In the letter to the editor written by Joseph Henderson regarding the article “Reviving the American Working Class”, Henderson successfully utilizes several, but not all, of the Ten Essential Components  to create a persuasive letter. In his letter Henderson immediately establishes his authority in speaking on the subject of the American working class. Henderson introduces himself by stating that he “is an hourly employee at a hotel.” The letter also holds a clear premise.  Henderson states that the job reports released by the Labor Department do not reflect reality in saying, “that rosy portrait of job creation and increased wages is not borne out by the realities many of us live with.” Through his language Henderson makes his disdain for the idea of job creation presented by the Labor Department.

In addition, Henderson makes use of the rhetorical flourish. Henderson writes, ” His gift is to help the powerful, the haves and corporate America. And surely we as a people can do better than this.” Henderson uses the words “we as a people” to lump himself in with his fellow working class Americans. He creates a sense of urgency and unity in the reader to persuade them to find recognize the importance of his cause. Henderson also utilizes the a call to action in his letter. He writes, “so the next time our president boastfully touts his record for job creation, I beg someone to ask him to be transparent” as well as “and if the president of the United States can’t give a working man an answer to this, please let him know that his labor policies haven’t produced a pathway that enriches us all.” In these statements, Henderson urges the people to understand and make known that the positive light being expressed by those in authority is not true to all. In addition, in writing “his [President Trump’s] gift is to help the powerful, the haves and corporate America,” Henderson details his “truth” to conclude that President Trump’s administrations actions do not help those who are implied to have been helped.

While Henderson successfully displays several techniques, there are also techniques that are not clearly utilized. To begin, there is no clear objection to the article that the letter is responding to. In addition to this, a citation is not made in the letter itself making the letter feel separate from the article. There is also no support or clarification used by Henderson to fully detail his knowledge on the issue. While Henderson mentions the incorrectness of the reports by the Labor Department, he does not give a specific description of what is in fact in correct. Finally, Henderson does not display a hopeful proposal. There is no implication that a change is on the horizon for the issues discussed.

In conclusion, the letter to the editor written by Henderson creates a successful persuasive writing through the use of the Ten Essential Components of writing a persuasive letter to the editor. He does not however make use of all of the components. Henderson uses five of the techniques to effectively persuade the reader in his letter. While this is true, he does not make great use of the remaining five components. Although he may not utilize all of the ten techniques, it can still be proclaimed that Henderson creates a persuasive tone in his letter.