When I started reading the major assignments of writing 39b, I instantly saw RA!! rhetorical analysis!! and I thought to myself "oh no, not again." I was never really the best at writing but I can definitely say that throughout my RA drafts I noticed that I had progressed in my writing. I was finally able to not summarize a whole short story so much. I realize that the person reading my RA is already aware of what the story is about, so summarization of the short story is not the way to go. I felt like I wasn't going to be good again like I was at writing a rhetorical analysis essay in high school. I felt intimidated to write one here at the university level. But through the use of class discussions, peer reviews, and office hours I am able to say that I now feel more confident in writing an RA essay.

The first week of class we were assigned readings, and one of them was "Bloodchild" by Octavia Butler. When I first read the short story I was completely lost, but then I began to read through it again, but this time more carefully trying to pull out the actual message Butler was trying to give to her readers and I began to pull out ways on how she persuaded the audience of her message. I decided "Bloodchild" was the short story I wanted to write my RA essay on. In class lectures we would go over rhetorical devices and we would do activities in order to learn how to correctly analyze rhetoric. As I would turn in drafts and receive feedback from my peers and writing teacher Dowd, I was able to make changes to create a stronger piece of writing for my RA essay. I can now say that I have come to a better understanding of how to analyze rhetoric. "Bloodchild" required lots of critical thinking and I believe that's what made writing this RA essay on Butler's short story even better and satisfying for me.