TOW #28 - Reflection

Throughout the year, having looked back upon three TOWs that I have completed as the year progressed, I can see a definite change as I, as a writer, developed with this course. At the beginning of the year, in my first TOW, everything was very clunky - the writing was clearly compartmentalized as I went through the checklist of things I was supposed to do in a TOW - it had no flow. As I went through to TOW #14, everything meshes far more smoothly - the introduction of the author made sense as it transitioned into the rhetorical analysis, and into the effects of the rhetoric, and into the conclusion, asking myself if it was effective. In one of my last TOWs, #24, the writing seems so relaxed and comfortable, as I had truly become familiar with the idea of rhetorical analysis - I could understand how much context I should give, how much effective analysis should follow, et cetera. A funny note - as I progressed through the year, I began choosing texts that I liked more and more, because I realized that I could analyze things that I also found interesting at the same time, a concept that was new to me, who had only correlated schoolwork with tedium and boredom. I think the one thing I've truly mastered over the year of TOWs is the ability to read a text and to know what rhetorical devices were in effect. At the beginning of the year, I didn't know what the hell rhetoric was, and now I can figure out the subtle ways that an author tries to turn ones opinion to a certain direction. I can still work on making sure I flesh everything out to its fullest extent. One issue I faced was trying to keep things concise, but accidentally underanalyzing as a result. I still need to find that balance within my writing. TOWs served as a regular practice assignment that really helped me get comfortable with the ability to understand on a deeper level the little things that people use to convince their audiences. The only issue with TOWs is that they sometimes feel like a chore, and not enrichment, but schoolwork is bound to feel that way sometimes, so it can't quite be helped..