This class has challenged me to exceed my limits and has set new boundaries of what I thought I was capable of. Being a non-native English speaker had me struggling a lot in expressing myself during this class since I automatically think in my native language. The main struggle in my writing process was being able to use a rich vocabulary and formulate a good sentence instantly. Although to some extent I believe I have achieved this, I had to waste a lot of time searching and finding the right synonym for a word, and looking at examples of how a certain word was used in a sentence and this has slowed down the process of my writing, and automatically had me struggling to finish the assignments on time. However, I am glad that I got to practice and develop this skill because the value of vocabulary is primary in writing as a scientist. I must say that I fully embrace the struggles of my journey and feel proud of myself.
Throughout the semester, I have completed many assignments that have helped me further extend my writing skills. Besides that, I feel like I have gotten much better at reading and assessing readings. However, the most important thing is that this course has helped me grow as a writer. I consider that I made this progress mainly through six assignments that I have completed, three of them accompanied by self-reflection memos. We have also done peer reviews and engaged in BlackBoard discussions, which for me were very helpful and interesting; I felt like I was getting feedback and reaction directly from the audience.
Beginning with the Formal Letter of Introduction, I had the first chance to write in this genre since I had never written a professional letter before. In this assignment, I was able to both learn how to write an official formal letter in an appropriate format and convey a sense of my own personal self. I had to discuss my goals and how I expect this course to contribute to my writing goals. Based on the feedback I got from my instructor, I noticed how at some points I struggled to fit my information in the format of the letter, which was in this case, addressed to my professor, not to a general audience. Course learning outcomes I achieved through this assignment were exploring and analyzing rhetorical situations and how to use them regarding genre requirements and audience expectations.
In the Product Review Essay, I had to analyze and describe a product in detail based on reliable sources. This assignment required a technical description of the product rather than just giving information about it. I failed in providing facts in some of the information that I gave, which means that I did not fully complete the review of that product. However, I gained knowledge on how to write a proper product review for future reference. Course learning outcomes I achieved in this assignment are practicing using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate appropriate sources for writing projects.
The Leadership Presentation was where I had to express myself in a completely new genre. I made this presentation with my audience being my focus. I explored different strategies when writing in this specific genre, and I learned how to consider both my writing and visual choices to make sure that they best engage my audience. Course learning outcomes that I achieved in this assignment were understanding and using print and digital technologies to address an audience. The way this assignment has contributed to my growth is by developing my skills in digging deep into different sources for the purpose of bringing up the most relevant points to best deliver my message. The self-reflection memo for this presentation required my analysis of my work for this presentation and relate it to my writing growth. My feedback consisted of good information but lacked the connection of what specific course learning outcomes contributed to that growth.
In the Scientific Rhetorical Analysis assignment, I have completed different rhetorical analyses in an article and have learned how to discuss the article’s key points. Course learning outcomes I achieved through this assignment were formulating and articulating a stance through and in my writing. I achieved this by analyzing another author’s rhetorical choices and this is a good writing technique that helped me recognize a distinct value of a source’s particular information. This was the hardest assignment for me. Because of that, it is the least favorite, however, I must say I might have gained the most from it. I have been writing and changing a lot through this assignment, something that made my writing stronger and at the same time, I realized a lot about myself. An artifact that I consider has contributed to my writing growth that falls under this assignment is the scientific report approval on a BlackBoard discussion. During this discussion, I had to re-write my summary a couple of times until I had clearly presented the point that the article discusses. I learned how to briefly but concisely summarize a scientific report. This process contained constant engagement and feedback from my professor, therefore, this discussion helped me develop my strategy for reading, writing, drafting, revising, and self-assessment.
Annotated Bibliography was an ice-breaking assignment for me since I got to analyze more than one source at a time. In this phase, I learned to strengthen my source use practices and identify a good source from a bad one. I was able to analyze various articles and write for each a brief summary mentioning the key points that relate to my research topic. Course learning outcomes that I achieved through this were to practice using various resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate for my writing. Personally, I have found this assignment very effective as it has successfully served the purpose of delivering my message in my next assignment which was a collaborative research project.
Collaborative Research Project was the last and my favorite assignment. Through this, I intended to share some of the knowledge I gained from sources I analyzed in my Annotated Bibliography. During this assignment, we found a topic that concerned us, researched on and picked a genre that we thought would best deliver our message to the audience. First, we had to write a proposal pitch which also contributed as an artifact to my writing growth. The proposal consisted of an outline and a purpose for our research. We distributed our research on three different aspects, where each one of us would focus on one. I usually don’t like group projects because I’m a fan of working independently, but I was pleased with the way I and my two other group members carried this whole assignment. Course learning outcomes I achieved in this assignment were developing strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, and editing. Most importantly, I learned how to distribute work and communicate effectively with group members.
Informative Review assignment required strong research and organizational skills. This is the assignment that I struggled the most with because I had to research and analyze a number of sources and compare different arguments to inform the public on a specific topic by sharing both sides of the argument while remaining completely objective. I believe I achieved this goal by using rhetorical strategies that represent unbiased discussions, which help readers to point out deceiving information. One of the course learning objectives applied by my writing is the location of research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias. I have managed to locate sources that highlight the unbiasedness of some false vaccines publications. I struggled a lot when writing the memo for this assignment because I kept providing information on my essay content, rather than focusing only on the quality of my writing. After the revision, I did address some of my writing strategies and the CLOs applied by my writing at the end of the memo. However, based on the feedback I should get rid of any example from the essay and only be specific about my writing struggles, strategies, and growth.
My outcome from this class has exceeded my expectations, and I feel very confident after going through these assignments. As a student adapting to a new country and a new language I was always scared to engage in argumentative conversations that generate more serious topics because I was afraid that my limited English will block me from expressing my thoughts. This course has improved my ability to recognize and make arguments in English. Although this course was held online, still there was some way to transcend the limits of the screen and I had the opportunity to still experience a positive virtual community in this space through discussion board posts. My goal is to be a successful architect, and communication and articulation are powerful tools in order to achieve success in any field. If you are able to express and articulate ideas, explore and analyze a variety of genres and rhetorical situations you can be very powerful so, in my opinion, this course is going to play a key role in my journey of achieving goals.
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