An
Argument
"EVERYTHING
is an argument."
Or so the teacher says
as he stands before a sea of eager
or blank faces.
He is not quite sure.
And as I sit in the very back row,
I wonder if I really know what he means
when he says
such a thing.
And now it is the end of the term
when all of the papers are written and done.
And now it is time to collect my work
and all of my thoughts into
one notebook
and 500 words.
Now, I reflect on my writing,
and on my ARGUMENT.
I peer back; from beginning to end,
to examine my ARGUMENT,
and I look to see if it has changed,
and what it has become.
PASSIVE
It is a word that describes me.
It is a word with no place in an argument,
except for an argument lost.
In the beginning (for that is where we start),
I chose to follow my PASSIVITY as
I wrote.
I could approach PATHOS
as a means of communication,
weaving my words into a reader's mind,
drawing them in with a story,
gently asking for their attention. Yet,
once I had their eyes
I had little LOGOS to win their
hearts.
Counter-arguments, not addressed,
and opinions unsupported,
ARGUMENT
lost.
Writing 121, required course,
introduced me to the finer details of developing
An ARGUMENT.
Topics were chosen
for me.
I developed the ability to
logically approach a subject
logically structure an essay
logically present information.
To PRESENT:
"introduce formally; show; give, offer; point, aim"
(Webster's Dictionary).
PASSIVE
I was not developing ARGUMENTS.
I was failing my primary purpose.
My essays
would suffice, to satisfy the word-count
requirements
and grammatical demands of a required writing
course.
How many poorly written papers does it take
to numb a teacher, and make her easy to impress?
Writing 122, required course,
presented me with a challenge:
make an ARGUMENT.
PATHOS + LOGOS + ETHOS:
Approach your readers in an interesting and unassuming
way, sooth the ego, make them trust you, present your
evidence, state your purpose, CONVINCE your readers,
ARGUE your point, make them believe you, beyond
questioning, using evidence you both believe.
To ARGUE:
"quarrel, dispute; prove; offer reasons
-Vt. prove by reasoning; discuss."
AGGRESSIVE?
No.
I realized the purpose of an ARGUMENT
was to CONVINCE.
It was something,
so simple,
right in front of me,
always there,
yet, never noticed.
So, I wrote,
and revised,
and I wrote,
and was told:
"Do BETTER."
So I did.
And I learned.
I learned from my mistakes,
and I learned from the mistakes
Peer evaluations, taught me about myself.
I began to learn to see my mistakes through
the mistakes of others.
I stumbled, as I do now,
and I was not "saved" as a writer.
I am,
a fabulous writer.
I am,
perfected in this craft.
My writing has many places yet to go.
So you ask: "What is my ARGUMENT?"
And I will tell you:
I AM GROWING.
I argue that I am growing,
As a writer,
and as a person.
I write,
to receive a grade,
to express a point,
to express myself,
to write.
And as I write, I grow.
--March, 1999
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