Final!

At first, I was definitely dreading that this class was a writing class. I have never been great at writing and was just taking this class for a general education credit. Thankfully, I do believe that it has helped me in my writing, and even in my reading. In the free writes and a couple of the assignments really got me interested in the subject that I was writing about. Instead of it feeling like an assignment, it was more of a journal. Just being able to put my voice put on paper (or on the computer). It also taught me that you definitely do not need to be formal all the time when writing. You have to formulate who your audience is and then make your piece appealing towards them. I loved the first major paper about our relationship with reading or writing. I just felt that with that assignment, I could just write forever because it was my experience and my voice especially. I think starting off with this assignment got me thinking about how I write and then later on seeing how that improved in blog-assignments like the open letter. I loved how everything was super open, and you could really write about things that we are passionate about.

Well, I learned what rhetoric meant and how to apply it. But I would actually have to say that yes, my writing has improved. After going back to see how my writing style was at the beginning of the semester and before, it was bland and did not really have any important context or rhetoric. I followed the 5-paragraph rule, and it seemed like I was writing to a brick wall. But now, my writing has gotten more aggressive because I want my voice to be heard and appeal to people. Getting straight to the point, therefore, making my argument stronger in fewer words. Writing seems more comfortable and flows better. I have wanted to get back into reading just so I can be better at writing.

Like I said, I now understand what rhetoric is. Before the class started, I texted my friend who is a creative writing major to ask her what this class was. I even asked her what rhetoric was. It still didn’t register after that. But now I do, learning how to formulate your writing to properly persuade your audience, and get them emotionally invested. I feel like that throughout the semester, we had assignments that show us how to use rhetorical devices, and how they are used in different mediums. I loved how you can show rhetoric with pictures to enhance your writing too. That was a fun little addition to any paper.

An assignment that I really enjoyed doing were the Maus I and Maus II readings. I thought it was super creative how Spiegelman used a graphic novel to interview his father about the holocaust. In a way I connected the assignment with our Identity Focus similar to the reading. Although not as intense as Siegelman’s novel, ours was more of an autobiography on what makes us as a person. This in relation shapes who we are as writers. I realized after this assignment I love writing about my family, swimming, and cooking. There are things that I will just gravitate towards as they’re the topics that I feel comfortable with. So that’s what I learned about myself as a writer, I write best with what I want to write.

I really did love this class as it made writing very fun! Thank you for a great (but weird) semester!