Alex Gorzula

Instructor Peter Camilleri

English 170-28

12/3/2023

Reflective Cover Letter

My writing and rhetoric classes taught me many things about the art of words. Before coming to this class, I hated English. They would force us to read and write about things I needed more interest in. It was incredibly frustrating, especially since I have dyslexia. This made me hate writing. I could improve at it and would never improve. When entering college, I was nervous about English 170. I thought it would be the same as high school. But that was not the case. Writing Rhetoric gave me much more freedom. They allowed me to research, write, and present on any topic. This made me more engaged and interested in my work, helping me care and become more passionate about writing. When discussing the issues I enjoyed, I wanted to improve my writing and rhetoric skills to justify my stance better. This helped me improve my writing and my ability to debate. I wish we had more opportunities to write about our research. Instead of writing about readings, we could be assigned a study or another argumentative essay. Also, going over how writing and literature can serve to divide people is a topic I wish we looked into more. 170 has taught me how rhetoric can influence people in unique ways. It can be used to manipulate or convince, and it’s potent. Rhetoric can change the very ideas and thoughts of a human. This can be used for anything, from storytelling to propaganda. I never thought of writing in this way before. I was never really introduced to rhetoric and never knew what to think about writing. 170 has straightened my ability to argue. Finding an argument I truly believe in and justifying it has become one of my greatest strengths. Constantly considering reasons against one’s belief helps them find the answer they seek. As a kid, I always loved telling stories, but I never could put them down on paper. Even if I’m not writing works of fiction, I enjoy writing about real-world problems and ways we can solve them. This helps me improve my writing and argumentative abilities as a whole. This class has inspired me to further my interest in writing. Even if it is not throughout the school system, I’ll continue to write on my own time.