Throughout the English Writing and Rhetoric course, I have further developed my analytical skills beyond the intention of the author. As I researched articles for my research papers, I had to analyze the source to ensure the credibility as well as the context of the year and research facility. I feel as though my strong suit is being able to analyze my sources and their importance to the overall thesis, for example, I was able to thoughtfully analyze the sources for the argumentative research paper that was found through the library database. This course had also taught me how to properly search for scholarly articles using a database, as well as to how to properly cite them. This is an essential skill that I had to learn because it is required of me in all of my courses. I was able to learn how to find reliable sources as well as defend its reliability in my analysis of the source. 

An essential skill that I have developed is the ability to ask questions and think critically. There were a series of interviews that took place with people such as, Dan Whitener of the band Gangstagrass, Akie Bermiss, and Max ZT. Before the interviews were conducted, we were instructed to research these artists and their work to ask substantial questions to develop an idea of their character and their work. Although I still have to work on participating and making my voice heard, the research and creating questions that catered specifically to the artist is a skill that can be developed and used in my field of study. In psychology, one has to create and conduct their research and they must ask and compose questions to create an effective study. These interviews challenged me because I am normally a very shy person and I would rather listen than talk, but by hearing my peers ask questions and developing my own, I feel more confident in my ability to ask these important questions and create important questions that will allow for a more in-depth thought. 

Coming into this Writing and Rhetoric course, I was nervous because, although I had always taken these higher level English classes, high school had conditioned me to fear college. This class was unlike any other English and writing class I have had before. In high school, I had mainly focused on analyzing single texts and novels with the intention of writing a lengthy analysis in response to the prompt the teacher provided. In this class, the writing was formed around the essential question, “Why does music matter?” and each assignment focused on different aspects of music. This allowed for a certain amount of creativity and independence that I wasn’t given in high school, as the most important thing was ability to pass an AP test. It was hard for me to come up with ideas at times, such as the analytical research paper because it felt as though my topics were very vague and repetitive and creating a thesis statement with little to no prompt was a challenge. But this only allowed for the creative freedom to write about what I am truly passionate about, as well as the challenge of creating an in depth and coherent thought as a thesis.