My Time In Eng 170/ “Writing and Rhetoric”

I am so glad to have taken ENG 170 or “Writing and Rhetoric” during my first semester college. Throughout all these peculiar circumstances “Writing and Rhetoric” was constant in my schedule. I am very passionate about English and was so excited to come to class, in person, every Wednesday to collaborate with my classmates and professor. It was just the kind of interaction I needed during these unprecedented times. While I came in with a passion for writing, Prof. Wheeler and the ENG 170 course taught me how to write compelling and convincing essays. During my time in “Writing and Rhetoric” I learned to fix my grammar, specifically how to better use commas, how to find credible sources through the STL website and overall how to rhetorically analyze essays and pictures and use that analysis in my essays.

When coming into Writing and Rhetoric I already had a passion for reading and writing. This course just showed me how to use that passion to help me properly write both persuasive and informative essays. One skill I learned that I feel improved from my first short paper to my Main Project I is the use of rhetorical analysis. I came in thinking I was pretty good at analyzing sources; however, throughout the course I quickly realized there was so much more to analyzing than simply restating what was said in the source. Rhetorical analysis was also a skill I found myself using outside of the classroom. Rhetorical analysis taught me how to question things and take them for more than what they are at face value. I used this skill to analyze the information being given to me during the election by both candidates. Rhetorically analyzing helped me better notice logical fallacies used by both parties. This class also taught me skills I will use later on in my time at SUNY New Paltz. As an Adolescent English Education major I will be taking many classes that focus on reading and writing. The grammar skills I learned in this class, such as the use of commas and proper pronouns, will help me in future writing classes I have to take for my major. The analysis skills I learned will certainly help me in both my literature and writing classes. It will help me to analyze the works I read in my literature class on a higher level than what I came to college being able to do. This class also taught me that the writing process cannot occur in one day. I learned that writing my paper several days before its due and coming back to it for a small amount of time each day after helped me to better revise my paper, because I was looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. This got me to stop procrastinating, which is something I struggled with in high school. I applied this skill to other classes as well. Overall, “Writing and Rhetoric” taught me valuable skills that I find myself using both outside and inside the classroom. 

I also noticed major improvements in my writing over my time in “Writing and Rhetoric” I also learned how to better organize my essays.  I noticed that one big difference between my Main Project I and Main Project II is that in my second paper my thesis is more clear and the order in which I organized the paper perfectly follows my thesis. The reason I believe my organization improved was because the annotated bibliography helped me to better organize my thoughts and outline my paper. In the future I feel it would be beneficial for me to do an annotated bibliography for every paper I write.  I also found that even from my first short paper to my second short paper I improved so much with my rhetorical analysis. The exercises we did in Praxis and in the classroom helped me improve my rhetorical analysis skills  and it introduced Visual Rhetoric to me.Those exercises are what helped me to go so in depth analyzing my pictures for Short Paper 2-The Face of Bigotry  and Main Project I-An Endless Cycle . Overall, throughout the several essays I wrote during Writing and Rhetoric I saw them become more clear and concise and have better use of more credible sources. 

After this class I have several new strengths when it comes to writing. I have become stronger at rhetorically analyzing, specifically I have become very good at analyzing visual rhetoric. I also can now write a strong thesis and defend it with credible and relevant sources. I still have the passion I came into this class with. Grammar is still a weak spot for me; however, it has improved over my time in the class. In conclusion, I am not only a better writer but a better student after taking “Writing and Rhetoric.” It has taught me foundational skills that I can use inside the classroom for the rest of my college career and outside the classroom for the rest of my life.