Running head: mental health 1

Mental Health in University Students

Megan M. Ortega
University of Texas at El Paso
RSW 1302 Mr. Vierra

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Mental Health in University Students
Mental health is an issue that has been always present in our society, but it has recently
become more of a pressing matter since it has started to escalate to a point where it can no longer
be ignored. Mental illness can affect any gender, race, and age group, therefore it is an issue that
should concerns everyone in our society. Over the past few years, mental illness has appeared
more and more frequently among university students and young adults. Efforts are being made
by colleges and universities to provide the resources necessary for their students to get the help
they might need right there on campus. But offering help is not always enough since one of the
most crucial struggles of mental health is the stigma that comes with it. Many people may prefer
not to be treated in order to not accept they are suffering from mental health issues, and feel
rejected by society. This is why institutions are attempting to raise awareness on this very
powerful issue. Denny Morrisons TED talk No Health without Mental Health uncovers the
stigma of mental health and the struggles that it might bring to people when suffer from them. A
Systematic Review: Students with Mental Health Problems- A Growing Problem by Kim Storrie
exposes the dramatic rise in mental health issues among university students and how it is
attempted to be fixed. This analysis will discuss the two genres from these sources on the main
topic, which are oral and typographic. Because of Morrisons claim about how mental health is
not given the relevance it deserves we know awareness needs to be raised in this issue since by
not doing so society would be creating an even bigger problem of unattended tabooed illnesses.

Audience and Purpose

The first genre, No Health without Mental Health by Denny Morrison, is a TED talk from
2010. This talks purpose was to inform the public in general about mental health and the stigma

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that comes with it. The intended audience is mostly adults interested in learning about mental
health issues, and because these are normal people trying to get informed on an unfamiliar topic
the language is somewhat informal and easy to grasp without any specialize vocabulary. The
second genre, A Systematic Review: Students with Mental Health Problems- A Growing Problem,
by Kim Storrie is an article on the International Journal of Nursing Practice that discusses the rise
in mental illness among university students. The audience is a more professional discourse
community than the other genre since it is meant for medical professionals and scholars and the
language is formal and also uses some specialized vocabulary such as homogeneity, systematic
and psychotic, which is appropriate for this medical/scholar discourse. Storries article is much
more informative while Morrisons talk is more persuasive. Storries article is academic reading
and it might some rereading to get a full grasp on all the information presented, while Morrisons
talk is spoken very plainly and simply enough so that the audience will digest all the information
given in just the ten minutes the talk takes. Storries article is attempting to inform the scholar
and medical communities about the growing threat of mental illness in young adults and the
efforts that are being made to remedy the situation, and possibly gather more support from the
community on this very important issue. Morrisons talk, given that its audience is not directly
affiliated with the issue of mental health, is trying to persuade and inform his audience of the
importance of dealing with mental illness and recognizing the seriousness of the disease by
encouraging awareness on the topic. The audiences expect certain information from each genre.
The journal article is going to be read by a community that is already familiar with the issue and
therefore the article is expected to provide its audience with reliable figures and data that will
prove how the issue is growing and how to prevent it from doing so any further, while the public
speaking talks audience might be completely new to the topic and the only expectation is that

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enough general knowledge in the topic will be provided to persuade its audience of its
importance. These two genres are discussing the same topic but are yet so different in their way
of doing so. The TED talk is much more informal and personal and serves more to persuade,
while the article is formal and professional and serves to inform.

Rhetorical Issues
Both of these genres use rhetorical appeals to establish their claim and reach out to the
audience in different ways according to the genre.
Ethos
The first genre, Morrisons Ted talk, appeals to ethos and establishes credibility via its
speakers credentials. Morrison is a professional in his field having earned a doctorate in
psychology.it also makes reference to data by prestigious organizations such as the WHO.
Storries article establishes credibility first by being published in a scholarly journal and also the
authors are professionals in their field such as registered nurses and doctors which gives them
trustworthiness. The article also cites reliable and renowned sources such as the WHO and the
American Journal of Psychiatry. Both genres establish a strong credibility in quite the same
ways, by relying on the authors credentials and even citing one of the same sources. Since the
journal article has more sources to rely on and is more scholarly it can be inferred that the ethos
appeal is stronger in it.
Pathos
Storries article fails to fully develop pathos in its rhetorical appeals. Given that the
article is very academic in its writing and only seeks to expose the data of its research, very few
opportunities to appeal to emotion are present, such as when worrisome figures are present like

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the statement more than three-quarters of student with significant distress did not receive help
(Storrie 2010, Barriers). Morrisons public speaking on the other hand is more successful on
appealing to his audience emotions which can be brought back to the fact that the information is
conveyed thru actual speech. The speaker can control his tone of voice and convey the desired
emotion this way. He also appeals to pathos by directly engaging the audience by asking the
question How many of you have been treated for mental illness or addiction? (Morrison 2013,
2:11) and thus making it personal for every person sitting in the audience. The oral genre has a
much more solid appeal to pathos because it can reach out to its audience in many more ways
than the article could through its writing only.
Logos
On the first genre, Morrison presents facts and figures on mental health and those living
with it stating the WHO estimated depression is the major cause of disability in developed
countries(Morrison 2013, 3:23) giving reason to support his claims. The second genre
establishes Logos by laying down all the data encountered through research which supports the
claim of a rising mental illness ratio among university students. Both genres establish a logical
appeal but the article develops it further by providing much more reasons that support the major
claim on the article.
Structure and Delivery
The first genre starts off the audience with a personal anecdote which gets the audience
familiarized with the speaker and his interest in the subject and grabbing their attention. The
second genre is lengthier and it is all written information, therefore the audience might get lost in
all of the information presented or grow impatient. The information needs to be expressed in
different ways in order to fit the time limitation they might have, consequently the talk must be

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concise in order to keep it short, while the article can afford to be explicit in details since the
audience can take as long as they need to get through all the information. The more concise talk
serves to reach the audience to a more personal level and by giving them a voice and a face to
make a connection to, while the article serves to state its claim and support in with extensive data
on the subject appealing to the audience in a more logical manner.
Conclusion
Both genres allowed the author to persuade the audience of the importance of the topic
very well even though they did it using different strategies. The oral genre persuaded using the
pathos appeal while the typographic genre had more solid support from the logos appeal. The
genres displayed different sides on the issue of mental health, both raising awareness on the
growing treat it presents to our society.

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References
TED Talks (Producer), & Morrison, D. (Director). (2013). No health without mental health:
Denny morrison at TEDxBloomington
. [Video/DVD]

Storrie, K., Ahern, K., & Tuckett, A. (2010). A systematic review: Students with mental health
problems- A growing problem.International Journal of Nursing Practice, 16(1), 9/18/15.
doi:10.1111/j.1440-172X.2009.01813.x