Reading Log 1

In Kelly’s book he presents the ideas of essays as a way to explore a topic from new angles to learn more about them (3). Before reading this I would have agreed with Kelly’s very first description of an essay as a way to test knowledge. However, once I thought about it, I realized the true purpose of writing essays previously in school was to test a student’s knowledge on how well they could look at a particular topic from different angles. Therefore, I would say my previous definition of an essay would be a combination of Kelly’s two definitions.

Kelly also talked about how to read an essay which included looking at what the author was trying to accomplish, who the author was targeting, or was the author just presenting it from a new angle (5). None of these things cross my mind when I am reading just for fun or for any class besides English. When I typically read, I read for information and facts or to find out more about something. Even when I am reading fiction I am subconsciously focusing on find out information to put pieces of the story together. I also have not considered some of the things Kelly suggested thinking about even when I was reading for previous English classes. One thing that particularly stood out to me was questioning who the author was writing for. I never thought about that before, but that can actually give a lot of information and help when interpreting writing.

After talking about how to read an essay, Kelly talked about two different kinds of essays, rhetorical and personal. I think the reason these two differ is because they are written from two different points of view. The personal essay is most likely going to contain more pathos because it is much easier to convey one’s feelings when it is their own story. For example, if someone were to write an essay telling people about how they personally experienced their house being blown away by a tornado would have a lot more emotion and detail than a rhetorical essay that is trying to convince people to donate time an money to people who have suffered from natural disaster. That person could include things like how they lost their favorite possession or how difficult it was to find somewhere else to live and start all over. They would be telling it from a first-hand experience and could tell you exactly how they felt through that tragic experience. On the other hand, someone who might just be getting you to try to help out but did not necessarily undergo that experience would not be able to share such details. Their essay would have to be broader. They could include part of the story about someone who lost their house but most likely it will not appeal to the audience the same way. There would still be a use of pathos but they may not be as strong.

Also, a personal essay does not come out and make a point to persuade people. Although someone’s story about losing their house to a natural disaster might give someone the idea to help out others who have also lost a lot due to natural disaster, it was not necessarily the author’s purpose. Meanwhile, rhetorical essays have an argument and whether it is subtle or not, it is still there.

After reading Kelly's introduction on essays, my eyes have been opened to new ways of intrepreting literature and getting more out of it. He pointed out that there is a lot more to essays than just words on a page.