Audience and Invention for Reflective Essay

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Now that I discussed a little bit about how my writing process has changed over the semester, it is time to start working on a bit of pre-writing. This should help me keep in mind what I should cover in my essay and how I should tailor my tone and evidences for it.

1. What topic do I want to discuss with my readers? What do I want them to understand about the topic?

     The topic for this self-reflection in English 109H is, believe it or not, my experiences of writing in English 109H! I want to discuss how my writing style has changed from being a stalwart "heavy planner" to being a combination of both the "heavy planner" and the "heavy reviser," how I did this, and why I thought that this was the best way to change my writing style. By explaining these things to my readers, I want them to understand overall how I overcame some of the looming struggles of my writing that I have had for the past several years and how I have grown not only in linguistic skill, but also in character.

2. Who is my primary audience? Who is my secondary audience?

     The primary audience for this essay will be my instructor Dr. Bell. She has seen and graded every single one of my projects and will be the one most aware of any changes that she may have seen in me. My secondary audience will be my classmates--although they may not be as aware of my changes as Dr. Bell will, our interactions within our blogs will, I hope, convey some evidence that I have grown during the semester.

3. What do my audiences already know or believe about the topic?

     As I mentioned before, my instructor will know how much of this is true from the essays and projects that she graded from me, and my classmates will know by the blogs that I posted. How much they saw or detected, however--that, I do not know.

4. How will I organize and develop my ideas to make them convincing to these readers?

     To develop my ideas, I have to show my audience how using the "heavy reviser" approach in conjunction with my "heavy planner" proclivity greatly improved my writing. Therefore, I will have to use my drafts from the three projects I did over the semester and create comparisons and contrasts between certain selections within those drafts. I could even explain my own personal process of combining the two for my public argument and how doing so proved to be an essential part in making the argument clear and effective.

5. How will I establish my ethos (relationship and tone) with my readers?

     I need to be aware that I am working with two audiences: my instructor and my classmates. My instructor would want some formality in my writing, but my classmates would prefer a more conversationalist approach more likely than an uber-serious approach. Thus, I would need to use a semi-formal tone--not too casual, yet not too grandiloquent. Also, I would have to tell some relatable stories that apply to both my professor and my classmates to maximize my connection with my readers. Perhaps stories of the pains of revising will work the best, since both audiences have experienced revising papers before.