Assignment 2

When I enrolled for an English class this semester I really was dreading it. I don’t especially like to write papers and the thought of college English has always scared me. When we received our first assignment, the Opinion Editorial, I thought it would be just another paper I would have to force myself to sit down and get through. I have never been very good at communicating what I have had on my mind. There seems to be a road block between my thoughts and feelings and getting them across to others. My mission helped me with that and now as I learn about Ethos, Pathos, and Logos I am beginning to understand how communication and rhetoric really work in our everyday lives.
Sitting in class one day as we learned about our Opinion Editorial, Mr. Keeley said something that struck me. He said, “Write about something that interests you.” I have learned how important it is to write about something that I am interested about. In the past I have had to write about many topics that I had little or absolutely no interest about. I am a huge procrastinator, especially when it comes to writing papers. I have spent many long hours the night before a paper was due, loading up on sugar and just forcing myself to finish.
This paper was different because I was excited to write about it. When Mr. Keeley said that we should choose something that fits within our interests, it was very easy to pick a topic; Sports. And what has been more controversial in BYU sports than the Washington vs. BYU game on September 7 of this year. Everyone has been talking about it and nobody gives respect to the cougars. They think that Washington got robbed a victory by the officials.
So after choosing my topic I went to every sports lovers dream; ESPN.com. I spent some time getting to know the views of the sports analysts, fans, and anyone else that would voice their opinion. I also wanted to know the rule that has been getting so much controversial attention this year; the excessive celebration rule. I watched other college football games to see how the officials were enforcing the rule in other games and how it affected the play of the game.
When I was done researching I went to the computer, but not the night before the paper was due. I wanted to get a jump start on it. I had so many ideas that I wanted to get across but I needed to organize them in a way to get my idea across to the reader. After a few days writing I had my first draft.
I took this first draft to the classroom to get it reviewed by my peers. I was excited for them to read it. I got some good feedback and also some good suggestions. Then I had a session with Mr. Keeley and received more insight on how to make my paper even better. Now I just need to take these suggestions and put them into practice. Hopefully I can organize my paper better, have my transitions be smoother, and make my paper the best that it can be.
Believe it or not I have enjoyed this assignment. Writing about something of interest makes the whole difference. Knowing about Ethos, Pathos, and Logos helps put things in perspective and helps organize all the thoughts onto the paper. I am enjoying learning about communication and rhetoric and believe this will help me throughout my life. I have always been scared of writing college papers, but now I have more confidence in my writing and communication skills.