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| A reflection of a kitten. Perhaps I am trying to appeal to pathos... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kitten_and_partial_reflection_in_mirror.jpg |
Now that I am done with the rhetorical analysis, I sit back and reflect on the experience. Overall, this experience is in a way an eye opener for me. I learned how to seek help on my writing via the Writing Center and learned what my English professor expects in my papers. After this experience, I will try to be cautious about how I craft my papers and apply what I learned to my other classes.
From this rhetorical analysis assignment, I learned much about my writing process such as areas where I need to be more conscientious and how to manage my time better. I learned that I should be more aware of the connotations words have before applying them and to avoid overly generalized introduction paragraphs. That does not mean I will not use such words from time to time, but I will try to use them carefully. I somewhat improved my time management, but in the process put too much pressure on myself. As a result, this paper proved to be emotionally taxing.
I am sure that this paper should be better than the controversy analysis. I made sure that all my topic sentences connected to the topic sentence and that the body paragraphs support that topic. I even had two tutors (from the Writing Center) confirm this, but I still doubt myself sometimes.
The thing I find interesting about English classes is the fact that the lessons learned from class can be applied almost everywhere. I have an essay coming up for one of my courses and hope to apply what I learned about organization and clarity to that paper. The clarity section may also be useful for my future and current lab reports. As I write those, I will pay closer attention to my organization.
Overall, I enjoyed the learning experience, but did not enjoy the stress associated with it. I will find ways to de-stress myself and try to find the balance between too much pressure and too little pressure. For now, I should anticipate the future keeping in mind that the skills that I learned from this essay such as clarity, organization, and word choice.
I commented on Gabi Dodsen's refelction, Kati Krutilla's reflection, and Laura Shoemake's reflection.
I think it's really great that you looked for outside resources at the school and even made an appointment to have your essay looked over! Confidence in your writing will come with time, but I believe receiving positive feedback will dramatically help you have more faith in your work. I also learned a lesson about time management, and I understand how this paper could be an emotional strain for you. It sounds like you worked really hard to finish this paper. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYour actions to create this paper are quite commendable: going to the Writing Center with an appointment is a splendid move on your part and is something that others would not do normally. I, too, often have problems with time management and stress; and with English papers, yeah...lots of time required, to say the least. But even if there seems to be little time left, don't stress out--to quote a certain rapper, as cliché as it may sound, "lose yourself" in the moment. When you're stressed, you'll find that abandoning it and becoming lost in your emotions as you write will enhance your paper (and, honestly, everything else you do). Just concern yourself with that moment in front of you, and ignore the past and the future. Once you do that, you'll find that you'll be typing out essays faster than you know it. :)
ReplyDeleteI had problems with over generalizations too. I often assume people share the same opinion as me or all think the same way. I also had the same problem of learning how to balance my time successfully. Stress is a major issue for me. I waste more time stressing about writing the essay than I actually spend writing it. We just need to stop procrastinating and believe in our skills.
ReplyDelete