Evolving In A Rhetorical World

 

        Throughout this semester, I achieved to evolve my writing and critical thinking through the course learning outcomes this class provides. Applying rhetorical situations in our writing pieces was one of our main goals to improve and reach learning outcomes. The rhetorical situation relies on bringing an argument into existence, to present to an audience social activities targeting different goals using evidence. At the beginning of the semester, when I first heard of the rhetorical situation, I thought to myself that I would never fully understand this term and that I was in for a long semester. But little did I know, it was only just that, a term with much information behind it. At first, it was hard to understand, but with the articles provided by professor Von Uhl and class discussions, it was a bit easier to understand the concept. The writing process of the essays assigned was a great learning curve as I learn what I should and shouldn’t do when writing an essay. The writing process is just as important as your writing because knowing how you are going to approach an assignment is your very first step.

        My first assignment, the Summary and Response Essay, asked us to discuss doctor’s attitudes towards hysterical patients and hysterias presence in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. After analyzing what the assignment is asking of me, I usually start with the introduction, but I learned to start with the thesis and leave the rest of the introduction for last. Once I know my thesis statement, I look for potential evidence and brainstorm ideas that I want to include in my paper. Understanding and knowing what you will be talking about is an essential step in the writing process because, with comprehension, you will thoroughly be able to summarize and explain your standpoint in an argument. Now, putting the ideas together into sentences is the hard part.

        Putting your ideas into sentences is like solving a Rubix cube; you can get a side but will struggle to put the others together. Brainstorming helps gather your ideas and thoughts together. In the case of my last paper, the critical research analysis, I struggle with bringing my ideas to light. But with a mind map, I was able to guide myself into knowing what I would focus on and what I would develop more in-depth. I realized that I was generalizing the essay into the African American experience rather than the lives of two African American brothers living two different black experiences. I learned that I tend to generalize a topic and express all ideas at once. To fix such issues, I found myself going back to the prompt. Whenever I noticed that I was writing broadly, I referred back to the prompt and my purpose statement. I asked myself, “What am I trying to convey with this essay? And what is my main focus?” Researching articles that fit into your vision and ideas is a long process, but looking into keywords that represent your argument helps. With the mind-map, I had keywords that would help me with the outside source research as it consisted of words that describe my statement. Once you have keywords, you can use the CCNY search engine to find articles that may be of use to you. In the library session, I learned about Boolean terms (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT), which help make the search for articles easier. Using a variety of combinations of boolean terms and phrases, help minimize the number of readings to go through. After a long process, I was able to find articles that interpret the importance of jazz and black pride in African American lives.

        Now let us talk about citing sources. Plagiarism is a big problem in college and the world outside of high school. Plagiarism can lead to expulsion and serious offenses, which is why my professors took their time and made sure we understood how to use MLA citation. Mentioning the author, article, and other detailed information about your sources is your way of giving them credit. Even when you paraphrase information, you need to give credit to the author for the information they provided you with. Throughout the course, we learned different ways to mention an author and give credit. When the semester first started, I stated evidence by quoting word for word, and now I am more comfortable paraphrasing and incorporating outside sources ideas into my ideas while giving credit as well.

        I never realized how crucial and convenient peer review is. I saw my writing improve when I received and gave peer review. For the second essay assigned, the Exploratory Essay, while I was revising a peer’s work, I realized that I made the same mistake I was correcting them on. Throughout all peer review and feedback, for essays, discussions, and quote design, I gained new ideas and different ways I could develop my writing. Aside from the assigned peer review, I contact my peers and ask them to review my work. I learned that having more than one person revise your work helps you organize your thoughts since some of them may have different opinions, and others may assist you in expressing what you were already trying to write but didn’t know-how. 

        Throughout this semester, I was able to improve my writing and comprehension in research, critical, analytical, and summary assignments. As well as learn strategies that will help me throughout my college experiences, such as citation, research, and thought process. Knowing how you best to work with different topics is a crucial part of writing, and this course helped me develop ways to improve the ways I approach an assignment for more than just this class. I also learned more about time management and how important it is to keep yourself in check to make sure you are not overwhelmed. Mental health, anxiety, is a serious illness, but keeping track of my assignments and creating a schedule for myself helped a lot this semester.