ethos- the use of a writer's credibility to appeal to an audience.
The inquiriy in which I feel that I grew the most in this aspect of rhetoric is Inquiry 3. But this growth began in Inquiry 2. For the second inquiry, the article I chose to analyze was entitled, "Can Pro-Anorexia Websites Help Heal Some Eating Disorders?" I chose this article because of the personal experience that I have had with eating disorders. I even thought that as I read the article, I would be learning more factual information about eating disorders, especially since the article was from Time magazine. As I analyzed the article, I realized one major piece of information was missing: the writer's background with eating disorders. I stated in my inquiry: "The author does have an extensive and impressive resume, but there is one thing missing: did she ever experience an eating disorder? It is said that one learns best through their mistakes. If such a statement is true, one would have to experience an eating disorder in order to come to a full understanding of it. While it would be too personal to affirm that the author has some sort of experience with eating disorders, a large piece of her ethos will remain missing." It came to my attention that someone who has never experienced an eating disorder, will not know what is right and what is wrong. They will not be clued in to the feelings, thoughts, and effects of an eating disorder. They can do all of the experiments and interviews, but their ethos will never be complete.
This realization then transferred into my Inquiry 3, where I wroter about the dangers of dieting (one of which is eating disorders) and the way to prevent them (using a healthy lifestyle). I decided that in order to truly break through to my audience, I had to let them know that I had been in the situations I was writing about. I wanted to know that rather than pulling information from databases and secondhand testimonies, I was pulling it from my own firsthand account. I wanted to be able to answer the questions that not many people can answer. I wanted to give the explanations that only my experience could give. Then I realized, that is ethos- using your unique background to gain the trust of your audience. This set the basis for many parts of my Inquiry 3. In it, I described to my audience my experiences with dieting, eating disorders, nutrition, and exercise. I used my credibility as the foundation of my argument in the first three sentences: "The concept of dieting has always intrigued me, from my childhood up until today. I’ve learned the tips, tricks, and pitfalls of the dieting world, and I’ve learned their effects, none of which were ever positive. While reading some of the comments under an article on ProbioticSmart.com, I came across a personal testimony that reflected my dieting experiences, and those of many other people." Then, on page four, I explain my exercise and use of nutrition to fuel it so that my audience can see a firsthand experience as to why dieting and restricting behaviors produce negative effects in their bodies. On page 6 of my inquiry, I go into greater detail with my experiences of dieting.
I believe that my Inquiry 3 revealed growth in my understanding and use of ethos because I finally realized the importance of speaking out about a topic, especially when I have a uniique experience related to it. I have never before used my experience with dieting and eating disorders to gain any sort of credibility. I never imagined that it could come in handy in that way. I now realize that I am responsible for using that credibility, especially because dieting and eating disorders are such stereotyped and misunderstood topics. I have realized that ethos is more than just a college degree or research, it is real life experience.
This realization then transferred into my Inquiry 3, where I wroter about the dangers of dieting (one of which is eating disorders) and the way to prevent them (using a healthy lifestyle). I decided that in order to truly break through to my audience, I had to let them know that I had been in the situations I was writing about. I wanted to know that rather than pulling information from databases and secondhand testimonies, I was pulling it from my own firsthand account. I wanted to be able to answer the questions that not many people can answer. I wanted to give the explanations that only my experience could give. Then I realized, that is ethos- using your unique background to gain the trust of your audience. This set the basis for many parts of my Inquiry 3. In it, I described to my audience my experiences with dieting, eating disorders, nutrition, and exercise. I used my credibility as the foundation of my argument in the first three sentences: "The concept of dieting has always intrigued me, from my childhood up until today. I’ve learned the tips, tricks, and pitfalls of the dieting world, and I’ve learned their effects, none of which were ever positive. While reading some of the comments under an article on ProbioticSmart.com, I came across a personal testimony that reflected my dieting experiences, and those of many other people." Then, on page four, I explain my exercise and use of nutrition to fuel it so that my audience can see a firsthand experience as to why dieting and restricting behaviors produce negative effects in their bodies. On page 6 of my inquiry, I go into greater detail with my experiences of dieting.
I believe that my Inquiry 3 revealed growth in my understanding and use of ethos because I finally realized the importance of speaking out about a topic, especially when I have a uniique experience related to it. I have never before used my experience with dieting and eating disorders to gain any sort of credibility. I never imagined that it could come in handy in that way. I now realize that I am responsible for using that credibility, especially because dieting and eating disorders are such stereotyped and misunderstood topics. I have realized that ethos is more than just a college degree or research, it is real life experience.