Argument Paper Reflection

As I was beginning to research my topic, I began just by pulling out quotes and sentences that I felt supported my argument. Then as the time crept up on me I decided I need to dig further into my sources. This is when I went back to all my books and journal articles to do a more extensive reading. This gave me a much better  understanding of my topic and what consumerism is really like in today’s society. After I had a full understanding of my topic I was able to used the information I had gathered to create an argument. I also had to make sure that I could connect the dots between what I had researched and my rhetorical object which is The Giving Tree. Since it was a book it gave me a lot of different aspects to work with because I could pick it apart whichever way seemed necessary.

            The basis of my argument is that consumerism has transformed throughout history and that the giving tree is a perfect window to dissect what consumerism is in today’s society. I think my argument is strong overall, however there are several things I think I could improve upon. I think that I need to go into even further analysis of what it means to be in a consumer. In my paper I talk a lot about what a consumer is and what consumers are like today. I think I could expand further on the differences between today’s consumers and those in the early 1900’s. I think that I could also go into what each of the things the little boy takes represents. The apples, branches and trunk could each represent something about what it means to be a consumer. I think that I touch on this in my paper but it is not completely clear and I think that I could further expand on this idea. I also think that I need to speak more about what the book tells us about consumerism in the future. That is an important aspect however and I didn’t cover it well enough in my research. I feel however that some of my other points were really strong. Like the one about consumerism hurting the environment and how consumerism is based on materialism today. Materialism especially is a very important aspect of my paper but I didn’t want it to take over my entire paper.

            I know there are still things to work on however I think my rough draft is a successful first step towards a better paper.