Reflecting on the Fall Semester

Over the course of this semester, I have learned about various forms of essay writing and met many people. I have even met Professor Clenance and many tutors at the Writing Center. I completed several assignments that I learned about through the lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays. This class was English Composition 11000 B, and to describe it, according to the course syllabus, it states, “This class is all about you practicing reading and writing for different contexts. You’ll learn strategies for analyzing different writing situations and then practice meeting (or purposely defying) expectations for those situations. You’ll thus study rhetoric (the art of communication) and practice writing across genres and for different purposes and audiences. You’ll also receive substantial feedback on your writing, provide extensive feedback on others’ writing, and get lots of practice revising and editing based on feedback received. As learning from each other will be a large part of what we do, you are expected to be an active participant in the classroom community.” In total, my class had eight learning goals that were crucial to learn over the fall semester.

The first learning goal I learned was to explore how opinions on language standards can impact speakers in both positive and negative ways. I achieved this through the rhetorical worksheets and my essays. Specifically, in phase 1, when I was brainstorming for my Language and Literacy Narrative, I focused on language/ linguistic standards and showed their morals through the writing of their essays. I did the worksheet little by little every day up until I finished it. I did have some trouble with the feedback and working on the last rhetorical situation worksheet. In fact, doing these worksheets took time away from doing the major assignments,

The second learning goal was to investigate and examine a variety of genres and rhetorical contexts through both writing and reading. I was able to learn this by using all of my rhetorical worksheets over the semester. Specifically, the first one,  Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue, was my favorite rhetorical worksheet to work on, as I related it very much to how my mom uses English. This was the inspiration for my Language and Literacy Narrative that I presented in class. I was able to get some of my classmates to connect with it and try to include a message for people to learn. I did try to make it three minutes long and added in some things that weren’t scripted, and I just winged it, adding in dialogue made up while presenting.

The third learning goal was to develop methods or formulas for reading, writing, collaborating, changing, and reviewing. I achieved this outcome while I was writing my Translations, which are just summaries of the two major assignments of phase 1 and 2, which both focused on a theme chosen by us, which is my favorite way to write an essay or research paper. Speaking of changing, I used this to translate my LLN and Synthesis Essay into a simplified translation. It took me a few tries to complete these two major assignments, but I got them done and submitted.

The fourth learning goal I achieved was to acknowledge and use important rhetorical concepts and techniques when writing. I had to do these three rhetorical worksheets alongside my major assignments. I read through the autobiographical essay written by Amy Tan, which was required to do the rhetorical worksheet, and it’s what I used to help with my Language and Literacy Narrative. It was relatable for me that the author also had an experience with her mom, as I did. I completed the same worksheet twice, using essays written by June Jordan and Vershawn Ashanti Young, later in phase two. But for the one written by Young, I also did an extra worksheet where we annotated a phrase from the text in our own words and explained it.

The fifth learning goal was to understand and use both print and digital media to reach a range of audiences. I kind of understand how to use digital articles to help find out what exactly the audience wants or is interested in. For my Synthesis Essay, I tried to narrow down my topic to a specific audience rather than to address every audience that exists. To help with this goal, I used the CUNY Library on Brightspace to search for some titles to use in my essay. There was a class I took in the computer lab where a man taught us how to find all of the sources. What he taught us was very helpful and useful. I managed to find the remaining sources needed for my essay and included them in.

The sixth learning goal I achieved was to identify research materials, such as scholarly journal articles and articles from magazines and newspapers, in the library’s databases or archives and online. I have learned how to assess them for reliability, accuracy, relevance, and bias through both of my translations and the peer reviews from my classmates and professors. However, I wrote pretty vague peer reviews for my other classmates. They helped me include more requirements in all of my assignments. I would also like to thank all of the tutors at the writing center. I couldn’t have found out how to create my Language and Literacy Narrative, or make up some of my missing major assignments, or create my works cited page for my Synthesis Essay.

The seventh learning goal I learned was to create writings that blend a viewpoint with relevant references and use techniques like summarization, evaluation, combination, and persuasive reasoning. My synthesis essay, mainly the rough drafts, helped me achieve this goal. I received valuable information and feedback from all the peer reviews I conducted over the semester, in addition to the instructor’s feedback. I couldn’t get through the Synthesis Essay without it. Though I am still struggling to incorporate some of the comments she gave me, I would like to be clear that I am using the comments and suggestions I received in my essays. 

The eighth and final learning goal I learned was to develop a clear method for using citation standards. I achieved this during my lectures on writing my synthesis essay in Phase 2. For my Synthesis Essay, I had to include citations for the sources I used for my essay. Initially, I simply included the hyperlinks to the sites, videos, and articles I found first, but my professor said I had to include the title and put them in alphabetical order. I achieved this with the help of the tutors at the Writing Center. I learned how to create a Works Cited Page, which I learned how to do using Purdue Owl. I used the citations in the CUNY library and the website to organize my sources and make it clearer.

In conclusion, these were all of the important claims that I have learned over the semester, and I’ll be honest, I am still having some trouble with doing them and will need some improvement to get better. I have told this to my professor, but reading and writing are still not my best attributes, but I have to get used to them. I hope to improve in the future in my next semester at City College. I am also fully aware that I can be annoying and constantly ask questions. As I said in my last two cover letters, it’s important to learn from these mistakes and grow as a person.

First Draft of Final Reflection Essay :

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Revised Draft of Final Reflection Essay:

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