Project Presentations Day 2

     Before I began reading chapter one of our textbook, I was not sure what I was expecting to be reading. However, after finishing the reading of chapter one I have a much better understanding and knowledge of genres along with the subcategories that come along with genre. This first chapter was not a reading where I could either agree or disagree with the writing because it was not a story or opinionated article, rather it contained facts and tools to help the readers learn and create a better understanding of literary elements like; pathos, ethos, logos, modes, media, etc. So, with that being said the only thing I can do is reflect and share what I have learned after reading the first chapter of our text book. I had previously learned about literary topics, such as: ethos, pathos, and logos, in my senior year of high school. But, honestly after reading just one short page (page 11) in this book I learned more on that page than I did all of last year. I learned not only the definition of literary elements, but also how to use and apply the different elements and techniques to my own work. For example, ethos is credibility or authority. Ethos is something that can be deemed necessary if you plan on creating a work, like an encyclopedia, because if the author does not establish ethos to their readers, their work will not be a reliable source. In addition, I learned that pathos is an appeal to an audience's emotions or values. Pathos is extremely vital if an individual is creating an ad, especially something that has no proven benefits, like an ad for a of bag of chips or an ad for an unknown 90s band who is having an upcoming concert. When it comes to things like ads the author will want to demonstrate pathos to appeal to the consumers emotions and desires especially if their product has no tangible benefits. Especially when the products or events an individual is advertising comes with an opportunity cost for the consumer. Finally, I learned that logos is the logic and connection of facts and evidence to the point being made. An author will want to apply logos if they are writing an argumentative essay because the author will want to get their readers to agree with their conclusions of the argument at hand. Therefore, the author should want to take the readers logically through the different phases of their arguments, which will in turn rely on the author's use of logos. To summarize, I think that this first chapter was a great refresher course to remind me of how to use these literary techniques in all of the upcoming papers I will have to write.