Rhetorical Modes

I have yet to decide the exact direction of my essay. I am still in the brainstorming process. Based on what I am currently thinking, I would say that my essay will most likely feature the following rhetorical modes: Description (Heavy), Definition (Light), Exemplification (Heavy), Cause/Effect (Light), Division/Classification (Light), Compare/Contrast (Light), Narration (Heavy), and Process Analysis (Medium). I tried to classify each depending on how much I am planning on using them but please don't hold me to this list as it may change the more my essay develops. You may notice I omitted the use of Argument but that may also change. I plan to explore the concept of "getting lost" in a metaphysical sense instead of a literal one. 

Losing It...

What does it mean to "lose it"?


To "lose it", in the simplest of terms, means to lose control of your emotions. It's that moment when something or someone absolutely pushes you past your limits of patience. To "lose it" is to ignore all reason and logic. It is precisely the moment where civility ceases and primitive impulse begins that defines "losing it." Some say that to "lose it" is to show weakness. Such is the case when "losing it" is expressed in sudden bursts of anger or violence. However, to "lose it" is simply to change, if only temporarily, the process of thinking. It is the reevaluation of priorities and it can serve as an effective means of accomplishing many tasks. If composure is left unaltered, "losing it" can provide for a focus of energy. It is this focus of energy that can allow people to dedicate themselves to overcoming their obstacles. Essentially, "losing it" is a critical part of human development. It can be the root of personal demise or the catalyst in realizing your true potential. Reaching your breaking point and "losing it" is simply reaching a fork in the road on your journey through life. Choose wisely however, for while this decision can be neither right nor wrong, it is most definitely a defining moment. 

Effective Metaphors

"You were the wind and I the sea."- (From "After Love" by Sara Teasdale)

I believe the author is using the metaphor as a means to express the love she once felt. The statement indicates that while she is no longer with her lover, at one time they were as perfect for each other as the wind and the sea. 

The award for "Best Sentence" goes to...

I have yet to decide which was more excruciating:  the thermometer-shattering heat blazing off the scorching sun or the boredom that made every moment sort of mesh together like a scene from Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day. 

Profile Essay Survey

1. I will profile the Lancaster Super Sport 24 Hour Fitness location. I worked there for nearly three years. 
2. The dominant impression I wish to convey is what that gym means to people and what it symbolizes.
3.  I will use the first-person perspective to write this essay. 
4. The beginning will introduce them to the gym and how it is I got to work there.  
5. The middle will provide the physical description of the gym as well as encounters I had with members. 
6. The conclusion will discuss the changes that occurred within me because of the gym. It will discuss what the gym meant to me. 
7. Dialogue will be professional, but conversational. I want the paper to read like I am telling you a story. 
8. My essay will feature some of the most profound characters I met throughout my tenure at that gym. 
9. I will try to use appropriate adjectives and powerful anecdotes to describe the gym and its members. 
10. I want to use language that can create images so vivid and powerful that the reader can feel what I felt. 
11. The paper will be speaking about the gym in past tense. 

Desert Byways

I really enjoyed reading Desert Byways. I feel that the writer did an exceptional job of utilizing a mixture of precise detail and appropriate diction to convey vivid images of Death Valley to the reader. The strong point of the profile is by far the use of such "illuminating details"which provide the imagination with the necessary tools to recreate the settings being described.

Analysis Essay Thesis

A little late to the party but here goes:

The meaning of a photograph, and moreover the life of that meaning, is as potent as it is malleable. There is a powerful message and connection to be found in all photographs, that message, simply depends on the emotions it evokes from the viewer thereby throwing itself upon the mercy of its audience. Essentially, one photograph can have a million different meanings to a million different people.