Philbin
Tommy Philbin
Professor Haferkamp
RHRT 102-023
25 March 2018
The Research Begins
For me, the process of writing a paper is a lot like getting into an unheated pool. I immediately know what I want my topic to be, just like I know that I want to get in the water. I start doing a bit of research after, like dipping my foot into the chilly water. This is the point where I usually become intimidated and take a step back and start thinking to hard. I will keep the paper on the back of mind but I am too fearful to jump in. Eventually I know my time is running out so I just take the leap and hammer it out, just as I jump into the pool rather than slowly climb in. Many people take different approaches when it comes to writing essays. Some people write 3 drafts, others turn in their first draft. Some students have a friend edit, others go to the writing center. My partner and I chose the first paper as the one we wanted to cover in this, our third essay. The first paper was an argumentative essay on a topic of our choosing. I selected euthanasia as my topic. Euthanasia is something I have had interest in since I started working with the elderly years ago. My partners topic immigration reform. We both sought to persuade the reader into agreeing with our points of view through a classic rhetorical approach. I am going to discuss the research and writing process that we both took in writing this first paper.
The research portion is what I decided to start my paper with. I already had some pretty good background knowledge on my topic but I needed to find reliable sources. I was in for a pleasant surprise because the topic of euthanasia has countless academic articles surrounding it. I used the Triton Library database to find the articles necessary to formulate a compelling argument for my paper. Since I knew the types of arguments I wanted to my topic to be supported by, I was forced to read at least 10-12 articles before I even found one that I could use in my essay. I stopped in at the library during this frustrating period and looked for book sources. I could not find a any copies that I felt I could use, even with the librarians help. Eventually, I realized I just had to sift through the online database. I knew that I was passionate about doing my paper right and this is what it took.
After finding my sources I was able to finally start my actual essay. I used philosophical, medical and data arguments to try and convince the reader that physician assisted euthanasia should be considered an acceptable practice. As I stated before, I have worked at a retirement community for the past five years. The residents have become almost an extended family. I have had to watch some of them become terminally ill and go through extr...
