Helpful Chapters

Chapter 9 starts off discussing something I had troubles with in our first assignment. It talks about reporting versus arguing. In my first paper I wrote a lot on my own opinions, rather than facts. This chapter talks about not summarizing our topic because our audience already is familiar with the specifics. It then goes into details and questions to ask yourself while writing the paper. These guidelines will keep us from writing an argument, but instead write a report. Chapter 9 also discusses another topic I have troubles with, developing a thesis. It says to make a precise claim and not merely be a statement of fact or observation. Then they go on to give examples of thesis statements which will be helpful. Finally, chapter 9 discusses ethos, pathos, and logos. I've only learned these in two classes I've ever had. I believe this will be most helpful to me when I attempt to make emotional arguments. It will help me to grab the attention from my audience. Chapter 10 discusses selecting and integrating evidence. The most helpful section from this chapter for me was about using resources as evidence. It taught me how to evaluate my resources and incorporate them into my essay. This section says to critically evaluate the resource based on its rhetorical situation. Also, to evaluate the credibility of the information it contains by checking its documentation and cross-referencing it with other resources. Both of these chapters will be very helpful when writing this paper. I'm sure I will be checking back with these chapters for help.