Persuasive Writing
English 425.02: Portnoy

Modified Version of Exercise #4, page 203

Creating an Effective Ethos

For this exercise, we are going to combine Exercises #1 and #4 on page 203.

Read the directions for Exercise #4. For this modification, you will write only one text. It should be to readers of a specific magazine or newspaper--sort of like an editorial piece of the kind we studied in Exercise #1 when we analyzed a writer's ethos. You should write about the topic of your second paper, but this piece should be much briefer: a page or, at most, two pages, typed. Perhaps you'll summarize your arugments, or you'll focus on just one of them in support of your proposition.

(A strategic move might be to write to the same audience you've selected for your paper, right?)

After you've written and typed your editorial, annotate it using a pen whose ink is not black (use a color such as blue or red for distinction). Point out the ways you've created an effective ethos, given the audience you aim to enroll: underline, jot notes in the margins of the text, and the like. Use the questions from Exercise #1 to help you in your analysis.

When you sumbit your annotated essay, attach to it an additional sheet of paper with information that contextualizes your creation of ethos. For which magazine or newspaper did you write this essay? Who composes its primary audience? What is the typical content, and perhaps the range of content, for this periodical?

This assignment should be ready to turn in at the start of class on October 26. (How does that differ from "You should have this assignment ready to turn in at the beginning of class."?)