My paper was on the Conan O'Brien commencement speech given to the graduating class of Stuyvesant High School. I found the process of writing this rhetorical analysis enjoyable. It gave me the opportunity to practice my skills in identifying and understanding the rhetorical appeals used by the author. I think that this is a very important skill to master for a number of reasons. First, it helps me in my everyday writing, no matter the subject. Secondly, it helps me to better understand other writers and what their purpose might be for their audience. I was relatively happy with my understanding of the speech, but more analysis could have been applied to explain my ideas in further detail. There were several elements in my essay that could have been improved further.
I feel that I could have put more emphasis on my thesis within the opening paragraph. Although it was vaguely stated in the last few sentences of the first paragraph, a single and final sentence to pull my ideas together would have helped the reader to better understand my purpose. A more thorough and detailed reading of the speech may have also given me a different perspective on Conan's purpose as well as my thesis. For example, perhaps Conan's purpose was not to give them any practical advice, but to just make them laugh to relieve some of the pressure in the air. Or perhaps his story of his past experiences had a completely different purpose then what is primarily seen at first glance. Further analysis could also have helped me in lengthening my essay to the proper size. It may have me to be more detailed with my explanations as well as my summaries of the speech.
My transitions needed some work in my first draft, but with a little rewriting and reorganizing, they seemed to flow into the next paragraph much smoother. Also, my editing does not seem to be as strong as I had previously thought. Even though I read over my final draft several times, I missed a few obvious grammatical errors as well as a sentence fragment. With better peer editing as well as self editing, this can easily be alleviated.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Conan's speech as well as working on this essay. Although I had a vague understanding of Aristotle's rhetorical appeals, learning about them in class and doing this assignment especially, gave me a new perspective on what they really mean. When I sit down and read anything now, I can't help but notice the authors appeals. I seem to constantly see how well, or how poorly, is appealing to his audiences' emotions and how they explain their logic.
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3 comments:
I too analyzed Conan O'Brien's speech. I loved writing about it. It was very enjoyable and somewhat of a challenge. I not only made them laugh and have fun, but offered more meaningful advice. Such as live life to the fullest and try new things.
I too had at first difficulty creating good transitions and I now know that that is an area I will need to work on for my next paper. I also found it interesting when you said that maybe Conan's purpose was not to give practical advice but was just trying to make the audience laugh. I agree with you when you mention that further peer editing and further proof reading will help eliminate unnecessary mistakes. Good Job!
I like your ideas in here. I like to write out a clear thesis before I start on the body of the essay. This helps me clarify what I'm writing about and how I should go about organizing my essay.
I've also noticed that anybody who has taken ENG 105 at NAU can't help but notice the rhetorical appeals when they read or watch things.
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