Alison Aaron

Eng 170-22

Prof. James

24 November 2020

To Whom it May Concern:

This semester in English 170 I have written a total of three essays and prepared one presentation. One essay and the presentation summed up my results from a survey I presented to my peers. The next essay was a rhetorical analysis of the article A Global Perspective on the Modern Perils of Seeking Asylum, by Jessica Therkelson. The final essay was an argumentative essay for which I picked the topic of education and why refugee children deserve it.

My senior year of high school I took two college writing classes. The first semester focused on nonfiction, this is where I wrote a rhetorical analysis paper and an argument paper. Second semester focused on fiction, which I could not relate to in this class at all. When I was writing the rhetorical analysis paper in high school I didn’t even know I was writing a rhetorical analysis or what that even was. My argument essay was also pretty standard. For some reason I did notice my writing improve in that class. I did have good teachers that year and I did manage to improve my writing. The way I learned last year was just by analyzing readings and writing my own pieces. This semester in english 170 everything that I did senior year was put into words, it all came full circle. I was able to take the writing I did from my senior year and improve it this year because I had more knowledge of what I was doing. This semester I was able to take my improved writing skills and improve them even more. I learned how to better analyze text and write a proper rhetorical analysis. I learned how to formulate an argument and how to properly rebut the counter arguments. 

I would say my writing strengths are writing a strong and clear thesis statement and then having my paper clearly reflect the thesis statement. All throughout high school my teacher always told me to write a good thesis statement but I never really learned how to until this year. I also learned how to strengthen my introduction paragraph to make it clear, contain everything I need it to, and push the point I am making throughout the essay. Something I still need to work on is writing a strong conclusion. It seems easy because it’s only my introduction reversed, but I still have trouble ending my essays in a way that gets the reader to continue to be intrigued by my topic while still wrapping up the point I made in the essay. 

What I learned this semester will stick with me for every future writing assignment I have. I finally have a clear head on how to write well and how to write for different styles. As I carry on through the rest of college and life I will be confident in my abilities as a writer. 

 

Most Sincerely,

Alison Aaron