Kourtney Crump

English 2010
Spring Semester 2015
Jennifer Courtney

When entering English 2010 I wasnt sure what to expect out of the
class, because I hadnt had to take English 1010 this was my first real college
English class and I was unaware of the context of the class and how I would
be able to use my previous knowledge and add onto it to better my writing
and communication skills. The first assignment that we did was really
shocking to me, because when I thought of English I automatically assumed
it would just be writing essays the whole time. I was comfortable with the
thought of writing essays because it was something that I knew how to do
and had worked on my whole life, so when I was given the meme assignment
I was extremely worried about my outcome in the class. The assignments
after our group one were just as challenging as the first one for me. I am not
much of an artistic person so having to make these different types of visuals
was a bit of a challenge. However after reading the textbook and talking to
some of my peers, it became very evident to me that English was so much
more than just writing essays and giving speeches. Although some of our
assignments had more art than writing in them, they were just as effective, if
not more effective than any academic letter could ever be. Because of our
changing society, I feel it is very important for every author to realize that
this type of writing is very effective for different audiences. Having the
rhetorical strategies, ethos, logos, and pathos to focus on allowed me to
realize how all the things I was doing were very clearly part of the English

Kourtney Crump
English 2010
Spring Semester 2015
Jennifer Courtney

subject. The biggest struggle I had throughout this course was to realize that
all of these things were very important to learn in order to master the
subject, and the best way for me to realize this, was to find the rhetorical
strategies within each assignment I was doing and making it connect to me
in a way that I would understand the assignments. Creativity was also
another struggle I has throughout the course, because I was so used to just
writing academic letters and essays for so long, I had to take a step back and
refocus on the simple creativity in everything.
Rhetorical Makeup of Chosen Assignments
1. Infographic- Ethos is the most effective rhetorical devices used in
this assignment because of all of the stats I used from different
extremely credible source. Logos is used in talking about the
negative effects these GMOs can have on the human body. Lastly
pathos is addressed by talking about how the harm can effect
individuals and the different consequences of using these GMOs. I
added onto this assignment by furthering my research on the topic,
since it is such a common thing, the amount of information that can
be found is endless. I found more articles and statistics to add onto
the information I already had.
2. Photo Essay- Ethos is addressed by talking about the statistics of
high school dropouts and the increase it could cause. Logos is used

Kourtney Crump
English 2010
Spring Semester 2015
Jennifer Courtney

by talking about the different issues and how it would not be

beneficial to the nation or state to do this. Pathos is addressed by
talking about the stress and anxiety that would add to high school
students lives if the civics test were implemented. I was able to
better this essay by talking to some of my teachers and hearing
their input about the situation, and using that to find more
information about the test itself and how it will be implemented in
to the state learning core.
3. Position paper- Since my position paper and my photo essay were
on the same topic, they had the same basic appeals, however the
photo essay had more of a visual effect, where in the position paper
I was able to use more of a educational appeal to discuss the issues,
rather than using the pictures. Improving this paper for me was the
easiest, because after re reading my piece, I thought of other things
that could go along with the issue, so other than surface revisions, I
added on to the argument to better get my point across.
4. Evaluation- This paper was the most difficult for me, and I felt like it
let me grow as an author because of its difficult topic. The ethos
was addressed by showing the different statistics and ways in which
the maker of the documentary got their information. Logos was
shown by the common sense and decency of human beings. Lastly
pathos was the easiest to address because the topic of elderly

Kourtney Crump
English 2010
Spring Semester 2015
Jennifer Courtney

abuse is so horrible to think about and seeing these things were

absolutely heartbreaking. I was able to add a little more depth to
this piece by not only evaluating the documentary, but evaluating
the situation as a whole and discussing how it could be fixed.