Writing is a skill that not many people take the time to sharpen over the course of their lives because many people don’t believe it carries much weight, as least in a professional sense. And it is a very hard skill to acquire, especially if somebody doesn’t have a natural talent for it to begin with, or just simply isn’t interested. Throughout this quarter I shed the skin of the formulaic writing that I had used all throughout high school and replaced it with a more creative, professional style. Not only has this enabled me to make better, stronger arguments, it taught me how to find flaws in other people’s as well, making me both a better reader and a better writer. The transition was rough, though, as all change is, initially. High school writing has proven to be especially damaging in this regard. Writing a response to an article I just read and not allowing myself to use the generic, “introduction, body, conclusion,” was hard at first. I found the first paper I wrote for this class, the Background Information paper, actually quite difficult. The guidelines and requirements were actually obscenely easy, but I had never written such a paper before, and my first draft proved to be boring, unorganized, and …show more content…
I had not only never written a paper like this before, I hadn’t even been familiar with the format. In high school we only briefly touched upon rhetorical analysis, so when we were introduced to it in this class I felt wholly unprepared for such an undertaking. I truly made the effort but knew that my paper had fallen short. The thing which I struggled the most in this paper with stiffness in my writing. I could just never break from lifeless analysis and make it any more interesting. This frustrated me and forced me to carefully at the way in which I write. I did, however, leave with a much better understanding of rhetoric and how to form a logical and strong
Jonathan Kozol revealed the early period’s situation of education in American schools in his article Savage Inequalities. It seems like during that period, the inequality existed everywhere and no one had the ability to change it; however, Kozol tried his best to turn around this situation and keep track of all he saw. In the article, he used rhetorical strategies effectively to describe what he saw in that situation, such as pathos, logos and ethos.
Palmer, William. "Rhetorical Analysis." Discovering Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Writing, and Style. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. 268-69. Print.
Longaker, Mark Garrett, and Jeffrey Walker. Rhetorical Analysis: A Brief Guide for Writers. Glenview: Longman, 2011. Print.
A rhetoric analysis can be defined as the breakdown of components used to make a persuasive argument or judgment on a particular subject or topic. The ability to make a conclusion or decision on a given thought or idea in a moment of seconds is a result of rhetorical analysis. “Because media rhetoric surrounds us, it is important to understand how rhetoric works. If we refuse to stop and think about how and why it persuades us, we can become mindless consumers who buy into arguments about what makes us value ourselves and what makes us happy”. In Carroll’s essay “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”, she discusses the nature of rhetorical analysis, how it affects our everyday lives and explains the role context plays.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
The rhetorical analysis played a role in this, because I was required to use the various rhetorical appeals to compose a strong argument. Using the appeals definitely helped in trying to persuade the reader to acknowledge the opposing view.
I was able to find several resources that helped me understand how to begin writing an analysis. One of the resources that I used came from our textbook “The Little Seagull” (pages 49-53). They were able to describe the key elements in a rhetorical analysis, how to analyze the argument, and how to organize your thoughts for mapping out the analysis paper. This was helpful for me to know how to generate ideas and organize my paper but I still didn’t have my “a-ha” moment. So I dug deeper and went online to view some rhetorical analysis essays to see the set up and how they should sound to help persuade my audience. The most helpful resource that I found was a video on You Tube where Shaun Roundy was explaining the fundamentals of writing a rhetorical analysis. This is where the light bulb finally came on for me and I was able to understand that how I had been writing my analysis paper was all wrong. I was summarizing instead of critiquing the author’s persuasiveness of the argument. Shaun Roundy was able to give the big picture of what instructor’s look for in a rhetorical analysis and start from the bottom by giving the definition of rhetorical analysis and building our foundation of learning by helping me to understand how to apply it. I viewed this video many times, even while I was in the middle of writing to make sure that I had a clear understanding of what my paper should include. I was able to improve my paper by making sure I stated my claim and supported my opinion. I had to make sure I had enough evidence from the article that showed the purpose of the article, the directed audience, and if the author showed either logos, pathos, or ethos. I needed to make sure my claim stated the author’s effectiveness of the argument and showed enough evidence to support my
Writing requires a delicate balance between pleasing an audience, yet finding and sticking true to personal perspectives. More often than not, people find themselves ignoring their own thoughts and desires and just following along with the crowd, not standing up and arguing for anything, leaving behind a wishy-washy essay because they are too scared to stray from the obligations to others before the obligation to themselves. Anne Lamott’s “The Crummy First Draft” and Koji Frahm’s “How To Write an A Paper” both evaluate and stress the importance to find your own voice in writing and to be more critical towards readers. The reader’s perspective needs to play a role in writing, but it should not overrule the writer themselves. Writing needs to
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses many vivid logos, ethos, and pathos to get his point across. Dr. King writes things in his letter that if any other person even dared to write the people would consider them crazy.
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
I have never considered myself a great or even a good academic writer. Having me answer to a certain prompt when I simply didn’t care about the topic was like asking me to run a marathon without any training. When I pick up a pen and paper, it is conviction that flows through any of my writing. It is a reflection of not only the struggles that I have overcome but what I aim to make of my opportunities in the future. The image that describes myself as a writer is one of rapper Kendrick Lamar as he spews an intense freestyle with his hands extended towards the crowd. The Compton native creates an artistic connection to his audience not only through his poetry but his gesture, a physical connection to the people through the extension of his
“Don't be afraid to write crap because crap makes great fertilizer”, said author Jessica Brody, a quote I recently plastered above my computer. Throughout school, I would always dread English. If it were conveying personal thoughts on paper or having to stand up and read a book report aloud. I never felt comfortable. Reading beautiful plays, poetry or stories always brought a sense of jealousy. It was not a subject I was efficient at. My poem would be critiqued while another's is praised. It made me want to hide my feelings. I started to lean towards science as a strong suit to focus on; English was pushed into a corner to evade rather than improve on. My weaknesses, experience and learning passage as a writer is nothing to write home about.
As my English 101 class comes to an end, I have realized how much I have transformed as a writer. In this essay, I am going to explain what I realized my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer and how they have manifested themselves throughout the quarter. I was skeptical at first coming into this class knowing that English takes formidable work and dedication, but I am very proud of the progress I have made. We completed a great deal of work throughout the quarter; from grammar exercises, summary reviews, and two challenging essays. Throughout the quarter I found myself improving in each category. As a writer, my skills and confidence have developed into more clarity and thought, something I have always wanted to be, as a result of a well constructed class that led to a superb educational experience.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class, I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work to see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded.