Sarah Clayton

English 111

Mr. Matthew Weinkam

December 10, 2009

Semester Reflection

Throughout this semester, I have learned what rhetoric is and how it is used effectively

by using different rhetorical devices to create a stronger piece of writing. Ethos, pathos, and

logos are some of the devices that I have found to be most helpful for me during this semester.

I’ve learned how to be able to point out and recognize when and why these devices are being

used, and if they are being used effectively. Through the various projects I have worked on this

semester, and by studying the writings of different authors, I have found ways to use these

devices in an effective way to improve my own writing. I have realized how these devices can

affect a piece of writing in a positive way in order to persuade the reader, if they are used

correctly. Now that I know how to improve my papers by using ethos, pathos, and logos, I plan

on incorporating these devices, in order to make stronger arguments, in my papers throughout the

rest of my college career.

During this semester, I have completed various assignments where I analyzed and

worked with rhetoric. Throughout this course I have learned to recognize when rhetoric is being

used. Being able to recognize rhetoric is not a skill that I had from the beginning of this class. I

didn’t really grasp the ideas of rhetoric until the second semester. However, I had seen and used

rhetoric in this class before the second assignment, but I did not realize it at the time. For

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example, in my first assignment for this class, I wrote an ethnography about an on campus group

at Miami called the Adopt a School Program. In my paper there was a paragraph where I

mentioned my experience at the mega fair, while talking about this group to a couple of the

members, and I used an example of ethos. I mentioned that, “They gave me information, telling

me that it is a great thing to be involved with and that it’s ‘very rewarding’.” Although I didn’t

recognize it at the time, they were trying to persuade me into joining the group by using ethos.

They were using their own credibility as members of the group, to persuade me join; and it

worked effectively because it got me interested in joining.

I learned that being able to realize which rhetorical devices are being used and why the

author is using them can help you understand the author’s purpose of writing. It also allows you

to understand the actual piece of writing itself. When an author uses rhetorical devices such as,

ethos, pathos, and logos, the author creates a more persuasive, piece writing. In the second

assignment from this semester, I wrote a rhetorical analysis about an article. This was when I

really learned how to recognize when rhetoric was being used and if it was being used

effectively. I rhetorically analyzed the article and I was able to point out that the author was

using mostly pathos and logos to support his argument. In one paragraph I pointed out that “In

Rutten’s argument, he uses logos to support his claims, and gives facts and statistics to explain

why he believes the Senate should grant Majestic, the company that will be constructing the new

stadium, the right to continue building the stadium even if this group of homeowners resists

cooperation”. Then, I followed this with a quote from Rutten’s argument to support my idea,

which stated that, “Unemployment is approaching 20% in some of Los Angeles’ hardest-hit

companies, mainly the Latino and African American neighborhoods disproportionately

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dependent on job in the building trades.” Using this quote as an example from the article, I was

able to point out that the author was using logos effectively in order to persuade the reader.

After the rhetorical analysis assignment, I started to notice when rhetoric was being used,

and I was able recognize when I came across it. For example, in the third assignment, we had to

write a research paper over public discourse. Even though the focus of the assignment was not

rhetorical analysis, I found ways that rhetoric was incorporated. I found rhetorical devices in

many of the resources that I used in my paper about the importance of fatherhood involvement.

There was one quote that I used as an example in my paper, where I noticed the author using

pathos. The author says, “Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to

do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid

high-risk behaviors including drug use, truancy, and criminal activity.” (National Responsible

Fatherhood Clearinghouse).” This quote encourages fathers to be involved and loving to their

children. The author wanted to persuade fathers to be involved in their child’s life. I was able to

point out the pathos was being used effectively in order to spark the father’s emotion and make

him feel sympathetic for children who do not have involved and loving fathers in their lives.

Being able to point out when rhetoric is being used, allows me to figure out how the

author is using these devices effectively. Also, I have found ways to use rhetoric to help support

my own arguments. In the beginning of my ethnography paper, I introduced the Adopt a School

Program to the reader. I tried to explain how this program made such a big difference in our

community by avidly volunteering at different schools and places. I use logos to persuade the

reader into believing that the group not only gets involved in the community, but also makes a

big difference in helping out the local schools. In this paragraph, I state that, “The group contains

about 500 members, and each member must commit at least one hour of service per week to the

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program, which makes about 500 hours of service per week; and more than that if the members

decide to dedicate more than one hour per week.” I use logos here, to gives facts about how large

the group is and how much service the members give to the community. It proves to the reader,

the effect that the group has on the community. Using logos effectively here gets the reader

interested in reading the rest of my paper.

Looking back at the assignments and papers I have completed during this semester, I can

see where I used rhetorical devices to make my arguments better. In the rhetorical analysis paper,

I used pathos to support my analysis. In my paper I pointed out that “The estimated 12,000

construction jobs will be beneficial to the rising number of unemployed Latinos and African

Americans in this area, who rely on those kinds of jobs.” This sentence, is effective in getting the

reader’s attention, and uses pathos to spark emotion. The purpose is to get the reader to feel

sympathy for the Latinos and African Americans who are unemployed and rely on the jobs that

don’t yet exist. Using sentences like this one, to incorporate rhetorical devices throughout my

paper, helped make the argument much stronger.

I’ve learned that an important thing when analyzing a piece of writing is learning how to

recognize when and why rhetoric is being used throughout the writing. When I see an author

using rhetoric, I can point out what type of rhetoric I like and use that in my own papers to make

them better. In my paper over public discourse, I use a quote from a book, which uses logos to

show that fatherhood involvement helps motivate their children to do better in school. The quote

states, “On a standardized intelligence test there was a median score of 100 points, for example,

a child in a single-parent family would be about 3.5 points worse off than a similar child in a

two-parent family, according to D. Chappel, who co-wrote the report.” (Wang, Shirley S.) I

noticed the logos that the author used in this quote, supports the idea that fatherhood involvement

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helps children succeed in school. I used this quote as logos in my own argument; in order to

persuade my reader to see how important fatherhood involvement is in helping a child have a

better future.

Throughout all three of the assignments I’ve completed in this semester, I have learned

ways to use rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos in an effective way to persuade

the reader. I’ve learned how they are used, and how to identify them in other arguments. I can

identify the rhetoric in everyday conversation, in articles from different authors, and in my own

writing. I know that the use of these devices can make a stronger argument; and during this

semester I have learned how to use this skill in my assignments. I’ve used these rhetorical

devices to support my arguments in all of the papers that I have written this semester. I think that

persuading the reader by using ethos, pathos, and logos correctly has improved the final drafts of

all of my papers. Because rhetoric has been so helpful to me in this semester, I will continue to

use it in my arguments for future papers that I write throughout the rest of my college career.