- What do you feel like you learned about this unit that you didn’t know before? I definitely learned more about how rhetorical devices are used in social movements and how different rhetorical devices can be used to connect different perspectives of different people to create one big message.
- What did you already know , but now understand better or learned more about? I already understood a little more about how rhetorical devices play an important role in society and also I learned much more about how Aristotle’s 3 appeals can help play a role during the discussions with the social movements as well as applying this knowledge to the 2nd paper.
- What are the strengths of the writing you did for this unit? What are you most proud of? The strengths of the writing I did this unit improved on the level that I became more aware of what I write. For example, if a sentence was to not make sense for any reason like grammar, punctuation,etc then I would right away be able to notice and make some corrections to it.
- If you were to revise the writing you did for this unit, what would you want to do differently? For the 2nd paper, I did notice that I do sound a little formal in the paper, so perhaps I would have changed the way I wrote in terms of writing in my “own” language.
- How would you describe or rate your participation/engagement in this unit? I think my participation/engagement was sufficient. There is room for improvement, but overall I believe it was sufficient enough.
- What did you do in this unit that helped make you successful? The improvement in critical thinking for the freewrites in class led to me gaining ideas for my second paper which was a helpful improvement from my perspective.
- What additional things (resources, support, information, etc.) do you wish you had had for this unit? If anything I’d say some additional tips on how to improve writing in terms of figuring out would be something I wish I had for this unit.
- Is there anything you would like me to change (in the structure of our course, in how I’m presenting information, etc.) going forward? In my opinion I don’t have any problems with the structure of the course.
- What were your favorite readings/activities, and which readings/activities didn’t feel effective for you? I think the recent “Beyond Vietnam” readings was not effective for me because even though it was interesting, I didn’t feel the connection with this reading in terms of being engaging in my opinion. The Kent university social movement captured my attention to be my favorite reading because the pictures of the brutality that occurred to the students captured my attention.
Author: Justin Robles
“Hypophora” and “Rhetorical Question” exercise
The following passages are from “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There are very few question marks in the paragraphs, yet Dr. King has effectively used hypophora through implied questions and answers. Read this excerpt and underline all instances of hypophora.
While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.
I think I should indicate why I am here In Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against “outsiders coming in.” I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state,
with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct- action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here I am here because I have organizational ties here.
But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saith the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid…. You deplore the demonstrations taking place In Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative….
You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling, for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.
Exercise 2:
- Why should you vote in the next election?
Your future may depend on who is elected.
- What are “American values?”
Liberty, Equal rights, and Independence
- What must we do to get good government?
Vote for people who align with our values.
- Why should we cut taxes?
Because people would then have more money.
- Why is it better to love than be loved?
You are showing your emotions and feelings towards someone which is a good self-trait.
- So you ask, “How are humans really that different from other animals?”
Human are more intelligent than Animals in different aspects.
Rhetorical Question Exercise
Write 5 original rhetorical questions to help your readers arrive at—and agree with—the point to which you have been leading them. The first one has been done for you as an example.
1. Write 5 original rhetorical questions to help your readers arrive at—and agree with—the point to which you have been leading them. The first one has been done for you as an example.
1. Why should we not protest selling our natural resources to the highest bidder?
2. How else are we supposed to go finish our homework?
3. Why are we here?
4. Is it possible we can finish this earlier?
5. What is happening to me?
6. Why do I have to do this?
Unit 1 reflection
What do you feel like you learned this unit that you didn’t know before? In this unit, I feel like I enjoyed learning more in detail about the rhetorical devices because as I was reading on the examples of what they exactly were and how I was able to understand the device was good.
What did you already know , but now understand better or learned more about? In this case, I was already familiar with the word “Rhetorical” and so when I was reading the rhetorical devices book it showed more similar topics like Hyperbole, Procatalepsis, etc and I was able to have a better understanding on that.
What (if anything) do you feel like I wanted you to learn, but you still aren’t sure about? What are your lingering questions? I don’t have many lingering questions but I did love how you persuaded and informed that writing is not only about following a rubric and that you have the freedom to literally write anything without limits.
What are the strengths of the writing you did for this unit? What are you most proud of? I feel one of my strengths with my writing in this unit was finding the way I talk and writing that onto paper about a story that is personal but can be written the way I interpret it. I also think one of my strengths was keeping everything in the structure that it should be especially with my “The I no longer believe in” essay.
If you were to revise the writing you did for this unit, what would you want to do differently? I would want to maybe fix any sentences that seem a little long and shorten them a bit so that it can seem as if I wasn’t purposely expanding or anything like that.
How would you describe or rate your participation/engagement in this unit? I think my participation/engagement in this unit was all right. I know that I can do better when it comes to participating or engaging in the class.
What did you do in this unit that helped make you successful?
Finding my inner creativity because the “I no longer believe” essay taught me a lot when it comes to writing about anything personal. It taught me that you can write whatever you want without having the worry about what other people think of your work(unless there was a proper form someone wanted it to be of course).
What (if anything) do you want to do differently in the next unit?
I would love to do more creative free writing like the first essay we had to do because I really enjoyed being able to just write my story however way I was able to do so. I really loved it because I had never done any assignment/activity like that throughout my education years and so for that I’m definitely grateful.
What additional things (resources, support, information, etc.) do you wish you had had for this unit? I think for the topics we covered in this unit; the resources, support, and information were sufficient. For example, for resources and information the rhetorical devices; the book for this class consists of examples, context, etc on different types of devices which is satisfactory.
Is there anything you would like me to change (in the structure of our course, in how I’m presenting information, etc.) going forward? What were your favorite readings/activities, and which readings/activities didn’t feel effective for you? I have no problem with the structure of the course so far. My favorite readings so far in the course were the readings of the 3 essays we had to read which I think was other students’ “I no longer believe” essay because the outcome of that led to the activity that was by far my favorite.
What (if anything) from this unit would you like to discuss/think about/explore further? (either this semester or just in your life)?
I guess in life and this semester combined I would like to discuss/think about how creativity can impact your daily life in whatever way you desire. For example, I’m already familiar with how being creative works; but I would like to think about how I can improve on being creative in many different scenarios in someone’s daily life so they can create a different experience every 0nce in a while.
Responsibility (2nd draft)
No person wants responsibility
We all want to be free of everything so that we would not have to worry about anything at all… right?
I believed when I was younger at around the age of 13-14 that I would never have to have to worry about my own things and priorities at the time.
Granted I was a little kid at the time, so I wasn’t aware of what I was saying or doing. However, my belief and mindset resembled that (at the time of course).
A kid would believe that their parents would always be there for them and provide for them no matter what.
While that may be true, once you start to inherit the ability of being productive for what you do, it ends up becoming an experience that not many people nowadays consider as a grateful advantage that will benefit their future.
Allow me to explain:
Once I turned 16, I began to learn what being responsible can to do to me in a way that can be more beneficial. My parents and older brother always look out for me. I appreciate every moment they help me in order to get to where I need to be in terms of being successful and being the best version of myself. I started going to the gym, studying non-stop for my drivers-license written exam (which I passed with a perfect 100% score), taking school even more seriously than I usually do; just so that I can be in a better position than I normally could be.
I was terribly frustrated. Any time I would take a break to spend time with myself or play a videogame just to ease my mind of things, my parents or brother would just give me a lecture on that I have to keep going with the studying and be productive along with saying that I should not just be at home playing videogames etc. The lecture led to my brother confronting me about college and future career goals. He told me “Look man you need to get a head start towards finding a career and what you want to major in college, once you hit 18 years-old, it’s time to transition into exact adulthood…”.
Once I heard him say that my mindset was focused on nothing but finding the pathway to finding a major in college that will eventually lead to my career path. Luckily a year later I took a computer science class in high school and my increasing interest in that field stuck with me.
Jumping a few months to the fall of 2021.
My dad referred me to his manager to work with him at a steakhouse in Manhattan. I saw a fine-dining fancy restaurant when I entered on my first day. I was worried that this job would affect my regular daily schedule of going to school early and having to go to the gym right afterwards, along with completing the workload of homework I’d receive. However, I was luckily able to maintain my personal responsibilities… until the summer of 2022.
SUMMER OF 2022
Once summer began, I had enrolled myself in a summer program for Math at my college called “CIPASS” which was a way for incoming freshman to get ahead of the math level based on their math placement test results. The program took place for 6 weeks. The whole process throughout that duration of time was nothing but work, work, work and work.
I would always have to wake up super early and just when my body reaches out to my mind to tell me to not go and to just stay in bed.
But the thing of life is that you gotta do what you gotta do.
Anyways the program was from 9am to 12pm and man it was terrible to stay seated for 3 hours straight most of the time. After the program, I would head to the gym for about 2 to 3 hours then I’d head home and start doing the workload of homework the teacher assigned. Depending on the assignments, I’d have to stay up late at night to make sure I understood every topic. You’re probably thinking “No worries Justin, once the weekend comes, you can take a break from all that”
Long story short… that was not the case
I still worked during Fridays and Saturdays which was not bad until the days where I’d have a test for the program that I would have to study for, once again that would not be possible because of the amount of study time I’d lose just from working those days which would be stressful. It became my responsibility to make sure I still studied and did everything I had to do…NO MATTER WHAT.
From that moment on, I decided one day to have some time with myself and my thoughts, so I work on my mindset. I thought of the good aspects of having all this responsibility and the benefits of everything I had experienced to this point on. My mind took into realization that everything I have witnessed was only to prepare for the success I would experience in the future. I always try to see the positive side of things whenever it comes to handling difficult scenarios for the reason of being able to see it as a learning experience despite how difficult it is. What I believed at first about what gaining responsibility was all about, I didn’t think it couldn’t get any more beneficial to me then it is today.
WHERE I AM NOW
I am now 18, and wow… I am nothing but grateful for everything that I have achieved and accomplished so far In my life. From being able to have many responsibilities like going to the gym, school, having a job to make some extra cash, and being able to handle any obstacles that get in my way that goes along with being to handle the outcome=es no matter what. Just like I mentioned in the beginning of this paper, being productive is what made me inherit responsibilities, and that can obviously work with just about anything for anyone.
