The research for this essay involved CUNY One Search and Academic OneFile. When I first began research, I searched general topics, such as “vaccinations” and “autoimmune”. However, that proved to be too general so I began narrowing my research to the effects not vaccinating a child will have on the public, and vaccine preventable diseases. Multiple sources were connected with similar topics and the majority of my sources had the same audience that my essay had: parents with unvaccinated children. I presented my sources with facts in a list form and this style was effective because of the constant influx of information. My information was organized to make it easier for my audience to read and be informed. My purpose was to persuade and connected to my source’s purposes, which were informative, as both revealed numerous facts about vaccinations and the effect vaccination (or not vaccinating) has on the public health.  Throughout my essay, I explored and developed multiple rhetorical strategies such as deductive reasoning, emotional appeal, and discussing the opposite view, that not vaccinating your child has no effect on the public health. I used deductive reasoning by beginning with general statements about vaccinations, then diving deeper into answering my research question. This was employed by creating multiple mini topics such as chronic diseases and autoimmune diseases and using those topics to reveal the importance of vaccination. I used emotional appeal by discussing factors that parents cared about such as their child dying. Facts about children dying and statistics of the number of children that have a disease like measles allowed for my essay to become more legitimate to readers. Also, discussing the opposite view allowed my essay to appear to reason with parents that do not vaccinate their children. It appears as if I agree with them, until I debunk their view and discuss the true effect parents create when they do not vaccinate their children. From my individual research to my rhetorical strategies to connecting with my audience, all of these factors coalesce into my theory of writing. The lengthy process of this essay proves that writing is a process. The research alone for this essay took multiple weeks, and so did settling on a research question. I believe writing must be broken down into small segments and assignments. Thus, the essay will appear less daunting and flow in a more fluid and developed manner when the essay has been worked on for multiple days and weeks. Writing is not perfect, and it takes multiple drafts and revision sessions to work towards the creation of a well written essay. For me personally, organization was the most helpful piece of this essay. With different headings for each section of my essay, I knew exactly where each part of my writing belonged. Following the model essay, while a new and unique experience, gave me support in the length of my essay as well as the structure. When one writes, they must focus on their audience. The audience will determine the language, the length, and the style of the essay. When I write now, I make sure to write for my audience.

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