What I have learned this semester Mckay Stephenson My senior year is now halfway through. Looking back, besides getting a lot of review, there has been a lot of new things I have learned in this last semester. This can be attributed to my outstanding English teacher Mr. Pitcher. If you single it down to the biggest concepts learned this semester, the biggest and most important thing we have learned is the literary devices ethos, pathos, and logos. Bigger than just learning what each of them are, we learned more importantly how to apply them. We also studied the Jane Schaffer writing method that we as students are incorporating into our essays to give them better detail and fluency. First we learned about the literary device ethos. In literature, ethos is what establishes credibility or ethics to the audience. We have recently studied the Gettysburg address by Abraham Lincoln. In this piece President Lincoln opens by stating that four score and seven years ago their fathers established a new nation. This does two things in the attempt to create freedom for all. It shows that President Lincoln knew his history and how long ago the constitution was written, and by saying, “Our fathers” it shows common ancestry and that everyone’s family’s shared common parents back then that created the nation with the idea that everyone is free. This establishes a connection with the audience and therefore, credibility. Next, we learned about the literary device pathos. Pathos is what adds emotion to anything with the goal of capturing an audience. The book, “Night” probably did this best of all with a young boys experiences living through the holocaust. When the book talks about babies being thrown into fires and boys killing their fathers for their ration of food, your heart goes out to those who suffered through this horrid experience. This emotion is the driving force behind getting people hooked on the book, and stopping it from being thrown aside. We also read the essay, “A Modest Proposal.” In which the author states that an alternative for saving money would be harvesting babies otherwise killed through abortion, as food. The only word to describe this is sick. That emotion you feel hooks the audience and keeps you coming back for more. Logos is the final literary device that we learned about. It is what adds logic for the decision making of the characters. The best example of this would be from Martian Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” Martian Luther King’s speech is based entirely on facts. Five score years ago the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln. Two hundred years later all races were still not free. He describes it as being written a blank check, and one that they have come to redeem. This not only states why they are in Washington DC, but it says that they should be there to come for their rights that they do have. There is no argument that comes to mind that can overcome that logic. In Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, Christmas Future shows Scrooge what is to become of his life. Logically however, Scrooge determines that if he changes, that will not be his fate, but the fate of a dream. This logic is what finally gets through to Scrooge that he needs to change. Without it, he probably wouldn’t have. The final main concept we have learned this quarter is learning about the Jane Schaffer writing method. From what I learned, everybody paragraph in an essay needs to have two concrete details or facts, each accompanied by two commentaries of their own. This adds needed detail and persuasion to an essay. This is especially good if you are trying to convince someone on something. Also, before you write your essay, you have to pool ideas in the form of a bubble cluster and outline. This is critical to help overcome the world famous, “writer’s block.” By being able to look at your notes and instantly recall what you want to say, you cut down on the writing time and keep valuable thoughts on the paper. In conclusion, this is of course only a small example of what I personally have learned this quarter, not to mention the loads of reviewing we have done. I know that learning about ethos, pathos, and logos as well as the Jane Schaffer writing method will not only improve my grades in school, but improve my life since I will always be writing and talking to people around me trying to persuade or just talk. This is a valuable skill of being able to know what I need to add onto my argument to get the point across. While just being halfway done with my senior year, the glass is now half full.
Mckay Stephenson
My senior year is now halfway through. Looking back, besides getting a lot of review, there has been a lot of new things I have learned in this last semester. This can be attributed to my outstanding English teacher Mr. Pitcher. If you single it down to the biggest concepts learned this semester, the biggest and most important thing we have learned is the literary devices ethos, pathos, and logos. Bigger than just learning what each of them are, we learned more importantly how to apply them. We also studied the Jane Schaffer writing method that we as students are incorporating into our essays to give them better detail and fluency.
First we learned about the literary device ethos. In literature, ethos is what establishes credibility or ethics to the audience. We have recently studied the Gettysburg address by Abraham Lincoln. In this piece President Lincoln opens by stating that four score and seven years ago their fathers established a new nation. This does two things in the attempt to create freedom for all. It shows that President Lincoln knew his history and how long ago the constitution was written, and by saying, “Our fathers” it shows common ancestry and that everyone’s family’s shared common parents back then that created the nation with the idea that everyone is free. This establishes a connection with the audience and therefore, credibility.
Next, we learned about the literary device pathos. Pathos is what adds emotion to anything with the goal of capturing an audience. The book, “Night” probably did this best of all with a young boys experiences living through the holocaust. When the book talks about babies being thrown into fires and boys killing their fathers for their ration of food, your heart goes out to those who suffered through this horrid experience. This emotion is the driving force behind getting people hooked on the book, and stopping it from being thrown aside. We also read the essay, “A Modest Proposal.” In which the author states that an alternative for saving money would be harvesting babies otherwise killed through abortion, as food. The only word to describe this is sick. That emotion you feel hooks the audience and keeps you coming back for more.
Logos is the final literary device that we learned about. It is what adds logic for the decision making of the characters. The best example of this would be from Martian Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” Martian Luther King’s speech is based entirely on facts. Five score years ago the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln. Two hundred years later all races were still not free. He describes it as being written a blank check, and one that they have come to redeem. This not only states why they are in Washington DC, but it says that they should be there to come for their rights that they do have. There is no argument that comes to mind that can overcome that logic. In Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, Christmas Future shows Scrooge what is to become of his life. Logically however, Scrooge determines that if he changes, that will not be his fate, but the fate of a dream. This logic is what finally gets through to Scrooge that he needs to change. Without it, he probably wouldn’t have.
The final main concept we have learned this quarter is learning about the Jane Schaffer writing method. From what I learned, everybody paragraph in an essay needs to have two concrete details or facts, each accompanied by two commentaries of their own. This adds needed detail and persuasion to an essay. This is especially good if you are trying to convince someone on something. Also, before you write your essay, you have to pool ideas in the form of a bubble cluster and outline. This is critical to help overcome the world famous, “writer’s block.” By being able to look at your notes and instantly recall what you want to say, you cut down on the writing time and keep valuable thoughts on the paper.
In conclusion, this is of course only a small example of what I personally have learned this quarter, not to mention the loads of reviewing we have done. I know that learning about ethos, pathos, and logos as well as the Jane Schaffer writing method will not only improve my grades in school, but improve my life since I will always be writing and talking to people around me trying to persuade or just talk. This is a valuable skill of being able to know what I need to add onto my argument to get the point across. While just being halfway done with my senior year, the glass is now half full.