Compared to any English course or class I’ve taken, I believe that Writing and Rhetoric have helped me improve my understanding of literature and writing overall. What I mean by this is that before Writing and Rhetoric I didn’t know any concepts like the different forms of arguments (Classic, Rogerian, etc) or logical fallacies (False dilemma, Hasty generalization, etc.). These teachings have improved my ability to not only understand pieces of writing but also how to analyze them. These skills will help me with future papers or assignments because I can use what I learn and apply them to get better grades or ‘wow’ my audience. For example, in my recent assignments, I had to explain why I choose my sources and how they will better my paper. This skill is valuable because instead of just choosing a source that agrees with the topic of my paper, I get to go through it and make sure that this source is credible. Another example would be the process I took to write my argumentative paper. I say this because I went through a process like writing a proposal, a draft and then a final. Through all of that, I had to review comments and mistakes and rewrites to make it close to perfect. This reminds me of Ann Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”, she goes into detail explaining what it takes to become a better writer and that there is more behind being a writer than people think, almost like it’s a struggle. She names it “the fantasy of the uninitiated”, what she means by this is that the people who believe that writers can write a perfect first draft of a paragraph, essay, book, etc. in one sitting are the people who fit the perception. This is important because it’s experiences like this that will make me become a better writer.
What I have learned over the course of the class was that it’s okay to make mistakes and that there is a term for everything. I’ve kept this in mind throughout writing all my papers because my mistakes taught me more about being better or at least trying to reach that point. Knowing that there is a term for everything was a sign of relief for me because I can explain things more clearly to my audience, which is important because I want my audience to understand me and be enlightened by me. What I consider now to be my writing strengths include; Organization or structure of an entire essay or within a paragraph, and Critical reading and analytical thinking. Areas that I feel like I could improve in would be the Research process and ethical citations (quotations/paraphrase and in-text citation style), and Rhetorical appeals or strategies (repetition, questioning, parallel structure).
Overall, I feel prepared enough regarding college writing expectations and other professional contexts. Skills that I believe should be emphasized more so in Writing & Rhetoric to help students further, in college and beyond are Conventions (specific to genre, MLA format, spelling, and grammar), and Development and support through the description, detailed evidence and explanation of examples.