CHAPTER FOUR
WRITING AN ANALYTICAL ESSAY
nnhor essay “Teaching Writing as Process” (2002), Davida Charney
rotes that even though “academic writing Is seldom easy and
there is no one right way to write, some approaches are more
reliable than others. Many students who have serious problems
with analytical writing rely on overly-rigid processes, ones that
focus attention on low-level concerns at inapproprate tes. Nothing
is wrong with the approaches in-and-of-hemselves, except that they
hhave beon transformed from helpful hints (or heuristics) into what com:
position scholar Mike Rose has termed "gid rues.” " Charney cites
three of the most common false-starts in her classroom. In her words:
= Some students adopt a “perfect fst draft strategy,” believing that
the text must emerge grammatically and in order from fst sentence
to last. They paralyze themselves agonizing over the first sentence
‘or paragraph and then pull an al-nighter before the paper is due. If
they ar tired and desperate enough, sometimes the muse appears,
and several pages spill ou. Because the text finally lows easily" it
syst be good.
= Some students strain to make their essays conform to some idea
ized structure (e.g. “the five-paragraph essay"), leaving out ideas
that dont ft and adding filer if they don't have three text-based
‘examples to round out this pre-fabricated mold. When thoughts are
Poured into mold Ike this, the writing often turns to cardboard:
predictable, bland, and charactertess.
= Some students treat the texts they read as absolutely authoritative
‘and understand thelr ole to be a mere compile and reporter on this
received wisdom. If they find confcting accounts in their reading,
they artificially harmonize them rather than engaging in interpret-
ation or crtique. When asked to defend a position to an audience
that might disagree with them, they find it dificult to establish
shared values orto treat alternative values as legitimate,
Charney’s essay articulates something that most student-writers,
already knows the two biggest concerns at the heart of writing ~ sober
to say and fow to say it~ are tough intellectual work. Reading rhet-
corcally, a sk covered in the previous three chapters, isa tried-and-
true means of invention that addresses the former, The situation that
cals forth a text (exigence), the interaction between speaker, subject,
‘and audionce (the rhetorical triangle), the way writer establishes tone
‘and credibility (ethos), the tex's pattern of development (logos), the
‘arousal of feelings in the hearts ofthe audience (pathos), word choice
(diction), and sentence structure (syntax) are all generative places to
kick of the eventual essay you plan to write. But once you've figured
of wr to say (vention), you must now consider Jw you are going to
say it (arrangement). This chapter's method folows from what's known
2s the Stage-Model theory, a dominant concept of writing that breaks
the composing process into sequential stages: prewriting, writing, =
‘writing. Having dominated the composition classroom since the 1960s,
its simple, three-part schema is accessible to bath novice and experts
alike, while stil open-ended enough to remain adaptable fora variety
cof writing tasks. The chapter's running example llustrates these vituesby highighting the crosswalks between the receptive (reading) and pro-
‘ductive (rting) processes that are so essential to college-level writing.
Invention for an Analytical Essay
‘Any rhetorical analysis essay worth reading must be underwritten by
‘three foundational questions:
enact Ee » G7
Whatever process of pre-wriing takes place (Knee-Jerk
passages from Jonathan Edwards's “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
‘God! (1741) and James Van Tholen’s “Surprised by Death” from Sie
«all Hope Lies (2008). In each, the speaker outlines his relationship to-
‘wards God and how their respective congregations can come to gain
‘spictual Knowledge and sei-understanding through his personal ex-
Periences. As you road, see how each author uses rhetorical strategies
[Link] thelr respective understanding of God while noting the
dramatically citferent effect ofthese strategies on the audience.
“Sinnersin the Hands of
an Angry God" Jonathan
Edwards, 1741
ne use may be of avatening to
soconvened pasos inthis congie
Jaton ms thatyourave herd she
ease of everyone ofyouthat are out
or Ct, hat wo of misery that
ake of turing brmstoneis extended
abroad under you Ter she dead
pr ofthe sowing Rares of he wath
or cod: te shells wee gaping
out cpen and you have nothing
stander, nr anything to takehold
Jor theres nothing between you snd
a br he ats ent the power and
ere please of Go tha holds you
You probably are ot sonst of
ns:youtedyouaeheptcutcthe
ut dor se the hand of Gad in,
ook ates rings. 25 he good state
or sour body cersttution your cae af
our i and te means you vse
oryour own pesenaton autindoed
nse things ae nothing God should
ancan his han, they ould ava no
noce 0 keep yu fom ang, han he
“Surprised by Death” from
Where AllHope Lies James
Van Tholen, 2003,
is isa strange day—forall ous
os of you know thac today mans
yrecun oth pupae seven
rons f dealing th an aggresive
and eoay form fence Now with
tne cancer vacationing oa whi,
am back eect cous, malas
be back. canthep fee haw
sronge ts doy especialy because
I wanttognore my absence and
want pretend everbody hasforoo
tenth reson fr
utwecant dott wecant
anor what has happened We can se
above wecanlve though but we
eantignorei Fe ignore she thest
of death 00 treo ak about
then the test ws, Then we ate oe
wheimed byt andourfath doesit
sop 01 Ard hac hppens. we se
hope
We wanttowochip Godin this
erurch ano or worship tobe
ie doesnt have tobe fun and it does
have obegultiden Butit does
hove tobe hones and toes have
tohope in God. Wehave tbe honestiin ato hci up a person that sus"
pended int
‘ourwctednessmakesyou as
wer heawy asad ant ered down
wads wth eat weet and pressure
wards hand # God shoud et
ou g0, you woud medal sink
sr say deicend ancphinge ito
the bottoms gui and your heathy
constitution, and your own cre and
prudence, and best contivance and
atyoursohteousness wouldhave
no moreinfuence 1 uphold you and
kecoyou out ofl han spiders
eb woul haveto stop ling ok
Were tect that so the sovereign
easue cf God the eath would not
bear yeusone moment fr you rea
burcen 0 tthe eaten groans
youthe ceo sade subject to
ne bondage of your [Link]
iting; th sun dont willingly shine
upon youto ge you ight 10 save
in anc Satan the acto ingly
eld herincese ro sats yours
nor isitwiinglya tage fr your
wickedness tobe acted upon the ait
dont wing serve youterbaath to
manta te ae fen your ta,
se you spend your ie nthe sence
or cos enemies Gods creates re
god, and were made formento sere
Goa vith andor wilingysutsrve
[stout a werd of viclence and pain, 2
ors hascoms fh andsmashes
hope and reburslove Weravetobe
honest about he worl and hanes
bout he dicate of ath tint
dod then we sti have to hopein Got
Set meta with the honesty
ne rth that er seven months
have been seared Not ofthe cance,
rot ealy Not ven of death. Dying
nother mater how ang wil iake
and how tl go Dying scares me
Bur wen say that have been Saved,
doit mean that my thoughts hve
certeredon yng, My al fear has
centred somenhere ake Stange as
tay sound have been Scare of
2cting God.
How could ths be 0? How could
have beiedin the God of race and
shave creagedta meet him? iy
aid standin ths pulp an prech
race to you over and over, and then,
wien mye needed the graceso
rich why did dscovereor where
the graeshould have been?
God comesto us before we 900
him John Timmer use to ay ha hi
ie Goes hab Gc came to Abraham
wan here vas nothing to comet,
Just ancl man at dead ena
icy other purpose and groan when
ney ae stused to purposely
onary to therratue and end
‘Ad he wold would pe you
out were not forthe sovrelgn hand
oth wh hath subjected hope
her are the bick-louds of Gas
arth cow hanging directly over your
beac fllof the creat sem and
big wth thunder and werent for
re resaning hand of Ga would
recite bust fin upon you The
sovereign pease of Ga forthe pe
sentys his ough wk otherwise
fe would come wth ay. and your de-
scion would come thea whivin,
and you would be the thecat othe
umtar testing foo
‘The wath of God he aeat
tere that re cammed forthe pre
senthey increase more nd mere,
and ie higher andigher lan ote
sien. andthe longer he steams
sopped, the mre repid and mighty
scours, when once et lode Ts
ove tht judgment ait youre
wos has ot been exeutd thet,
re Roads oF Gods vengeance have
een wines butyour ulin the
meantime corstantyinceasins ond
ou are every dy teasuing up more
rat the waters ate contra ring
thats od foryou Tat the
way Gods to werk Hecomes to od
men and te fatto sinvrsandto
losers Tars race, and asermen wi
outs sermon atl
‘we ted preach grace, 10
it my sermons up wth race, to
persuadeyourbeivein ace And
es wonder werkt have that to
sand here and preach erace to people
actin this pulpit and talked about
wr anahonosenaty and dhorce 1
raked about death before knew what
eat reaty was And tie to bing
the gospel of racetotheseaeas
when preached sald that God goes
to people now hat God eceves
People in toute that Goda God
who getsinso trouble because of his
ace, est what our Heidelberg Cat
echsm sayshat our ony comorin
ie arcin death that we ect our
ben but belong ro ur fat Savio,
esis Crest,
Isaidallthose things and meant
nem Bur nat was bore faced death
vel Sonow have asl tng to
ci doi think! ever ele the
shocking ad aka nature of Gods
orace even sl preached I An he
reason it getit where races
concerned nk tha assumed[ae waxing more and more mighty.
and there snothing but the mere
ease of God hatha the waters
backtha ae unin abe stopped
or press to 90 forward God
shoul ony witherawhis hand from
ne Roedoate would immediately
open aa the fer foods ofthe
ecenes and wrath of God would
rsorth with inconcevable fy. and
cul come upon you vith eripo-
tere power an your srenath were
ten thousand tines rater hans,
eaten thousand ines ester than
ine senathaf the outst suedest
devin el two be nothing to
ihstand or enue,
“Thusate alyou that never passed
ders great change of hey the
righty power af te Spit of God
on yoursulsathat were never
eam again, and made new crests,
snd ed rom being dead insinto
state fnew and before together
nespenenced igh and ile however
sou may have feed youre
in mary tings and may have a
reigious afecions and may kaep up
storm often your famlies an
cosets and inthe house of Gd, and
maybe stein, you ae thsin tbe
hands ofan angry Gods nothingbut
hs mere pesure that heepsyou rm
isi ad about ty years Forty [cing this moment swaiowed up in|
yeas to unesn my bachabts Forty eveiasingdestuction
yeast ety sinsthin down ara
“hats the gipel and can sake
rie ont must. And 0 mus yo
ocrmntenrenrcaet | Serangoon
rims and pickup neighbor mail
orthem when they wenton action ‘This frst stop answers the question of “ars the author writing
So pease dont be susie when about?”
ne dys head dont takabout ry Each author essentially writes about the same subject, God,
lancer very often etal apart my
sry today because itsemed ight to
onthe ist ay back te seven
nt. at hate must tk about
hee norm cannot be our focus
yet the understanding of and relationship towards this shared
‘subject Is fundamentally aifeent for each speaker in almost
‘very regard. The God of Edwards's sermion mates out justice
to the hard-hearted sinners of his congregation in typical Great
Fencetiacaac eat estate ‘Awakening, “fre-and-brimstone” fashion. The grim, oppressive
sory isthat the grace fess Christ ‘majesty of this God is presented in the most inventive con-
aries us beyond every cance every ccevable way ~ Edwards is not working from any type of trad
wore evry sn every rouble that tion but rather generates these pathos-aden images trom some
comes to us The hestiangospelisthe well deep within his own imagination. James Van Tholen paints
Sea quite a diferent picture. His God is not wrathful, but loving:
nsead of shone:maybe preach for
sever months, and maybe for abit
more. Butta dying know and
hae ane i ohne yt But
ther hope unwavering hope have
hope natin something vecone,some] Sip. 2: owe dacs he ampli tt
putty
Iemantained of ome setmon
Ine [Link] in God the Gos
mercy of God.
‘ot transcendent, but imi
Im dying Maybe wit take longer It is through his own brush-with-death
nt; not punitive, but enlightening.
‘an aggressive course
(of chemotherapy for cancer in his chest wall ~ that Van Tholen
‘comes to understand the fragity of life and the transcendent
This second step addresses the question of "Whe in the text
{does the author support his purpose’
who eaches ut foran enemy, aves war's highly charged message is delivered through sev=
soe estore weak ral metorical moves:at the begining of successive phrases or clauses) to drive
home the central ideas:
' Paragraph 9: "And the reason I didn't get it where grace
is concerned, | think, Is that | assumed | stil had about
‘forty years left. Forty years to unlearn my bad habits Fory
years to let my sine thin down and blow away. Forty years
to be good to animals and pick up my neighbors’ mail for
them when they went on vacation."
+ Abstract and concrete diction: Van Tholen’s sermon transitions,
between abstract reflections and concrete experiences sig-
naled by the coordinating conjunction “but”
* Paragraph 1: “But | can't help feeling how strange this day
ig especially because I want to ignore my absence, and |
want to pretend everybody has forgotten the reason fort.”
+ Paragraph 2: “But we can't do that. We can't ignore what
has happened.
* Paragraph 8: “I said all those things, and | meant them. But
‘that was before | faced death mysolt.”
‘This third step addresses the question of “Hew do these rhet-
corical choices create an effect’
‘The folowing observations drive at the “why” and “how”
Concerns of the observations above, moving the intellectual work
‘rom a realm of identification to one of analysis and commentary.
+ Ethos: Coercive and aggressive in his delivery, Edwards does
not borrow from the "shared plight” angle of Van Tholen but
instead establishes himself as an unquestionable authority
(on the subject of God's wrath. By repeatedly referring to his
audience as *you," he sets himself outside of his indictments,
thereby annihilating the “everyman” ethos that Van Tholen
so heavily relies upon. Van Tholen’s soft-spoken and humble
tone is due in large part to the way he handles the speaker-
audience relationship. Through the use of plural pronouns,
Van Tholen ilustrates the wider implications of his direct ex-
Perience to that of the congregation, thus joining their ex-
perience with his own. Jonathan Edwards also speaks with
passion, but one that is markedly diferent from Van Thoten's.
+ Repetition: Edwards uses repetition to stress the urgency of
his message. His syntax ~ specifically in the alternations of
“tha,” “there,” "you" clauses ~ calls up an immediate vision
of holland its proximity to the unconverted. God is wrathtl
yes, but not merciless. In fact, Edwards repeated references
to God's mercy ("you find you are kept out of hel, but don't
826 the hand of God in it” and “the sovereign pleasure of
God for the present stays his rough wind: otherwise it would
come to fury”) stresses the urgency of his message of repent-
‘ance, Van Tholen's repetition also suggests urgency, but to @
‘much different end. He admits to quasi-hypoctsy in his pre-
cancer life ~ through the anaphoric repetitions of “forty years”
in paragraph 3 - of why he didn't understand the urgency of
‘making oneself right with God because he had “forty years”
todo it (a kind of I-take-the-trash-out-lter” attitude). nthe
biblical traction, “forty” typically signifies a period of testing
and probation .. The Jews wandering in the desert for forty
years; Jesus's temptation in the desert for forty days}. Van
Tholen taps the energy of this allusion to suggest that his own
Introspection in the face of death must happen al ofthe sud-
den without a period of tribulation to make graclual sense oftall. nthe process, he synthesizes his personal story with fa-
rmilar schemas found in seriptue,
+ Diction: Edwards's assuredness of his audience's transgres-
sions is writen on the back of the various forms of the
auxiliary verb “is,” His syntax is definite, leaving no room
{or possiblities of ‘might and ‘maybe’. “That lake of burn-
ing brimstone” and “the dreadful pit” av there, and they are
‘waiting forthe unrepentant. Such isthe image of Edwards's
God, a wrathful and angry being who wil exact brutal reprisal
upon those who do not conform to His wil. The abstractions
In Van Tholen’s sermon are often juxtaposed with quick and
abrupt transitions, specifically the coordinating conjunction
but" The word “but” appears in every paragraph and isthe
{ulcrum upon wiich Van Tholen propels his discussions from
Ignorance about God's grace to a position of understanding
it Even on the day of his sermon, Van Tholen hasnt ost what
experience has taught him. He speaks with poise and pa-
tence about what his battle with cancer has revealed to him
about human life, all couched in qualified statements which
acknowledge a merciful God who understands and accepts
human fol,
For more visual pre-writers, organizing these observations into
shorthand graphic is useful
‘As Sharon Crowley argues in Teaching Ineenton (2002), “invention is
perhaps the most dificult part of metoric to teach. Novice writers are
‘generally unaware that professional writing isa product of many drat.
Modern students typicaly do not understand that good arguments
must be searched for, that finding arguments appropriate to a given
situation Is hard intellectual work. Nor do they see the need to produce
‘more arguments than they plan to use on a given assignment. Indeed,
students typically use arrangement as their sole means of Invention,
‘thinking in terms of composing an introduction, a thesis statement,
proofs, and a coneluslon-in that orden." Thus far inthis chapter, we've
‘sen how rhetorical reading propels the intial stages of invention. We"
how consider how invention works hand-in-hand with arrangement to
help writers produce reader-riendly,logle-driven analyses,
4
li
i
aPes ee
‘The role of arrangement in the writing process is sometimes misun-
derstood. Most students are taught that good writers wil frst invent,
‘then arrange, and folow up with style — always in that order. This linear
approach is problematic fortwo reasons. For one, each act of writing
operates under a unique set of rhetorical conditions. The purpose,
the audience, the author's experience and background, the medium
of publication, are just a few of the conditions which shit from one
“writing project to the next. One-size-its-all patterns of arrangement
(.e. the “ive-paragraph-essay’) tend to overwhelm novice writers and
encumber mature ones since they prescribe that the reading-based
Insights must fit into predetermined slots. Students and teachers alike
‘often see the five-paragraph-essay as the ideal form (and often the only
form), though this type of writing rarely appears in contexts outside
Englsh classrooms. It's a “form” of sors, but its rote instruction as,
writing dagma often does more harm than good inthe long run for de-
‘veloping writers. Its greatest damage to students is done by inhibiting
the growth of what composition scholars refer to as “form conscious
ress,” an awareness that diffrent ¢hetorical situations call for some
variation in an essay's structure. Inthe five-paragraph-essay myopia,
writers don't see arrangement so much as a choice to made but as an
‘obligation to be met. Second, i's important to remember that invention
and arrangement are not mutually exclusive. The best critical readers
annotate with an eye to how the insights wil eventually coalesce, con-
sciously (or unconsciously) understanding invention and arrangement
to be part of the same problem-solving process, Where invention an-
swers the question of "ha: am I going to write about,” arrangement
makes the writer consider “Hw am | going to write about it?" Tink of
‘what follows as a general set of strategies ~ adaptable to your specific
ireumstances as a writer to be used as you see fit. In other words,
these suggestions will help get things off the ground, but once the
paper is up and running, you must take the controls.
The best essays are generally considered to be “whole” or “ur
fied,” an idea traceable back to Aristotle's Paris (895 B.C): “A whole
Is that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.” Though Astotle
largely applied this now-obvious insight to drama and poetry in Pst,
this marks the earliest record ofa theoretical stance on arrangement in
the Western tradition. Aristotle adapted his dramatic theory to contexts
(of speach and argument in Tie dv of Rétori (4% Century B.C) in large
part to counter the free-flowing, shape-shiting rhetoric of the Sophists
‘Aristotle's recommendations, both highly structured and easly learned,
caught on in the academy, and students foreverafter have used Aris
totelian patterns of arrangement for nearly all modes of writing, save
narration and description. Sometimes relerred to as the “three-part-
structure” in contemporary composition, Aistotle recommends that
‘any piece of writing worth reading should adhere to a basic structure:
an introduction, a body, and a conclusion
The engine ofthe intoduction isthe thesis statement, and Aristotle
recognized its primacy in spoken discourse in Ther of Rito: "The
‘most essential function and distinctive property ofthe introduction is
to show what the aim of the speech is.” Though Aristotle was more
Concerned with speech than writing, nearly all hetoricians who have
handled the idea of the written thesis did not sway far from Avistotl's|
(oneral idea of the role it should play. Hugh Blair (1718-1800), a
‘Scottish rhetercian most known for his theorizing on written chetori,
provided a famous take on Aristotle's insistence on the controling
role played by the thesis in Laure on Réstoric and Belles Lettre (1789)
‘Adopted as the standard writing textbook at Yale (1785), Harvard
(1788), and Dartmouth (1822), Blai's ideas laid the groundwork forthe
‘modem thesis statement whose traits we all recognize. It should be
‘explicit, outline the main argument, and (ypon recommendation of the‘twentieth century author Sheridan Baker) appear toward the end of the
Introduction for emphasis. The thesis must not be vague, nor should
itbe just a topic. Its insutficient to write, “This paper is about Henry
David Thoreau and Transcendentalism in Halden." That isa statement of
case, but itis not sharp, not explicit. The thesis isthe rational element
inthe argument, and it governs the entire paper. Alvays remember that
a thesis, ke a sword, should have an edge and come toa point.
‘Avistotle recognized that the thesis cant doit al it must be paired
‘with developmental sections which deliver on the promises made in
the introduction. Body paragraphs have two distinctive features: a con
‘roling idea and supporting details. Though Aristotle acknowledged
the necessity of supporting detal in public oration, Te At of Rétorie
had surprisingly litle to say on the topic. Classical rhetoric, which
was largely composed and delivered orally, placed litle emphasis on
such matters as “controling ideas," but current-radtional retoric
recognizes the centrality of organization ineffective written discourse,
Most of what we know about the modern body paragraph comes
‘rom English Compesiton and Ritori (1868) written by Scottish logician
and educator Alexander Bain (1818-1903). Bain’ “organic paragraph"
‘model - the heart of neary all American composition courses ~is the
prevaling structure of how ideas should be ordered and arranged in
“writing. Bain fet s0 strongly about paragraph level coherence that he
recorded “seven laws" fr effective body paragraphs in his 1866 work:
4. Distribution into Sentences: The consideration of the Unity of the
Individual Sentence leads up to the structure of the Paragraph, as
‘composed of sentences properly parted of
2. Explicit Reference: The bearing of each sentence ofa Paragraph on
the sentences preceding needs to be exp.
‘3 Parallel Construction: When several consecutive sentences iterate
or illustrate the same idea, they should, as far as possible, be
formed ake,
4, Indication of the Theme: The opering sentence, unless obviously
preparatory, i expected to indicate the scope of the paragraph,
5, Unity: Unity ina Paragraph implies a sustained purpose and forbids
emphasize just how clamatcally his near with God alc him. Head
rst as hypoctsy nis pee-
es hiscscusions fom ignorance about God grace toa postion of undesanding
Ie Even on the dy of ie sermon, an Thoen hae lot what experience has aught
him He speaks with pose and patence about what his bate wih cancer has re
vealed ta him about human if all couched in quae statements which acne
lege a mec God who unestands and acepts human ly
Jonathan Edvard as speaks wih pasion, but one that is marly rent
from Van Tholers. Cereve and anges in hs elven Edvards does nt boron
from the shared plight angle of Van Thaler but rather establishes mse as an
unquestionable aut onthe subject of Gos ath, Recah, ands sts
ist outs ofhisoum congregation trough the use of econ person pronouns
(5 not-war its you to cast judgement on those in flont of hi, Edvard ye
~ specie in the ateraton of thatthe you clauses cals up an immediate
vision ofl ands proximity tothe unconverted Noreove by epee fering
to his uence as"you he sete hm outside of his incite thereby an
lang the everyman ethos that Van Tole so hes lis pon. And whe the
‘hetrical reo on Thole sourced nis coogi styl Edvard speech es
is energy a8 pathos den trade an ivectve aginst a congegition presented
‘wth almost no qualifications whascever. Edwards assuednes of his aucences
transgressions writen onthe back the vt His syntax definite, eving no
‘oom or posites of might and maybe! ale of burning binstone’ andthe
‘respite, an they ave warn forthe urepesant Such isthe age
of wards God, an insrtal force wh wil exact rat rept upon those ho
o not conform ro His wl od is wath ys though He snot mecless. hn fact
yard repeated references to Gods mercy (you find you are kept cut of ell but
dort ee the hand of Godin andthe sovereign pleasure of Gd forthe present
‘ye hisrough winds otervie kt euld come tofuy) tess the urgency afi mer
‘29¢ of epentancein ways nox unlike Von Tok Semon
‘he language sed by each preachers deeply elective of haw each under:
stands trerown God Van Tole language dealin specicsandishighl concrete,
a svategy which allows alistenet eas accesso the nage af his God he’ commu
cating in hs son, Te evencayness of is lnguage contbues othe univer
salty of hismesage weal confront our awn maging somewhere inven Thaler
story Yn Tole nites to deny with hs pight and veal alongside hi, that
Ged though not alvays wih the strutting ad rating of Edwards God is eer
resent in everday fas. ead anguage contain vy few concete moments
2d the lave of bsracton in he diction ~ presented in a sting of magiathe
rmetaphers~aptlyconesponds to Ewa God whois himsl abstract. anscend
cnt and empresnble oly an imaginative eve teary, se. ard can tak about
Ged rect he only has recourse o these powerful metaphors, butte fantasia
images of éreaeul pit ofthe glowing flames ane bow of Gods wrath werk every
‘tat much an etering ausience aan Toler peeonal tay Though each ake
ferent paths one thing s cena fo beth men. ll etal choles lead 1 the
same destination: Ge
1f prewriting” and “writing” equate to Aristotle's “beginning and,
“middle,” then “rewrting” isthe “end” that brings ultimate unity to the
essay. Rewriting, oF revision, divides into two broad categories: “local”
revision which focusas on santence-leval concerns (diction, syntax,
‘grammar, mechanics, and so forth) and “glabat" revision which exam-
ines a texts structural features (organization, development of ideas,
tone, styl, and so forth). Students tnd to place an outsized emphasis
(on “local” revision - the type of stuff speling and grammar software
will each ~ Hkely because it doesn't involve much guesswork, “Local”
revision has its value but reducing rewriting to sentence-evel correc
tions shortchanges the full generative value of revision. “Global” revi-
sion presents greater challenges to the novice writer since it requires
2 rigorous examination of the internal processes of how prewriting and
iting occurs. Sometimes refered to as the Recursive and Cognitive-
Process theory this rewriting strategy asks you to revisit the three parts
of the Stage-Model theory (prewriting, writing, rewriting) but this time‘asa hetorical reader of your own work to determine its overall efficacy
It may seem counterntultve, but once the intial writing has concluded
‘there stil remains an ongoing role of incenton to offer solutions to
‘discovered problems in the essay. Consider Table 1 as you revist your
‘work along the lines of global and local concerns.
able Qtr er Gnbland aca Revie
esis Gb Fein
poset ‘ass
sree bare ame sh Delany
prada wpa cen
iimietionmnnchneeanenaanesnie opti
Diieeavantagprgehliyaianedaeares! em pe
> bumantgpatepcnatestyteetignet enka
vaca frauds
omen
sarin
esr
wie
veri
=
Revising is more than fixing a paper for mere grammatical corract-
ness; each round of revision should bring you, the writer, to higher
levels of articulation and understanding through a sustained process
of inquiry. Through revision, you develop a stronger understanding of
how to see a writing project atthe college level and to how to make a
‘mark with your writing, Be sure that your revisions reflect substantive
‘changes tothe content: claiying ideas, tightening wordiness, drawing
‘more explicit connections, expicating a quote mare fully, or sometimes.
‘2 complete overhaul ofboth words and ideas. After al to “revise” Iter=
ally means to “re-see.
(Ebook) God?: A Debate Between A Christian and An Atheist (Point/Counterpoint) by William Lane Craig, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ISBN 9780195166002, 0195166000