EXERCISE 7.7: THINKING CRITICALLY

Using the following guidelines, reflect on the process you went through as you prepared for and wrote your draft for Exercise 7.6. Make your answers an entry in your writing log if you are keeping one.

  1. How did you arrive at your specific topic?

  2. When did you first begin to think about the assignment?

  3. What kinds of exploring or planning did you do? What kinds of research did you need to do?

  4. How long did it take to complete your draft (including the time spent gathering information)?

  5. Where did you write your draft? Briefly describe the setting.

  6. How did awareness of your audience help shape your draft?

  7. What have you learned from your draft about your own rhetorical stance on your topic?

  8. What did you learn about your ideas for this topic by exploring, planning, and talking with others about it?

  9. What do you see as the major strengths of your draft? What is your favorite sentence, and why?

  10. What do you see as the major weaknesses of your draft? What are you most worried about, and why?

  11. What would you like to change about your process of exploring, planning, and drafting?