At the start of the semester, I was given a syllabus outlining the course objectives and expectations of the class. Looking back now, there are a few objectives that have stuck out to me and I feel as if I have accomplished them. Below, I will address a few of those objectives and how I have developed as a writer because of them.

 

Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazines, and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.

Prior to this class, I always found looking for sources to be quite intimidating and tedious. Sometimes I would struggle to find the perfect source or find journal articles that would touch on my subject but not go in-depth. With this class, I was able to learn what to look for in a quicker and more efficient way. Not only that but to better analyze the source right away. For instance, in my collected bibliography, you can see how I was able to find ten sources for my inquiry-based essay. And even though I did not use all of them, I was able to quickly skim through sources and pick the ones that best fit (even if it was only a sentence or two). Similarly, the annotated bibliography represents my ability to view these sources and determine if they would be helpful in my writing. Below is a quick excerpt from this assignment that highlights this.

[1 Academic]

(1) MANGANELLO, JENNIFER A. “TEENS, DATING VIOLENCE, AND MEDIA USE: A Review of the Literature and Conceptual Model for Future Research.” Trauma, Violence & Abuse, vol. 9, no. 1, Sage Publications, Inc., 2008, pp. 3–18, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26636172

(2) In this article Manganello discusses dating violence among teenagers and how social media plays a role in spreading harmful dating practices. (3) The author uses data from other sources, surveys and includes a model to strengthen their claims. (4) Their research focuses on connecting the link between teen dating violence and media in general. And based on the studies included, the author concludes that teens use what they see in media and apply it to their daily lives. (5) This article is useful to my research topic because the author suggests teens will be more likely to enter abusive relationships in the future because media may romanticize it or make it seem like a good thing. Not only that, but it may set behavioral problems as they continue to get older. (6) The main limitation to this article is it uses data from the late 90s and early 2000s to support their claims. Meaning most of the information has to do with media and things seen on television. While the article still references what I am researching, it focuses more on the media aspect than the social aspect. (7) Therefore, this article highlights the influences media has on the development of teens with data from their time. While these issues are still occurring, it is important for me to remember how this article was written in a different time. (8) This article will not be the main backbone of my research but will be useful to include some behavioral issues media may cause among teens.

As you can see, this class has helped me analyze sources. Besides sifting out what will help my writing, I can also find any limitations and how it may give me trouble later on.

 

Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations

I always found it difficult to analyze rhetorical situations and determine why an author wrote the way they did. Rather than being specific with things such as the tone and purpose, I would use broad words such as “inform” or “persuade”. But once taking this class, I have learned there is more that goes into writing a piece of work. I have begun to use words like “conversational” and “cautionary” as a means of using more specific language. Furthermore, this class has taught me to identify the audience for which a piece is written, as opposed to just saying the general public. While it may be tricky at first, I have learned to find clues in the writing and determine what target audience would be most interested. Below, you will find a piece of rhetorical analysis I wrote prior to this class.

Here, the author’s purpose is essentially to inform and explain how people interact with robots. How do people react with an evaluative robot compared to a non-evaluative robot? How does things like social anxiety come into play and will they still feel the same level of comfort? This journal article is intended to answer all these questions and answer just how will we be able to interact with robots in the near future. Which then leads onto the audience of this source. The intended audience are those who question how humans will interact with robots and if they will be able to do their jobs correctly. These robots will have to interact with humans on a daily basis and it is crucial to know if they are capable of observing and interacting with humans before putting them in positions such as teachers and health management advisors. And while there is still a long way to go in terms of research, this study concluded that there is infact a chance for robots to interact with humans, regardless of whether or not you may have social anxiety. They are still able to provide a sense of comfort and do their jobs at the same time.

Now, below is a short excerpt from my source-based essay.

The final source analyzed is Web Sites for Young Children: Gateway to Online Social Networking? by Sheri Bauman and Tanisha Tatum which demonstrates how “professional school counselors should be alert… of children’s use of these sites and the potential for problems” (Bauman and Tatum). They discuss different scenarios that may occur at sites like Club Penguin and interactions may interfere with development. Both authors are credible because of the evidence and other studies used to back up their claim. The genre is a journal article within a book that features numerous studies. The audience is school counselors, for it is essential they “understand the benefits and hazards of such sites” to then relay information for they “are in a central position to provide information and guidance”. Furthermore, the purpose is to discuss these dangers and how they affect children’s development. For instance, the authors include how the game Club Penguin promotes materialism. While there is a free option to the site, members have more privileges illustrates the “belief that one’s success and statues are based on ‘wealth’ or the accumulation of possessions.” The authors want to highlight these dangers and how they affect developing children. This also ties in with tone, which is cautionary to illustrate how innocent children’s games can teach harmful ideologies. The stance the author has is how children must be protected and not allow these websites to hurt them. Besides teaching hurtful lessons, children encounter messages about “being a couple” that they are not ready for at their age. Finally, this piece was written in 2008, which where social media was beginning to gain popularity. This article is meant to figure out some effects this phenomenon has on children and how to keep them safe. The cultural expectations are school counselors, since they work with children and can relay their findings to a larger audience.

As you can see, the second piece of writing is far more specific than the first. There is a better analysis of the source and you can better understand what the author is trying to accomplish. Whereas the first excerpt is too broad and does not offer evidence from the text to back up what is being said. Therefore, I have greatly improved in analyzing sources with rhetorical devices and have accomplished this learning objective.

 

Develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.

Before writing any major essay, I would always try to do an outline of my writing to have a general idea of what I need to write. However, this is a habit I have slowly stopped doing, until I needed to do so for this class. This class has not only encouraged me to draft my writing and create an outline but to do so more efficiently. Meaning rather than writing a couple of words, I have now begun to write elaborate outlines as a means of revising and fixing anything before writing the actual essay. An example of this can be seen in the link below, where I did an outline for my inquiry-based essay. This essay later formed the basis of my research and was something I frequently went back to.

Inquiry-Based Essay Outline

 

Other areas I have improved in

Besides the learning objectives listed, there are a few other areas in which I was able to develop as a writer. Firstly, I have learned to condense my writing and use fewer words. Before, I would overexplain my reasoning and drag on. But with practice and the help of my professor, I have learned to use fewer words. Even though it is still something I am working on, I have noticed my writing is far more straightforward. I do not dance around the subject as much and say what needs to be said right away. Also, I am still learning how to incorporate more adjectives into my writing to help accomplish this.

Lastly, I have improved in giving myself more time to do assignments. Albeit I still have a long way to go in terms of improvement, I have realized I need more than a few hours to write an essay. As a perfectionist, I need time to gather my thoughts and produce something I feel happy with. However, I was not giving myself ample time to do this and found myself scrambling to put something together. And yet again, this class has taught me to set aside at least a few days to complete my work. This way, I have more time for revisions and can perfect my writing to my heart’s content. I am not scrambling as often and find I am much prouder of the work I have turned in this semester.

 

As you can see, I have definitely learned a lot during my time in ENGL 110. I feel as though I greatly improved as a writer and have begun to build a foundation for any future writing assignments. All of these skills are things I can take with me throughout my time in college and expand on. But for now, I am thankful for all I have learned and can not wait to see what else I can do to continue developing as a writer.