Work

Fall 2018

This is the first rhetorical analysis case study I wrote as an end-of-semester assignment for Dr. Aull’s WRI 210 class. We were required to choose a faculty member that we had an existing relationship with, select two of their published works, and then conduct an interview with them about their writing educational history and overall writing process. I chose to interview Professor Justin Catanoso, a professor in the journalism department; he was my freshman year advisor, and we really clicked during the spring of my freshman year when he ultimately convinced me to take Dr. Aull’s WIR 210 class. I focused my rhetorical analysis on the difference in discourse patterns between Catanoso’s book, My Cousin the Saint - The Search for Faith, Family, and Miracles, and his Peruvian climate change article titled, “Pope’s Environmental Encyclical Arrives in Peru to Mixed Reviews”. Professor Catanoso was incredibly interesting to analyze because while a journalist, he published a book and a scientific article. I asked Professor Catanoso questions to better understand how he builds a case through the experiences of others in his journalistic writing or through his personal experiences and reactions in his published memoir. Additionally, I investigated his purpose of journalism and compared it with the rhetorical techniques he used in his book: engagement, experimental evidence markers, rhetorical questions, and personal emotions and reflections. After examining all three pieces of evidence, his book, article, and our interview together, I concluded a conversational approach and open dialogue are crucial in an effective journalistic piece.

Spring 2021

What do students need to know about writing well in economics at Wake Forest University? Here, I write to WFU undergraduates who are excited about declaring an economics major. I help them understand what genres will they be writing, what counts as a good research paper, and what counts as proper evidence.