Reflection, Rhetoric, and Knowledge

Yancey believes that “reflection” allows you to become agents of your own learning. Reflection allows the composer to look back at his or her masterpiece and explain what he/she has liked, loved and/or could have done better. Conducting a reflection helps you as the composer to critique yourself and improve your writings.

On another note, in terms of knowledge, knowledge is everywhere. Knowledge is a characteristic each individual is born with. I am a strong believer that knowledge always exists, and has existed since we were barbarians. There are two main forms of knowledge: common knowledge and the knowledge we learn and gain from personal experiences. This is why children, teens and young adults mainly go to school; this is why we have teachers who want to share their experiences and knowledge with us. Also, being human we are known for making mistakes and also learning from them. Knowledge is everywhere because everywhere you go you are bound to learn something new. Writing/Editing and Print/Online has definitely improved my knowledge toward my field of study. So far, I have already seen an improvement in not only my thought process but also in my compositions. I am able to elaborate a lot more than I used to and, I have learned to connect more with my audience in many other ways I did not know was possible.

However, if it were not about the different types of rhetoric and remediation, I could not have grasped as much information I have now. Rhetoric is anything that has a purpose, non-living and living. I learned that everything I do- writing, drawings, dancing, etc- has a meaning and a point is being drawn towards the reader. From the reading, “Rhetorical Tradition,” I came across Aristotle’s renowned words: logos, pathos and ethos. “The classical system assumes that there are three forms of persuasive appeal: to reason (logos), to emotion (pathos), and to the speakers authority (ethos).” These three powerful words are what are critical in a rhetorical situation. Nowadays, rhetoric has been concerned with political action and the search for knowledge. Aristotle illustrates for his audience that the most important distinction among demonstration, dialect and rhetoric is the type of knowledge found in each.