RHETORICAL

KNOWLEDGE
Rhetorical knowledge is the basis for

any good writing. An articulate writer

understands their purpose, and to

whom they are writing. Their

understanding of these concepts allows

them to use their many tools and

strategies developed over time to

accurately respond to the unique situational nuances surrounding their writing. The

arctic fox is well known for its bushy white fur. Its white fur allows it to blend in with the

surrounding environment to avoid predators while staying warm. In the warmer months

of the year, the arctic fox’s fur darkens in response to the changing color of its

environment, retaining the ability to stay hidden from predators. Much like the natural

world, situational demands in writing will change, and much like the arctic fox, an

articulate writer understands when and how to adapt to these changes, allowing them to

act accordingly.

The student learning outcome of rhetorical knowledge is for students to develop the

ability to understand the purpose of their article and its intended audience. Alongside

this, students are expected to have accumulated a breadth of knowledge with which
they can accommodate the specific needs of their writing. One of these specifics may

be genre, in which case the writer must understand the greater context of their work and

adjust their mechanics, structure, or style accordingly. For example, a blog post would

be written in an entirely different style than a scientific lab report. The genre expresses a

certain expectation by the audience where a proficient writer anticipates this expectation

and writes in its specific style. Knowledge of rhetoric is important because it allows

students the ability to speak comfortably with a multitude of different audiences, creating

a compelling dialogue with each of them. Many people are quite different, and the ability

to effectively communicate with a wide array of them is an important life skill.

In the first paragraph from the screenshot above, I explain the purpose and significance

of correlation coefficients in statistics. In my thesis, I was attempting to draw a

connection between a student’s grades and their potential for success. One way in

which people draw connections is through correlation coefficients.Understanding that

this is not a universally known topic, I explained to the reader what the value is and

what it can tell us about a set of data. This made my findings much more impactful as

the reader then understood the very clear, almost comical, disparity between the two

analyzed sets of data.

My second example is from one of the free writes we have done. This specific example

outlines my understanding of my audience which is, In this particular case, myself. This

is a rather unusual audience but I can certainly say that my writing style in my free

writing has changed throughout the semester. Here, I can observe that I have gotten

more comfortable with writing to myself. At this point, I understand that, often times, the

importance of freewriting is for me to reflect on my own thoughts and experiences. This

has changed my style to more “thinking out loud” approach. I write out my raw feelings

which allows me to understand in greater detail what I think about the topic. This is

more beneficial for me when I return to it because I can gain more from what I wrote as I

relate to it particularly well.

CRITICAL READING
A proficient writer is able to

extract important ideas from a

piece of text and determine their

importance. Their ability to do this

allows them to decide what is and

is not credible information for their

argument. On top of this, they can

infer what the main points of an

article are and have a

comprehensive understanding of what is being said.

The image above is a sample from my studio 6 essay where I analyzed and responded

to The Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this particular section, I am discussing Dr. King’s

use of historical figures in his argument. Once that stood out to me was the mention of

Adolf Hitler. Within the context of the letter’s audience and the discourse that

surrounded it, I inferred the direction King was taking with his mention of Hitler. He
compared the ideology of his adversaries to that of Hitler because he knew that not only

was is it a strong argument, but one that compared his opposition to someone hated

throughout all of the United States. He knew that upon reading this, some people would

wish to not be associated with Hitler and perhaps change their habits.

In this second example, I use an article from Jeff Gentry titled “Why Grades Still Matter”

in my inquiry report. Gentry’s main argument is stated explicitly in the title but upon

further analysis, I noticed that his true purpose in his article and the way he runs his

class is to emphasize the importance of hard work. Afterward, I connected his article to
that of a few others that would, on the surface level, seem to be in disagreement with

Gentry, but I argue that this is not the case after I explain what the true meaning of each

article is and how they each emphasize the importance of being passionate and

determined in your work.

KNOWLEDGE OF
CONVENTIONS
An articulate writer uses knowledge of

conventions to express complex ideas

rather smoothly. For example, they can

connect two larger ideas into one

concise sentence with a semicolon. This

allows the reader to understand what is

being said and how it is being said, avoiding any confusion or unpleasant reads due to

poor grammar or technical knowledge

In this example, I use a semicolon to transition between one major idea in the essay to

another. I did this because I felt that if the sentences were separated, the flow of the

essay would sound awkward or unnatural. This allowed me to conclude one paragraph

and reflect on its overall purpose, while at the same time asking the question that

introduces the major theme of the next paragraph.

In this second example, I use in-text citations to add credibility to the ideas being

presented, and as a jumping point for further conversations. I use this quote to

emphasize the importance of what is being discussed in my inquiry essay. A credible

and historical figure holding the subject matter of my essay in such high regard makes

the essay more enticing to read and makes the entire thing sound more credible as it

begins with a logically sound argument.

My third example comes from the closing paragraph of my thesis. In it, I use

parentheses to show that it is myself talking. This was me expressing the hypothetical

conclusion that I believed my research would lead me to. This quote is inserted in a way

that shows how my perspective has changed throughout my research. This shows the
reader that I did not have any initial bias for my conclusion, but rather the opposite. This

makes my conclusion more credible because it shows that research is what led to me

making the decision that I did; therefore, what I am saying can be trusted because it

was well thought out.

COMPOSING
PROCESSES
An articulate writer uses composing processes to develop a well thought out final draft.

A good writer will have a solid understanding of the editing and revising processes that
make an essay clear and concise. They also demonstrate a comprehensive

understanding of the research and brainstorming processes that create a solid

framework for any particular essay. Together, these put together a cohesive essay that

effectively serves its purpose.

The above image shows an original form of my inquiry’s introduction. Upon reviewing it,

I decided that the paragraph was not interesting enough. I wanted the essay to start in a

special sort of way. If I were to read the article without knowing what it was about, would

I want to continue after this paragraph? The answer at this point was clearly no. I had

introduced the question rather vaguely and stated what the two main arguments were,

and nothing else. I decided that my intro needed more flare so I ultimately end up using
quotes and references from historical figures while introducing a controversy that would

hopefully draw the reader in to read further to reveal what the essay may contain.

In my revisionary process, I noticed that my transitions between paragraphs were

generally weak and occasionally non-existent like the image above. I noticed that the

ideas themselves were good and they could still be used in my essay, but the flow from

one to the other needed some work. I wanted all of my sources to have some sort of

connection and importance relative to one another. Before introducing a new topic, I

wanted the essay to explain how and why the next information was critical to the topic at

hand. Here, it sharply changes from one topic to another which does not reflect the

natural way that someone would discuss something with another person.
In this third example, I chose to re-organize my introduction. I liked the quote as I

thought it emphasized why my study was important, but I thought the topic should be

introduced beforehand. This led to an introduction that stated its purpose and afterward

its importance was backed up. This felt like a more logical way of ordering things for me.

To add the quote afterward makes it more obvious that I am trying to imply the

importance of education rather than me blindly throwing a quote to start the essay and

then going on with my paper and not making a clear connection between the subject

matter and the quote.

 CRITICAL
REFLECTION
An articulate writer uses critical reflection to learn from what they have done. They

understand that this reflection

is necessary for their growth

as a writer. In their reflections,

they make note of what was

relatively effective and what

relatively ineffective. In doing

so, they can refine their work

in future projects and continue

to use their own writing to improve.

Under number 5, I reflect on the main points of the article by Julie Cook. I discuss how

she has changed my perspective on the revisionary process. This helped me

understand the importance of every essay that I write and each one that I reflect on can

be used to later improve my skills as a writer. This has led to me becoming more

purposeful with my revisions as I understand they are building my profile as a writer.

Under number 8, I analyze the importance that the article had to me and what it made

me realize. I had always thought that to be the best, you had to just work and work

yourself tirelessly. But as I realized, many great strokes of genius come from very

simple moments. I realized that letting your brain “breathe”, so to speak, is just as, if not

more important than being able to hammer out work. This also led to me realizing that

there is not one set way to do things, and likely the best way for me to work involves a

multitude of different approaches to keep my work from becoming dull and monotonous.