguments.
On the contrary, Wolfe distances her article from being too emotionally involved and backs her arguments with statistics and data. This is seen in Wolfe’s article where it states, “Gallup finds that 41% of female managers are engaged at work, …” (Wolfe, 2017, para.5). These are indications that Wolfe is attempting to use statistical data to give basis to her arguments. The segregation of emotional involvement from its arguments and supporting it with facts and numbers gives a stronger sense of reliability and persuasiveness to its arguments.
Evidence provided
The information presented in Shiao’s article may not be relevant to our objective in evaluating the viability of hiring women into senior roles. The author quotes from reputable individuals such as Hilary Clinton, Adaire Fox-Martin, etc., who are women presently in leadership roles at multinational or large organisations. The quotes mainly discussed the stereotypes these individuals face during their time in leadership positions. These detracts from our focus on women who are facing difficulties in assuming leadership positions in the first place.
In comparison, the article written by Wolfe primarily quotes statistics from Gallup, an American research-based company. Since 1953 (Wolfe, 2017, para.1), Gallup has been conducting polls on a similar topic that discusses the viability of hiring woman into senior roles. With a strong presence of experience in similar field and the relevance to our objectives, it gives stronger persuasion to the evidence it presents.
Lastly, Shiao’s article often provides a vague source of evidence. This can be seen in Shiao’s article where it states, “Enough statistics have shown…” (Shiao, 2016, para.3). The vague claim of “enough statistics” from this quote does not provide specifics to quantify what “enough statistics” really refers to and it fails to provide the source these statistics originated from. Shiao’s article also highlighted the remark describing Mrs Clinton being labelled as “cold and calculating” (Shiao, 2016. para.8). However, this has been left without proper explanation as there is no evidence provided as to why and who made this remark against Mrs Clinton. Thus, we can see from the two examples provided that Shiao’s article has lapses in the evidence provided.
Wolfe’s article on the other hand provides specific evidences to back its claims providing a ‘Sources’ section and specifically tagging a number to the source the information comes from. By providing a source for its evidence, Wolfe’s article would be able hold stronger reliability to convince its readers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, based on the analysis of the article’s tone, argumentation and evidence provided, it is evident that the article by Wolfe edges its counterpart and would be the more persuasive and reliable article of the two to disseminate to the heads of departments.