Analysis After Analysis

     In the upcoming assignment, Rhetorical Analysis Essay, my classmates and I are to read an essay and use rhetoric to go back and analyze it. This begins by introducing the topic of our choice to familiarize it with our audience. We should summarize the essay briefly and go over the main points, and maybe even include some quotes. Then we should conclude whether or not we believe the essay we chose is successful with its argument.
     Then we move on to our main supporting points, which will take up the vast majority of the paper. We need to describe the authors use of pathos, ethos, and logos, as well as any other factors that make the essay good or bad. We may also want to do some outside research for our essay, to validate any claims the author makes. We end our essay with a strong conclusive statement which sums up the main supporting points.

    In regards to Tom Collins' essay, I believe he provided a very good analysis. He thoroughly introduced and explained his topic and connected with audience using all of pathos, ethos, and logos. He even connected it back to his won personal life in the army which connected with the reader even more. His essay is a very touching piece that is hard to argue with.

Reviewing Myself

For my writing process analysis essay, my thesis was that I can take multiple steps to improve my writing process. These three steps were, become more organized, focus more on the papers content, and attempt new writing strategies. I believe these three points will drastically help me improve my writing process and therefore make me write better papers.
My main weaknesses in my paper were vagueness among my supporting ideas, seemingly long sentences, and confusion about proper MLA formatting. I also need to add better transitions and work on the overall organization and flow of the paper. By putting more details into my paper, I will beef up the content as well as make it clearer to my audience.
I believe my paper is well thought out, I just need to go back over it and fill in where it is weak. Since I already have my thesis and main points laid out strongly, this shouldn't be a problem.

Similarities Among Writing Processes

I believe my writing process is quite similar to that of Jeniese Fox's. We both think as prewriting and then just jump into writing the paper with little or no outline or brainstorming. We both also write with our audiences as our focus for the direction of our papers. Unlike Katie Francis, I do not use and type of cluster or umbrella prewriting. However, I do agree with her that brainstorming is the hardest step in the writing process.
Although, I do follow the same process as Katie when I am starting to write the actual paper. I need to find a comfortable, quiet place to gather my thoughts and let my writing flow. I also revise as I write, as she does. Similar to Jason Ledure, I find myself procrastinating and then writing at the last minutes as thoughts come to me. The one main difference between Jason and I's process is that I need nearly complete silence to work in while he needs some sort of distracting noise.

The Big Three

 

    Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are three main ways you can convince your audience that your knowledgeable about the topic you are covering. Ethos relies on how credible you appear. Pathos plays on emotion and sympathy, while Logos acts on logic.

     Your purpose as a writer is to get your audience interested in and behind what your topic is. Ethos helps you come across in your paper however you want your audience to perceive you. Ideally, you would want your audience to see you as credible, ethical, and well-informed. Ethos is the proof you give your audience that you know what you are writing about.

     Any emotional connection you make with your audience uses pathos. Whether it is a tender-hearted story that makes them tear up, or a tale that invokes sympathy, pathos is there. Pathos increases the audience's connection to the author by way of emotion.

     Logos uses logic, plain and simple. Logos can be a quote from an outside source, statistic, or maybe an excerpt from a well-known book that proves your point. By using logos, an author who may have been discredited at first can now gain credibility from using his outside sources.

     

     

Writing Process

   

     My writing process is quite similar to a textbook example of a writing process, except I very rarely prewrite. When I do prewrite, I take a good amount of time to think and gather my thoughts before making a rough outline for the writing assignment I'm about to do. I usually just jump right into writing the introduction of my paper and see where my thoughts take me. 

     I prefer to work in a nearly silent work area when I'm writing. Since I don't usually prewrite, I keep a constant commentary going on in my head while I'm writing. If I'm writing in a loud or busy area, this makes it harder for me to focus on my thoughts. I also edit while I write, so it may take me quite a while to get just a few paragraphs until they are good enough for me to move on to the next section. 

     I also always read through my paper a couple times after I'm finished writing. This is when I usually edit my grammar and such. I do most of my revising while I'm still writing.