Final Exam Essay 1 Over the course of the semester, my technical writing skills have improved significantly. I am now a master of framing the problem, rhetorical awareness, and distinguishing between “good” and “bad” writing. I will be able to take these skills that I have learned over the course of the semester and apply it to my future law career. Throughout this essay, I will analyze three improvements of my writing and provide detail examples to support my analysis.
First, my technical writing skills have improved by learning how to appropriately frame a problem in an argument. Framing is a way of presenting a problem or issue in a certain way that it gets on the policy agenda and being an advocate for this problem or issue can help …show more content…
At the beginning of this semester, we learned ten lessons of good and bad writing skills based on Catherine Smiths concepts. These lessons included identifying the problem and who is affected, be specific, have a clear and organized structure, establish credibility, avoid stereotypes, establish policy communicators thinking, appropriate genre, appropriate tone, establish knowledge, perspective, position, and include appropriate word choice. By following these lessons, I have created powerful documents. In my legislative history memo, I identified the problem of the pattern of gun control, that all citizens are affected by the issue. Next, I included specific gun regulations to support my argument. I used headings and bullets to create organization. I established my credibility with research and knowledge of my topic and avoided any stereotypes. I established a policy communicator thinking my being concise and to the point. I created an appropriate genre and tone for the topic at hand. I established the perspective as a concerned citizen and stated my position on the repeat pattern of gun control. Lastly, I included metaphorical language to enhance my overall paper. Furthermore, in my Virginia Handbook policy memo, I established the problem as unclear voter ballot guidelines and voters and politicians are affected by this problem. Next, I included a background of the questioning of the Virginia Handbook guidelines. I used heading to create a clear structure of my memo I avoided stereotypes and established credibility through my research on the issue. I established a policy communicator thinking in listing my alternative solutions. I created an appropriate genre for the problem and set an overall active tone. I established the perspective as a concerned voter. Lastly, I included metaphorical language such as a “domino