Paragraphing (Includes the following concepts: Topic & Concluding Sentences; Transitions; Old-to-New)

Paragraphing is the main form of organization in writing. It includes a topic sentence that explains what the paragraph will be about, an explanation that elaborates on the topic sentence, and a concluding sentence that wraps up what that paragraph talks about. Throughout the paragraph, a writer must use the old-to-new method in order for the writing to track. This method works by mentioning what has already been said and then adding new information to that knowledge. By taking the old info and adding new info, the writer has the ability to create smooth transitions between sentences within a paragraph. Furthermore, paragraphing itself provides the means by which a writer can transition from one point to the next without a breach of the writer to reader contract. I can use paragraphing to improve my writing by applying the principles that it suggests, which will then make my writing more effective.

Drafting

Drafting a paper is basically writing down an outline of the things you want to say, filling in that outline, and then revising. It usually takes at least two or three times of drafting until you have a final draft that contains all you want it to say and in the way you want to say it. It also fixes many grammatical errors and sentence structures that help with the flow of the paper itself. Drafting is important in the writing process because when you make a draft it helps you identify what parts of your writing are unnecessary and what is integral to your main point. When I use drafting in my writing process it improves my writing because of the fact that I can figure out what exactly my point is and then I can eliminate anything I've already written that is contradictory or irrelevant to my topic.

Entering the Conversation

When an author starts writing about a specific "hot topic" or controversy, that is called entering the conversation. Entering the conversation in writing is about bringing your knowledge to the table for everyone else to benefit from. Whether that knowledge is applicable to the subject at hand or actually beneficial or not, really just depends on how you've prepared that knowledge. Something an author might do to strengthen that knowledge and understanding of a specific topic would be by doing research of some kind. By doing so, an author can deepen their own education about that subject and help others with their own understanding by writing about what they have found. If I can use this strategy in my own writing, not only will it provide me with a deeper knowledge about the things I choose to write about, but it can also allow me to educate others in that subject as well.

Invention

The invention is the very first step in writing. It is writing down topics or ideas for your writing and then taking one of those topics or ideas and expanding upon them by using various methods. There are many methods for invention: such as diagraming, bullet lists, doodling, free writing, and other forms of these activities. Invention acts as a starting point when an author is looking for what they want to write about. This is important because it allows the mind to see connections between related topics, and also connect issues or topics that would not otherwise be or seem to be connected. By using invention in my own writing, I can not only address the things I most love and find interesting, but I can also find ways to relate those very topics to things outside their usual mode of classification and apply them to my own understandings.

Research Questions & Topic Refinement

Research questions are questions that help a writer narrow a very broad topic to a very specific topic. This can be considered topic refinement because topic refinement takes a general idea that the author wants to talk about and then it looks at the different aspects of that idea and weeds out the ideas that are unnecessary for the author's argument. These two things take time and effort to do, however, they are vital to the writing process. In order to refine your topic, you must ask questions about the argument and find any counterclaims that you may have missed. These questions also help to find new angles and ideas that may not have come up before, which is what validates the importance of the questions. By asking research questions about my topic and using them to refine my topic, my writing can improve by being more focused and more fluent.

Audience, Purpose, and Genre

In writing, the audience is who the writer intends to read their work, the purpose is the underlying meaning the drives the author to write and let the reader discover through their writing, and the genre is the specific type or manner in which the author creates the writing. Understanding what these three things provide helps the reader understand the very fabric of what the writing is, what it means to accomplish, and the means by which it is given; from the audience, purpose, and genre, the audience can have a deeper understanding of what the author wants to convey. If one of these things is missing, the writing becomes not only ineffective but unnecessary to the reader as well. Without these things, a text shouldn't really be considered writing but rather a list of points. Applying these things to my writing can help improve my writing by adding a reason for the writing and the mode of the writing.

Summary vs. Analysis

A Summary is basically a way to take a very long explanation and make it very short and concise but still be able to understand all the points from the long explanation. An analysis is taking everything that was said and examining it to draw a conclusion. In other words, a summary explains what a text is about and an analysis explains the how and why of a text. It is crucial to understand the difference between the two when writing because you have to be able to have the right balance between them depending on what you're writing. Knowing the difference between summary and analysis can help improve my writing because it can help me distinguish the evidence from the deduction. It can provide the what and then help explain the how and why, which then improves the all-around argument as a whole and provides substantial support for the writing.

Outlining (Arrangement & Organization)

Outlining is a way the organize your thoughts and help you assess what you want to talk about and what you don't want to talk about in your writing. It's basically a road map of where you want to start, where you want to go, and how you want to wrap it all up. An outline can help you think through your main point and all the supporting claims you'd like to gather throughout your writing. By making an outline, I can create the direction I want my writing to go and from there I can more easily fill in the rest with examples and evidence. This will help improve my writing because it will help me to think through the process of my argument while helping me solidify my argument. It can also help me in that I'll be able to figure out early on what I want to talk about and help me weed out the unnecessary comments.

RA reflective questions

Reflection Questions

Goals: How did I do with the goals I set? Why didn’t I achieve my goals? Which goals were most useful to me? Which didn’t really help?

I felt like I did very well with achieving the goals I set for this Rhetorical Analysis paper. At first, it was a real struggle because I couldn't see clearly the different rhetorical tools used in the article as they weren't very evident. The most useful goal was just to write down my thoughts and ideas on the page and go from there.

Quality: Where in the writing do I feel most confident? Where am I weakest? What would I change if I had more time? What am I most proud of?

I feel most confident in the supporting of my claims. I feel like I am usually the weakest in my main claims until I finally know what my support really is. If I had more time I would have tried to connect the tools and paragraphing a lot more by making it all support one main claim. I am most proud of being able to find new angles to write about each tool.

Writing Processes: What writing process did I use to write this? How well did it work for me? What needs to change, moving forward?

My writing process was that of the main outline. I felt like I actually used it pretty well despite the fact that I don't really ever use it. Something that really needs to change moving forward is that I need to be able to make the entire outline first and then start writing.

What I learned: What did I learn from this writing task? What was the hardest part? What’s something new I’m taking away from it? What part of the process interested me the most? What did my instructor do to help me learn? What did my instructor do that wasn’t effective and didn’t help me learn?

I learned what a rhetorical analysis is compared to any other piece of writing. The hardest part was identifying what the tools used were and then not sounding so redundant when elaborating on them. Something new I learned is how to find another angle on the topic so that I can cover all my bases to have a well rounded supporting argument, and that is the part that interested me most. I loved that my instructor gave us template sentences to work with and guided us with what exactly we were meant to be doing.

How to apply what I learned: How will I apply what I learned from this writing task to future writing tasks (in my major, for example, or in the workplace)? What new goals will I want to set?

I will apply these new things to my future writing tasks by looking for new angles to examine the topic with. My new goal would be to create a better outline before I started writing.