Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Chapter 2 Reflections

I learned from chapter two about valuable tools to help plan and outline messages.  Top-down approaches are my preferred way to outline a message, but bottom-up methods are sometimes utilized.  Of all of the strategies (between top-down and bottom-up) I am most comfortable with the tree diagram.  I use this method when writing professional letters, essays, and sometimes even journal entries.  It helps me keep my thoughts organized in a manageable way.  Another impactful lesson from the reading is the five outline tests.  Among the tests, inclusion and exclusion are probably my greatest weaknesses, although I don’t think that I’m terrible with them.  I know that I can be more mindful of both the details I should include and also the details I ought to exclude.  Lastly, I appreciated learning about the rhetorical strategies from Aristotle.  Logos and Pathos will be valuable to remember when considering the audience and tone of a message.  I naturally want to speak to the pathos when writing, so it will be a good challenge for me to try writing to the logos more.

No comments:

Post a Comment