Learning about ethos and audience

Sometimes college teachers assign essays to see whether students understand a key course concept. A piece of writing is a much better way of testing understanding than a multiple choice test or even a class discussion or presentation. This essay is just that kind of writing. It asks you to explain two writing features. You can learn about those features -- ethos and audience -- by reading three different kinds of documents. From your close reading and analysis, you can then develop your own description of the terms and explain them using examples, drawn from the examples I have provided or, even better, from examples that you have found (like a syllabus from one of your classes and the introduction from a textbook from one of your classes).

This essay requires some pretty careful reading and some writing-to-learn. Only then will you understand how to draft a more formal piece of writing.