Letter of Transmittal

Each of my papers has a few different intended audiences. As for my literacy

narrative I wanted to write to people who are currently in college and to those who are
planning on going to college. I have never felt like much of a student and honestly thought
that I was just dumb but I later learned how to be a student. I know that there have to be
other people out there like me and my intention was to give them hope. My rhetorical
analysis was about an article entitles On being a Cripple. It was one of the fist times that I
had ever done this type of writing and at first was very difficult for me. It was hard to
analyze and comment on the way that something is written instead of what it is about. I
have to scrap my first draft entirely and start over because I didnt know what I was doing.
I didnt really have an intended audience when writing my analysis but it was probably the
one that I learned the most from writing. Lastly in doing my issue exploration piece I chose
to write about gun control. This is something that I have very strong opinions about so for
me it was a good experience to look at it objectively. It could really be written to anyone
who wants to know a little bit more about gun control. It states four different views and a
general over view about the issue.
I feel that I have grown so much this semester as a writer. I have never really
thought much about writing and now its something that I really enjoy. It sparked my
interest, helped my creativity and improved my ability to write. Learning how to review
and make revisions to my work is a valuable lesson that I have learned. I used to be far too
critical of my writing in my first drafts and I would never get anything down. Now I have
learned that I just need to get everything out and then go back after and organize it how I
want. I still struggle finding flaws in my own work. Not Because I feel that I am an amazing
writer I just dont see it. I not know the importance of having others review my work to
help me improve. Even if I go over a paper 100 times I still dont get everything. All in all I
have loved this course. I still have a lot to learn but I feel like I am miles ahead of where I
was a few months ago. I am now more interested in reading and have actually thought
about ideas of things that I would like to write.
Literacy Narrative
Growing up I was never a real dedicated student. I was always more worried about
which party I was going to go to on Friday night than I was about writing papers. I always
passed my classes but I would have to say that I only did it because I felt like I had to, not
because I wanted to. My father graduated from high school but didnt go to college until
later in life. He got a really high paying job and didnt think that college was necessary. I
think that might be why I didnt feel that an education was important. I figured that I
would just work hard and get a good job like my dad. I eventually learned that life doesnt

work that way. Now a days hard work isnt enough, you have to have a degree to back it
up.
There are five children in my family and I am the middle. After having five kids my
dads once high paying job just wasnt enough. I remember not ever going out to eat or
really having extra money to do anything for that matter. My parents always worked really
hard but we always seemed to just get by. One day after talking to an old family friend my
dad decided that he needed to go back to school. That meant doing it while working 50
hour weeks and that he wouldnt be around a whole lot. It was hard for a long time not
having him around. When he was home he was doing homework and we had to stay out of
the way and let him study. Finally just after he turned 40 he graduated, and that was when
everything changed. Within a year because of his experience he more than tripled his
yearly income. I remember one Saturday after working all day in the yard my dad asked
me where I wanted to go out for dinner. I remember being taken off guard because we had
never gone out like that before. It was an eye opening experience that showed me the
power of an education.
I then knew that I needed to go to college and was planning on it but I still didnt feel
real motivated. I didnt know what I wanted to do for a career and honestly I was a terrible
student. When I was in high school I got really good and going to class as little as possible
and still somehow passing. My senior year I spent more time snowboarding than I did
listening to lectures. Eventually with a lot of luck I graduated and then decided to serve a
mission for the LDS Church. I was called to serve in Latin America and with that was given
the opportunity to learn Spanish. Three months out I couldnt speak a word and found
myself alone, overwhelmed and about ready to throw in the towel. I remember sitting on
my bed one night in tears feeling like I was too stupid to learn another language. I decided
that if I was going to make it I was going to have to learn how to study. I started spending
every free second I had learning grammar and memorizing new words. I would listen to
others speak and I would try to mimic their accents and little by little I learned the
language. After six months I was fluent in Spanish and I had learned how to study. One
step closer to where I needed to be but I still lacked the motivation.
After my mission I started taking General education classes at the college but I felt
like I was just wasting my time. I didnt want to be there I just felt like I had to be, then I got
married. All of the sudden I had a wife and I knew that soon I would have children that I
was going to need to provide for. I love my family and I would do anything for them. I still
didnt know what I wanted to do but I then started working harder in my classes than I
ever had in my life. Going to school full time isnt easy while youre working 50 hour weeks
but I had seen my dad do it for years and I knew that I could too.

I remember my dad telling me that it was ok that I didnt know what I wanted to do.
He told me to just keep going to school, keep working hard and I would figure it out. I got
frustrated over the years because I kept waiting for something to come to me and it never
did. Until one day I finally found something that I have a passion for. At my current
employment I work very closely with the accounting and finance departments. I started
taking accounting classes because it interested me and now I love it. It took me a long time
to get to where I am today. I had to figure out what I wanted to do, learn how to do it and
find the motivation that I needed to get me there. Now I have a plan for my future, I know
where I want to get and I am working hard to get there. I still wish that I had figured it out
earlier on, but everyone is different and some people just take a little longer than others.
Rhetorical Analysis
In on being a cripple by Nancy Maris she talks about how at a young age she was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Even though she learned to live with the disease as with
anyone it had a major impact on her life. She wrote the article to talk about her personal
experiences and the life lessons that she has learned. When I first started reading the
article I thought that I knew what I was getting into too, but I was actually very pleasantly
surprised. I was expecting one of those classic Oprah moments when someone is telling
their life story and everyone in the audience is weeping uncontrollably, but it wasnt like
that at all. Nancy writes with a tone that is very calm and collected. She speaks in a very
matter of fact way that shows little emotion. It is this unusual form of writing that I feel
gets her point across in a very unique way. A few of the things that stood out to me were:
She uses different words that people are used to, her organization is not in chronological
order and her attitude toward disabilities is also very peculiar.
The first thing that stuck me was that she was not offended by the names or titles
that are usually offensive to those with disabilities. In this modern world everything is
about being politically correct and it seems like you cant say anything without hurting
someones feelings. I would think that the most commonly used terms would be
handicapped or disabled but she actually prefers the term crippled. That is the last word
that I would think people would use but she says that its not offensive its merely accurate.
She has a physical disability that cripples her so why not call herself a cripple. She says that
with anything in life there is no point in hiding the facts, why not just be honest and say it
like it is. A quote from the article that emphasizes this point is: One may lose ones sense of
humor. Thats the easiest to lose and the hardest to live without. To me it helped to
emphasize her tone and lighthearted form of writing.
As for the organization of the piece it stood out to me because it is not written in
chronological order. Normally when people are telling about life experiences they tell you
step by step what happened to them. This helps the reader to understand where the

author is coming from but it makes it difficult to emphasize theme. This is strength in
Mariss writing. She gives many personal examples from her life but they are all carefully
selected to emphasize the point that she is trying to make. By the end of the reading she
does a good job of letter you know who she is and where she is coming from even though
the experiences arent in order.
Maris is also very open and honest in her writing. I have heard countless people in
similar situations say: I am so grateful for everything that I have learned and I wouldnt
have it any other way. This is a nice sentiment but it is something that I have always had a
hard time believing. Maris says in the article: lest I begin to sound like a Pollyanna,
however let me say that I dont like having MS. I hate it. My life holds realities, harsh ones,
some of them that no right minded human being ought to accept without grumbling. I love
that she is very open and honest. Im sure that she has learned a lot from her experiences
but if she had any way out she would take it without ever looking back. This to a lot of
people might sound like she is going up or that she has a bad attitude about what is
happening to her but on the contrary, she is very optimistic and positive.
I have never been an emotional person so to me her form of writing is music to my
ears. I am a very realistic and logical person. I dont like to cry about things I just deal with
them as they come. To me and other like me we enjoy reading something that is written
with an appeal to logos but that doesnt work for everyone. The obvious downside is that
many people might take her writing to be offensive. Talking about such a serious topic in
such a light hearted manner might also cause people to discredit her story. In my opinion it
is impossible to write something in such a way that everyone will be happy with it and I
feel that her writing is very effective.
Issue Exploration Essay
How do you effectively control guns? I am sure with the news and all other forms
of social media you have heard about some of the many shootings that have taken place
over the past few years. They have taken place in elementary schools, high schools,
colleges and other public places. These shootings are tragic and heartbreaking to those
involved and to anyone who just hears about them. The nation is now in an uproar about
what to do to prevent this from ever happening again. The problem is there is no end to
opinions about what should be done. I am going to review a few opinions about what
people think need to happen. Some people think that the government needs to fix things by
putting more laws in place to restrict the purchase of fire arms. Others think that guns
themselves are the answer and that having citizens own and carry guns will help. There
are those who are advocates of non-violence who want nothing to do with guns and lastly
those who think that making more laws is not going to fix anything. The difficult part is

that no one seems to agree on one solution and everyone is fairly passionate about their
views.
First off I have to say that I grew up in a home where we owned guns and we shot
them frequently. I was 5 years old the first time that I ever shot a gun (yes, I was very
heavily supervised). There are 7 people in my family and everyone including my mom has
their concealed weapons permit and we carry almost everywhere we go. Now I tell you
this so that you understand that I do have very strong opinions about gun control but I can
view the topic objectively. It is important to take into account as many views as possible
before making a decision and that is my goal.
People generally think of legislation when discussing gun control. They think of
passing laws to make it more difficult to buy guns or ammunition. It might also be limiting
who is allowed to purchase firearms or carry them, be it concealed or open carry. One
example of this was the violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994. This law
focused mainly on assault rifles banning them from being purchased by civilians. It also
included bans on high capacity clips for other guns that would then make them considered
assault weapons. The idea is that there is no reason why a normal every day person would
need these types of guns for self defense or hunting. They are made for mass destruction
so taking them away from the public should help stop mass shootings. James S. Brady was
secretary to Ronald Reagan at the time of his assassination. He was shot in the head and
after a length recovery became a strong advocate for gun control. Because of his efforts a
law was passed known as The Brady Act. The Brady act focused on the background
checks that are required before someone can purchase any type of firearm but specifically
handguns. The difficult part is finding a balance. Government leaders need to find a way to
put enforce enough laws to effect change but not take away citizens Second Amendment
Rights at the same time.
A large part of the debate over gun control is over Concealed Carry Permits or CCWs.
The questions circled around are: who should be allowed to carry, what they can carry and
where carrying is permitted. Certain states do not require a CCW for citizens to carry a
concealed firearm and other states do not allow anyone besides law enforcement officials
to do so. The question is, does permitting people to carry a concealed firearm help or
hinder our efforts when trying to eliminate gun violence? I did research on the opinions of
law enforcement officials about this issue and I was surprised by what I found. In a survey
taken by police officers the majority of them were in favor of concealed carry rights. In a
separate survey done by PoliceOne.com, over 15,000 current and former police officers
were found mostly to have the same opinion. Some of the results included that 80 percent
believed that legally armed citizens can reduce casualties in incidents of mass violence, 76
percent indicated that legally armed citizens are important in reducing crime and 91
percent stated that they supported the Right-to-Carry by law abiding Americans. The
argument is that if criminals know that if they pull a gun there is a chance that someone

might shoot back it might make them think twice. Also, in the case of a mass shooting, it
takes time for police to respond and if there is someone present who can step in it could
literally save lives.
On the other hand I have met many people who even if they had a gun to defend
themselves would rather die than take the life of another human being. This is their right
as much as it is the right of others to keep and bear arms. It may be for religious reasons or
just because of someones personal values but there are many people who feel this way.
Even though guns can be used for recreational purposes most of the time we associate
them with violence. We dont think of target shooting but we think of mass killings and
accidental deaths. For this reason people who are non-violence advocates chose to not
make guns a part of their life. In the event that they were involved in a shooting, they
would much rather lose their life than have to take that of another and have to live with the
guilt. People who hold these beliefs are generally in favor of gun control because they feel
that if we could eliminate guns all together the killing would stop as well.
Lastly, there are people that feel that no matter how many laws we put in place they
do nothing to actually stop crime. Their logic is that criminals dont obey the laws anyways
so even with strict gun laws they will still get guns illegally. It then stands to reason that all
we are really doing with gun control is taking guns away from the innocent and with it
removing their ability to defend themselves. In the same survey done by PoliceOne.com
the officers felt that gun control laws, such as bans on assault rifles or large capacity clips,
will not reduce crime rates. Chris Cox of the NRA said: The American people, and
particularly the members of law enforcement, want politicians in Washington to stop
pursuing a failed political agenda and get to work fixing our broken mental health system,
improving school security, and getting criminals off the streets. This is a different idea all
together. He is saying that no matter what we do, criminals are going to get their hands on
guns so lets take a different course of action. Lets increase security in schools; this could
mean faculty carrying in class. Lets not make it hard for everyone to purchase guns but
keep them out of the hands of those who have been declared mentally incapable by
professionals. Finally, since criminals will just get guns illegally we need to try and keep
those types of people off the streets. Drugs are illegal and have been for a long time but we
still see them everywhere. They argue that it will always be that way with guns as well.
There is no one right answer when it comes to gun control. In our nation the second
amendment gives all Americans the right to keep and bear arms. This right for most is
associated with freedom itself and they are not willing to give it up. On the other hand, in
this modern day and age, crime rates seem to be growing by the day. Shootings are taking
place all over the country and it is apparent to all no matter what their opinions, something
needs to be done.