Alberto Santana

ENGL 11000

May 5th, 2023

Before taking this class I thought I was very well-versed in my writing. In high school, I got into an IB English class that was supposed to model a college class. But an actual college writing class was very different from how I thought it would be. I was used to taking ideas the professor would give us and then writing an essay about something I didn’t care about. A lot of time was spent analyzing things that we would never look at again. But this class was different because every assignment contributed to another and I felt more freedom in writing about things I cared about such as language barriers and gun control.

 All three phases were interesting and kept me engaged the entire time. I don’t think I even missed a class because it wasn’t boring to write for the first time. As I said before, I didn’t think many more improvements could be made to my work,  but as I look at all the course learning outcomes  – which seem so simple at first – I can see they have provided me with a deeper understanding of the various components that make an essay great and unique. Using many of the techniques that were presented during the lectures and looking back at the many free writes, Blackboard discussion posts, and essays I can see the outcomes there and improvement from each essay.

The first phase served as a great gateway into writing about things I cared about and that impacted me. This phase allowed me to “Examine how attitudes towards linguistic standards empower and oppress language users.” There are many different assignments I will go through that I feel show this, but I would also like to mention that the free writing at the beginning of class went a long way, It served as a way to put all the clutter in your mind onto paper and this allowed for ideas to start flowing nicely to use later. Free writing is not a phase-specific thing as it was done all semester, but when I did my first one it was a breakthrough moment for me because I never dedicated time to just free-writing about something with no specific structure or worry about getting a good grade. The first assignment that I feel shows this learning outcome was our Blackboard discussion post about Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue.” This assignment allowed me to voice my opinion which was locked deep in my mind about how normalized it isto assume things and treat people differently because of a language barrier. The standardization of English made it so anyone who could not come up to the standard was seen as less than others. I had first-hand experience with these issues, but I never realized how many times microaggressions have taken place when I was younger because of my mother’s English. My essay and writing on the discussion board on language barriers helped me express these emotions and also show how much language is used to oppress others. In my essay, I outlined how I used the thing people treat you differently for and tried to make it a positive. Coming from a different language and then also learning the “standard language” creates a big advantage. I felt that “it’s important to maintain the dominant language of the country you’re in while also embracing your cultural language. Being bilingual not only helps you communicate with a broader range of people but also allows you to fully appreciate and understand different cultures.” This portion of my essay builds off of the discussion post about Amy Tan. I related to this story a lot and I wrote that “ the mother went to the hospital and was not taken seriously. This makes me think about how my mom feels anytime she wants me to double-check a text she’s about to send to her boss or coworkers.” Not articulating yourself in the way others deem socially acceptable can allow for discrimination. It made my mother push me to perfect my English while also embracing our spanish language so I would be at an advantage knowing both and could easily switch in different social environments.

In the second phase I started to incorporate tools like outline strategies and taking inspiration from some of the articles we read for ideas, and also started to make better use of the peer review process where I was able to converse and connect with others effectively. Building off of my peers propelled me into a good train of thought and when they were having trouble continuing their essay I was able to provide help. I “explored and analyzed, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.” Although this continued throughout all phases the first one which I felt this showed was when I wrote my opinion piece in a completely different genre. I wrote using similar tones, but got the message across through a different medium. I was able to build off of my peers and propelled someone into a good train of thought when they were having trouble starting their essay. At the same time when he had this realization, I was able to further expand mine into the second genre which was a poem. I chose a poem because it allows for further artistic freedom and the audience can interpret your writing in different ways. Unlike an essay where you are usually guiding the audience and reinforcing your opinion. I wanted the reader to come up with their feelings on the issue based on what they read, hoping that they would see what I see or come up with other solutions I haven’t thought of. I also “developed Strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing”  by collaborating with other classmates and trying to build off of each other’s suggestions. There were times when I had a group who was barely halfway through their essay and couldn’t think of anything until we all came together and shared something that made us have a breakthrough in our writing.

The third phase is where I was able to use exercises we had done in class like grammar workshops and source analysis to find out if the information was credibleand worth using. Although these seem simple, they are the things that are easily forgotten so it was important to drill the concept into me and how to expand on my work. We also worked on properly citing sources in every type of style which allowed me to be more comfortable with the works I cite because I have everyone’s presentation as a resource to refer to if I’m ever stuck. This helped me “Practice systematic application of citation conventions.” My research paper in phase three was a very detailed and thorough analysis of an issue I feel strongly about, and that is stricter gun control. I used a very serious tone but what got my message across was all of the statistics I used along with peer-reviewed studies. This shows that I can “Compose texts that integrate a stance with appropriate sources, using strategies such as summary, analysis, synthesis, and argumentation.” I mentioned the different numbers of deaths across many categories and some processes that could be improved on in our legal system referencing the studies done.

In conclusion, I felt that I attained many of the course learning outcomes and have continued to grow throughout each phase. My essays, discussion board posts, and free-writes are all examples of my progress. Something I wished I had done earlier is give more to the person peer reviewing my work. During the first phase, I held back a little when I knew I was going to be reviewed, but after I realized it was very helpful and there was fair constructive criticism. If I had just put down everything I thought of without worrying if it was wrong or sounded weird I think the essay would have had an even better outcome because of the different perspective. However, I feel like there was overall improvement in my analysis of sources, writing for different audiences, examining linguistic standards, and using correct citation conventions.