For the Fall Semester of 2012 I took my English 2010 course as required for my Associates Degree. At the beginning of class our teacher told us that we needed to pick one topic to be discussed in the next three assignments; Memoir/Profile, Evaluation/Report, and Position Argument/Proposal. I decided I wanted to write on the high costs of higher education in the U.S. and it’s affects on students and families. I felt this would be a topic that would be able to hold my interest for at least three assignments since I can personally relate to it as a financially strapped full time student who is also working full time. To complete these assignments I utilized several differing processes depending on the type of paper I was trying to write. For my Profile assignment I decided to look close to home for someone’s story to share. I was considering making it a Memoir of my own educational experience, but I felt that the experience of my husband would reflect more strongly the feelings I was trying to convey to my. He is farther along in his education and has experience more challenges than I have. You can read more about his experience in my paper below, titled “The Path to Education. The challenge I faced with this particular assignment was attempting to use all forms of argument: Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. I was strongly inclined to use the form of Pathos (emotion) primarily, but I did want my words to have logic and clout behind it. So I made sure to get my facts straight and present my narrative honestly to achieve all that I wanted. I faced similar challenges for all of my papers and tackled them in the same way. You will be able to view these assignments below to judge for yourself on how well I did. For myself I felt that I demonstrated the ability to adapt strategies of argumentation, style and design for any given writing situation. I am successfully able to write comprehensively in multiple genres. I am able to approach reading and research critically, analytically, and rhetorically, choosing appropriate research strategies for a particular writing task. I can cite sources appropriately for the writing situation, including using an academic system of citation with a high degree of proficiency. I am able to understand and respond critically to a civic conversation and become a legitimate participant in that conversation. Lastly I have shown that I can conceive, draft, and revise many kinds of documents, so that it contains a minimum of surface error, independently. I appreciate the opportunity I have had to take this class because I felt like it taught me how to not only write these types of papers, but also why I would want to. It helped me recognize the importance of approaching your topic with the right type of genre and media perspective to convey your message in an optimal manner. This is progressive for me because I used to approach assignments like my husband going shopping: get in, get out, and get on with something more productive. Now I appreciate the value of reflecting on the words I am using and whether or not they convey my true purpose. |
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