The rhetorical analysis is not a new writing medium to me, nor my peers; this style of essay is popular in lower-level education, particularly high school literature, so that students may better understand the purpose and context of a piece. One is to pick through an essay to look for any strategy the author featured to promote his or her purpose, intentionally or not, and explain the significance of it with regards to the whole text. With the assigned paper, however, the topic, and therefore the document analyzed, are selected based on interest; this allowed for an even deeper exploration of the piece, as enthusiasm about a topic prevents resistance and writer’s block in oneself. This is what I found when I chose “Towards Conflict or Cooperation? The Ukraine Crisis and EU-Russia Relations” by Cristian Nitoiu, PhD, an essay discussing the implications of Russia’s past military action in Ukraine, as well as how this issue has both affected and stemmed from the nation’s relationship with the European Union (EU). Due to the currently escalating armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, I have an invested interest in the affairs of the region. This interest has led me to study various sources, one being Nitoiu’s article. In reading and analyzing his essay, I have observed how a subject matter expert sees and expands on the topic. In addition to the lower-level skill to identify rhetorical devices in a text, my analysis in this essay has led me to learn the importance of the author’s context and background, too. By discussing who the author is, one can learn more about why and where-from he makes his argument, and therefore the root of his purpose.