The language barrier at home forced me to learn two languages as  I grew up. Learning English and Spanish both help and enhance how I denote myself through writing. As I got better, my main obstacle in writing was my grammar. Although my writing is not excellent, it is a hobby I enjoy doing. Journaling has supported me in my journey to become a better writer and improve the way I express myself. My favorite forms of writing are poetry, journaling, freewriting, and argumentative. My writing theory is that writing is a muscle. The more you work on it, the more the muscle tears. Learning about different layers in writing makes our writing muscles stronger. 

The teacher that helped me understand rhetorical appeals was my high school English teacher, Mr. Harding. He once told me the key to the perfect writing piece is knowing your audience well. The audience is the key to understanding how to launch your argument. For every audience, you reveal a different you. For example, there would be a difference in how you would speak to your mother compared to a close friend. I consider my audience in my advanced op-ed for kids when breaking down specific terms this group age would not quite understand. 

“Body fighters are called antibodies. These antibodies run through our blood. Everyone has body fighters, they are the ones who help us when we are sick.” (Op-ed for kids)

In this piece, I manage to explain the larger concept of the depletion of antibiotics. I focus on encouraging and being friendly to capture my audience’s attention rather than drawing more evidence to prove my claim because children do not question. There are more like sponges, so it is vital to recognize what a child is being exposed to everyday. Contrasted to an older audience in my original op-ed takes a different approach. For example,

“Antibiotics are essential to combat diseases, especially to those who are chronically ill.” (Op-ed)

Here certain words such as chronic, diseases, and antibiotics can be terms that a 6-8-year-old might not be so knowledgeable about. I took into consideration the age and what both audiences know. The audience is my guide when I am writing argumentative or opinionated pieces. 

All three rhetorical appeals play a considerable part in a successful writing piece. Though if I could choose my favorite, it would be pathos. Pathos may become a threat in your writing if it is not applied correctly. An overuse of pathos may convey you to be guided by emotions rather than by facts (logos). This quote is an example of how I use pathos.

“Are we all going to die soon?” (Op-ed)

This quote was my hook to interest my readers, in the urgency of finding new antibiotics. Others may interpret this quote as a little too dramatic, but the more exciting writing requires the most significant risks for my taste. I am not scared to spice up my writing, especially when a topic is crucial to me. My Op-ed and Op-ed for kids were my most fun piece to write out of all my assignments. I was knowledgeable about the topic, but most importantly, I had a passion for writing about it. Another example I use pathos when presenting my logo, 

“Including the child or adult taking their prescription to prove to SSI for benefits has to be a harmful and destructive cycle of families crying for help.” (Scientific Feature)

This sentence can be worded differently, such as simply stating parents report mental illness for SSI benefits. However, I used pathos by using imagery of families crying. My main goal is for the reader to put themselves in other’s shoes to relate to the meaning of this problem.

Additionally, the context in writing allows you to be creative because we can communicate more clearly. For example, in my Development of the U.S. and its People class, I had an assignment to analyze a character portrayed through another narrative. In this piece, I only had access to one source, and this source was the narrative of Fredrick Douglass. 

“Through the lens of a slave, there is a limit of information about a master’s perspective on  Slavery. Auld’s underlying purpose or fears are not as visible.” (Praised Imposter)

I presented my thesis about this inconsiderable character, but I had to be precise about the amount of evidence I genuinely have. I kept it clear that this is solely an inference because we do not have access to this man’s life, Mr. Auld. Having all context gives the reader a choice to interpret it in their way. This approach prevents my writing from being biased and always providing the complete picture.

My writing journey still goes on, and my next goal is to improve my writing process. When I write, I have too many ideas at once. So a plan I am using to improve is by organizing my writing by sections. The organization is not something I have perfected, and once I do, I know it will help me with my thoughts.