end-poaching-lindborg

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Introduction

Last year I took a trip to South Africa and spent 4 days at the Londolozi Private Game Reserve. This experience sparked a fascination with African animals and their habitats. While spending time at Londolozi, I learned from the park rangers that rhino and elephant poaching is a huge threat to the overall population. After I left South Africa, I decided that this topic was something I want to research further.  Over the past ten weeks, I have been conducting research about elephant and rhino poaching in African countries. I have focused on the decline of the populations, what the future holds for these animals and how the government and people are helping to put an end to it. 

The purpose of my research and ePortfolio is to gain a broader perspective on the current issues regarding rhino and elephant population decline and the reality behind it. I wanted to be able to share with people the harsh truth of these animal’s futures if poaching continues to be such a major issue. In specific, the target audience that I focused on throughout my research was Gen Z.  I focused specifically on this age group because they are the next generation to help bring awareness to end poaching. My ePortfolio consists of four main pieces of work- primary research I conducted, secondary research that gave me the basic knowledge, comp in a new genre that uses my primary and secondary research to showcase my project in a public setting and my own theory of writing.

To begin, for my secondary research, I learned about these animals’ past, present and future if poaching continues to be as prevalent as it is now. I read through articles, watched footage of the animal’s terrain and did as much as I could to learn all the details about this issue. The secondary research gave me all the background knowledge that I needed in order to move forward with my primary research. All of my secondary research is reflected in my literary review, where I establish the ongoing issue with poaching, what people are doing to put an end to it, the population declines and everything relevant to this topic. My secondary research is also incorporated throughout my other writings for this project- I am able to include it while using my primary research as evidence to claims I am making. 

Leading into my primary research, I observed, surveyed and interviewed.  I struggled a bit for an observation, to begin with, I thought ‘how could I observe the current state of these animals while being thousands of miles away?’ then it dawned on me. For my observation, I was able to get a sense of what people actually knew about poaching and thought about it. I had a man, Ryan (20 years old) and one of my friends Gianna (20 years old), sit down face-to-face and discuss their feelings about poaching. Ryan is an avid hunter and Gianna is against hunting in any way shape or form, whether it is grouse or all the way up to big game hunting. She has dedicated herself to being a vegetarian as well and is very opinionated about this topic. Having Ryan and Gianna sit face-to-face and get in a fact-filled argument about poaching gave me insight into both points of view. For my survey, I asked 100 people, mainly college students, about basic background knowledge of poaching, how they think the media/government can help put an end to it, and their feelings. This was interesting to collect results and to see how many people were against it and wanted to find a solution. Lastly, for my interview, I talked to Vaughn Williams, a current student at DU who is a South Africa native, he provided insight into how the private sector is taking measurements to try to stop poaching at all costs. Vaughn also explains the extreme precautions people are taking to maintain the rhino population throughout South Africa.

After conducting all of the research I needed, I then started my comp in a new genre. The comp in a new genre establishes the next step of this project, where I use all the research I’ve conducted to bring awareness to this issue. In my comp in a new genre, I specifically target the Gen Z audience as I discuss how using Instagram as a platform to promote anti-poaching efforts will be able to directly inspire people to help implement change and educate people who do not know enough about this subject. 

My last part of my ePortfolio is the theory of writing. In my theory of writing, I explain

what it takes to be a good writer. I dive into my past classroom experiences that shaped the way I write today. I also discuss my writing outside of the classroom and focus on creative writing, specifically poetry. My theory of writing explains how WRIT 1133 gave me perspective on my past experiences that helped me become a better writer. 

Researching and learning more about this topic was very interesting and disheartening at the same time. I was able to grow as a researcher and learned about the proper ways to conduct research through an unbiased eye. I had never done anything regarding primary and secondary research until this quarter, my sophomore year of college. This helped me grow not only as a researcher but overall as a student. Building my ePortfolio was a challenging task but I managed. This research for this class strengthed who I was as a researcher and how I could grow in areas that needed attention.

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Literary Review

Question: How has the demand for ivory and rhino horn affected the elephant and rhino populations along with the communities that stand by it? What is the government and private sector doing in order to maintain their populations and stand up against poachers? 

The demand for ivory and rhino horn is not only detrimental for the elephant and rhino population, it is also harmful to the tribes and populations that stand by it. Based on this question, several sources and people from all across the world are able to share facts and bring light to this situation. It has been known for decades that the cruel reality of poaching is harmful to both rhinos and elephants, only until very recently it has been emphasized as a true issue to these populations. The government and private sector have been working in order to maintain these populations by enforcing policies, bringing in extra help to ensure poaching doesn’t remain active in their parks and lands. By many people coming together, collecting data and analyzing results, you are able to see into the future of these animals if poaching does not stop. 

“Between 1979 and 2015, the Elephant population in Africa went from 1.3 million to 400,000, which is over a 50% population decline” (Greaver, Knight, Grant, Smit, Izak, Pienaar, 2015). This is a direct result of poaching, criminal organizations began to exploit this abundant population for profit gain and the illegal trade of ivory. In Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the native elephant population has shrunk 70% since 2001 (Greaver, Knight, Grant, Smit, Izak, Pienaar, 2015).  This rapid population decline could make elephants extinct within decades if something isn’t done to stop this poaching. It has been researched that in the year 2012, “46.5 tonnes of ivory were seized. 30 tonnes is equivalent to 93,000 US pounds” (Cressey, 2013), which is a disheartening fact when you realize how many elephants were slaughtered in order to gain that ivory. 

Nations all over the world are contributing in order to curb the ongoing ivory trade, in the United States, it has been “illegal to import ivory since 1989 which has resulted in 6 tons of ivory being destroyed at the border since the past 30 years” (Hauenstein, Kshatriya, Blanc, Dormann & Beale, 2019). African countries are banding together in order to stop the ivory trade by protecting their elephants at all costs. Not only is it just African nations, but China has been prosecuting more people for ivory offenses than they have in the past. The Economist (2018)  points out that “70% of the illegal ivory trade in Africa is being sent to China”. In order for the illegal ivory trade to come to a stop, China has to be fully on board with making it illegal and prosecuting for ivory offenses to the fullest. China has taken baby steps in order to make a change, but they need to be fully involved and hands-on in this process considering 70% of the illegal ivory is sent there. During the trading process, many people are paid off to turn a blind eye to allow ivory to go overseas. “Traffickers in Africa are usually paid up to $70 to turn a blind eye, while once they hit Asian waters (usually China) the bribes rise up to $450,000” (Economist, 2018). The corruption involved during the ivory trading process plays a huge role, the traders (mostly from China), target African people in need of money so they can continue their shipment of ivory back to their country. While the government and the private sector are taking extreme precautions in order to maintain safety for elephants, there still is internal corruption that needs to be dealt with in order to truly combat the poaching issue of elephants. 

The rapidly declining rhino population has sparked a need to ensure these rhino’s safety for the years going on. Private companies and the government have joined forces in order to protect this declining population of rhinos at all costs. They have started with relocating rhinos, having armed rangers protect them in their habitats and other extreme measures to keep them safe. The extensive research that has been done to determine the population of rhinos over the past 10 years has a brutal reality being that “8,500 Rhinos have been killed in South Africa. There are only about 25,000 Rhinos left in South Africa and over 1,000 are killed each year for their horns” (Christy & Stirton, 2017). South Africa accounts for “80% of the rhino population on the earth”  (Bale, Nat Geo, 2018). Extreme lengths have been taken to steer poachers away from these animals, conservationists have been able to successfully remove rhino horns in order to keep their population strong while keeping poachers away.  Rhinos have been effectively taken from their homes and being transported to other areas that could ensure better safety. According to Goemeone Mogomotsi, “private rhino conservators in South Africa have relocated their populations to Botswana. Botswana has implemented a ‘shoot to kill policy’ which has been majorly controversial but has helped emphasize the evil nature behind poaching” (Mogomotsi, Madigele, 2017). By having a ‘shoot to kill’ policy, it ensures that if a poacher gets caught, they will face the same treatment that the animal is facing as well-death. This anti-poaching has been compared to the war on terror, to stop poaching by any means necessary. Botswana is sending a direct message to the poachers, the consequences of attempting to kill a rhino will ultimately lead you to your death. By implementing this strict policy, it emphasizes the message, ‘kill or be killed’. Botswana is taking extreme measures to maintain their rhino population, and they are willing to take lives over it. 

African countries have been putting in more effort in order to end poaching, for example, Kruger Park in South Africa has taken precautions in order to maintain these rhino’s safety. It is estimated that Kruger is home to “9,000 rhinos where poachers take 2-3 rhino lives each day” (Wasser & Gobush, 2019). By the nonstop poaching of these rhinos, Kruger Park has made an extreme effort in order to keep them alive. In Kruger National Park, “18-25 rangers are assigned per section for patrolling of rhinos, they make sure that they are safe and no poachers are around. While the assigned rangers are patrolling their area, 2 helicopters and 2 micro-light aircraft compliment the rangers patrol by flying over various parts of Kruger National Park to detect carcasses of rhinos and to push forward their anti-poaching raids” (Gustafson, Sandstrom & Townsend, 2015). The detecting of the carcasses helps the rangers figure out what the cause of death was for these animals, natural or murdered? By studying the carcasses of these rhinos it gives the rangers a clear insight on if there are poachers in their area or if it was simply a natural death. This allows rangers to inspect on the population decline of the rhinos as well. They are able to express the number of known carcasses within a time frame and determine whether or not they need to relocate these animals in order to save them. 

The poaching does not only affect the population of these animals, but it also affects the local tribes and society around wildlife. Most African tribes and communities have elephants as the center of their community, they grow up around them. Bosso Andre, a member of the Baka tribe in Cameroon describes “that learning about the forest is a tradition that gets passed down from their parents through their kids” (Andre, 2017). By not having these elephants around their village it takes away the knowledge that has been passed down. The Baka tribe is also a very easy target for poaching too, “people come in and offer them a small amount of money or food in order to kill elephants for ivory” (Wilson, 2017). While having a dilemma about survival vs preservation it often is hard to choose aside. Not only is it tribes being targeted for needed money, the conservation project of saving these animals has also taken a great toll on African tribes as well. The African tribes are paying the price in the conservation effort as well.

Not only Cameroon tribes are feeling the effects of poaching, in Botswana, the San people have been “forcefully moved off of their land that they have obtained for centuries in order to conserve elephants and rhinos” (Vidal, 2016). The San’s ancient land was located on the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana, where they used that as their hunting grounds. Where the San’s resided, there were no endangered species like elephants and rhinos that were on there hunting grounds. The San’s were “systematically stripped of their land, culture, and identity” (Vidal, 2016). In order to fully protect these species, it has come with the cost of land that the San tribe has spent centuries on. The poaching effect has taken a major toll on African tribes, by bribing poorer tribes to kill animals in order for a little money has been harmful to not only the tribes and the population of these animals. Also, by stripping away culture in order to preserve the population of these animals has been detrimental to these people as well. It is a hard task that needs to be faced in order to stop poaching, but the native African tribes really have had to deal with the consequences of the actions of others. 

In conclusion, the demand for ivory and rhino horn is only going to continue to grow while the population of these animals decline. Conservation of these animals is crucial if we want to see them live throughout our lives. While conservation of elephants and rhinos may have stripped tribes from their homes, it is to ensure that these animals have a future. Poaching is gaining more and more attention and bringing light to this major problem. While the government and private sectors are working extremely hard in order to maintain the populations, corruption still lingers. By doing this secondary research for my ePortfolio, it gave me the necessary background knowledge that I needed in order to expand my knowledge on this harsh subject and bring more awareness to it.

Sources:

Wasser, S., & Gobush, K. (2019). Current Biology : CB, 29(15), 2593.

Mogomotsi, G., & Madigele, P. (2017). Live by the gun, die by the gun: Botswana’s ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy as an anti-poaching strategy. SA Crime Quarterly, (60), 51-59.

Hauenstein, S., Kshatriya, M., Blanc, J., Dormann, C., & Beale, C. (2019). African elephant poaching rates correlate with local poverty, national corruption, and global ivory price. Nature Communications, 10(1), 2242.

Wilson, M.,(2017) “Elephant Poaching Forces This Community To Take Sides”. Tiger House Productions

Ferrerira, S., (2018) “Illegal ivory: Where does it come from, where does it go?. The Economist

Vidal, J. (2016, August 28). The tribes paying the brutal price of conservation. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/28/exiles-human-cost-of-conservation-indigenous-peoples-eco-tourism.

Bale, R. (2018, January 25). More Than 1,000 Rhinos Poached in South Africa Last Year. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/01/wildlife-watch-rhino-poaching-crisis-continues-south-africa/.

Christy, B., & Stirton, B. (2017, June 28). Special Investigation: Inside the Deadly Rhino Horn Trade. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/10/dark-world-of-the-rhino-horn-trade/.

Greaver, C., Knight, G., Knight, M., Smit, I., & Pienaar, D. (2015). Disruption of Rhino Demography by Poachers May Lead to Population Declines in Kruger National Park, South Africa. PLoS One, 10(6), E0127783.

Cressey, D. (2013). Nations fight back on ivory. Nature, 503(7477), 452.

Gustafson, K., Sandstrom, T., & Townsend, L. (2018). The Bush War to Save the Rhino: Improving Counter-poaching Through Intelligence. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 29(2), 269-290.

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Essay

Methods

For my primary research, I observed, surveyed and interviewed people that would help forward my education about poaching. For my observation, I observed an avid hunter and an animal rights activist get into a heated debate regarding poaching. I chose to observe these two people on opposite sides of the spectrum to give me insight as to what knowledge people have about poaching, and how they feel towards it. It took place in an apartment where we all gathered, got comfortable, and started a casual conversation then led to a heated debate. The observation was about a half-hour, it was nonstop spitballing that led to conclude on this portion of this project.  My next step in my primary research was to survey 100 people. My goal was to target 18-22-year-olds, mostly college students. The reason why I decided to target that audience because Generation Z is the next generation to help make a change in the world. Current college students have the ability to move forward with their lives and make a change if they wish, so I wanted to survey Generation Z adults to get a basic background knowledge of what they know and how they feel towards poaching. My last segment of primary research involved an interview, where I interviewed a South Africa native who gave me insight into what a local knows. Vaughn Williams helped me further understand my research.  In my primary research, I wanted to expand my knowledge towards poaching in regards to what people know and believe about it. 

Results

To begin, my primary research allowed me to look beyond the lense of anti-poaching, and almost in favor of it. In my observation, Ryan Miller the avid-hunter, and Gianna Dallman, the animal rights activist sat face-to-face in what started off as a civil conversation that led the debate. This observation opened my eyes because it showed me that people lack a sense of awareness about the major issue of rhino and elephant poaching. While Gianna understood the problem of poaching, Ryan did not. Ryan showed his lack of understanding and indifference towards the issue when he stated, “It’s not that I’m for it, I just don’t get why people think It’s so evil”. The lack of awareness Ryan had for this issue was not only concerning to me but made me realize that it needs to be emphasized and publicized more. While Ryan was able to show his lack of knowledge during my observation, that is when Gianna came in and let her knowledge and opinions take over. I was able to catch the key terms that each person used; for example, Gianna was using words like, “inhumane” and “barbaric”. This observation was extremely crucial in helping me understand how I can help in terms of spreading awareness. It also helped me curate my survey questions in order to understand other people’s stances on poaching. The next step in my primary research was to survey. I had created a basic-level knowledge survey that tested what people knew about poaching, how they feel about it, and how they think it could be stopped.

After observing Ryan profess his ignorance towards poaching, it led me to wanting to target Generation Z for my survey. The observation made me realize that people between the ages of 18-22 are not as educated on the topic of animal poaching as they should be. As I stated in my introduction, Generation Z is the future and if they expand their awareness on the topic, they are more capable of implementing change. Especially after my observation, hearing Ryan have a blind ignorance about poaching really made me want to specifically target college students. I wasn’t too sure what knowledge college students had regarding poaching, but my observation made me well aware that it was the audience I needed to target. I was able to collect 100 respondents on my survey and I was not surprised by the overwhelming consensus that poaching is inhumane and cruel. Relating back to my observation, Gianna repeatedly used the word ‘inhumane’ to describe poaching, so when the same word was used by the respondents, I was relieved to see that people were aware of the brutality behind poaching. Of course, there were a few indifferent responses but the overall response couldn’t have been more against poaching.

 My first question was simple. For the first question regarding the why? The most overwhelming responses (green) believed that elephants/rhinos were getting targeted for monetary purposes regarding the ivory the elephants have and the horn on the rhinos. The other majority of responses (yellow) believed that elephants and rhinos were getting targeted for trophy hunting. For my next question, the majority (green) agreed that poaching is a factor, while the other few selected no (blue), and the yellow explained their answer. A response drawn from the specified category was “I think putting a high price on animal “heads” makes it so people are inclined to go out and kill as many as possible. The more they kill, the more money they make”. The first question signified what people knew about poaching which helped to understand the following results. I was able to get an overall consensus as to what college students believed about poaching, where they thought poaching was most prevalent and how they believe the media has the power to stop it.

 Moving along my survey, there was a discussion question regarding where poaching is most prevalent? The respondents were well aware that the poaching issue is the most prevalent in Africa, a response in specific stated,

 “Africa and Southeast Asia. This may just be because there is the most media coverage on poaching in these areas. I know that many animals from the two areas are poached because they are believed to have some sort of significance in traditional medicine even though there’s no scientific evidence to support those claims. From what I’ve read, Asia has the biggest traditional medicine market where they sell poached and trafficked animals. I know in Africa, some animals are poached because of the harm they bring to people in that area whether that be physical danger or economic harm (think eating crops/livestock). Trophy hunting is also largely reported to occur in Africa. I believe in some places it is legally allowed. However, I have read that even if poaching is illegal, local governments do not enforce the law either because they don’t have the resources to do so or they benefit from the illegal poaching.” 

This answer in specific incorporated parts of my secondary research that I conducted, regarding the issue of Asian countries, illegally trafficking poached goods. Specifically in China, where “70% of the illegal ivory trade in Africa is being sent to China” (Economist, 2018). Having respondents be aware of the poaching issue in Africa and Asian countries was a good stepping stone to where I can take my research to bring awareness to this issue and help implement a change.

While most of my responses for ‘where poaching is most prevalent?’ specified Africa, my following question asked how they believe media and society could end poaching and their overall feelings towards it. The responses were flooded with educational and heartful answers that helped me forward my research. Two responses in specific targeted how society and media could help bring awareness towards this issue, 

“Media can help educate people about how horrible it is and get them to donate to causes that help stop poaching. Social pressure can point out individuals who participate in poaching and make them face social consequences for it, such as complaining to their boss or company and boycotting them.”

“The more social awareness the general population obtains can lead to more donations and a larger appreciation for these beautiful animals. Donations can go towards anti-poaching teams or creating new safe environments”

The overall responses about how media and society can help end poaching were all very informative and informational, they made me believe that more people wanted to put an end to poaching and had ideas as to how to help. My last question asked the overall consensus as to how people felt about poaching. The responses were filled with anti-poaching messages and people’s beliefs as to how horrible it is. It gave me hope that the overall responses were extremely against poaching. It gave me hope because Generation Z is the future, the ones to make a change in the world, so by having an overwhelming sense of understanding helped me prove my point that poaching is inhumane and needs to be stopped. By my respondents having background knowledge about poaching helped me further my primary research and help me with my next phase: the interview. 

My final portion of my primary research was the interview. I conducted my interview with Vaughn Williams, a South Africa native, he spends a few weeks out of the year in the bush at private game reserves surrounded by the beauty of African nature and wildlife. Sitting down with Vaughn gave me the final insight I needed for my research. What do the African natives think of poaching? I asked Vaughn the basics: is the government doing enough to stop poaching? What is the feeling South African natives have towards poaching? What efforts are being made to conserve the elephant and rhino population? Vaughn went above and beyond to give me the answers I needed regarding poaching. One specific quote that Vaughn said was “the Government isn’t condoning it nor going against it. The Governments haven’t made a huge stand against it. There are a few public game reserves that government-owned, but it's the private companies that hire people to stop poaching”. While discussing with Vaughn about what the government is going and how the private sector is handling the conservation effort, it drew me back to my secondary research that I conducted wherein Kruger National Park there are non-stop conservation efforts being made. In specific, Kruger National Park has “18-25 rangers assigned per section for patrolling of rhinos, they make sure that they are safe and no poachers are around”. While the assigned rangers are patrolling their area, “2 helicopters and 2 micro-light aircraft compliment the rangers patrol by flying over various parts of Kruger National Park to detect carcasses of rhinos and to push forward their anti-poaching raids” (Gustafson, Sandstrom & Townsend, 2015). Vaughn interview allowed me to see the perspective from a South Africa native, and the real efforts being brought to end poaching. The beliefs he had towards poaching reflected some of the 100 responses I attained in my survey, that poaching is downright cruel and wrong. Vaughns point that the government wasn’t doing enough, matched with some responses I got, for example-  

“Unfortunately, people in power don’t seem to care that much about poaching, they care more about people (which is completely justifiable) and economies. It feels like the problem of poaching and trafficking of animals isn’t a priority. In order to protect wildlife, laws concerning endangered species and their habitats have to be created and stay intact… the best we can do is to speak about what we are passionate about until we are heard by the people that can make and enforce rules”. 

I was able to see a correlation between my interview with Vaughn, and college students’ responses about poaching. More attention needs to be brought to this issue, the government and society need to work together to put an end to it. My interview with Vaughn helped me conclude my research that I needed for this research project. By talking to a South African native who is well aware of the extreme consequences that will happen if poaching continues, it made me want to further my knowledge and help in any way I am able to. 

The observation was a stepping stone in this primary research process, seeing Ryans perspective towards poaching gave me ideas as to what audience I need to target for my survey, and which questions I needed to ask. While crafting my survey, I wanted to figure out the background knowledge people had regarding poaching and how they feel. The responses I got reflected in my interview with Vaughn. My interview with Vaughn, I was able to get insight from an African native, and his responses aligned with secondary research I conducted regarding anti-poaching efforts being made in Africa, and his views towards poaching had many similarities with survey responses I got.

Discussion

After reviewing the primary research that I conducted, it allowed me to build a complete understanding of poaching. While including the secondary research I conducted, I was able to intertwine those two and see major connections. Between my observation, survey, and interview, I was able to draw direct references through secondary research. For example, during my observation, one of the students I surveyed, Ryan, mentioned the point that poaching could be beneficial to the local African people in need of money. That point connected to the research I did involving the Baka tribe in Cameroon, where affluent people from Asian countries target people in need and offer little reward, (money or food) in exchange for a dead elephant. or the survey portion of my research, I was able to draw connections involving where people think poaching is most prevalent and why. The majority of answers that people submitted stated that Africa had the biggest poaching issue due to the lack of laws and regulations. This works in conjunction with my secondary research detailing the lack of anti-poaching efforts from the governments. Lastly, in my interview with Vaughn, there were the most connections made between my primary and secondary research, due to Vaughns knowledge of Kruger National Park’s efforts to end poaching, as stated in my literary review regarding helicopter surveillance. I have invested a lot of time to put these pieces together, research, observe, interview, survey, in order to have everything I need to have my project intact and to put my message out there.

To begin, the first primary research I conducted was the observation. The observation was the foundation of my primary research, it gave me the insight I needed in order to figure out what demographic I wanted to focus my survey on, and which questions I needed to ask Vaughn. I started off the observation by asking Gianna and Ryan, “How do you feel about poaching?”, Ryan’s immediate answer was that he was ‘indifferent’, this showed me that he was clearly not educated on the issue and had a sense of ignorance towards the issue. His answer being ‘indifferent’ made me realize that I needed to target college students for my survey, so they can build an understanding of this issue. Gianna, on the other hand, was very well informed of the brutality and the consequences. Gianna was well aware of how poaching is affecting the population rate of these animals and what the future holds if poaching doesn’t come to an end soon. As the ‘debate’ I would like to call it, moved on, I was able to fully get a sense of what issues regarding elephant and rhino poaching I needed to focus on. 

While the observation was taking place, I was able to see the correlation right away regarding my secondary research. Ryan’s main point about poaching was that it could be beneficial towards local farmers, governments and people in need of money. He also emphasized that Africa contains many third world countries, where people are in need of money and that poaching could bring profit gain to their economies. Ryan’s argument, that poaching can bring profit gain to these countries is a point Vaughn mentions during our interview. From Vaughn’s perspective, because Africa is mostly third world countries, the corruption is so prevalent that poaching is all done through dirty work and the rewards that are given to the locals are very small. Ryan’s point that poaching can be beneficial and Vaughn’s knowledge of the corruption behind it is seen in my secondary research. According to my secondary research, yes, poaching can bring money to African people, mostly people in villages who are in desperate need of money, food, water, and basic living supplies, which is the point Vaughn mentions. In specific, the Baka tribe which is located in Cameroon is seen as a very easy target. The Baka tribe is just one example of what many other tribes and villages have to deal with. People from overseas come to Africa and “target tribes that are in need of food and money, they offer them a very small amount of supplies that they are in dire need of in return for a dead elephant” (Wilson, 2017). Ryan did have a point, that it can be beneficial to those in need, but with a giant consequence. A Baka tribe member, Bosso Andre describes, “the forest is the foundation of their tribe, by being in touch with the animals and learning about them,'' he emphasizes the point of how poaching is so detrimental to their culture (Wilson, 2017). So, by Ryan making the point of how it can be beneficial, it is only a temporary benefit, the cons outweigh the pros by a large amount. The offer of a small amount of food or money in exchange for ivory or rhino horn is manipulative and completely calculated to target people in need. I took Ryan’s belief in how poaching can be beneficial into account while crafting my survey. I asked a simple question- ‘What are the benefits of poaching/if there are any benefits?’ Thankfully, 67% of respondents stated that there are no benefits to poaching, while a few others stated that poached goods can be used to make luxury products (i.e, handbags). The majority of the responses concluded that there are no benefits to poaching rather it is strictly harmful. There was no mention of poaching producing jobs or economic gain as Ryan states in his pro-poaching argument. 

While I was able to collect Ryan’s thoughts and feelings towards poaching, Gianna made it very clear about how she feels towards this subject. Gianna’s argument for the entire time was t that poaching is inhumane, cruel and detrimental to the wildlife populations. Gianna had enough background knowledge towards this topic to completely contradict every claim Ryan made against poaching. Gianna emphasized the words ‘inhumane’, and ‘cruel’ while she spoke about poaching. Those words were also seen in many of the responses to my survey question ‘how do you feel about poaching?’. The most used words to describe poaching in response to the question included: inhumane, disgusting, cruel, and sad, which Gianna all used to support her claim. While I was observing, I was able to see the emotional logic behind Gianna’s reasonings. She took it to heart, felt empathetic towards the animals and clearly showed that the subject upset her to the fullest. While observing Ryan, it seemed like there was no clear background knowledge behind his responses, other than the profit gain. His responses were more cold and seemed illogical. He viewed poaching with respect to humans and what they can gain from it but he wasn’t looking into the future of these animals. Gianna was viewing the past, present, and future and what will happen to their populations if poaching keeps up. This observation was extremely interesting to be apart of it, it helped me understand how emotional of a subject poaching is. Hearing both Ryan and Gianna testify their views towards this issue helped further my inquire that it is a subject that needs more attention.  

After the observation, I knew which direction I needed to take my survey in; I needed to specifically target college students. Especially after hearing Ryans testimony about how poaching is beneficial, and his lack of understanding of how important conserving the animals are, I knew I had to target Gen Z college students.  The observation made me understand that people needed to expand their knowledge on poaching, and how I can emphasize the message that poaching is cruel. College students today are now old enough where they can make informed, thoughtful decisions and form strong opinions on the subject matters for themselves. I applied my survey to 100 respondents, where 7 questions were asked regarding their feelings and test their background knowledge.  My first question was “Why do you think Elephants/Rhinos are getting targeted?”,There were a few options listed, but the ones that seemed to get the most attention were for monetary purposes (65% voted) and trophy hunting (35% voted). The 65% that voted for monetary purposes were correct. Relating back to the observation, Ryan’s only claim he had towards poaching was that it could be economically beneficial, in regards to the survey, people were well aware that elephants and rhinos are specifically getting targeted for monetary purposes.  It’s a disturbing fact that rhinos are being slaughtered for their horns and elephants for their ivory strictly because of money. The process of acquiring the horn and ivory is all a money game too, it is all about bribing in order to attain the prize. Bribes play a huge role in the illegal trafficking of rhino horn and elephant ivory, where it starts off at “$70 in African ports to turn a blind eye and allow it to pass through, then rises up to $435,000 once it hits Asian waters” (Economist, 2018). As Vaughn mentioned in the interview,  the process of poaching is all done through dirty work which is seen through the bribing process.  

Moving along with my survey, I was able to get a better understanding of what the respondents think needs to be done by the media and society in order to bring awareness to poaching. The answers were very clear cut and brought up how the media could help. For example:

-“Media can help educate people about how horrible it is and get them to donate to causes that help stop poaching. Social pressure can point out individuals who participate in poaching and make them face social consequences for it, such as complaining to their boss or company and boycotting them.”

- “It’s something very tough to fight against. As a society, the best we can do is to educate as to why it’s so bad, place harsh punishments on poachers and be more involved. Social media is a good way to develop a relationship with sanctuaries and find out good ways to help and donate”. 

- “Showing the true side of it, not turning a blind eye and showing what these animals go through”

The need for media and society to emphasize the issue of poaching is seen in those responses. The respondents gave me all the information I needed in order to further my research and promote anti-poaching efforts. While I moved on to the comp in a new genre portion of this research project, I was able to get inspiration from my survey responses, the majority of responses believed that social media was a place to start to bring awareness to this issue. These survey answers helped me curate an idea to begin an anti-poaching Instagram, where I can bring awareness to this issue that people all over the world can access just by a single touch of the screen.

My survey concluded by asking the respondents about their overall feeling towards poaching. Again, the responses were flooded with people expressing their views towards poaching. Some responses were moving and gave me hope to see the overall consensus that poaching is bad. Respondents stated- 

-“The people who are poaching only care about how much money they make and aren’t concerned about the consequences of their actions. They have no appreciation for their environment only their next paycheck. Poachers make me sick to my stomach.”

-“The poaching of animals is very sad. Animals are going extinct because of it, food chains and the ecosystem will be greatly impacted as well.”

-“I hate it. There are no justifiable reasons for poaching. Humans have caused the rate of extinction to increase dramatically from its natural occurring rate. I’m terrified that my future children will never have the possibility to see some of the world’s most beautiful creatures other than pictures and drawings. We as humans are destroying our earth. We have to fix our ways.”

The mentioning of how humans alone have caused the rate of extinction to increase is beyond a terrifying thought. During the observation, Gianna’s main point was how detrimental poaching is to elephant and rhino populations, in which many of the respondents were in agreement towards that claim. Poaching is completely detrimental towards elephant and rhino populations, it has been studied that between 1979 and 2015, “the Elephant population in Africa went 1.3 million to 400,000, which is over a 50% population decline” (Greaver, Knight, Grant, Smit, Izak, Pienaar, 2015). The fact that over 50% of the elephant population has decreased within the past 40 years is beyond terrifying, humans alone have caused this and if it isn’t stopped soon, within the next 40 years they could possibly face extinction. 

The responses I received about poaching were all very educated, people believed that the poaching issue that Africa is facing is a real problem, which it is. While the respondents strongly believed that the media and society needs to have a larger role in bringing awareness to poaching in order to bring it to an end, it added to my idea of bringing more awareness towards this issue by using Instagram, since I targeted college students to take part in this survey.  There were some very extreme answers involving punishments for poachers showing that people do truly want to see a change. The survey for me was eye-opening because many people want to see a change and collectively agree that poaching is inhumane and disgusting. 

For my interview portion of my primary research, I interviewed Vaughn Williams who is currently a student that the University of Denver, but he was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. Vaughn was able to give me more information and evidence regarding elephant and rhino poaching from the viewpoint of an African native. Vaughn has been able to spend his life surrounded by these African animals, he explained to me that he would visit the bush about twice a year. He is involved in the anti-poaching efforts and is worried about the future of these animals if the government doesn’t step in soon enough.  Vaughn was able to give me information first hand that I wasn’t able to conclude in my secondary research. My questions to Vaughn were simple, but his explanations and stories were able to give me everything I needed to understand my research topic more. 

My first question to Vaughn was, “Do you think the African governments are doing enough to end poaching?” and without hesitation, he had a firm no, he stated, “more being done from the private sector rather than the government. Most of the private game reserves and companies that are started worldwide that are made mostly of volunteers or private funding”. He went into describing that most of the anti-poaching movements are coming from the private sector rather than the government. Vaughn described that “the private game reserves have their own system to reduce the number of poachers, and that most of the big companies that are anti-poaching are started worldwide are made up mostly of volunteers and are strictly from private funding or donations”. In my survey, respondents also agreed to the fact that the government is not doing enough to put an end to poaching, one respondent stated, “local governments do not enforce the law because they don’t have the resources to do so or they benefit from the illegal poaching”. The efforts coming from the private sector correlate with my secondary research as well, where private rhino conservators have been relocating their rhinos to Botswana because “Botswana has implemented a strict ‘shoot to kill policy’” (Mogomotsi, Madigele, 2017). The efforts that the private conservators are making in order to save their rhinos are being taken to extreme lengths because of the rapid population decline of these animals.  

After Vaughn explained to me that the government isn’t doing enough to help, I then asked, “how is the poaching of elephants and rhinos affecting the people of Africa?”. Vaughn answered with “African natives are opposed to poaching but it’s the people that come overseas to target people in need of money. It is mainly people from Asian countries that come to Africa to attain ivory and rhino horn illegally to make medicines”. Vaughn bringing up that it is mostly rich Asian countries is simply a fact, in my secondary research it was concluded that “China is a huge issue in the illegal ivory trade... 70% of all the illegal ivory is sent to China” (Economist, 2018).  Vaughn also emphasizes the fact that “most of Africa is made up of third world countries where there is a lot more dirty work and corruption in the government”, it is no wonder that the ‘rich Asian’ countries come to these third world countries to target those in need. Vaughn’s claim about how affluent overseas people come and target people in need is seen in Ryan’s argument, which he believes that it helps with economic gain, but doesn’t include the corruption behind it, only the temporary reward received.

As my interview progressed, we got into the measures that are being taken in order to save the rhinos and elephants. Vaughn told me, “elephants are in danger but the focus is more leaning towards rhinos because the population is so fewer than the elephants and their populations are decreasing at an alarming rate”. The rhino population in Africa has been almost entirely wiped down due to poaching. There are only about “25,000 rhinos left in South Africa and South Africa accounts for 80% of the world’s rhino population” (Bale, Nat Geo, 2018). Because of the alarming population decline of the rhinos, Vaughn told me about the extreme measurements that are being taken in order to save the rhinos. Vaughn explains to me, “a lot of private game reserves are cutting the horns off the rhinos before the poachers could get them. People come in and sedate the rhinos and cut their horns off in a painless sanitary way so they are able to live their lives without horns and the possibility of getting killed for it. Most game reserves have even placed trackers on their rhinos to ensure their safety along with having helicopter surveillance above Kruger National Park”.  Building off of Vaughn’s knowledge, I also learned from my previous research that “18-25 rangers are assigned per section for patrolling of rhinos to make sure they remain safe. There are also 2 micro-light aircraft along with the helicopters” (Gustafson, Sandstrom & Townsend, 2015). Vaughn described that the helicopters in Kruger National Park compliment the rangers, the flyover patrol over various parts of the park help detect carcasses of rhinos and push their anti-poaching raids. In one of my survey questions where I asked ‘how can society end poaching?’, I got responses that mentioned the need for protection and groups that ensure the safety of these rhinos by surveillance. The survey responses emphasized how they need more protection than they already have. By the growing need to save the rhinos population, hopefully, there can be more effort added to help protect these animals. 

One key point Vaughn made to me was that there is no public advertising of rhinos in any parks or game reserves. Vaughn explains, “the rangers at the game reserves do not give out any information regarding age, gender, and population of the rhinos.  The rangers do that on purpose so it is not available to the public, while not having the number of rhinos on the reserve, it helps preserve the population by keeping it a secret”. While Vaughn expressed this fact to me, it reminded me of my experience in South Africa. During my time at Londolozi Private Game Reserve, I saw a rhino for the first time in my life. I was extremely fascinated by these beautiful animals, which led me to ask my safari guide how many rhinos were located in the game reserve. The safari guide did not disclose any information about the rhinos, no questions were answered, not even about their gender or age. My guide then explained that they cannot disclose any information about the rhinos due to poaching reasons. Vaughn’s information had a direct correlation with my personal experience in South Africa and the rhino information regarding their population must remain a secret in order to conserve their population. 

Lastly, Vaughn told me a fascinating fact, where he described to me the extent of rhino conservation. One of Vaughn’s close family friends in South Africa owns a private game reserve, and this family is taking extreme measures to keep their rhinos safe. Vaughn explained to me, “heart monitors are being put on the rhinos so they can detect when they are in a stressful situation and where their heart rate spikes”. Vaughn explains that it is something this private game reserve is just testing out at the moment to see if it helps. The extreme measures people are willing to take to save the rhinos are inspiring, it shows that people still care and that there is hope. 

My primary research gave me all the final information that I needed to know in order to complete this research project. I started off with enough background knowledge about elephant and rhino poaching because due to my secondary research. The secondary research that I conducted for this project gave me all the background knowledge that I needed in order to start my primary research. By starting off with my observation with Ryan Miller and Gianna Dallman, I was able to fact check and use my knowledge about this topic to analyze their discussion and figure out my next step of primary research, the survey. After observing Ryan and Gianna, it allowed me to see both sides of the argument, the irrational and rational. While observing Ryan in specific, I was able to get ideas for my survey questioned and further the need to target college students. When I made my survey, the 100 responses I received were made up of students. I then was able to learn what background knowledge they had of poaching, how they believe it can be stopped, and their overall feelings toward it. My final step for primary research was with my interview. Vaughn gave me more than enough inside knowledge that I needed to conclude the research segment of this project. Every aspect of primary and secondary that I conducted was a stepping stone into the comp in a new genre portion. From all the results and answers I gained during my research, I was able to further my message of anti-poaching and realize that Instagram, shockingly, is the most successful way to build an audience to forward this movement.

[end-poaching-lindborg]

Comp in a Genre

Project Overview

In this project, my hopes were to bring awareness to poaching— specifically of the rhino and elephant populations in Africa. It is an issue that needs to be brought into the limelight. The primary research I conducted focused specifically on Gen Z. I did this by observing two twenty-year-olds discussing their viewpoints on poaching. It was important to target this specific age group because we are the next generation equipped to fix the issue. I hope that in talking to my peers, I inspired in them the agency to make change. I have decided to use the power of social media to bring awareness to this issue.

By using Instagram, I hope that I am able to effectively shed a light on the inhumanity of poaching. I will be able to reach people from all over the world who are active Instagram users. This platform is very versatile in the way that I can post videos and pictures with captions explaining the context of each. The need for change regarding poaching has become dire and there is no better way to communicate that then via social network. 

Audience Strategy

I am going to make this tangible to my generation by creating an account on an app that Gen Z seems to dominate. By creating an Instagram, I will be using a combination of Pathos and Logos. Logos is logic, defined as reasoning, or “rational argument” word choices, logic choices, and readable sentence structures are attributable to the logos one constructs. While pathos, on the other hand, is, “putting the audience in the appropriate mood, by playing on its feelings”. Appeals to pathos are the “persuasive reasons in an argument that derive from a community's most deeply and fervently held values” (Rife, 2010) The importance of using logos and pathos in my rhetoric is to make the audience more appealed to the topic of poaching and to play on their feelings to have them sympathize and want to help. By using the strategies of logos and pathos on Instagram, it will help draw in supporters if done correctly. I was able to see Gianna use logos and pathos in her argument during my observation. Gianna was more than successful at choosing powerful words to describe poaching, and she was able to use her word choices to play on her feelings, to show how deeply she cared for this issue. The observation between Ryan and Gianna was the leading reason why I chose to focus on having Gen Z as my audience because I realized that people were lacking awareness.

To build awareness of this issue, on my Instagram, I will make links accessible to anti-poaching nonprofits and other important organizations they may be interested in after searching through social media. Instagram will focus on the brutality of poaching and the effects but it won’t be all depressing material. I then will incorporate pictures of the efforts that are being put into saving these animals and how beneficial it is to the world. 

A projected genre

I decided that Gen Z would be the best audience to target because Gen Z is the next generation to make a change in the world. Gen Z’s are people born from 1995-2009, so the majority of us are early adults to teens. Gen Z is made up of mostly educated young adults who understand how the world works and see the need for help. I thought that Gen Z would be the most effective because if this issue speaks to people, they can dedicate time and maybe their careers to anti-poaching efforts. For my primary research, I surveyed 100 people, the majority being college students. While I surveyed 100 Gen Z’s, I was able to get an overall consensus about their feelings towards poaching, the overwhelming  I thought that it would be best to have them be my projected genre as well. In one survey question, I asked how they think media and society could end poaching. Most of the responses involved bringing awareness and showing the real raw side of poaching through social media. This led me to believe Instagram was the best way to bring more attention and awareness to this issue. Gen Z’s believed that the power of social media could help fight poaching. While Gen Z’s are the best target audience, I believe that boomers would most likely be the worst generation to target, considering they are ignoring the state of our world and not demanding change. For the projected genre, my hopes are to speak to the people born between 1995-2004, the later generation Z’s, so they are able to see the brutality and cruel reality of poaching and help demand the end. Gen Z’s are described as, “a vigorous contributor, high consumption of online content, creative and mash-up experts; they have strong gravitational bond for online communication that they prefer to participate and remain connected via technology available at fingertips” (Yadav 2017). By having gen Z be a ‘vigorous contributor’ to social media, the anti-poaching Instagram could go a very long way if it got the attention it deserves.

Design Plan

So after creating my Instagram, my first step would to become verified so people know it is a real project. By adding the verified blue check, people already take you more seriously. I would then build my brand on social media, spreading awareness to anti-poaching efforts. My posts would include statistics, videos/pictures that show the horrors of poaching, the faces behind it and how you can help. I will also incorporate the evidence that Vaughn provided for me, during our interview he explained the efforts going against poaching. For example, the rangers that help protect the rhinos at Kruger National Park, I want to bring attention to those people that help protect rhinos. Vaughn also mentioned his family friend’s private game reserve that is testing out heart monitors on the rhinos, that is something I would like to show in my Instagram. By showing evidence of how people are helping to protect these animals, it will give the audience hope. My Instagram will not be all hopeful content, I want to share the cruel reality of poaching and what really happens to rhinos and elephants as they get their horns and tusks removed.  By incorporating things from every end of the spectrum to share the real, raw story of poaching, it would make Gen Z’s feel for this issue and understand every aspect of it. 

After I build my Instagram, I then would encourage people with mass following to promote the cause. By bringing celebrities, or people with strong social media presence, they can bring more awareness and attention to their followers. Brian Willete, a photographer who shares his work on Instagram explains “it’s important for a brand to understand that succeeding on Instagram is less about the number of followers you have, and more about the number of influencers following the brand” (Willete 2017). When influencers/celebrities follow your brand, it immediately promotes your account and your message. With the mass amount of Gen Z’s on Instagram following numerous influencers, it would be a quick turn around time to gain followers.

The ideal person who I would want to promote my anti-poaching campaign would be sixteen year old Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist who has a huge following.  By having her as the face of the anti-poaching social media campaign that I have designed, she will continue to spread her views and ideas to inspire Gen Z’s to use their voice and help to put an end to poaching. This would be a very effective way to gain attention and to help people follow this issue. Using Instagram is one of the strongest ways to put yourself and your idea out there. People would be watching step by step and could add support if they believed in the message and forward it to others. Instagram is a giant intertwined web where ideas and projects can flourish and reach audiences that would have been unattainable before social media. 

My most important aspect to my Instagram account is sharing the brutality behind poaching, so people are able to see what REALLY happens to rhinos and elephants to obtain the horn and ivory. I want to really bring light to how inhumane and gruesome these animals are being treated. I am not only going to focus on the horrors of poaching, I am going to bring awareness to all the amazing anti-poaching efforts that are in action. My interviewee, Vaughn Williams, stated “conservers are cutting horns off before the poachers could get them. People come in and cut it off in a painless sanitary way so the animals can live their lives without having their horns”. By incorporating powerful images and videos of people protecting these animals, it gives hope to the anti-poaching efforts. In my Instagram, I am going to be super candid with all the issues and efforts that are taking place in Africa to show my audience what is being done and how they can help. 

Instagram is a very powerful app that can spread your ideas and messages to places all over the world. By creating an Instagram and attracting followers to my cause, it would create a wave of supporters. Incorporating logos and pathos in my message as well, it will appeal to different genres of people so they can understand how important of a cause this is. As well as having influencers and celebrities promote the account, it will attract more and more people and expand your brand. I believe that creating an account will forward the movement to end poaching.

Sources:

Rife, M. (2010). Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos: Using a Rhetorical Heuristic to Mediate Digital-Survey Recruitment Strategies. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 53(3), 260-277.

Prakash Yadav, G., & Rai, J. (2017). Generation Z and their Social Media Usage: A Review and a Research Outline. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System, 9(2), 110.

Gen Z Study: Instagram & Snapchat The New Darlings, As Facebook's Star Dims. (2017). B & T Weekly, p. B & T Weekly, Aug 24, 2017.

Kaplan, A. (2016). Harnessing the power of Instagram. Beverage World, 135(4), 28-31.

[end-poaching-lindborg]

Theory of Writing

I would describe my theory of writing as a process, a process in which you have to be patient in order to succeed. But what does it mean that ‘writing is a process’? , it means that you can’t just write an amazing paper in one sitting. Good writing takes time, patience and discipline if you want your work to turn out well. My theory of writing hasn’t always been the same, it was drastically different before stepping foot into WRIT 1133. I have always enjoyed writing on a more creative side, where I get to express how I feel on paper, but writing in the classroom always seemed to be somewhat difficult for me. Writing in a traditional school setting was more difficult for me because I never necessarily had a strong viewpoint on ‘good’ writing was nor cared about it enough to have any views. I always had written the bare minimum that I needed to do in order to pass because I never understood how much patience a good writing piece took. I always had a hard time writing in a very traditional format that I was taught growing up in school.  Joining this class made me realize how important it is to be a good writer if you are using it in a creative aspect or in a school setting. I realized that remaining patient through the countless essays I have written, it will benefit me as a writer. 

 My previous work before this class was at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where I had taken two writing classes. The first writing class was a common curriculum where we focused mostly on fairy tales, plays, folklore, and Frankenstein. I did really enjoy that class because the material was amusing to read and it was something that fascinated me. The writing, on the other hand, was very informal and casual, I never really was able to expand on my writing skills or develop what a good sense of writing was. One assignment in specific was to rewrite a fairytale, where I rewrote Hansel and Gretal, I made them to be cannibalistic children. In that specific piece I wrote, I had a lot of fun because I was able to use my imagination and rewrite one of the most known fairy tales. That class used a lot of creativity and imagination, but never taught me the proper way to write.

 The following semester at St. Thomas, I enrolled in another writing class involving the literature of food. It sounds silly, but it was really interesting because I learned how food is portrayed in literature, the significance of specific dishes in other cultures, and how food unites people.  I had the same professor as my first-semester writing class so my views on writing remained the same, very informal. The writing assignments I completed for this class were mostly reflections and analyses of texts that we read, it was never in a traditional format, more where we interpreted what we thought. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in those two classes, but I never got the chance to deepen my knowledge as to what good writing is. I wouldn’t necessarily consider my previous writing classes as a roadblock, but it definitely did not help me as I transitioned to DU and joined WRIT 1133.

I write outside of the classroom setting as well, a non-academic way though. I find that creative writing is soothing to me. Typically when I am feeling sad, anxious, or stressed,  I like to take out my feelings on pen and paper. I go off the grid and will write my feelings for hours in the form of poetry. I use poetry as a stress reliever, but most importantly to get my feelings out. I am not one to talk about my feelings or burden others of my problems, so I write to get my feelings out. No one ever sees what I write, I just keep it to myself and like to look at my progress as a creative writer. I typically focus on heartbreak, in specific. I know I am young, but writing about that one boy who broke my heart seems to be my specialty. My favorite thing to write about mostly is outer space and natural elements on earth. I compare how I feel to the stars, sun, moon, fire, air, wind, and any other element that seems fitting.  I use metaphors to describe my emotions. In a piece specifically, I describe my feelings and memories like the weather, it goes 

“Your love was like the weather,

I felt it all over me.

Some days were blue skies,

others were as gloomy as nightfall.

Somehow my darkest nights were still bright,

with you by my side.

When I was with you, 

I would feel sanctuary in your arms.

Most days, 

you made me feel like rain.

Your love will continue to be like the weather.

Hopefully, you don’t turn into a natural disaster.” 

I remember bawling my eyes out while writing that poem. I honestly can say that I have never shared those pieces I’ve written, so this is the first. When I say that I use creative writing, mainly poetry, as a stress reliever, I just write whatever feels right.  I do really enjoy writing when I can use my creative side and have it be as non-academic as possible. My poetry hasn’t helped me improve as an academic writer, but it has allowed me to become more creative when I write. 

Once I joined WRIT 1133, I really understood the importance of writing in a more traditional setting and how I can better myself as a writer. I would say that my writing has definitely evolved since the beginning of this quarter, I became more disciplined when it came to drafting and revising. When I previously wrote in a school setting, I usually turned in my first draft with little revision, I now completely understand why drafting is so important. There was one reading that was assigned that stood out to me, Collin Brooke and Allison Carr emphasizes the need for a ‘shitty first draft’. That ‘shitty first draft’ relates back to my theory of writing is a process, you need to have that shitty first draft in order to create a piece that is worth reading and something that you are proud of.  For example, the research essay we have been working on in this class, that is a process. In no way shape or form, I would be able to write it in one sitting, I need to have time to analyze the work I have done in order to blossom into a paper I am proud of. My writing has even evolved within the past ten weeks of being in this class, starting with the Tumblr posts. When I first started uploading to Tumblr, I never gave any of my posts that much thought, I then started to realize that what I was writing wasn’t cutting it, That is when I decided to kick it up a notch and give writing my full potential. I can see the difference in my writing from the start of the quarter to the end, I have grown and now know what it takes. 

I have been using my new and improved theory of writing, especially for this class. Understanding that writing is a difficult process has opened my eyes to realize how much work goes into writing. Drawing back to the first mapping activity, where we brainstormed the key terms of good writing, I chose--creativity, curiosity, research, analyzing, flexibility and organization. I still do believe that all of those are key concepts of what good writing is. Especially with how I enjoy creative writing, I need all of those aspects in order to create something I actually am proud of.  However, I have had many ideas added to that list, especially after reading the eight habits of mind. The eight habits of mind that were not on my list were--persistence, metacognition, engagement, responsibility, and openness. All of those terms are factors into good writing as well. While developing my theory of writing, I kept all of those terms in mind. I have already incorporated my theory of writing, even in this theory proposal! I have been able to be persistent and patient in situations where I want my essay to be over with. The theory of writing has been beneficial to me because I have been able to figure out my writing style, and how I can work with it. 

My own personal theory of writing will be able to help me through future writing scenarios I encounter. Whether it be in a class or a new job, or if I somehow become famous and have to put out PR statements (haha). I will be able to utilize my knowledge that WRIT 1133 gave me about my future endeavors. I will never forget that I need to be consistent and patience because writing is a process, a damn long one.