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Kartik Mahida
Greg McClure
Writing 39B
7 December 2015

My Writing 39B Experience

Taking Writing 39B this past quarter has been a challenging experience in which I was
able to delve into the concept of rhetoric and apply it to analyzing texts and real-life situations. I
studied the genre of horror and the reception it creates, which I believe served as a perfect
canvas. This genre has been subverted in many ways while still preserving many conventions,
consistently creating a strong reception and allowing great opportunity for analysis. Along with
the typical conventions of horror, studying the subversions allowed me to understand how
exactly how texts grow out of their rhetorical situation. The large projects in the class that
required deep, specific analysis allowed me to gain understanding on the concept of the
rhetorical situation and developing the skill to present with the intention to create a strong
reception. Studying rhetoric in horror over the course of ten weeks, I feel that the knowledge and
skill gained through this class will benefit me not only in my academic pursuits, but also my
professional goals. Through the various writing exercises, in-class lessons, analysis of texts, and
peer review sessions, I have been pushed to become a scholar who is far more experienced and
much more authoritative than when I entered the University of California at Irvine this past Fall
as a freshman.
I have been able to transform my initially vague perception of rhetoric to gaining
important cognizance of the art over the course of this class. Writing the Rhetorical Analysis

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paper was a major growing experience for me in which I was able to explicitly gain the skill to
identify rhetoric. In this assignment, we were given the liberty to chose one of the texts we
covered in class and carefully evaluate how the rhetorical elements used were impacting the
audience. Initially, I thought I had a clear perception on what rhetoric was in texts. However,
after writing my first draft, I received constructive criticism from Professor McClure that my
essay overall sounded arbitrary. Initially, I was confused as to what that meant since I felt
confident in my first draft. However, after attending office hours I was given direct examples on
what made my first draft so arbitrary. Under the Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft, Revision 1
highlights my opening, as I stated Through the use of tone, characterization, and point of view,
the reader gains perspective and is left haunted by the eerie passage of an attacker who is blind of
his own wrongdoings. After speaking with Professor McClure, I was able to see how this
statement was overall superficial. While I stated the rhetorical devices that were going to be
analyzed in my essay, I didnt state how or why these specific devices are important or what led
to me selecting them.
Also, explicitly stating how these rhetorical devices are intended to convey a message to
the audience is vital in setting up my analysis. In my Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft, Artifact 2
shows how I used this constructive criticism. I stated Gaitskills argument that people should be
more aware of their surroundings is supported through the rhetorical devices in this eerie piece
and allows the reader to gain vital perspective for understanding this monster, who can be
present around them, followed by each specific rhetorical device with its purpose in the
rhetorical situation of the text. In this revision, I am able to represent how I learned to become
clearer in directly stating the importance of my claims, further setting up a strong foundation to
expand upon how each technique works through convincing evidence.

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This allowed me to understand the concept of rhetoric much clearer as this pushed me to
scrutinize each device individually. Rather than simply stating what rhetorical devices Gaitskill
used, Professor McClure challenged me to delve deeper and explain how they are being used in
relation to audience reception. A central lesson I learned in class through Professor McClures
lectures is to constantly stay obsessed with the audience. I have learned that rhetoric is an art in
which the audiences reception must always be taken into account, and I was able to apply this
further in my analysis in each body paragraph. In my Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft, Artifact 5,
The narrators tone throughout the piece is extremely relaxed, nearly to the point where the
audience is alarmed as to why hes so unconcerned about things that are otherwise alarming,
shows that I am explicitly stating how the rhetorical device, tone, is working for the audience and
the reception its intended to create. While I used this lesson throughout the Rhetorical Analysis
Final Draft, I am also able to utilize this valuable lesson to improve my work as a scholar, as this
taught me it is far more effective to be straightforward when aspiring to convey a message to my
audience, or overall be rhetorical.
Writing the rhetorical analysis was also a learning process where I was able to gain
knowledge on the conventions of scholarly writing as a way to exemplify my understanding of
the text I was to analyze. At the start of the quarter, Professor McClure gave us an in-class lesson
about breaking away from the standard one-three-one method of writing an essay, indicating an
introduction, a body, and a conclusion. While I initially felt uncomfortable about this, I was able
to quickly identify why this elementary-level of writing didnt meet the caliber of what was
expected for this class as its very predictable and doesnt create a strong reception. Instead, we
were taught to make sharp claims in order to become an engaging writer and show that we are
authoritative.

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Furthermore, a convention that I particularly struggled with was organization, as
indicated on the Rhetorical Analysis Rubric. I felt that the peer review session was very helpful
in identifying my poor organization, as my partner Jake Forster stated For the essay as a whole,
while there a few paragraphs that seem to have to be read in a certain order, the paragraphs
usually seem to have minimal connection with the previous. This allowed me to understand how
the lack of transitions in my draft is a major flaw that can overall negatively effect the reception
my essay intends to create. On Rhetorical Analysis Final Draft, Artifacts 4, 7, and 9 all serve as
direct examples where I transitioned each paragraphs point to the next. This creates an improved
structure in the essay, producing an overall coherent final product.
While proper structure is a necessity for a polished essay, I learned that this serves to
have an even larger purpose. Peer review, and the study of rhetoric overall has taught me that
organization is a necessity in keeping the audience engaged with what I have to say. A major
point in the rhetorical analysis is to convince my audience of the argument I am making, and
without the skill of creating proper structure, I have lost my audiences attention. This can lead to
confusion, but by connecting each point in the manner that I did, I wanted to have the audience
continuously engaged with my essay. The significance of these connections is to have the
audience able to follow, point by point, leading to better persuasion. I can apply this lesson
throughout my academic career and personal life, as it has taught me that coherency is vital to
being persuasive in order to get convince others of a point I am trying to make.
After completing the rhetorical analysis, I was given another assignment where I was
challenged even more to gain knowledge on the art of rhetoric and how it works. I was assigned
the Rhetoric-In-Practice Project where I was able to select a trope of the horror genre and expand
upon the reception it creates. After the presentation, the Rhetoric-In-Practice Essay served as a

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basis for me to analyze the text I presented on and how the key moments of my presentation
grew out of my situation. While this essay allowed me to analyze and justify my moments in this
presentation, ultimately, it allowed me to gain valuable knowledge on how every text grows out
of and reflects its rhetorical situation.
My group and I decided to use the final girl trope as our text to discuss the reception this
trope has created over time. In doing research, I was pushed to discover and connect how her
evolution coincides with the cultural situation of womans roles changing in the United States.
Meeting with Professor McClure to discuss my groups project was very resourceful as he gave
me direct examples of iconic final girls. These served to further guide my research, as I was able
to understand the era in which these final girls were active and why they were able to create such
a strong reception. I was able to conclude that evolving attitudes of the audience correlates to
subversions being created in this trope in order to keep the audience intrigued. In the RhetoricIn-Practice First Draft, Artifact 13 states I clearly represented how she has been subverted in
order to further reinstate her role as a symbol for female empowerment through the visual of
Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) who clearly exudes sexual appeal.
This reference to my presentation, which can be viewed under The Final Girl, applied
specifically how this text grew out of its rhetorical situation. It also reflects its rhetorical situation
since this subversion of the final girl, Buffy Summers, directly embodies the female-empowering
attitude of a womans role in the late 1990s to the early 2000s.
I was able to utilize this knowledge of rhetorical situation to improve my communication
skills across a live presentation. Professor McClure pushed us to identify our cultural situation as
specific as we could, as Artifact 6 under Rhetoric-In-Practice First Draft states, Set in Orange
County, we are in the epicenter where there is a mix of traditional and progressive values. While

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UC Irvine is a forward-thinking college atmosphere, there are definitely quirks that differentiate
my audience here rather than if I were to present to a group of students in Arkansas or New York
City. Being challenged identify my audience with as much detail as possible allowed me to
comprehend why deep understanding of the audience is vital to a rhetorical situation, and its
because my ultimate aim is to keep them engaged with what I have to say.
This knowledge allowed me to create moments during my aspect of the presentation that
I aimed to be impacting for the audience. My research and awareness of being a student at UC
Irvine allowed me to understand what many students are interested in, and just like any other
group of people, its what applies to their own lives. Keeping my audience in mind, I utilized
lessons we were given in class on creating a strong PowerPoint to release each of my statements
individually in order to have the audience listen to what I had to say. I learned that if I seemed
even the slightest bit unprepared, it would lose my audiences attention, but if I come off as
passionate, they will want to listen to what Im saying. We watched a TedTalk in class that
specifically drove my inspiration to speak directly to the audience as I did in the final part of my
presentation, as stated in Rhetorical Analysis First Draft, Artifact 14, I told the audience that the
final girl shows women that they do not need a male counterpart to save them in unfavorable
situations, and she shows men that women can fight just as hard, if not harder, than the
quintessential male hero. I felt that this moment was overall influential as it conveys my
message by directly applying it to the audiences own lives. Also, it shows my growth as a
presenter as I developed the skill to identify my rhetorical situation and execute my message in a
passionate way.
While the genre of horror may initially come of as not having the same merit that
studying classics would, with all respect, I completely disagree. I am extremely grateful to have

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had horror as the genre for this quarter. The horror genre is in fact a respectable genre to study as
it has allowed me to grow and improve the various habits of mind, such as openness, persistence,
and responsibility. My perception of what horror is and how it works to the audience has evolved
tremendously over the course of this class. My generic idea that horrors intention to simply
scare the audience has transformed to gaining deep understanding how it works. The Nature of
Horror by Nol Caroll allowed me to gain a great amount of exposure to specifically how horror
creates an impact. The Thought Theory uses the classic monster Dracula as an example, stating
Here, the thought of Dracula, the thing that art-horrifies me, is not the event of my thinking of
Dracula but the content of the thought, viz., that Dracula, a threatening and impure being of such
and such dimensions, might exist and do these terrible things (Caroll 54). Being one who
typically doesnt get afraid from horror, I found this information valuable to gain insight in how
such strong fear can be incited to the audience.
Studying the horror genre and my experience overall in Professor McClures Writing 39B
has taught me valuable lessons that can be connected with the other habits of mind, like
persistence, responsibility, and flexibility. While I entered Writing 39B as a confident writer, this
course challenged me to struggle in a way I never have before. The detailed, specific prompts
and heavy scrutiny required in analyzing texts and rhetoric in this class was definitely not easy,
and the struggle I underwent was many times draining. However, I am able to understand that
this adversity was a gift. It was through this struggle that I learned how to remain persistent
under circumstances where assignments werent as easy as I was used to, and the final product of
creating something that I exerted an immense amount of energy was very rewarding. It was
rewarding to see myself grow from quickly writing papers in a vague tone to seeing my work
become far more direct and impacting.

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Learning how to take responsibility for my work also contributed to my growth this
quarter. Professor McClure explained to us various times in class that in order to be authoritative
scholars who are taken seriously, we must always take ownership of our work. I now genuinely
understand what it means to own my work as I must put in all of my effort in creating a final
product that I am proud of, rather than making excuses. This sense of ownership is applicable to
nearly all aspects of my life as it has taught me to not apologize for being the person I am, and to
instead take pride in who I am as a student. I have learned that my work should be strong enough
that it speaks for itself, rather than being arbitrary as I was when I entered this class.
Overall, I am extremely grateful for my experience in Writing 39B as it has pushed me to
become a polished scholar. I am aware that I still have tremendous progression to make, which
will be made in both my academic and professional pursuits, but the lessons I learned over the
course of these ten weeks will remain with me as a major moment of growth. This class has
taught me that I am capable of pushing myself through obstacles in order to delve deeper in
analysis and create a final product in which I can take pride in. Also, this course has allowed me
to generate my own, direct attitude in which I take ownership for all of my actions and work, as
they are done deliberately. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this class on rhetoric is
applicable to various aspects of my own life as I have learned how to become a more engaging
and persuasive individual.
Works Cited:
Caroll, Noel. "The Nature of Horror." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. 46. No. 1
(1987): 51-59. Print.

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