What’s happening in New York City?  Protests, arrests, and deaths.  People claim that they fear living their everyday lives and that they’re scared of the government officials, like police officers.  Now, I have police officers in my family, and I’m not trying to be biased here, but honestly police officers are the ones who keep those people who are complaining SAFE.  I understand that the deaths that occurred in Stated Island and Ferguson were  tragic events, but if you saw in the video, the man clearly resisted and put up a fight against the police officer (Staten Island).  Protesting is a peaceful way to voice your opinion and make a statement, but here’s my opinion:  Police Officers make the world, even New York City, a safer place to live.  They’re the ones that respond to crimes and they’re the ones risking their lives everyday for the safety of the communities.  I thank them for serving me everyday and no matter what, I’m grateful for the ones in my life and the others that are out there doing their jobs.

For my public argument essay I have chosen to take a completely different direction from my rhetorical analysis.  I came across a book, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch.  It speaks about the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, the causes and effects, and overall shares the stories from people’s lives.  I decided to do more research on this topic and I found it insanely interesting.  Most people just know about the Holocaust, the most famous genocide in history, which the Rwandan Genocide is compared too.  I feel that more people should be educated on this serious issue and be exposed to more facts and stories.  I have an idea of what my research question could be.  “Was the Rwandan Genocide an immoral event?” or “Were the killings of people justified?”  I am unsure if these will be suitable; therefore, during my meeting, I could like to speak about this.  I know I can prove my credibility through my 4 sources.  I have already examines many primary sources and Philip Gourevitch’s novel will be of great use to me.  I will also include many statistics, like the total number of deaths.  I feel that the audience that I will be trying to reach out to will be students, like myself.  Honestly, students who are eager to learn more about this topic or even some that may already be passionate about it, can learn so much from this paper and see how victims’ lives have been affected.  My audience needs to hear my opinion on the Rwandan Genocide so 1) they could form their own opinion based on my research question and 2) they could see how people in third world countries have lived and are now living and essentially compare and contrast their lives to it, possibly gaining greater value for their lives in the United States and for everything they have.

I am in the process of writing my paper.  I completely changed my topic from the rhetorical analysis.  Originally, I was writing about domestic violence against women and how they were affected by it.  However, now I am focusing on the Rwandan genocide.  I have recently began reading, “We wish to Inform you that  Tomorrow we will be killed with our Families :Stories from Rwanda” by Philip Gourevitch.  This sparked my interest on the terrible events that occurred in 1994.  Currently, I have two annotated bibliographies on my topic.  They reflect the occurrences that happened, how the people were and now are currently affected, and what people are doing to help.  I understand that I need to narrow my topic down; therefore, with the help of my peers and Lisa, I’m sure I can write a successful, intriguing, and great piece!

Part 4: Précis
James Estrin’s purpose is to expose the Rwandan Genocide and educate his audience on this event. He builds up his credibility by interviewing James Estrin, someone who actually went to Rwanda and witnessed the terrible events. Estrin wants readers to fully understand what is happening in this third world country. He is educating society on how some people may not necessarily have the same morals or beliefs as you; nevertheless, making the world a scary place to live. Rwandan refugees needed to hide out and live every day in fear, hoping they wouldn’t be taking their last breath that day. In the interview with David Turnley, Estrin proposes questions like, “What did you see and what did you do?” In return, Turnley responds with detailed answers like, “The attacks were being conducted with farm tools and machetes, and everywhere you looked you encountered people who had lost hands, feet, arms, legs, and had been severely cut all over their bodies.” Readers can now fully understand the horrific acts that took place during the genocide and are essentially becoming more aware of their surroundings.

New Summary

In “Witness to History, Searching for Dignity”, James Estrin educates his audience on the Rwandan Genocide and exposes horrific details and outcomes.  He utilizes an interview with photographer, David Turnley, to provide useful information on actual occurrences.  The vivid descriptions like, “The attacks were being conducted with farm tools and machetes, and everywhere you looked you encountered people who had lost hands, feet, arms, legs, and had been severely cut all over their bodies.” (Estrin 1)  As the interview continues, Estrin and Trunley speak about the actual experience.  Turnley mentions how it is something out of the ordinary and hoe it can scar you for life.  People will live with these memories forever, even himself.  The article concludes with a heart warming story, showing readers how a devastated community can come together at the hardest times.  The audience can comprehend how a tragedy can sometimes be a goo thing for a community.   Illnesses, sorrows, and deaths make people think twice about their lives and truly value what they have.

This assignment can help me create a better summary; nevertheless, understanding the author’s point and purpose much better.

Introduction

In the Introduction to “They Say/I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to show their audience how to create and organize a well written essay.  Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer provide guidelines on how to correctly utilize their advice to create a masterpiece.  As the authors themselves put it, “One of our key premises is that these basic moves are so common that they can be represented in templates that you can use right away to structure and even generate your own writing.”  Although some people believe that they are not able to express their own ideas freely by following a structured format, Graff and Birkenstein insist that with structured formats, one’s writing will improve; nevertheless, anyone can write their own unique work, even if they simply get help from a template.  In sum, then, their view is that people are able to always enhance their writings.  I agree with their writings in that being provided a set of directions, just helps someone get on the right path.

Chapter 1

The main point of Chapter 1 is to show readers that is just as important to express your own ideas as taking others’ into consideration too.  Writers should remind their audience what they are reading about so they never become confused.  Always be clear in your writing and be responsive to other ideas, beliefs or conversation.

1) “Remember that you are entering a conversation and therefore need to start with ‘what others are saying,’ as the title of this chapter recommends, and then introduce your own ideas as a response.” (20-21)

2) “Starting with a summary of others’ views may seem to contradict the common advice that writers should lead with their own thesis or claim.” (21)]

3) “In other words, even when presenting your own claims, you should keep returning to the motivating ‘they say.’  The longer and more complicated your text, the greater the chance that readers will forget what ideas originally motivated it- no matter how clearly you lay them out at the beginning.” (27)

Question

How can you be sure that you are providing the reader with clarification?  Sometimes I question if my writing is going to be clear to the readers.  I feel that it does not always make sense to others, even if it does to me.

When I revise my writing, I imagine that I could always do better.  Revising essentially helps me gain a new found confidence in myself because I am able to correct an errors I have previously made and improve my writing to the best of my ability.  When I revise my own work,  I gain a sense of confidence because I find new ways to improve my writing.  I go through a similar process that probably mostly everyone else does.  First, I reread my work aloud to see where I can change my diction or add or take out anything unnecessary.  Next, I do any necessary research to help me expand my writing with facts and sources for credibility.  Also, I allow someone else to read my paper to help me figure out what else I could do and provide me with constructive criticism.  It takes awhile, but it is definitely worth it!  According to, “Acts of Revision”, “authors in this collection will be considering revision as the practice of making meaningful changes in texts at the word, sentence, paragraph, and full text level by adding, deleting, substituting, and rethinking their work entirely. As editors, they are concerned with assuring the text has consistency and, at times, that is conforms to “house style”: the requirements of a class or publisher. As proofreaders, they check to make sure their revisions and their editing has been completed carefully and that no typographical errors mar their best presentation of their texts and thinking.”  This essentially shows that revising, editing, and proofreading have similar aspects, but are very different at the same time.  Revising is like the outer layer and the most detailed process.  You must observe different sources and allow yourself to accept that there are many ways to make your writing better.  Editing comes next, where you must ask others to check out your work.  Finally, proofreading is like the icing on the cake, where you must check for spelling errors or add or take out any punctuation.  In Brock Dethier’s piece, I strongly enjoyed reading about when he mentions writing in a journal and how he ties it all back to revision.  He states, “To revise, writers must compare versions, consider alternate methods of development and organization, assess the quality of their communication, and play, often with style options.”  Overall, revision needs you to be open minded to new ideas from various sources, essentially making room for improvement.  All authors need to go through the revision process; therefore, having a positive attitude and believe that their writing can always be better due to new ideas, a lot of help, and REVISION!

In my Rhetorical Analysis, I am in the process of completing my first rough draft.  I finished my zero draft, where I outlined what steps I will be taking, the audience of both my articles, and the overall purpose.  I have thoroughly annotated my 2 articles and pinpointed rhetoric and specific arguments that I will include in my writing.  I have established that I was make an argument in my paper, that my first article focuses on women being victims of domestic violence. Also, I will have a counterargument, where in my second article, the author shows that men are victims as well.  I will include in my paper that people have diverse perspectives on the topic of domestic violence and I can now educate my readers on the diverse viewpoints.  Overall, the purpose of the assignment is to take 2 articles and identify how they view a topic similarly and differently and educate others.  I hope to inform readers on my topic and I hope I will utilize rhetoric well and create a magnificent piece!

For my rhetorical analysis, I plan on researching and writing about violence against women, not only in the United States but all over the world.  I want to specifically look at rape rates and what people are attempting to do to prevent or try to stop it.  I find this topic to be very intriguing because I, myself, am a woman of the 21st century and I feel that I deserve the same amount of respect as any male.  Women, however, are constantly being degraded, violently harmed, and sexually abused in their homes and on the streets.  These actions need to be prevented because not only are unwanted pregnancies occurring, but illnesses, a loss of self-esteem, and even deaths are occurring.  I personally feel that this issue is not something that media focuses on and pays very little attention too.  The only time the public really hears about a “hate crime” against a women, is if a celebrity is involved.  The media does not focus on this issue that i would like to bring up; therefore, I hope to bring awareness to even the few readers that may read my piece.  By examining different articles, I can see how people’s perspectives, all over the world, are on this topic and see if anyone is really taking a stand for these women.  My questions about the rhetorical analysis are really about the set up.  Since I am focusing on diverse articles and sources, should I simply focus on one article first and then transition into another and then another, or should I talk about the many sources all together.  Finally, in my piece, should I state my own opinions on this topic?  I find it extremely difficult to not take a side or even agree with an article more.  If I shouldn’t be biased, how can I do so?  I would love my paper to be as informative and exciting as it can be; therefore, I need all the help I can get!!!

In “The Rhetorical Situation”, Lloyd F. Bitzer examines the notion of the rhetorical situation and provides evidence of why rhetoric is important.  Bitzer exclaims, “A rhetorical situation must exist as a necessary condition of rhetorical discourse, just as a question must exist as a necessary condition of an answer.”(6)  By comparing the rhetorical situation to a question, readers can understand that the situation is a necessary element in writing and analyzing.  Without it, there would never be a solution or understanding.  Bitzer tends to speak out on the rhetorical solution’s behalf, telling readers of it’s importance.  He speaks about the exigence, audience, and constraints; therefore, building up his credibility and announcing the essential and basic fundamentals in understanding the situation.  Rhetorical situations essentially exhibit structures which are simple or complex, and more or less organized.  They can be changed around all due to the writing or the author’ diction; therefore, understanding the rhetorical situation and everything that coexists within is essential in the writing process.  Bitzer states, “Rhetoric is distinguished from the mere craft of persuasion..”(14) which shows readers that in order to be the best writer you can be, you must fully understand the rhetorical situation, the theories, and overall comprehend Bitzer’s own persuasive piece as well.

“The Rhetorical Situation” is an extremely informative, yet persuasive piece.  Bitzer is attempting to “revive the notion of the rhetorical situation”(3) and share his knowledge on the specific information.  While I was reading this, I became intrigued with his diction and how he set up his writing.  He lists his details and numbers them, creating a list of information.  This was easier for me to read because I could sense the importance and value that Bitzer was trying to emit.  Bitzer appealed to the audience’s emotions (pathos) and built up his credibility (ethos) by utilizing specific speeches, like The Gettysburg Address and Cicero’s speeches against Cataline.  Readers that enjoyed those times in history could relate to what he was writing and better understand where the author was coming from.  Also, readers could believe the points he was proving by actually examining the speeches.  Overall, I enjoyed Bitzer’s piece and my knowledge was expanded on The Rhetorical Situation and the major importance and components too.  One question that I have is how can people make sure their rhetorical situation or question is sufficient or suitable for an argument?

In Emma Watson’s speech about feminism, Emma Watson shares her ideas on the topic of feminism and explains how she has become one.  Her exigence is gender equality.  She shares her views on why women should be paid the same amount as men and essentially treated the same.  Men and women are both humans in the world; therefore, deserving the same respect and pay amount.  Emma Watson’s audience is everyone in the UN, and overall anyone that is interested in the topic of feminism, especially other women that feel the same way and have the same views as herself.  Finally, the constraints of the speech is attempting not to be sexist and take favor in the female’s side.  Emma needed to preach equality, all while showing no favor.