Writing 37, taught by Professor Loren Eason, is one of the most difficult and rigorous classes I have ever

taken throughout my high school and college career. The class throws students that have a structured sense

of writing into a completely new environment where all the previous rules of writing success do not apply. Texts

can no longer be skimmed; skimming a short story means skipping an important concealed detail that could

provide an important clue for the author’s overall complex message regarding the real world. Without

guidance, students are tested by tasking the class with writing two paragraph discussions regarding the story.

Fortunately, the class discussions would clear up many details regarding the story, but the prospect of writing

about a story with limited understanding was difficult, but not impossible. In the end, it certainly allowed the

class to improve our exploration skills before the professor began to guide us through the true message.

        In the beginning of the quarter, Professor Eason familiarized the class with Judith Merril’s definition of

speculative fiction, which would become our pivoting point for understanding the following texts. To provide a

perfect example of Merril’s definition, Professor Eason assigned us to read and comprehend “The Cold

Equations.” The short story introduced the class to basic tropes and patterns that are reoccurring in many

works of science fiction, like sexism, the presence of moral decisions, and a dangerous situation which forces

the protagonist to act in a different light. To further increase our knowledge on the subject, the professor

provided us with a scholarly text titled “There is No Such Thing as Science Fiction by Vint and Bould that

analyzed the different viewpoints many authors have presented regarding “The Cold Equations.” The

presentation of these texts would later be utilized to write our very first paper, the Critical Reading Response.

        Along with the Critical Reading Response, the class was also given a multitude of short stories inside

William Gibson’s book titled Burning Chrome. These short stories like “The Winter Market,” “Hinterlands,” and

“Burning Chrome,” introduced the class to a subgenre of science fiction called Cyberpunk. As I continued to

gain more knowledge regarding the genre, the professor handed the class Csicsery-Ronay’s paper,

“Cyberpunk Empire,” which described his five points that he believes to be present in all forms of Cyberpunk.

The paper was only eight pages; however, this was the most difficult eight pages I have ever read. The paper

was not incomprehensible but it was tough to follow due to the language choice and the complex ideas which

forced me to carefully read while also try out new processes that would aid in improving my comprehension.

        As I continued to work on Writing 37, I had to adapt to the different reading and comprehension level

from what I accustomed myself to in high school and elementary school. A new technique I have habituated

myself to conduct is to keep a log book close by where I would jot down important details and facts occurring

in the story. Furthermore, I would bring these notes to class and would add on to them during the class

discussions. All of these notes and discussion would culminate into a column of details that described the

story’s message, audience, purpose, and patterns. This helped organize the multiple thoughts I had regarding

the short story which would simplify the writing process for essays and discussions. Along with the persistent

note taking, I have also learned to pay careful attention to seemingly random details about the story that would

actually show insight to the characters or the story’s overall message. These details would, at times, create

small theories with little evidence but at times it would bring upon a new perspective about the story.

        These writing techniques would eventually help complete the herculean assignment before our second  

to final project, the Rhetorical Analysis Project. The Rhetorical Analysis Project is an 1800-word essay that

asked the class to analyze the latent message of one of the many stories written by William Gibson. The

introduction of the prompt surprised many of the students in the class, including myself. This was the first time

I have ever been assigned a paper of this magnitude; before, the papers that have been assigned have been

mainly summaries with bits of analysis. However, this is the first time where I must focus on the author’s

underlying message instead of the story. This forces me to take things slowly and compile the facts regarding

the story I have chosen.  After compiling these facts, I would gather the evidence and research for four

sources that would support my main point of view. Although it was tough, slowly I worked on it until I had a

product I was proud of. This paper was an important milestone in training myself for the final which is the

rhetoric in practice project, which allowed the class to write a piece of science fiction in a different source of

media other than a short story.

        The rhetoric in practice project was a culmination of all the skills a student has learned throughout his or

her journey in the class Writing 37. The assignment forced the students to think of a creative and complex

message and embed it inside a source of media that is most likely unfamiliar to the individual. What seemed

like a struggle at first, eventually became a project I found very enjoyable due to the amount of freedom

allowed for each student. It challenged me to explore different concepts like adjusting the message and format

to fit a specific audience. In the beginning, the writing style I presented did not fit with the style of writing found

in TIME magazine; I had to change the format to one of a higher academic level and address a different

audience due to my diction and sentence structure. The task also encouraged me to view different types of

sources as possible evidence such as films like Ghost in the Shell and video games like Deus Ex: Human

Revolution. The assignment took an extraordinary amount of reiterations and revisions, more than I have ever

done with any project, but even then, I found the finished product to be something worth mentioning.

        As I look towards the end of the quarter and with the class, I look back and I notice the significant

improvements I have made in my analytical writing. I have moved on from the structured five paragraph style

of writing and have transitioned into a more fluid organization of writing. I thank Professor Eason for guiding

me during office hours through my paper and how I can improve on my writing organization. The contents of

the body paragraphs now have fewer details that provide a synopsis of the story and, instead, allows room for

my voice to address the opinions I have stated. I plan to take these skills I have gained and continue to

improve on them when I hopefully enroll next quarter for Writing 39C, which I suspect will be twice as

challenging, but not impossible.