Rhetorical Analysis Reflections Essay

I struggle with Rhetorical Analysis essays, but this particular paper seemed to puzzle me more than the other rhetorical analysis essays that I have come across this year. The score I received was an 8, and I was honestly quite surprised to see that. I knew I had written a paper to pass, but to show that I had sufficiently written the paper shocked me. This essay was tough in particular because the rhetorical strategies were very difficult to locate. I noticed that Richard Rodriguez wrote using a lot of compare and contrast, so I based my essay off of that. With that idea, I elaborated the technique in great detail, and that may have accounted for the high score that I received. The paper was very well structured, but it was very one-sided in my opinion. The main reason I was unsure about a high score was due to a lack of inclusion of other rhetorical strategies. I knew that the paper was well written, but I was not necessarily sure how well I was going to do. While reading sample essays released from Collegeboard , I did notice that they were looking for something to do with compare and contrast, and I believe that is why I scored to high on the paper. I did not know that compare and contrast was a rhetorical technique, but it is good to take your idea, and let your thoughts flow. That is how you create very strong writing. WC: 250 Midwest Rhetorical Analysis Reflection The Midwest Rhetorical Analysis Essay was hard to write because I had a lack of interest towards this particular prompt. The Midwest has never fascinated me; it has always been the West or East Coast that I have been really interested in. My lack of interest towards the Midwest made it a very difficult write. Over the year, when I am given topics that interest and fascinate me, I am able to write them very well. However if I am given a prompt which I do not really care about, I will pick the easier side to  write about and go from there. Passion elevates my writing. The lack of passion towards this essay is the reason it is not written very well. It was a difficult write, and I am positive that with a prompt involving the west or east coast, your writing improves. The score of 6 that I received is due to the fact that this paper was very adequate, and easy to follow. The text is very boring, but the reason it was scored as a passing paper if primarily due to following the necessary standards of the AP scoring rubric for 6 papers. Cause and effect was the main strategy that I used in talking about rhetorical devices. I used it to explain how the Midwest is not the same as people may perceive it. The Midwest has a lot to offer, and people just need to give it a chance and figure out what is hiding within the land. WC: 259 Summative Rhetorical Analysis Reflection I believe I deserved the score of an 8 on this paper. I really connected to the text, and my ideas just started flowing. This paper demonstrated a lot of my strengths as a writer, and my score reflects that. My use of personal anecdotes to describe the author’s imagery and pathos really enhanced my essay. I was able to use personal evidence amd samples from the text to demonstrate my ability to master this paper. Essays that I can relate to are very easy to describe and write about. That is exactly what happened as I was writing this paper. The text, Last Child in the Woods reminded me of my childhood, and I used specific example from the text to describe that. This paper displayed much strength and very few weaknesses. A problem I have with my writing is poor grammar, and I believe that is due to the timing factor. You really have no time to fix your mistakes when you are crunched for time. Luckily you are scored on what you do well rather than everything that you have done wrong considering that this paper is not a finished product. Anecdotes, contrasting views, imagery, and pathos were all rhetorical strategies that I have present in my essay. This was the final rhetorical essay that I had written all year, and my improvement is clearly demonstrated from my first essay to my last. Improvement is key, and I am happy to have my best writing at the end of the year rather than the start. WC: 262