I learned a large array of things this semester, improving my writing skills altogether. I have learned how to start an essay. I was already familiar with the writing process but the “This I No Longer Believe” essay taught me how to go about it more smoothly as well as the significance of feedback. I like to think of it as a metaphorical strainer. You get a mishmash of ideas down and it’s “strained” through multiple drafts in order to better word and structure your essay. This semester, I am proud of being able to reach the word count with less struggle.

This is an odd achievement, but I have found that I am able to continuously write and structure my essays in a way that I don’t run out of words before I reach the word count. Some may see short wording as being concise, but adding detail is a good way to keep the natural flow of the writing. One thing I would do differently in my writing is follow more feedback. I tend to be stubborn with my writing and ignore a big chunk of feedback because I’m not sure how to tweak it the way they mean. Following suggestions that others have to offer can be the difference between a good essay and an excellent essay.

I believe that my participation in this unit was subpar. I participated when I had something insightful to add but for the most part, I enjoyed listening instead. However, I still offer my insights to my partners. Reading others’ essays is what made me more successful in this unit. It allows me to get a feel for what my writing is supposed to look like. It serves as a base for my writing. In writing, language and dialect is especially important. We have reviewed this in “Shouldn’t Writers Use They Own English” where were analyze the importance of language in writing.

We are taught to follow grammar rules and write formally in order to sound academically accurate, but this English class has explored other viewpoints that go against the average idea. I have also found that writing is easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. When trying to word things a certain way in order to sound formal, your point can escape you. You may draw blanks or simply not know how to put it. By reading other essays I was able to learn how simple it is to simply get your ideas down how they are and adjust them later on through drafts. 

And of course, I have improved greatly on rhetorical devices. Before this class, I wasn’t even aware of the sheer amount of rhetorical devices. I was able to improve on existing skills like parenthesis, humor and fear appeal, and enumeratio- see what I did there. I also learned of new rhetorical devices such as hypophora, procatalepsis, gender, sex, and romance appeal. I was also able to further my research paper writing skills. I struggle to write about informational or factual things as it requires constantly look something up and making sure your facts are accurate. When writing with a larger length requirement, you need to do a lot more research. However I was able to utilize the rhetorical devices learned in my essay, wether it be intentional or not.

In the future I hope to go more in depth about topics learned in the beginning of class such as the philosopher who have come up with the ideas of rhetoric. I am a visual learner, and I would enjoy more YouTube video-based learning. I find the text selection very insightful since it offers an idea that I have yet to consider. However, what didn’t feel effective to me was the PowerPoint style learning we did for the rhetorical lesson. It’s difficult to stay in conversation and take notes at the same time. I would like to further discuss this topic and the history behind it that was explained in the presentation.