The moment the assignment for my first paper in college came my way, I knew that this course was going to be different from anything I experienced in high school. Although the rhetorical analysis essay had some qualities similar to what I produced in high school, I felt a sense of independence. We could choose to write on whatever topic we felt drawn to, which was a rarity in my previous academic experiences. The main goal is to identify what the author is saying, and how they are saying it which is a phrase I encountered frequently in my AP english course. By breaking apart each component of the authors argument, and analyzing how they did it, a thorough summary can be achieved.

    The article I chose was written by Michael Pollan, a New York Times contributor who focusing on making ethical food choices. I’m thankful that we had the freedom to choose our own topics, because it makes the process that much easier. In my experiences, I tend to write more exiting papers when it is on a topic I care about. As I began drafting my initial reaction was that I was following the formula that we discussed in our rhetorical precis too closely and that it would read as if a computer produced it. I was running out of ways to introduce points that Pollan was trying to make besides “Pollan claims that.” I had to work with my sentence structures to begin with a dependent clause to add some variety to my writing.

    I felt a bit nervous when I was working with my peer editors because I didn’t feel that I was receiving much feedback. I wasn’t sure if my paper was confusing, boring, or their simply wasn’t that much work that needed to be done. I feel that there is always something that can be done to improve writing and nothing is ever “finished” however, I also feel that my first draft was strong. One piece of advice from my peer editor that I chose to ignore was to delete a sentence in my opening paragraph.

I think she was confused about where in that paragraph my thesis appeared, but I feel that my thesis was clear because it showed the “what” and the “how” of the authors argument. I did take her advice for the beginning of my second page where she suggested that I move a sentence to add clarity. Although I’m not sure that this change was necessarily “better” my reader was confused, and chances are if it confused her, it could confuse others as well.

    In our office hours meeting I was ready to defend my analysis. I didn’t walk in with a formulated response to the questions you would ask me, because I would rather have an informal conversation about the goals of the paper than present a bulleted list of points as to why I deserve the A. Personally, I know what grade I am going to get when I turn in an assignment. I think that deep down everyone knows, they might just not be able to admit to themselves that they didn’t put enough effort in. One of the items that you wanted to discuss was that there was “No discussion of rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, tone, etc.) or how he establishes credibility?” I told you that I didn’t learn these appeals specifically in high school, although I do feel that they were taught in some fashion. I pointed out that I feel Pollan posses an inherent credibility, because of the literature he has published and since he writes for such a prestigious publication. It probably wouldn’t have hurt to make specific remarks about these appeals, but I don’t think that my paper was completely lacking them either.

    One of the benefits of this meeting was that it really was a time to be productive. So much was accomplished in 15 minutes.  You were able to meet with us outside of the classroom to open up the lines of communication between student and professor. You were able to sort of check in with me, and make sure that I felt comfortable in the class and was feeling good about adjusting to college life. Beyond that, we were able to talk about some of my interests, and I even got to borrow a book from your extensive library. I was so grateful for this time, and appreciate that you are willing to give each of us time and respect in return for our effort.