Kent Duncan

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016
Final Reflection
1. Rhetorical Knowledge
For the first example my knowledge of rhetorical situations I have included a screenshot
of my Inquiry Thesis paper. My topic was about metal, something that not everyone will
understand right off the bat because not everyone is interested in it like myself. This proved to be
an obstacle because it meant that I had to establish a foundation of knowledge within the reader
before I could move on to the more detailed and intensive aspect of my paper, analyzing the
culture to see why it has received such negative attention over the years. In this snippet of my
thesis project, I am explaining the key aspects of my overall topic like how metal came to be,
what qualities define it and some of the important names within the genre. For my second
example I have included a screenshot of my initial letter to Mrs. Thomas, the instructor of my
UWRT 1104 course. I included this example because it shows just how broad the rhetorical
situation can be. On one hand I have written a paper that either requires a lot prior knowledge on
the readers part or a lot of explaining on my part and on the other hand you have works like my
letter that require no prior knowledge or even research. My letter is an example of almost an
informal rhetorical situation, there is no research you can do, no factual evidence that you need,
you just need to put it on paper and it content will explain itself to the reader.

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

2. Critical Reading
The example I have included for showing my proficiency in critical reading is an excerpt
from a daybook entry where we were asked to describe what we felt the inquiry proposal project
was all about.. In this daybook entry I analyzed the requirements for the project and broke them
down to gain a relative understanding as to the overall idea behind the proposal project. By doing
this, I was able to arrive at a very brief conclusion of where the assignment would lead my
writing which made the overall construction of the essay exponentially simpler than before I
wrote this daybook entry.

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

3. Knowledge of Conventions
One example of my knowledge of conventions is found where I cite quotes in my thesis
paper. I have to be able to construct a solid sentence and possess a great knowledge of grammar
to be able to effectively quote other people within my own work. Knowledge of conventions is
essential to quoting because without it you will find yourself guilty of improperly quoting or
even hit-and-run quoting where a piece of someone elses work is simply slapped into the
middle of a work in a way that it breaks the flow of the writing and loses a lot of relevance to the
structure of the paragraph. The second example I included also comes from my thesis paper
except this time I am expressing my knowledge of conventions through including theoretical
dialogue and thoughts. For example in the first paragraph I talk about what it is like for me to tell
people that I listen to metal and I even inserted a general quote as a way of emphasizing how
direct people can be when they judge my taste in music. I include these bits of dialogue to
prompt the readers thoughts and make them consider what it would be like to be in that position.
It is a really effective way to keep someones attention as they read your work because it directs
the paper back at them using something familiar to all of us: speech. My final example of my
knowledge of conventions is found in studio 3 where the task was to write about commercials
and analyze how they appeal to us and win us over to their products, services, goods and
etcetera. In this, I use my knowledge of conventions to include a perspective of ethos, logos, and
pathos within mas marketing.

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

4. Composing Processes
The example I have included for the composing process is two screenshots from my
inquiry proposal project. In this project we were required to write an initial draft and then revise
it into a final draft. We were given feedback from peers and our instructor during a meeting and
from along with our own judgement we were able to see where our papers were lacking or
needed improvement and where they had strong points. This made the revision process much
easier and all assignments in this class have been revised off of the same first and second draft
procedure.

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016

5. Critical Reflection
My first example of critical reflection comes from a daybook entry where we were asked
to review our thesis papers and come up with another side of it that could be included into the
final product. Upon reviewing my thesis paper I realized that most of my points were specific to
those who understood or were involved in the metal culture. I realized that this could be a

Kent Duncan
Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1104
12/1/2016
potential problem in that it would limit my audience to those who listen to metal because it will
only relate to them. I then came up with sections that could be added to widen my perspective on
the topic so it would include people from many more backgrounds. For example, I went on to
include a section on how metal can benefit everyone, even those who do not find it particularly
tasteful because it is scientifically proven that metal promotes happy emotions.