In “Lighten up, Sir David, our wildlife is safe”, Matt Ridley expertly combines simple diction and appropriate to the public with abundant evidence to counter the Malthusian concern raised by Sir David Attenborough. Throughout the passage, Ridley also uses clearly organized structure and key rhetorical appeals, such as appeals to ethics, to build his case that the human population will not leave substantial negative effects on the environment in the coming decades. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Since the passage was first published in the Times newspaper of London, Ridley skillfully adapts his writing style to the needs of writing for a large and varied audience. This can be seen clearly through the organization of the passage, which centers on two premises of Sir Attenborough's argument: that the world will be more crowded and have less wildlife in 100 years. After introducing these premises in paragraph 1, Ridley goes on to frame his arguments in paragraph 3. Each of his arguments is explained in two easy-to-follow paragraphs: paragraphs 4-5 and 6-7 respectively, before reaching a clear conclusion . in paragraph 8. Such simple organization ensures that Ridley's message is conveyed with maximum impact and allows his ideas to shine loud and clear. But Ridley doesn't simply stop at an easy-to-follow organization. He skillfully uses relatively simple diction and sentence structure to increase his audience reach. While some parts of the essay can become technical and data-heavy, such as paragraph 4, Ridley makes sure to use a casual tone to keep the audience interested. For example, Ridley uses casual, simple diction like “richer countries” (paragraph 7) instead of “more economically developed countries,” as well as colorful, everyday words like “spring,” “balanced,” “pleasant,” and contented. " (paragraph 8) All these techniques serve to reduce the distance between the writer and the reader, with the final effect of reading the article as a friendly conversation. This is, of course, an excellent persuasive technique: who wouldn't trust of a friend? Now, this is not to downplay the role of data in this essay, which is to provide a solid basis for Ridley's claims. However, although the figures used in this passage contribute to logical reasoning and evidence, they also serve a much more important purpose: to increase the author's credibility. In countering the claims of a well-known naturalist and therefore expert in the field, Ridley appeals heavily to ethics to solidify his credibility. In addition to the use of quantitative figures, as in the last sentence of paragraph 4, Ridley also makes another notable appeal to ethics: convincing his audience that he shares their moral beliefs. Rather than attacking Sir Attenborough's argument as superfluous, arguing for example that humans do not benefit from nature or wildlife, Ridley instead takes a more nuanced approach. By describing Sir Attenborough's view as “one that I shared” (paragraph 2), Ridely assures his audience that he is not a cold-hearted monster who only wants technological innovation, even at the expense of the environment. This reassurance allows the audience to trust the author more, opening a key door to persuasion. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get an essay.