My Reflection On Writing And Rhetoric

Reflecting on the process of writing the first essay for this class, I feel that it is important to discuss my initial thoughts and attitudes because they may have affected my writing. I am taking this course at the end of the RN-to-BSN program because I did not realize I needed it. I completed two freshman writing classes many years ago, but they did not count toward this degree. Every class in this program has involved multiple writing assignments weekly, and since I scored well in those classes, I felt that “Writing and Rhetoric” would be relatively easy and stress-free. Now, five weeks into this class, I understand that this type of writing requires more thought and effort because it employs a different approach. Searching for meaning behind the repetition and patterns of another writer’s work is difficult. The process requires imagination and the ability to put yourself in another person’s frame of mind. Since I am a rather concrete thinker, unraveling a writer’s implications is not my strongest attribute.

I did not know if I could find enough material in such short piece.. Because of the brevity of the piece, I did not think I could find enough material to write 1200 words. Where would I find enough ideas? In response, my first draft contained too many points because I had failed to dig deep enough into the material. However, over time and with multiple readings, I found that I was able to explore the themes of her essay more fully. “Living” with the piece and my analysis had a positive effect on the final draft. Even though I edited out many of the ideas, editing it every day allowed me to expand on fewer points. I critically read the final draft multiple times to identify awkward sentence structure and poor word choice. Making small changes over several readings, improved the final