This weeks reading assignments focuses on the writers self awareness, understanding what the rhetorical situation means to them. I have been looking at my topic, asking myself why I am writing about it and what I hope to achieve. Chapter seven provided good, thought provoking questions that helped me to tighten the direction of my paper. The section on the developing a thesis was brilliant! On page 12 there is a helpful thesis formula that combines the claim and reasons for writing the paper into a complete thesis statement. By using this formula I came up with this thesis: Animal assisted therapy is an alternative solution to animal euthanasia that saves animals lives and promotes unity between the community and animal shelter.  I also enjoyed the section where after completing the thesis you look at the words with the thesaurus option to find the best word choices.   The three types of reasoning methods, ethos (credibility), logos (logic) and pathos (emotions) are interesting concepts. Having a mixture of these methods does make the research paper well rounded, not focusing predominantly on a particular method.

The POWA website has a system called tagmemic that breaks the topic down where it can be observed individually or in combinations. There are six parts to tagmemic; 1.Contrast-how the subject looks compared against similar subjects, 2. Variation-changes that could occur, but the nature of the subject is the same, 3. Distribution- the subject can be observed, 4. Particle- the essence of the subject, 5. Wave- the evolution of the subject, and 6. Field-the different parts of the subject and how they come together to make a whole.  If a writer does not know what to cover in a paragraph this system makes the information easier to assemble and use. 

Both reading assignments have helped me focus and shape my research; making me think outside of my writing comfort zone. Before taking this class I thought that a good paper consisted of presenting the facts, leaving any bias one may have behind. Even though we try to leave out biases out of the picture, our interpretations give the audience insight into the writers’ background or feelings on the subject.  Incorporating our experiences into the research mix is the makings of a great writer.