Drafts

Rhetorical Analysis

As is the case with every paper I have written for this class, there is plenty of trial and error. Thankfully, process writing makes drafting an essay much easier and allows you to write in different styles and angles with the final paper in mind. Click on the papers above to see how the first two drafts were utilized to synthesize the final of my rhetorical analysis.

The Process:

In draft 1 the entirety of the first paragraph is simply a written description of what I saw take place in the music video for the protest song I chose. The track in question is Stevie Wonder's classic tune Living for the City. This song has been a favorite of mine for years and in this draft I also touch on how much the song means to me.

In contrast, draft 2 is completely different from the first. This time the goal was to write from the perspective of someone in the music video. I selected a woman shining shoes. I chose her because her appearance in the video is short and otherwise unmemorable, but when paired with the lyrics it takes on such a heavier, deeper meaning. This allowed my writing in my final project to be more personal, since I was able to mentally step inside the shoes of someone the song is talking about. I also used an excerpt from a great essay about what it is like to grow up as an African American in the United States. 

You will notice that the final draft definitely contains elements of both drafts, but it is not just a complete combination of both drafts. I am very proud of how it turned out and it is very rewarding for me to see a complete paper that came from 2 very different styles of writing.