Final Blog-Ethos in Writing

Ethos can be defined as an individual's ethics, what they consider right and wrong and what they value. I think that someone's ethos says a lot about their character. Ethos is a combination of one's beliefs and values that they have developed over the course of their lives. Each person has a different ethos because no two lives are the same. We all have different experiences that influence our perspectives on life differently. I believe writing is one of the best demonstrations of an individual's ethos. People write what they believe and why allowing for the audience to better understand what kind of person the writer is and where they are coming from. I believe that my personal writing reflects my personality and ethos. Assignments that I accomplished this semester allowed me to voice my opinion and demonstrate my ethos.

The first assignment was to analyze an advertisment on a piece of technology we use. My Dell Inspiron laptop is the piece of technology I use the most so I chose to analyze one of its advertisements. Although I love my Dell Inspiron and would recommend it to other laptop users, i was not particularly impressed by the commercial I analyzed. The commercial featured a young man carrying a Dell Inspiron and being praised by everyone who saw him. At the end of the commercial a logo for a charity appeared on the screen. The audience was then informed that a portion of the Dell Inspiron profits go to help people in need. Through this assignment I was able to express my disgust with corporations that use something as honest as a charity to attempt to increase sales. At the same time, I expressed my gratitude and respect for companies who do donate a percentage of their profits to help others. While I don't think it's right to use a charity to make money, I appreciate Dell's generosity.

The second assignment allowed me to demonstrate my ethos even more than the first. This assignment was to talk about an effect technology has had on society whether it be positive or negative. I was particularly excited about this prompt because I feel like I have a unique opinion on the advancements in technology for reasons that few other people consider. I support progress in our society and appreciate the conveniences advanced technology has offered me. However, I am deeply concerned that people, Americans in particular, are becoming lazy. I felt that the best way I could demonstrate the consequences of being too technology dependent was to write about the rise in American obesity. I found a statistic from TIME magazine that stated that two thirds of American adults are overweight along with fifteen percent of American children between the ages of six and nineteen. I wanted this statistic to capture my readers' attention and make them realize that obesity has become a serious issue. Obesity, especially in children, is a problem that I think should be taken more seriously. To me, a childhood should be filled with physical activity. My favorite childhood memories are ones that consist of my friends and I playing outside and being active. However, it seems that modern childhoods consist of television and computer games; hobbies that involve minimal physical activity. This perspective of mine was influenced by my own childhood and values of which were expressed through this assignment.

I have yet to write anything that goes against my personal beliefs and values. Everything I write about and how I write is a reflection of myself and something I can take pride in. I think that very few people can write against something they believe in and that''s why I think writing is one of the easiest ways to judge someone's character. No matter how neutral a piece of writing is there is always a hint of that writer's ethos.