Guadalupe Longino

October 19, 2017

Revision Summary

In the second draft for the Rhetorical Analysis essay, I was a little bit more clear on what
my reader expected of me. In this draft, I took in my peers advise and I made sure to include a
quote from the student handbook in order to inform my reader about the writing style in my
major. I also made sure to use impersonal style for section three of my essay. Although it was
difficult for me to use impersonal style for my third section, I think I did an okay job at revising.
Guadalupe Longino

Professor Doutherd

October 19, 2017

RA Essay Draft 2

There are many different forms of writing. Writing can be easy to some and

difficult for others, however different types of people compose pieces differently according to

their interest. Ultimately, situations in a persons career shape the way a piece of writing is

composed. I have written several pieces based off of my previous experiences. This is how I

have been able to complete my writing assignments. During my senior year of high school I was

assigned my first research paper. At first, I was intimidated by this assignment because I did not

understand what my teacher was asking me to do. My teacher referred to this assignment as an

iSearch Project, therefore I was confused. After I asked for more clarification from my teacher,

I was able to comprehend the goal of this assignment. The structure of this essay was different

from any other essay I had written before. The essay was made up of five different sections, and

each section required different ideas. Fortunately, I was able to choose the topic I wanted to do

research on. This simplified the assignment further and I was able to use my previous

experiences in order to complete this piece.

The need for this research paper to be assigned was to help me and my classmates

expand our writing abilities. I was assigned this research essay in order to inform my teacher and

peers of a topic that they were probably unaware of. The topic of my choosing was Latinxs

Immigrating to the Land of the Free. Furtherly, with this assignment I was able to enhance my
writing and research skills as well as to prepare me for the writing assignments I would be facing

in college.

What lead me to write about this issue came from my own experience as an immigrant to

this country. This allowed me to have a reason to expand on this issue and address the

seriousness and dangers immigrants face when immigrating to a new land. The need to choose a

topic for this research essay also came from my intrigue of wanting to know more about this

issue. I was curious to know how this issue has affected minorities in the U.S. and be able to

incorporate my experience as a Latinx immigrating to the U.S.

Since it was my first time writing a research paper I did not know how or where to start.

The most significant restriction I had in order to complete this assignment was being able to

condense my information to a fixed page limit. My teacher was very clear on how long this

assignment should be, therefore I had to follow the guideline and meet the page limit. The first

section of this assignment was What I Know, and that part was easy for me because I was able

to use my experience as a source. However, the fourth section of this assignment was The

Search, in which I began my research about this topic. This part was difficult for me to begin

writing because it was where I found a lot of information which made me be cautious of what to

include and at the same time meet the page limit. I had to figure out how to include the most

significant information which was very frustrating because I wanted to include everything. As a

writer, sometimes constraints can be difficult to address because there are guidelines we must

follow.

After being able to figure out how to work through these constraints, I now had to make

sure my research paper was coherent and well delivered to my audience. This research paper was
directed to my teacher and classmates. I wanted my audience to become aware with the

difficulties immigrants face when they begin their journey to come to the United States. I wanted

my audience, if applicable, to relate to my paper and know that there are many just like them. I

also wanted to inform those that believe immigration is a easy process to understand the reality

of it.

As a sociology major I have become aware of what my main interests in this field are.

My interest for sociology comes from my need to help my community and other deprived

communities of people of color (POC) rise up. I want to be able to figure out ways these

communities can obtain more opportunities than they are given simply because they are viewed

as a minority in this country. Lastly, I want to learn more about how different communities in

different parts of the world navigate spaces as a group.

The writing style in sociology does not seem as complex as other formats I have written

in before. I know that most of the writing pieces are based off of research which seems to be

simple to compose. As stated by Professor Migliaccio, the primary way writing is [used] is to

convey ideas, whether its to students, other social scientists, or the general populace. Its the

primary way knowledge [is shared], findings, and/or information. Social scientists use writing to

display connections between theories, challenge theories, or extend theories. Its a primary form

of communication, and the best way to locate new ndings and discussions in the field. This brief

summarization of what the role of writing in sociology seems simple but in reality its much

more complex due to the fact that most of these pieces will be based off of research.

Most of the writing formats in sociology are research reports. In sociology students are

expected to write in ASA style. In Keith Grant-Davies article, he states that teaching our
writing students to examine rhetorical situations as sets of interacting influences from which

rhetoric arises, and which rhetoric in turn influences, is therefore one of the more important

things we can do. This falls in within the writing style in sociology because it is encouraging

educators to invite students to explore different tactics that will allow them to become a great

critical thinker when responding to different texts. It is also stating that students must allow their

experiences have an input in their writing pieces. The most important aspects for a writing

assignment in sociology is research, collecting data, interviews, personal experiences (journal

keeping), and being able to be a good analyzer. Most of the formats for writing in sociology are

based off of sections. For example, a report that is composed of fill in the blanks for each

section of the assignment.

When the writing assignment was first chosen, it was unclear to know that it will be

fitting to the writing style sociology requires but getting knowledge about the role of writing in

sociology, the writing piece seemed to be fitting. The writing assignment chosen was a research

paper from high school. The format was similar to a report, and it was made up of five different

sections. These sections were all key elements in completing this assignment. The sections were:

what I know (personal experience/journal), What I want to Know (questioning social issue), The

Search, Research Results (Data I found, new information, analyzing new info), and What I

learned (Reflecting on the research, thinking about how this issue affects communities). Despite

this writing assignment being fitting it is still necessary to learn the appropriate format for

writing in sociology. Some of the approaches that are being lacked on is the way information

needs to be organized, delivery to the audience, become a more reasonable critical thinker, and

analyze new information.

 Writing comes in various forms but it is ones own personal experiences that make up the

style of these writings. The situations a person finds themselves in are already serving as sources

for their next writing assignment. Students must be able to critically analyze these situations, and

understand where they are most fitting within their educational sphere.