Govan 1

Dalana Govan
English 1010 5:30
November 4, 2015

Self-Reflection
PROCESS QUESTIONS:
What I found beneficial in doing the writing survey is I learned how to write in first
person instead of saying you. When doing the Aspirin re-write I learned how to re-write a
complex paragraph into something anyone could pick up and read but also understand the
medical jargon. The paper I found most beneficial and rewarding is the narrative. I learned how
to write what my mind pictured that way the reader can visualize what my words say therefore
making better reading material.
The writing strategies I used for the response paper is cause/effect; In Lifeboat Ethics:
The Case Against Helping the poor by Garrett Hardin he talks about how a nations land has a
limited capacity to support a population and how the current energy crisis has shown us we are
already destroying our planet. I also used pathos appeal which I found to be most productive
with my opening and logos appeal through the response paper stating the statistics Hardin did.
The problem I found most challenging was trying to figure out exactly where Hardin
stood, is he for or against helping the poor? Im still unsure of his position.
The main weakness in the response paper is I didnt catch Hardins tone. The greatest
strength is the opening by relating it to past. In Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Feeding the
Poor you have to think about the future, present and past. How can we be so inhumane not to
help, but still survive in 100 years?

Govan 2

The thing I learned about writing is how critical thinking is a reflection of yourself not
what you read then copy and paste, but how you see the subject and how you relate to it in your
life.
SUBJECT RELATED QUESTIONS:
The tensions I encountered between my ideas/experiences and those of Hardin is the
statement Hardin made; receiving help can also bring feeling of mistrust and antagonism rather
than gratitude. Although Green Revolution developed miracle rice and miracle wheat, he
doesnt go into detail of how much it has helped.
I dont know what I would do if I was in a half empty lifeboat in the middle of the
freezing ocean with hundreds of people dyeing around me. Would I risk my life to save a
stranger? I do know that helping the poor is the right and moral thing to do. But at what cost? So
much has already changed in the thirty plus years since Hardin wrote the essay.
What I learned from writing this paper is the United Stated could do more to teach and
help the poor to do for themselves and solve their own issues. Instead we develop programs such
as the Food for Peace program that just gives handouts which the taxpayers pay for while
corporate business profit from helping.
RHETORIC-RELATED QUESTIONS:
I imagined a general audience young, old all nationalities while writing my response
paper. I used pathos appeal though out my paper. I want the audience to take away and
understand the future depends on our past and present decisions. We cant undo the damage we
have already done but we can teach the future generations to make changes. They can already see
the damage that we did, therefore making changes in the present can make for a better future.

Govan 3

I would describe my voice in a matter of fact way, example like serious why are we not
doing more?
The rhetorical strategies I used most was pathos. One example, its freezing and theres
not enough lifeboats, not enough by half; half the people are going to die. Another example is we
cannot redo the past, we cannot safely divide the wealth equitably among the people. To do so
would guarantee that our grandchildren and everyone elses grandchildren would only have a
ruined world to inhabit. I disagree that we should be as cruel and heartless as to paddle our
more than half empty life boat to safety without attempting to provide aid. The last example I
disagree that we should be as cruel and heartless as to paddle our more than half empty life boat
to safety without attempting to provide aid.
I dont feel like I took any risks.