I intended for this essay to bring the readers, who in this case are fellow students and

professors, to realize the tremendous benefit that college athletics have on our universities. I

proposed to them a few solutions to help with our DIII athletic funds, however I also really want

our students and professors to just support our athletics more. Having a rich sports culture is

beneficial to everyone, and that is the point that I wanted to make through this essay.

I narrowed the topic by thinking about major things that impact my life, and I

immediately though of track and cross country. Then I started thinking about what could be

improved, and I thought of funding and improving our programs. In writing my essay, I just

started typing, like a sort of free-write to get all my thoughts on one document. Then to make my

essay more cohesive, I sorted all my information, looked up a few figures from some sources,

and went through the editing process. The biggest decisions were what information to omit. I had

so many things I wanted to say, but only three pages, so I selected the most necessary

information.

Peer review helped me because my peers found that I did not have enough sources to

sound credible and I needed a more solid thesis and call to action. They also picked up on errors

or awkward sentences that I never would have. The class activity of picking an op-ed from

online helped me because it helped me learn what an op-ed is and what point the authors are

trying to make in them.

I do think my argument was effective because I established a strong ethos by personally

connecting to my topic and connecting the specified readers to my topic. I made points that

would benefit both sides, and I successfully addressed the opposing argument in a way that I

refuted it. I also made sure to really relate to the audience of students and staff, talking about the

importance college athletics are to every single person in the university.