TOW #27: TOW Reflection

When I looked back at my TOWs from marking periods 1, 2 and 3, I really don’t see many changes. I feel as though throughout the course of the year, the structure of my TOWs have been pretty consistent. Of the few changes I did notice, my analysis of rhetorical devices was notable, since in the beginning of the year, I didn't really have a grasp on how to analyze a device in the context of the writing piece; I didn’t show how the device was connected to the author’s purpose. Now, however, I think I have a better understanding of why it is worth analyzing rhetorical devices at all—to gain insight on the author’s purpose in writing an article. That said, I don’t think I have mastered it, nor any other part of the TOWs. I definitely know what I could improve upon though: identifying the audience. It’s not very difficult; in fact, it’s not difficult at all, to figure out whom the author is writing to, such as New York Times subscribers, or doctors who reading a medical journal. Correctly identifying how their occupations or values would influence their interpretation of a certain article is the hard part. This may be in part due to the fact that while an audience may be primarily made up of one class of people, their personalities and thought processes are so diverse that they are not likely to have the same reaction to the same article. This issue aside though, I would say that overall, TOWs have helped me somewhat in writing, but probably most in expanding my horizons. Since I feel that they have not really changed over the year, I don't think they really benefited my writing as much as they made me more well rounded and aware of subjects unbeknownst to be before this year, and this has helped me in coming up with evidence for my Argument essays.