Being an International Studies major has allowed me to take such a plethora of classes within the college. I have taken classes in Sociology, Psychology, History, Latin American Studies, Political Science, English and many more departments as well as had the pleasure to be amidst some of the smartest professors I have ever met. While engaging in writing pieces for classes in my field of study, my purpose to write varies. Often times, I am writing Analysis papers that are based on historical events of the past. That being said, in almost all of my papers I have always been allowed to offer my personal opinion on the topic. For example, last semester I was tasked with writing a 12 page analysis paper on Nasser's regime. At the end of my paper, the last two pages or so, I had the opportunity to have an open dialogue and create my own opinions on Nasser based on the research I acquired and what we learned in class regarding his reign. The purpose of my writing is definitely to gain a wider understanding of past historical events and then develop my own opinions on the respective topic that was chosen. The use of evidence in these Analysis papers is a rather simple process. Most of the time my evidence comes from scholarly articles and books that I find in the library. I noticed however, that online articles or scholarly journals are actually a lot more helpful because they are more condensed, and easier to navigate through. The process of collecting the evidence is timely. I often find myself looking through hundreds of pages of readings and articles before I can find the perfect pieces to use in my paper. Professors have strongly encouraged me and my class to seek out help from the librarians as well so that they can help narrow your search. Therefore, as part of the collecting evidence process, I always try and schedule a meeting with a member of the team so that they can give me some insight on what they think of my topic and where I want to go with it. After highlighting and starring all the important pieces of evidence I want to use, I finally begin my paper and insert quotes when necessary to back up what I am saying. Other than this, I have not used evidence in any other way for my classes in my discipline. To complete the International Studies major there are various types of genres and forms of communication. For example, in our political science methods class which is mandatory to finish the major, the way we are taught to communicate is through lab reports. However, i most of my other classes, mostly it is through Analysis papers or online devices. More specifically, blogging on a site that my professor has created, or through means of social media like Facebook. For one of my classes, I had to create a Facebook group and post in it on a daily basis valuable pieces of information that related to the assignment. Additionally, I had to make sure that levels of engagement were high in the group as well, so I invited my entire friends list and made sure that my posts would allow for people to comment, like and hopefully share. I think the use of online devices specifically social media as a form of communication is valuable especially in this day and age. There are so many ways to engage people in what you're writing, but, I think with the huge transition into technology that we've witnessed in the 21st century, online devices are the best vehicle to achieve engagement and communication. What is the need for these specific analysis papers? The entire process of writing the paper is a learning experience that can't be replicated in the class. It allows the student to do his or her own research on the topic and formulate their respective opinion on what is being presented. Similarly, these papers are useful for professors as a means to advance their own research and teaching abilities both inside and outside of class. Although the need for such things may not seem obvious, in my major, everyone is constantly looking for more pieces of information that can better their knowledge on any given topic. Our analysis papers help achieve that goal.