This is a self-reflection of my writing process for my historiography essay assignment.

While completing the historiography essay as the third and final assignment of the FIQWS class, I have learned to display the scholarship of different historians in a certain subject. In writing the historiography essay, I was able to use the rhetorical situations of genre, exigence, purpose, position, and audience. The rhetorical situations will also be evaluated regarding the accomplishment of the course learning outcomes. 

The genre is a historiography essay that aims to discuss the historiographical approach to different scholarships. My essay aimed to discuss the different scholarships on the issue of chili pepper and public health. When I wrote this essay, I used the reading material from my previous essay, the exploratory essay, to help build the genre and the structure of my essay. I took a chronological approach similar to Judith A. Carney’s structure, which gave me a direction of where to start and what I should include. I have accomplished the course learning outcome of exploring and analyzing the historiography genre while writing this essay. By using Carney’s and Slutyer’s essays, I was able to explore the historiographic details and how the authors use their sources. Also, I have developed strategies for reading, drafting, revising, and editing. I utilized an annotated bibliography that aided me in reading and understanding multiple sources. With the annotated bibliography, I was able to plan and draft out my essay easily and understand which sources fit in my essay. I was also able to practice the systematic application of citation conventions within my annotated bibliography and essay. Since my essay is in MLA format, I have looked at different sources that used the MLA format and I have taken note that each citation has a different format for each different source. 

The exigence for this essay was that I had taken note of certain sources that claimed that chili peppers were the causes of cancers, inflammation, and illnesses. I wanted to use scholarships that looked at the history of chili peppers and the peppers as advantageous to human health. In this process, I had first written a broad outline to list the issues that I wanted to talk about. I started with the broader research and using just general facts about the chili pepper and then narrowed down my topic. I had to determine which source should be used and which ones should not. I was able to accomplish the course learning outcome of locating different research sources. I had utilized an annotated bibliography to provide a brief description of each source that I have found and it made the writing process easier along with understanding each source. 

The purpose of writing this essay was not to analyze the sources but to approach the issue with different perspectives from different scholars. I struggled in this area because it was difficult trying to find specific and narrow sources given the required sources that I had to find. However, I learned that I had to play with specific keywords in databases and advanced searches to find the specific topic that I needed. Using these sources I was able to construct an outline that planned out the structure of my essay. However, when writing, the noticeable writing weakness for me is that I tend to lack expression of clarity. I have taken into account that I need to be straightforward and not drag my explanations. Even though I feel that my clarity still lacks within this essay, I have attempted the course learning outcome of composing tests that integrate my stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as critical analysis and interpretation. For critical analysis, I was able to ask myself questions of “What was the point of this source?” and “How can I write this essay solely using evidence and not based on my supposition?”. I have used strategies from my exploratory essay to use critical analysis and interpretation for my essay. 

The position of this essay was to show that chili peppers are advantageous instead of increasing health risks. To plan this out, I have developed a pattern for each source that I encounter, I would take notes on the printed source. I find that printing out each source helps me visually because I can write all my thoughts on the source. After that, I would write an annotated bibliography to get a more defined and deeper look at the source. The annotated bibliography helped guide me through the writing process and made the sources easier to read and understand. The targeted audience for this essay was to those who wanted to know more about the history of chili peppers and historians. I was able to accomplish the course learning outcome of collaboration in social aspects and engage collaboratively. Professor Hopkins has provided us with a discussion of sources in a small group environment. It helped with identifying which sources were reliable and what would fit within our essays. By sharing all our thoughts with the whole class I have taken inspiration from my peers on how to continue my process of finding sources and conveying to my audiences. 

From writing this historiography essay, I was able to develop strategies that I would have never used before. This experience was very new to me because I have been used to writing research papers about a certain topic and never analyzed it looking at its historical scholarship. Overall, I have learned a lot about my writing style and what I still need to continue improving on.