Leibow 1

Reilly Leibow

Professor Jon Beadle

English 115

15 December 2020

Project Space Revised Essay

A safe space for the LGBTQ+ community has shown to be an effective use of space. The

space’s use is being called to question by professors and administrators from multiple schools. In

the textbook WAVES, there were three essays with authors who tried to present their argument

through their writing. “Bridge the Gap from High School to College” by Hailey Jones, “Online

Lessons: Literal and Figurative” by Mercedes Guevara, and “Safe Space or Wasted Space?” by

Ranzen Pangilinan. Pangilinan presents an effective argument by establishing an emotional

connection towards the audience so they understand why the pride center is an effective use of

space for the LGBTQ+ community on campus by giving them a safe and reliable space to feel

appreciated and welcome

In the essay, “Safe Space or Wasted Space?” by Ranzen Pangilinan, the author uses

pathos in presenting an effective argument. Pangilinan uses the use of the reader’s ability to

understand and connect to the argument at hand to create an image of the pride center in the

reader’s mind. By setting the scene and area of the pride center the author connects to the

emotional aspect of the reader by describing the feeling inside the pride center as a place where

“you feel like you can say or do things without much, if any, judgment from people around you.

No matter who you are, you won’t be shunned for being yourself” (Pangilinan 60). The reader

now feels an emotional attachment to the essay, compared to the other essay where the emotional
 Leibow 2

attachment isn’t as prevalent because the author explained the feelings of the people who use the

space and why it is important for them to have that space and be there. The LGBTQ+ community

use this space as a place to connect to one another and share their experiences and stories with

each other without being judged or criticized. Everyone should feel like they have a place where

they can truly be themselves without feeling like they won’t be accepted. Even though Hailey

Jones and Mercedes Guevara use pathos, it is implemented a little differently. Both Jones and

Guevara’s writing are targeted towards a specific group of people while Pangilinan’s writing is

targeted towards everyone. Jones writes about how the transition from high school to college can

be tough. Guevara writes about online school daily life for students and what it has taught her. In

Guevara’s essay “Online Lessons: Literal and Figurative” she explains the things online school

has taught her and how the decisions she made were up to her like “the time [she] could being

and finish class was up to [her]. Would [she] procrastinate and start school at 10 p.m.? Or would

[she] start at 8 a.m. so that [she] could have the day off after noon? The choice was [hers]”

(Guevara 89). In this essay, the author tried connecting to the audience, which in this case would

be other high school students, about the struggles of being enrolled in online school.

Unfortunately, the authors attempt at connecting to the audience isn’t that effective because the

audience has to be a specific group of people to connect and understand what the author is

explaining, in this case it would be high school students. The author does use pathos, but the use

of pathos is much more prevalent in Pangilinan’s essay. All three essays use pathos to try and get

their points across, but only Pangilinan’s essay effectively reaches the audience with the intent of

using their emotion and feelings to grasp the author’s argument.

 Leibow 3

The use of credible sources in the essay appeal to the reader’s sense of trust and

credibility. The author uses ethos which uses their use of facts and articles taken from credible

sources to convey their argument more effectively. Leigh Fine, a professor at the University of

Connecticut, has published multiple articles about inclusive leadership and assessing student

learning. He presents his take on the pride center at colleges. “The LGBTQ resource center (…)

is a space to provide academic, emotional, or social support to sexual minority students, faculty,

and staff, while advocating for comprehensive inclusion within the university” (Fine). The

LGBTQ resource center is a place where anyone can feel welcome. This statement provided the

reader with the information to conclude that the space is effective. This quote illustrates that

while using ethos the author was able to demonstrate the information that everybody uses the

pride center, and everyone is welcome at the pride center and this information can be critical

when communicating through writing. Considering the credibility of the source the audience is

more likely to be more invested in the facts and information in “Safe Space or Wasted Space?”

rather than the other two essays. In the essay “Bridge the Gap from High School to College” by

Hailey Jones, the author inputs a quote from Regenia Hill who is a faculty member who is the

Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at Old Dominion University. “The college

transition begins with college choice, which can be impacted by factors including location,

finances, degree programs, environment, and institutional prestige” (Hill). Although Regenia Hill

is a reliable source of information for the topic in this essay, Leigh Fine is a more credible source

and presents a more reliable contribution to the factual data of the essay. He has written many

published articles about the topic in the essay along with other topics similar to the argument.
 Leibow 4

This would lead the audience to more commonly trust Fine’s judgment over Hill’s, which

exhibits a prime example that Pangilinan presents the better argument using ethos.

Logos is an important part in making an effective argument. The readers need to be able

to have proof and use logic to identify whether the essay presents an effective argument. Ranzen

Pangilinan uses the reader’s draw towards statistics and facts to make his argument more

reliable. The author inputs statistical data analysis into their essay to provide the reader with a

factual side to their argument. “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a

report stating that ‘More than 40% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students surveys had seriously

considered suicide in the previous year, and nearly 30 percent attempted it” (Pangilinan 61). The

use of this information gives the reader more of an incentive it be more invested to Pangilinan’s

essay over Jones or Guevara’s essays. This quote provides the reader with the information that

statistics prove the facts and people aren’t making up this information. It gives the reader the

opportunity to look at all the evidence that was given throughout the essay and use this

information as the icing on the top to complete all of the essential information towards the topic.

Neither of the other two essays present statistical data or facts to try and convince the reader.

Instead, they rely on the use of pathos and ethos to persuade the reader. They use the idea of

presenting logical information to the reader. In Mercedes Guevara’s “Online Lessons: Literal and

Figurative,” she states to the audience how technology has helped her and presents advantages in

different ways like how being online can provide someone with an “immense variety of subjects.

[she] took advantage of this opportunity to have an enriched educational experience; ranging

from learning to code, graphic design, and economics, there were more courses available in my

online school than in public school” (Guevara 91). In this statement she is trying to advise the
 Leibow 5

audience, while in Pangilinan’s essay, the author is using logos to persuade the reader.

Pangilinan on the other hand takes advantage of the opportunity to find more ways to reach the

reader and uses logos as well as the other two rhetorical strategies to present the better argument.

Although all three essays use all three rhetorical strategies to present an effective

argument, Pangilinan reveals his use of the rhetorical strategies to illustrate the most effective

argument. In the essays “Bridge the Gap from High School to College” by Hailey Jones, “Online

Lessons: Literal and Figurative” by Mercedes Guevara, and “Safe Space or Wasted Space?” by

Ranzen Pangilinan the authors use different tactics and perspectives to better convey their

approach to the argument at hand to the readers. Ranzen Pangilinan presents the most effective

argument about the need for safe spaces on college campuses by the most productive use of the

rhetorical strategies in his essay.

 Leibow 6

Works Cited

Fine, Leigh E. “The Context of Creating Space: Assessing the Likelihood of College LGBT

Center Presence.” Journal of College Student Development, vol. 53 no. 2, 2012, p. 285-

299. Project MUSE, doi: 10.1353/csd.2012.0017

Guevara, Mercedes. “Online Lessons: Literal and Figurative.” Waves: A Collection of Student

Essays: Stretch Composition Program, Department of English, California State

University, Northridge, by Amy L. Reynolds and Amber Leigh. Norwood, Macmillan

Learning Curriculum Solutions, 2019, pp. 89–91.

Hill, Regenia, et al. “Factors Affecting College Choice and Transfer: A Study of the Decision-

Making Process of Student Veterans,” 2016, pp. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Jones, Hailey. “Bridge the Gap from High School to College.” Waves: A Collection of Student

Essays: Stretch Composition Program, Department of English, California State

University, Northridge, by Amy L. Reynolds and Amber Leigh. Norwood, Macmillan

Learning Curriculum Solutions, 2019, pp. 25–27.

Pangilinan, Ranzen. “Safe Space or Wasted Space?” Waves: A Collection of Student Essays:

Stretch Composition Program, Department of English, California State University,

Northridge, by Amy L. Reynolds and Amber Leigh. Norwood, Macmillan Learning

Curriculum Solutions, 2019, pp. 60–62.