Table of Contents: 2024
Locating the Conversation
Early in the process, writers engage with other perspectives, “listening to” sources and seeking connections to their own ideas—and thus creating new meaning and knowledge. In this section, writers reveal how they engage in the important work of rhetorical invention by summarizing, synthesizing, and responding to others’ ideas.
“Language Acquisition through Audiovisual Translation”
Olivia Citarella
Annotated Bibliography for “The People Behind Monsters: Dehumanization of the Deformed in Horror”
Lilian Deason
Proposal for “Earth Science Must Include Earth”: Student Activists’ Rhetorical Responses to Idaho’s Politicization of Environmental Education”
Carla Halford
“Literature Review: A Guiding Light Through the Darkness: Female Voices in Dark Comedy”
Alexa T. Miller
“Literature Review: The Pacifism of Metal Gear Solid”
Emile Rebillard
Practicing Metacognition
Metacognition – reflection on your own thinking – is essential for any writer. After all, writing and research are about rhetorical choices, and we make the best choices when we are aware of how we think and learn. Whether to look back at what you’ve done and see how to improve, or to look ahead to strategize the best way to approach your work, thinking about writing starts before you begin and ends after you finish any one piece of work. This section shows metacognition in action.
“Breaking the Red Pen Mentality”
Olivia Colliton-Salvina
“Comedy and Gender: The Rhetoric of Feminist Comedy”
Alizeh Jawaid
“My Writerly World”
Elizabeth Knudson
Responding to Experiences
Our experiences shape how we react to the world around us. When responding to these experiences as academics, we broaden the definition of texts to “anything that conveys a set of meanings to the person who examines it,” including personal experiences, films, works of art, etc. In this section, these essays move beyond initial, gut-level responses to texts to investigate them in new, meaningful ways.
“The People Behind Monsters: Dehumanization of the Deformed in Horror”
Lilian Deason
“Darla’s Story”
Tabitha Irvin
“But, Why Lemons?: What Lemon Consumption Habits Reveal about External and Internal Validation”
Dylan Kilkenney
“This”
Aideen Scanga
Reframing Understanding
In the writing process readers question what they read and research, interrogating a work’s meanings, its claims, and the quality of its evidence. In this section, these writers make the important moves of acknowledging other ways of looking at their ideas, even going so far as to entertaining objections.
“Lack of Food Harms the Body; Lack of Food Harms the Soul”
Shariyah S. Etienne
“Slipping Through the Cracks: What Victor Ninov’s Scandal Reveals About Scientific Communication”
Eleanor Hill
“The SNAP Program: America’s Failure in Food Equality”
Marissa Miller
“The Liberation of Public Spaces: Street Art’s Brush with So-Called Democracy”
Hanan Nathan-Slarkey
“Tomorrow’s Brooklyn: What One Building’s Strange Design Tells Us About Housing”
Marshall Plane
Following the Research
In following the research these essays go beyond established ideas, engaging in inquiry that brings a new understanding of existing evidence. These writers raise meaningful questions about their world, and through the discovery of insight, come to new conclusions.
“The Apotheosis of Lies: Judeo-Christian Morality and the Deification of Man”
Luke DiBonaventura
Writer as Witness Essay Competition Winner
“Why Our Cities Matter: Examining Systemic Racism, Development, and Hopelessness in Detroit”
El Koster
“The Fragmented World of the Owl Species: Case Study on the Northern Spotted Owl and the Barred Owl Removal Experiment”
Luis Bill Perez
Winner, University Library Prize for Best College Writing Research Paper
“My Comrade”
Will Systma
Adapting to Context
Writers make rhetorical choices to best present their ideas to specific audiences. In this section, writers demonstrate their audience awareness by taking the same topic for more than one project and adapting the genre and form of their research and ideas to fit a specific rhetorical situation.
“Contrasting Realities: Unveiling Emotions in German Expressionism”
Faith Bennett
“Art Criticism: Unveiling Emotions in German Expressionism”
Faith Bennett
“Grocery Stores: The Reflection of Dominant Resource”
Mone Kogure
“Comparing Applicants and Oranges: Social Comparison Theory, College Pressure, and College Admissions TikTok” & TikTok Adaptation
Liam Rosen
“Service Without Sacrifice: Preventing Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress for Future Generations of Social Workers Through Community-Based Learning”
Rachel Traband
“Personnel Problems: Burnout and High Turnover Rates in Social Work Fields”
Rachel Traband