Reflecting on What You Have Learned

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In this chapter, you have learned a great deal about the genre from reading several causal analysis essays and from writing one of your own. To consolidate your learning, reflect not only on what you learned but also on how you learned it.

ANALYZE & WRITE

Write a blog post, a letter to your instructor, or an e-mail message to a student who will take this course next term, using the writing prompt that seems most productive for you:

  • Explain how your purpose and audience influenced one of your decisions as a writer, such as how you explained the subject, how you supported your preferred causes, or how you responded to readers’ likely objections.
  • Discuss what you learned about yourself as a writer in the process of writing this essay. For example, what part of the process did you find most challenging? Did you try anything new, like getting a critical reading of your draft or outlining your draft in order to revise it?
  • If you were to give advice to a friend who was about to write a causal analysis, what would you say?
  • Which of the readings in this chapter influenced your essay? Explain the influence, citing specific examples from your essay and the reading.
  • If you got good advice from a critical reader, explain exactly how the person helped you—perhaps by questioning your use of support, your use of visuals, the way you began or ended your essay, or the kinds of sources you used.

    Question