Letters From Birmingham Jail

King's use of pathos, ethos, and logos greatly appeal to his audience. The preachers, rabbis, and priests that his letter is addressed to captures their angle of vision. He uses multiple biblical examples to aid in their understanding of his actions and his use of real-world models plucks at the heart strings of these his rabbi brothers, such as the inclusion of the Holocaust. His pathological appeal tugged at my heart in his use of stirring stories of children's diluted feelings of inferiority because the world was simply the way it was. Had King been writing to a group of segregationalists, his essay would have looked very different because piling guilt on those individuals would not have moved them to action but only to anger. Being born in 1994 and having been taught the groundbreaking acts of Martin Luther King, it does not come as a surprise that he also supports his claims using ethical appeals. He clearly states his reasons, includes his position as a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and embellishes on the fact that he followed the step-by-step on how to peacefully protest.

Argument

This essay of persuasion is the same argument that many college students have often considered, myself included. The essay had many points that were understandable and gave consideration for the audience. The author included reasons for his exemption not based on laziness or financial issues but on issues of timing and personal goals. The student clearly stated his reasons in light of his personal integrity in the field of education. The only argument against his claims is like that of arguing with a child. If you give a toy to one child but not to another, the one child will come to complain. Taking into consideration the fact that this student gave a sound argument and demonstrated good work ethic, I would have to vote in favor of this student's argument and give exemption to his math course requirements.  

As A Writer

Why didn't anyone tell me that we were not supposed to use conjunctions in formal papers until my senior year of high school? What were my teachers thinking? Honestly, I have never been amazing when it comes to writing but not even knowing the basics has been a bit embarrassing. As a writer, the comfort that I feel during the writing process comes when nobody has seen the paper and I know that I can still get the details worked out to make it a great paper. I can work with ideas and create my own in order to compare mine with the opinions of others. I need to work on how well I present these ideas, as in how the ideas flow together and make for an intelligent read. Being formal in a paper has also been a struggle as I tend to write as I would speak. Sometimes I find myself acting out Sigmund Freud, in that I write in flow of consciousness without stopping to think how my ideas are coagulating. I guess that is why I am required to take two composition classes.