Midterm Evaluation

Taking this rhetoric class has been very useful to me. Analyzing the plot of a novel in English class is one thing, however, learning the rhetoric of the content is another. Getting a meaning or an idea across by the way an article is written or the shots a director uses is an art in itself. It is very clever and power as it may persuade a person’s opinion. For example, Wallace’s Up Simba had rhetoric that gave a positive outlook on McCain through its personal writing techniques. This makes rhetoric very useful, especially for me, as I am a film major. I will be taking very complicated film studies courses were content will have to be analyzed. Having a firmer grip on rhetoric, it will defiantly help me. Also, in terms of film production, I can actually use rhetoric in a film of my own by choosing camera shots, angles, etc.
Being a film major automatically makes me have great interest in film. That is why I had such a good time analyzing the films watched. Before, I had never broken a film down so much and I was surprised at how I could do it by myself in my dorm while watching them. This was awesome and was defiantly actively engaging them.
However, I have not been as active as I could have been on both blogs. I defiantly wrote all the necessary entries but was not consistent with it by doing them on my own free will. Although, I was not as active on the Internet, I felt I was in the class, in an uneven way. I think I contributed a lot is some areas, but did not contribute in others. However, when I did, I feel as if I did it well. For some of the topics we talked about, I had a strong opinion on and shared them.
My writing has improved according to the comments given. However, one of my weaknesses and something I can work on is the sophistication of my writing. Also, instead of being so descriptive in my papers, I need to analyze more and explain the rhetoric meaning behind my points. As a thinker, I have it; it is just a question of putting it down on paper in a way that parallels my thoughts, which is something I have always had trouble with. But I think I am getting the hang of it.
There isn’t much to add to this class to make it a better experience form me. I don’t think there is really any other way to teach it, as rhetoric is a very complicated and controversial thing. It needs to have group discussions like we have because keeping our thoughts to ourselves wouldn’t get us very far in knowing what rhetoric is. I have learned a lot, probably most from my peers in the class. In discussions, ideas were brought up that I didn’t even come close to thinking about and have helped me getter a broader outlook on some topics.
Overall, I would give myself a B. I have good participation and am on top of my work and staying organized. Although there are some areas to work on in my RA’s, I feel I have improved greatly on them and have become better. Most importantly, I am an active student and find the areas covered very interesting and not just doing assignments because I have to.

Up, Simba

When Wallace's writing style is compared to what he was talking about in the article, they show to be very similar to each other. It seemed as though he was selling the reader to like McCain as he passionatly describe his time as a POW. This passage is writin in a very informal way as some of the sentences run on and on. It feels as if he writes the same way as he talks and says things like "knifed in the nuts" in stead of using a more apropriate word. Also, he keeps telling the reader to "imagine" for yourself. He does all this to be more personal toward the reader. Wallace wants us to feel closer to him as he describes the facts of the event so that they seem more believable (i'm not saying they are not). When he tells us to imagine, he puts us in McCain's situation to sympathize with more. This writing style really conveys the reader's feelings towards what happened to McCain.