When we were assigned our fist essay I wasn’t sure what to expect. Even though we had plenty of time to study our topics, and finish reading our books, I still was worried about one aspect of our project, the time limit. I wasn’t sure if I could write approximately seven hundred and fifty words in an hour and fifteen minutes.

In hindsight, I actually had less time because I had to read over the whole essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. We had to write a certain type of essay called a synthesis essay. A synthesis essay is an essay that uses more than one piece of evidence to convey a point. This essay was based off our inquiry question “How do authors use to text to teach us more about ourselves”.

« How Do Authors Use Text To Teach Us More About Ourselves »

I had to think of an answer to this question that could really capture a readers attention. The answer I came up with was that authors use text to teach us about ourselves by using pathos, egos, and logos to relate you to the message they are trying to convey. This was the thesis for my essay. We also had to use more than one medium of evidence to convince the reader of our answer. Since the three points I was going to talk about in my essay were, pathos, ethos, and logos, I needed three corresponding pieces of evidence. I used the three books that I thought could really influence a readers views; More Happy Than Not, by Adam Silvera, The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Strapi, and Walking Home, by Eric Walters.

I chose More Happy Than Not, by Adam Silvera because the author used pathos like a blind man uses a stick. He creates a world controlled by negative emotions, leading the main character to attempted suicide.

The Complete Persepolis is a autobiography on the authors childhood in Iran. It describes the terror her and her family faced, and some of the main events leading up to the overthrow of the shah and to the wipeout of communism in the country. This book uses logos to the extreme, from explaining the reasons behind the downfall, to factual knowledge from her childhood. This novel used ethos as well but I thought a better example was Walking Home, by Eric Walters.

“Every Journey, no matter how far, starts with one step”
― Eric Walters, Walking Home

Walking home used ethos by letting you trust the characters ethics and reasoning. Many times in the book the characters found themselves in trouble but always found a way out. By the end of the book you really trust the characters, and trust is what ethos thrives on. One aspect of the essay that I found challenging, was spelling punctuation and grammar. When I revised my work you can really see the changes that were made. Check out my drafts and tell me if there still are any changes to be made on my work.