Research, Writing, and Rhetoric: Discovering the Plain and Precious
Throughout this semester learning about writing and rhetoric, I came to understand a great deal about the writing process, and how the power of words is an influential keystone in our ability to persuade. Furthermore, learning and experiencing the research process brought to light the importance of picking and choosing the right material to also increase one’s capacity to influence. All through this process, I related to the prophet Ether when he expressed the trial of writing “because of the awkwardness of our hands… when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words.” (Ether 12:24-25). Nevertheless through much prayer and preparation for the initially seeming impossible task of writing an eight to ten page research paper, I found that my thoughts and words were guided to find that material which was “plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of men.” (1 Nephi 14:23). With this example, every aspect of the Book of Mormon is designed to persuade all men to come unto Christ. Likewise, so must our papers be designed to portray only “the most plain and precious” parts of our argument, and easily persuade others to our point with credible information, facts, and evaluation.
Beginning the process for writing the research paper, I was originally overwhelmed by my teacher’s request to write an annotated bibliography for each possible source I might use in my paper. Reading and skimming through about twenty or more articles, I felt frazzled at the abundance of information on my subject. I was having trouble organizing my thoughts, but then asked myself the questions: What articles would be best at reinforcing the point I’m trying to make? And which sources are most credible? After a lengthy process of evaluating each article and writing down the main points for the bibliography, I was left with eight sources to cite in my paper. When the time came to actually write the paper, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of my paper had been practically written because of the annotated bibliography. As a result, because I’d already taken the time to evaluate each source and write down its importance, all I had to do was analyze it’s relevance to my topic and add my own commentary. All in all, from this experience I learned that it takes time and effort to uncover the most plain and precious parts for the argument of a research paper.
In conjunction with discovering these plain and precious parts, I also discovered through the writing process of the research paper that I have control over the information I would like to convey to my audience. From a biased perspective, I had the power to present the facts in such a manner that would offer my argument the most credibility. Nevertheless, I learned that part of the process was presenting the cons, as well as the pros of the argument. Accordingly, by presenting both sides of the issue and proving that the pros outweighed the cons, such benefits would only offer my argument more reliability.
With this in mind, I also made the connection of why the Book of Mormon contains so much credibility. Being retranslated and studied over periods of thousands of years, the Bible has lots of room for error and misinterpretation. As such, it does not possess the fullness of truth. Nevertheless, as the Lord revealed to Nephi in 2 Nephi 29: 8, “Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto the other? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.” With the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and the Book of Mormon as an additional testament of Jesus Christ, both works go hand in hand to confirm the truth and ensure the other’s credibility. Altogether, through the research process I discovered that one must analyze all sides of the argument to further ensure why it’s the most plain and precious above the rest.
In conclusion, through understanding the persuasive fundamentals of writing and rhetoric, such skills proved to be very useful throughout the research process. Furthermore, by taking the time and energy to sift through the vast quantities of information on my subject, both pros and cons, I was able to find those sources that offered my argument greater influence. In conjunction, the wise guidance of my teacher to record an annotated bibliography also proved to be very useful in further uncovering the in-depth treasures of the credible articles I’d already selected, and will continue to be part of the research process in the future. Altogether, by learning and applying these skills to the writing and research and process, I was able to overcome “the awkwardness of [my] hand,” and reap the benefits of uncovering the most plain, precious, and effective skills in the journey of writing a research paper.
Beginning the process for writing the research paper, I was originally overwhelmed by my teacher’s request to write an annotated bibliography for each possible source I might use in my paper. Reading and skimming through about twenty or more articles, I felt frazzled at the abundance of information on my subject. I was having trouble organizing my thoughts, but then asked myself the questions: What articles would be best at reinforcing the point I’m trying to make? And which sources are most credible? After a lengthy process of evaluating each article and writing down the main points for the bibliography, I was left with eight sources to cite in my paper. When the time came to actually write the paper, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of my paper had been practically written because of the annotated bibliography. As a result, because I’d already taken the time to evaluate each source and write down its importance, all I had to do was analyze it’s relevance to my topic and add my own commentary. All in all, from this experience I learned that it takes time and effort to uncover the most plain and precious parts for the argument of a research paper.
In conjunction with discovering these plain and precious parts, I also discovered through the writing process of the research paper that I have control over the information I would like to convey to my audience. From a biased perspective, I had the power to present the facts in such a manner that would offer my argument the most credibility. Nevertheless, I learned that part of the process was presenting the cons, as well as the pros of the argument. Accordingly, by presenting both sides of the issue and proving that the pros outweighed the cons, such benefits would only offer my argument more reliability.
With this in mind, I also made the connection of why the Book of Mormon contains so much credibility. Being retranslated and studied over periods of thousands of years, the Bible has lots of room for error and misinterpretation. As such, it does not possess the fullness of truth. Nevertheless, as the Lord revealed to Nephi in 2 Nephi 29: 8, “Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto the other? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.” With the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and the Book of Mormon as an additional testament of Jesus Christ, both works go hand in hand to confirm the truth and ensure the other’s credibility. Altogether, through the research process I discovered that one must analyze all sides of the argument to further ensure why it’s the most plain and precious above the rest.
In conclusion, through understanding the persuasive fundamentals of writing and rhetoric, such skills proved to be very useful throughout the research process. Furthermore, by taking the time and energy to sift through the vast quantities of information on my subject, both pros and cons, I was able to find those sources that offered my argument greater influence. In conjunction, the wise guidance of my teacher to record an annotated bibliography also proved to be very useful in further uncovering the in-depth treasures of the credible articles I’d already selected, and will continue to be part of the research process in the future. Altogether, by learning and applying these skills to the writing and research and process, I was able to overcome “the awkwardness of [my] hand,” and reap the benefits of uncovering the most plain, precious, and effective skills in the journey of writing a research paper.
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