Clark 1

Joshua Clark

Prof. Miss

UWRT 1104

February 2, 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

In my thesis that I put together during my senior year of high school, I defend the

more modern point of view that a college education is not and/or should not be a

necessary requirement for a successful future. Defining what success exactly means was

important since I incorporated it throughout my writing yet, I do not think that this key

term is appropriately defined in my introduction. In my senior thesis, I illustrate that,

everything that grants a person success in life is an accomplishment of his or her aim or

purpose (Clark 2). I then go on to explain how college education is not always

something that grants a person their success. Although this definition of success could be

generalized and applied to many different scenarios, I think that this is too broad of a

definition as it relates to my topic of succeeding through a college education. A more

accurate definition could be given to success because college can be and is very

individualistic. A student could go to college for a completely different reason than that of

another and he or she might be looking to get something else out of it, which can lead to a

multitude of things once they graduate.

During the introduction of my first point, I argue that there are many other

opportunities that present themselves to graduates of high school that end up to be just as

beneficial as opportunities that are available for college graduates. This point could be

made stronger without the use of generalizations as well. Throughout the introduction and
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first point of my paper, I make the claim that, college experience is based more on the

experience than the college (Clark 3) and practically base my point off of this claim.

Although this may be true for some students, it seems a bit unfair to accuse all college

students of this. Although I do make claims like these and define terms incorrectly, I feel

like I address the counter argument well. I do not completely bash the idea of going to

college, as I state that it makes logical sense for an individual to go to college if they have

all the necessary resources to do so. Along with this, I think that my use of quotes as it

relates to the topic being addressed is another one of my strengths. Quotes, especially in a

research paper, strengthen the paper as a whole by using solid quotes from reliable

resources when used during the appropriate time. Due to the fact that my first point is

centered around the statement that college should not be a requirement because it is more

of an experience than anything else, I find myself supporting it with the same reasoning.

This is that a college education is something that is viewed nowadays as a social norm,

and it is expected of a student to continue their education at a University once they

graduate high school. This is a pattern that is seen throughout the support of my first

point. Although the supporting evidence for this claim is helpful for proving my first

point, I believe more evidence was necessary in order to firmly establish my credibility

on this point and as a writer. During the writing process of this paper, I had to keep in

mind that I would be giving a fifteen-minute presentation, defending my thesis to the rest

of the Upper School. It was important to use simplistic, clear-cut language, while still

displaying my professional knowledge on the subject. My language use was and is

something I feel confident in, and proved to be something I strived in throughout my

thesis.
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I have personally always had trouble with the writing process when it comes to

academic writing. I get confused in my own writing and struggle greatly with the

organization of my thoughts as it relates to the topic at hand. During our first forum post,

we were asked to first think about what we thought the definition of writing was and then

to analyze ourselves as it related to writing in any, and all contexts. In my response, I

stated that writing was the physical process of communication through ones thoughts and

ideas and though it took on many different forms, it ultimately has the affect of leaving

the reader more knowledgeable and/or curious than they were before they began to read

the certain work. As I posted my reply, I began scrolling to see other students answers

and how they compared to mine. Although all of them could be related in some way, they

all were individual interpretations of what writing means to them. This, according to Gee

in his article Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, stems from our primary and secondary

discourse (8). I believe that the way I write and the way I define writing comes from my

secondary discourse which, in this case, is mainly focused on school, although it can

mean any community you involve yourself in outside of your immediate family and

friend group (Gee 8).

I attended a small, private Christian school throughout my developmental years as

a writer and there I learned the importance of a classical education, which focuses on

humanities alongside rhetoric and logic classes. Although I was placed in what felt like

the optimal setting for bettering myself as a writer, I still struggle with the fundamental

principals. Primary Discourse plays a significant role in the betterment of some skills. For

example, my immediate family is not strong at writing so naturally being involved in that

primary discourse is something that a strong institution like Trinity could aid me in, yet it
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could not change the foundation I was built upon. The focus of my writing usually

revolves around the logic of it and how well my audience perceives it. Middle school and

high school taught me to avoid fallacies and inconsistencies, which is something that I

focus on the most in my writing. Although there are some mistakes in my research paper

that may slightly take away from the interpretation of it, I think that this certain paper

encapsulates what kind of a writer I have matured into, and describes my personal writing

style I have adopted throughout the years of learning in my personal primary and

secondary discourses.
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Works Cited

Clark, Joshua D. "College Education: Prolonging the Pathway to More Success." Thesis.

Trinity Academy of Raleigh, 2016. Print.

Gee, James Paul. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. Vol. 171.

London: Taylor & Francis, 1996. N. pag. Print.