At the beginning of the semester, most of the writings I’ve done consisted of a more analytical evaluation of the text from articles or readings but in this class, it consisted of more evaluation from different types of sources. Throughout the semester, I have learned to transform my writing abilities to focus more on engaging the audience and to strengthen my writing abilities. 

    In my Op-ed, I was able to discuss and tackle real-life social issues at the time which was about the pandemic. I wasn’t used to this practice because I would often discuss articles or readings that were given but this time it was more of my choosing. This, as well as the critical analysis essay, where I chose to talk about the education system, I was allowed to choose the topic and pick outsources to use. I was able to connect a real social issue and relate them to my personal experiences. For example, in my Op-ed, I discussed my personal opinions with people that believe that the pandemic was an equalizer. I used reliable sources to show the discrimination and exclusivity of POC affected by the pandemic. This was used as a means to strengthen my claim and I included a personal account to demonstrate pathos. 

   I still struggle to implement informative-based information and include personal opinions as well, but I was able to understand the importance of including these sources. I was also able to account for the feedback that was given to me by my classmates. I usually get assignments where they give comments after I do them but it was nice to see a change in the way I consider them because I could work to improve my work. For example in my visual essay, One of my classmates spoke about how I could improve my work, and one of their advice was to include music or sounds in the background to make my video more engaging. I took their advice and was able to figure out how to do this. I think it made my assignment even better than it did and I wouldn’t have considered it if it wasn’t for them. The feedback given by classmates on my drafts helped me recognize my mistakes and things I need to improve to strengthen my essay. For example, my grammatical errors in my essay sometimes go unnoticed until it’s pointed out. They’ve also made me look back at my work for any errors although sometimes it still happens so I hope to improve that. 

    I learned about rhetorical situations such as the use of pathos, logos, and ethos in writing. I’ve learned about it, but I was never able to use them in my writing and I learned this new method of connecting my writing to the audience. The incorporation of the rhetorical situation made me answer questions about which my audience was and what my intended goal for them was. It’s still challenging to consider who exactly my audience was but by thinking about more in this semester, it’s something to work on afterward and continue. I used new tools and programs to produce assignments. I was able to step out of my comfort zone and explore services that would help me. I’ve used google scholar before when finding scholarly sources. For example, in my critical analysis, I used the CCNY library to find sources that would help connect with my essay. I also used google scholar in my Op-ed to gather statistical information. I used different types of programs and methods to improve my visual essay. I used video editing software which I’ve never done for an assignment before so I gathered every component I’ve recently learned how to do and found a new way to utilize this tool. 

   I’ve taken up new round skills while also strengthening the ones I already have. I knew how to cite sources because of my previous classes but I was now able to interpret them differently and more critically. I haven’t mastered the skills yet but from practice and the advice given I hope it’s enough to improve.