Broadly speaking, How the Other Half Lives is an exposé: an experiment in photojournalism that sought to reveal the true breadth of human suffering in New York City's tenement housing community. As such, the book utilizes a hodgepodge of different styles, sharing characteristics of journalistic, scientific, and literary writing. All aspects of How the Other Half Lives work together to present a convincing argument to the American public in favor of charitable intervention in the tenements. These elements combine to place the text squarely in the genre of persuasive non-fiction.
As a non-fiction book written with a persuasive goal in mind, How the Other Half Lives employs all of the hallmarks of effective argumentation. The persuasive genre requires that an author draw upon logic, emotion, and credibility (logos, pathos, ethos) to convince the reader of a certain point. Riis effectively uses statistics as a source of reasonable, scientifically grounded explanations as to why the tenement system is exploitative and inhumane. To inspire an emotional reaction in his readers, Riis deploys vivid descriptions of the indignities suffered by tenement residents; furthermore, he includes pictures, which give his readership a substantial and disturbing visual to associate with the words on the page. Finally, Riis invokes experts in his analysis, maintaining credibility in the eyes of the readers.
