Edwin Moody

English 110

Sam Bellamy

December 8, 2019

Theory of Writing

     Although the style of writing we did over the course of this semester has been different from the work we did in high school, my theory of writing is basically unchanged. To me, writing, or any form of rhetoric, is a device that is used to effectively communicate, conjure up certain emotions in the reader, or prove a point. To attain any of these goals in a piece of writing, I think it is important to be emotionally engaged, and to be interested in the subject matter at hand. To this end, it is important to research the topic fully and become genuinely interested before putting pen to paper. Although all writing styles differ, if any of them lack passion, they become boring and dry.

     In this class, we covered a few different styles of essays, and even explored other genres of rhetoric such as the composition in two genres assignment in which we could choose which way to communicate a point. The main difference between this course and the ones I took in high school is that a lot of the writing we did was based off of research, and had to be written inside of certain confines, whereas in high school we did more creative pieces. Although I much prefer creative writing like a memoir or a short story, this class has been helpful in preparing me for the essays we wrote in other classes, which, in my case, were mostly based on law and government. Although these other papers were about very dry topics, I still found it important to develop an interest and a strong opinion about the research topic.

     In general, when I write a paper, I find it important to pick a topic that I have invested interest in. For this class, we had to write all of our papers about one topic, so it was especially paramount to choose one that would never become old. In my case, I chose gun control, which is important to me because I am both a gun owner, and someone who fervently hopes for an end to gun violence. Because I chose a topic that directly affects me and my rights, I never lost my passion for the topic, even after writing several papers on it.

     For this class, we were encouraged to find a rhetorical situation to analyze. Although each assignment was a bit different, all of them were based on the same rhetorical situation. The next step in the writing process for me is to think of a target audience. In order to make my essays as effective and convincing as possible, we were taught to think of a specific sector of society to write to, and make sure the presentation of the evidence, or the argument was catering to their viewpoint.

       Finally, it is vital to come across as professional, and convincing. Although it is important for me to have my own view, I find it necessary to back my own opinion up with evidence, and statistics. Without logical backup, any theory, or opinion, lacks credibility, and is not effective. In the case of both my source based essay, and my inquiry based research paper, I used arguments from both sides of the discussion, before presenting my own opinion, backed by evidence. For me, this is an easy way to come across as professional, and avoid a one-sided argument.

     In general, in order to do effective research and writing, I try to gain a wealth of prior knowledge, and write passionately about something that I believe in. My theory of writing is that any written piece should effectively convey the desired message, be it an argument, or story or poem. For me, this means that I, as the writer, have to be fully immersed in the subject matter at hand. Although this is difficult as I attempt to balance work and other classes, I find it vital to focus my entire attention on who my audience is, and how I can professionally and effectively reach that audience. The only way I can grip the audience’s attention is to radiate passion through my writing, which is something I try to do every time I put pen to paper.