As a whole, this semester has worn me down; physically, mentally, and emotionally. I started off strong and ready to conquer the challenges in my path only to see that flame dwindle out after less than two months. It always seems to be an uphill battle when it comes to school and making the right choices. You always have the option to do the work, or flip over to another tab and search Facebook for awhile. It’s almost common knowledge that the more you care about something, the more time you will put into it; and I’ve been shown this even more clearly as I’ve written papers throughout the semester.
According to Aristotle, “ethos refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. Ethos is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the writer or speaker refers to differing views” (Rampage). To truly capture someone’s ethos in writing, one has to put in the time it takes to fully understand their topic and every side of the argument. If one can’t show the other side and how it is either flawed or not the most efficient way, then it will be tough to persuade a reader to agree with you who is on the opposite side. As the semester has progressed I have seen that the more attached I am to a topic, the better I portray it in my writing. For example, my second paper was about how technology is effecting verbal communication negatively. Because I feel so strongly about this topic, I put a lot of effort into research. Although many disagree with this view about the topic, because I put the work into doing the research, I was able to fully show the opposing side and allow any doubters a chance to see my side because they didn’t feel like they were under attack.
As the semester has progressed I have become more and more proud of my writing. In older English classes I had merely done the minimum requirements and slid by with B’s on the papers. I don’t know if it was the topics or how the information was taught, but I got into my writing and stove to make the best grades I could. In this I found many things about myself as well. While sitting back and pondering the questions that were put up for this post. Things like “How do you feel compared to how you’ve felt physically during the semester?” and “Next, think back over the semester – how do you feel about your writing?” While sitting back and thinking about what how these questions can be answered it came to me that, although it doesn’t seem like it, as we grow in our writing skills we also grow as people. Our writing truly is a reflection of ourselves by how we use vivid language and how we try to persuade people. The reader should be able to see the author in their writing, and the author should want to be portrayed as they really are. I feel that as a person writes, they come closer and closer to seeing who they are inside.
In all, I had a great freshmen year and grew in my writing as well as all aspects of life and I hope many others can find themselves in writing as well.
