This page contains examples of how to build positive ethos in particular kinds of writing situations. Click the thumbnails below to skip to a specific example, or just scroll to see everything offered on this page.
Ethos in Research Reports
Research reports can function in a variety of settings, but they are most often commissioned or assigned to serve a specific purpose. For example, your boss might assign you to research the feasibility of a new business venture. Your job, then, is to investigate if that business idea will work, and then to write your boss a report explaining if it's a good idea or not--and how you reached that conclusion. (In other words, show what research you did to reach your recommendation/conclusion.) In the example below, the writer has been asked to determine whether a name change for a company would be a good idea.
Note: Michelle Bernier volunteered her work as an example after she completed English 3880: Writing for Business and Industry at East Carolina University in Summer 2014. Michelle provided a written release and requested that her real name be included with her work.
Ethos in Marketing Plans
Marketing plans are written to pull together all the minutiae involved in an integrated strategy for advertising a business or product. If your boss assigns you to create a marketing plan, you'll need to put forth a plan for an advertising campaign along with all the information about what sort of support you'll need. A marketing plan is a type of proposal; you need to persuade your boss that this is the best approach. Your marketing plan might include an overview of your strategy, a list of necessary resources (including financial), and/or a timeline and list of involved media. In the example below, the writer focuses especially on social media as a low-cost, high-impact approach.
Note: Jessica Saunders volunteered her work as an example after she completed English 3880: Writing for Business and Industry at East Carolina University in Summer 2014. Jessica provided a written release and requested that her real name be included with her work. In addition, this document has been published in Writing in Professional Contexts, a custom textbook available from Fountainhead Press.
Ethos in Business Cards
Business cards are tiny pieces of paper with a really big impact. This is a type of document that is ALL about ethos. Your goal in having a business card is to persuade and/or remind someone that they want to do business with you. A business card needs to be professional, impressive, and informative--and it has to do all that in a very small space!
Emails
Emails can be written in a wide variety of different ways. If you're sending an informal email to a friend, you don't really have to worry too much about building ethos. However, if you're emailing a professor--someone who has control over your grade, someone you want to impress--then building positive ethos through email is very important. The example below shows how to write an email to a professor after you've missed class.