Throughout the fall of 2022, my writing characterizes itself with unparalleled solid growth, where new levels of thought and analysis are being reached with every assignment. Without a doubt, I have worked to achieve all of the course learning objectives this semester utilizing academic resources to develop an argument with evidence, apply proper academic standards, and compose my stance with respect to rhetorical effectiveness as well as to the politics of language. What does that all mean? Basically, this semester I used different research methods to find good sources and evidence, MLA citation format while making sure to proofread my paper sometimes with other people, and I used rhetoric while also considering the language stuff we learned about. Okay, that’s my thesis out of the way, in the next paragraphs, I will group the objectives and explain in great detail our excellence in each of them, for it is high time I recognize the hard work that not only I have put in but also my classmates and our fearless leader; that being you, the professor; the one reading these words and in retrospection also my peers who will read this for an assignment. The math works out well on a three-pronged thesis backed by a body paragraph for each, with there being nine learning objectives, so in summation, I will have three objectives per body paragraph, of course, I’m not gonna state them outright, I like to be a little more subtle than that; make the reader think a little y’know? 

The entire foundation of any argument or expression of ideas is evidence, concrete and impactful evidence stands to be a critical tool for forms of writing. In terms of the course learning objective, evidence is constituted of two major aspects: that being the source of the evidence and its implementation into the writing. Striving for greatness in both of these areas was a main focus of mine throughout the year. To begin to work towards sourcing evidence, I first had to understand the existence and significance of the different types of sources I would encounter, these being print and digital sources. On the topic of the proverbial print and digital sources, I found throughout the creation of the three essays, we as a class have created this year, I used entirely digital sources. While the use of digital sources has been common knowledge in my mind since high school, this course did expand my understanding through our workshop on data basing. In this workshop, I was introduced to some very phenomenal methods of attaining specific and scholarly sources by surfing through the Queens College database search engine. Through this method, I was able to find extremely useful digital sources for my researched essay on linguistic discrimination such as the academic journal Linguistic Human Rights which I was only able to gain access to and learn from because of the library database. I began to understand how limited internet search engines were in specific academic content and was exposed to a whole new world of literature that was all digitally accessible. Through using so many different types of scholarly and non-scholarly sources I was able to find which was most appropriate for providing evidence to support my argument by judging their credibility and validity as source material. This method of judging was easily accomplished by researching information about the source itself such as its date of publication and the history of its author. In terms of print sources, I took advantage of the several handed-out print sources on the language and literacy writers we studied throughout the year. The essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan was one of these physical print copies that were useful in providing evidence for my critical analysis essay. Through the use of both print and digital technologies to develop sources for my writing, I was able to create arguments supported by concrete evidence that was specifically impactful for my chosen audience. Brandon Graff in his “Phase 4 Peer Review Worksheet” said,  “maybe you could include a picture of some sort just to give your readers a little visual representation…to make sure your readers stay engaged all the way through” (Graff, Brandon). Brandon’s constructive and maybe superfluous commentary here illustrates the fact that maybe I am boring my reader, so here is a visual representation of me researching my sources for credibility.

   

I also just realized in making this joke, I now have to cite Brandon and the inquiring blue guy, which will only serve to strengthen my MLA citing abilities I will touch on at the end of the second body paragraph.  Not only had I achieved useful sourcing strategies, but I also developed methods for implementing evidence I gleaned from said sources. Now onto how I implemented said evidence, implementation is critical to supporting an argument and I would do so most commonly through a combination of summary, critical analysis, and interpretation. I worked to get this combination down to an exact science. First I would summarize the important aspects of the evidence in what is commonly called a capture phrase. In the same sentence, I would analyze the evidence and explain its significance to the reader. Next, I would expand further and interpret what this sign means in the context of my argument while at the same relating my evidence to my thesis. In my research essay, I utilized this strategy of implementation while speaking about the harm of linguistic discrimination on children. After providing evidence of the benefits of multilingualism state, “This description and quote provided by the author detail crucial out-of-class benefits of multilingualism which stands as the very antithesis to linguistic discrimination. Thus, one can comprehend the great harm that would befall the families of children that face linguistic discrimination. The discrimination of their language not only affects their ability to learn but also their ability to communicate with their parents” (Segura 7). This evidence implementation of mine demonstrates my process as I began with the capture phrase and summarised what the evidence was and the thought it provided, that being a description of the benefits of multilingualism. Next, I interpret the significance of the evidence by inferring that the loss of familial contact would harm children, and I then further elaborate to explain this inference and connect it to my thesis of children’s welfare being negatively affected. Through this process, I was able to finally implement my evidence into my argument and excel in creating impactful essays. 

Next, I will speak to the literal process of writing or in my case typing my thoughts on a google docs page using a keyboard. One major insight I have gained through the assignments given throughout this year is the effectiveness of writing multiple drafts. Drafting stands to be a very useful tool because it relieves a large amount of the pressure of creating a perfect and polished paper. In writing a rough draft or outline I found I was able to express my thoughts easily which motivated me to write more. Drafting also constitutes the methods of editing and re-reading old drafts which I struggled to do, however, I found that by reading aloud my papers to other people I was able to more easily catch my errors as if I tried to proofread my head I would often skip over mistakes since I did not have to pronounce every word as with speech. I also am not a machine or a dictionary and therefore even though I am well-versed in the English language and grammar I often still make mistakes. For this, I have started using tools like spell check, Grammarly, and the internet to help fill in some of the errors I make while writing. The process of drafting can be illustrated in the several drafts I have created for each essay with some like my written narrative having numerous drafts and reworks. Drafting was also not something I did entirely alone as I often sought input from my classmates or friends on campus. I worked significantly in the social aspect of writing by putting in the effort to be engaged during our peer review days, making sure my peers understood my thought process and gaining a better insight into writing by understanding theirs. My collaboration with others of course could be seen in the many peer review worksheets I filled out during the semester. I took the time to read and give constructive feedback to my classmates’ work in the spirit that they would do the same for mine, which they did every time. I found that writing can be a shared collective process that benefits from having multiple perspectives and minds working on the same subject; we all strive for collective excellence. One would not be wrong to say that classmates and peers are as many academic resources as a book from the library or a guide from one’s professor; all three of these resources provide unique academic thought that can be useful in the right way. On a somewhat unrelated note, I collaborated also using online resources to help implement a proper citation system. While you left the type of citation we used open for exploration, I stuck with the old reliable MLA format. To assist in the MLA format, which is illustrated in every work cited I submitted, I utilized Purdue Owl which provides rigid and proper MLA formatting templates. All I had to do was follow the template and plug in my content by simply just using the meta information given on the website or database.

In my final thoughts on my achievements of the course learning outcomes, I cover my study of rhetoric as well as language and literacy, which were two new topics that I was introduced to thanks to this class. Throughout the course, I have engaged in countless examinations of rhetoric and rhetorical situations. In class, we examined many of the rhetorical situations of critical essays, poems, and advertisements. I worked to critically analyze these works to find the audience and the author’s intention, this analysis could be seen in my participation in classroom discussions that were held over such works. I also began to craft an essay with rhetoric in mind, which is quite exemplified in my critical analysis essay of Amy Tan in which I write the essay addressing three different audiences of varying ages for each paragraph. In tailoring each body paragraph to a new audience I found that I had to change the complexity of my rammer, writing structure, and academic thoughts. In one section I tailor my writing to children, and thus utilize simple words with few syllables and spread out fewer ideas across each sentence using much of the space to explain each idea as a child might struggle to understand a litany of complex academic ideas (Segura 3). Finally, I have worked this semester studying the role of language in society specifically I have spent time researching the harmful effects of language discrimination. In my research essay, I delved into the effects language discrimination had upon young learners in compulsory education. Through my research, I undercovered how critical language and literacy were to shaping the futures of these young learners and thus came to the realization of language in our society. I also spent considerable time reflecting on my language and literacy as a Mexican-American and how it influenced my identity. This retrospection was beneficial to understanding the scope and function of language and literacy as personalizing the topic made me connect more to it. 

Throughout this course, I have to tread new ground in discovering new techniques formulations, and thoughts on the studies of language and writing. The time I spent working on assignments, lectures, and debates about these subjects constituted the majority of my learning to the point where I feel confident in my levels of understanding. My learning could not have been possible without the work you, the professor, have put in to make this course engaging, fair, and exciting. Furthermore, the work of my classmates has also helped me achieve both higher levels of learning and the course learning goals. I had a lot of fun this semester in your class even though I struggled through a lot of homework and even more personal issues. I enrolled in English Composition 2 for next semester so I can continue to learn more about this language that surrounds and envelops my very being.  

Works Cited 

Segura, Esteban. “Rhetorical Analysis Essay Final Draft”. English 110, 2022.

Segura, Esteban. “On Linguistic Discrimination in Compulsory Education – Esteban Segura”. English 110, 2022.

Graff, Brandon. “Esteban Peer Review by Brandon Graff”. English 110, 2022.

MRCHICKEN. “Clip Art Graphic of a Blue Guy Character Researching a Book with a Magnifying Glass by Jester Arts Image.” Clker.com, 17 Jan. 2012, http://www.clker.com/clipart-172636.html. 

(couldn’t even make up that citation if I wanted to lol)