Response to Why Write

The main point I took from the reading was that organization and planning is key to a good research paper. If you do not plan ahead, you may address your argument to the wrong audience, address the wrong aspect of the issue, or go in several other incorrect directions. Once you plan out what you’re addressing, you must gather your evidence. When you have sufficient evidence you now have to organize your evidence in a way that avoids logical fallacies. You lose your credibility if you organize poorly.

When it comes to the research paper, I am most concerned with is being able make a unique point. At least with my topic, it has been argued and rehashed so many times I am not sure that I will be able to avoid just regurgitating other people’s arguments. Hopefully with the limited amount of time I can be knowledgeable enough to make a solid argument.

50 Words on Research Topic

I have decided to write on the privatization of health care. This is a subject of great debate in America today. Privatization is one of the topics that presidential candidates are judged on. I honestly have know idea whether it is the right thing to do or not. The main reasons I am going to research it are its important to us and I want to be more informed about it so I can make better decisions on who to vote for.

50 Words on Rhetorical Analysis

I am so glad to be done with the rhetorical analysis. I prefer this kind of writing to the creative writing of the personal narrative, but it was hard nonetheless. I was disappointed with the help from the writing center. I went in and the lady basically just nodded and gave some really vague advice. I asked about my sentence structure and my organization and got no feedback on either. Either my paper was amazing to start with, or my tutor just didn't want to help me. Hopefully it was the former.

Rhetorical Analysis progress

I just spent the last five or so hours writing my paper. I do not think I can write much more. Beforehand I thought I was well organized and prepared for the essay and then I started to write my intro. I stared at a blank screen and could not get words to come out of my brain. It took me around an hour and a half to write the intro. I kept changing my essay structure and my thesis. and then I would change what tools I was going to write about. Just a bad time. Hopefully the final product is good and the revising will be easy.

Rhetorical Analysis: "Letter From Birmingham Jail"

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” falls into the expository genre but disguised as a letter. King wrote to the religious leaders in the South to inform them about the civil rights movement and to persuade them to join. His letter addresses concerns they may have; it also shows how they have not shown the proper support that a man of God would. King tries to show that apathy towards injustice is equal to the injustice itself. King’s central message is that the religious community must support the peaceful civil rights movement or else they are betraying their beliefs. King divides the world into three groups: supporters of injustice, opponents of injustice, and people that are ambivalent. He shows that people who are ambivalent and do not fight against injustice are as bad as those who commit injustices. King believes that to advance a moral cause you have to use moral methods; this is why he only endorses peaceful protest. King also believes that religion supports equality, and if you are true to your faith, you must support justice and equality. King uses several tools of rhetoric. He uses his own credibility as a Christian man to support his claims. He mentions his heritage as priest, his achievements, and his peaceful record to show that his cause is just. King quotes from Socrates and other philosophers and calls on the credibility of others to support his argument. King utilizes a strong appeal to emotion. His imagery and figurative language evoke a strong response. He shares stories about explaining to his kids about racism and inequality to persuade his audience. In his writing, King introduced his opponents’ arguments and then showed their faults. This tool was especially effective.

Assignment: Analytic Response, "What Christians Believe"

C.S. Lewis’s essay “What Christians Believe” falls into the genre of social commentary. Lewis discusses religion and human nature, both aspects of society. Lewis describes his own change from atheist to Christian and uses his experience to give depth to his argument. Lewis wrote “What Christians Believe” to help categorize the different religions. He first breaks religion into people who believe in God and those who do not. The next categories are people who believe God is separate entity or those who see God as part of the universe. Lewis continues to categorize religion until only Christianity remains. He wrote this essay to show that Christian beliefs follow a logical pattern. Lewis ultimate purpose, though, is to defend Christianity and help spread its message. His effort is directed at intellectuals and appeals to their method of thinking. Lewis’s central message is that Christian’s beliefs pass the tests of logic and that they are true. Lewis assumes that the reader is familiar with Christian beliefs. He also assumes that readers think that whatever is true must be logical. Lewis’s world views include a definite split between those who believe in a God and those who do not. He sees the world as a place where everything can be explained. Lewis also believes that people seek understanding and try to better themselves. Lewis uses several tools of rhetoric. The main tool is logos, an appeal to logic. His entire essay follows a pattern of finding an issue and then resolving it. He resolves the issues through serious thought and Christian beliefs. Lewis shows the oppositions argument and then presents why it does not follow logic. For evidence, he uses his personal knowledge and experience.