The Writing Process

The Rhetorical Triangle

Writer
• Any time you write, you
(the writer) are writing
about something (a topic)
to someone (an audience)
• Who is the writer?
• What is the topic of work
the audience is reading?
• Who is the writer directing
his/her work at?
Topic Audience
Topic
• This is the subject you are writing about in
your essay;
• Readers can usually can find out the topic of
the paper right away by looking at the title of
the essay;
• Sometimes topics are assigned to you in
classes (by the instructor), other times you
have the freedom to choose a topic.
• You should ALWAYS choose a topic that is
interesting to you! Why? Because it will
be easier for you to research and write
about
 Sometimes a topic you choose will end up
being too broad (trying to write a 6 page
paper on why technology is beneficial for
schools cannot be done!)

Problems in You can see examples on how to narrow

choosing down a topic on page 34 in Patterns for
College Writing
topics
When choosing a topic, try to narrow it
down as much as possible—but don’t make
it impossible to find sources!
 Audience

• There are all kinds of

audiences you write to when
you write an essay.
Audience 1: Your
instructor

Of course, the essays you write

in this class are being written
because the instructor asked
you to compose it.
Audience 2: the zero-
knowledge reader
• What does the “zero-knowledge reader” mean?
• Simply put, it’s the person reading your paper that has no knowledge
of the subject you are writing about in your essay.
• It is always important to remember to explain everything to
its fullest when writing an essay.
• You should always assume that your reader has no
knowledge of your subject.
 • This is another audience you
should try to consider when
writing.
• Create a scenario in which
you are presenting your
argument to these "experts"
on your subject, to try to
persuade them onto your
side of the argument

Audience 3: the experts

Four Essays
• For this class, you will write four different types of essays:
1. Narrative Essay
2. Visual Analysis Essay
3. Comparison/Contrast Essay
4. Persuasive Essay
 • Narrative  Narrate 
Storytelling

• This essay will require you to

bring out your creative side,
you will tell a story about a
life lesson that you have
personally learned.
• The Narrative Essay is the
least academic-in-nature
essay you will write, so you
have some freedom in how
you want to tell your story.
Essay One: Narrative Essay
 Essay Two: Visual
Analysis

• The Visual Analysis Essay asks

students to select an
advertisement (it can be a
magazine/billboard or a
commercial) and discuss how it is
either successful/unsuccessful in
persuading its audience to
purchase their product.
• You will look at the different
elements on advertising and
discuss them as your write your
paper.
Essay Three:
Compare Contrast

• This essay has you show the

similarities and differences
between something.
• In our class, you will
compare and contrast a
practice from another
culture with your home
country’s equivalent.
 Essay Four:
Persuasive

• Your final essay for the class

will have you write a
persuasive argument paper
on a topic of your choice.
• You’re responsible for
influencing your reader to
adopt your beliefs on an idea.
• You will use three rhetorical
strategies (ethos, pathos,
logos) as you persuade your
reader.
 Before you write…
• You should also be aware of the
• Make sure you understand the
essay format that is required of more complex format that you
you—this mainly deals with might use later down the road
paragraph order. (we will be exploring this
• The basic essay format order is: format for the persuasive
• Paragraph One: Introduction essay):
• Paragraph One: Introduction
Paragraph Two: Body Paragraph 1
Paragraph Two: Body Paragraph 1
• Paragraph Three: Body Paragraph 2
Paragraph Three: Body Paragraph 2
• Paragraph Four: Body Paragraph 3 Paragraph Four: Body Paragraph 3
• Paragraph Five: Conclusion Paragraph Five: Counter argument
Paragraph Six: Refute
Paragraph Seven: Conclusion
 Essay planning

• I always recommend you plan

out your essay before you being
to write it
• Drafting an outline helps keep
your essay organized and makes
it easier for you to write when
you go to write out your essay
draft
• An outline will bullet point
information you are going to
discuss in each paragraph, and
will lay out quotes if you need
them in your paper