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Melody Hernandez

Professor McClure

Writing 39B

21 February 2018

RA Reflection

In my Writing 39B: The Rhetoric of Horror course we were assigned a thesis-driven

Rhetorical Analysis paper that focused on how our selected text ​is shaped by the horror genre

and the historical context that it was written in. Additionally, we were asked to analyze how the

author uses rhetoric to get a message across within a specific context to a specific audience. With

that being said, I chose to analyze ​I Am Legend​ by Richard Matheson in accordance with the

ideas found in Tony Magistrale and Michael Morrison’s ​A Dark Night’s Dreaming​ and Noel

Carroll’s ​The Nature of Horror​.

Without a doubt, I am very proud of the drastic improvement in the quality of my paper

from the first to the final draft. Fortunately, the final product was not what I envisioned because

it turned out better than I expected. The component of my essay that I believed worked best was

my ability to incorporate Carroll and Morrison’s ideas within my essay because of the coherence

of their ideas with my assertion of what Matheson’s message of the novel was. However, there

were some instances where I questioned whether or not I was straying away from the scope of

my essay.

Overall, if I were given the opportunity to rewrite the essay I would improve the writing

process by changing my approach to the drafting process in regards to time management. In the

beginning, I underestimated Professor McClure’s expectations for the paper. Therefore, I

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procrastinated and did not become fully invested in producing a quality paper until further in the

writing process. My biggest regret is not asking my Professor for assistance with incorporating

Matheson’s message within my essay and for general feedback earlier in the writing process.

Attending Office Hours, allowed me to gain an insight on the strengths of my paper and the

components it lacked. Additionally, it gave me the opportunity to ask specific questions on areas

of the essay I was struggling with such as the structure of paragraphs and the flow of the essay.

If I had met with my Professor sooner, I would have allowed myself more time to develop a

stronger argument and scope of the essay, while seeking more feedback from my instructor

before the final draft.

On the other hand, I was slightly opposed to the Peer Review process because I do not

believe it was as efficient or as helpful as it could have been. For the most part, I was frustrated

by the fact that we were not allowed to choose our group members as our peer review partners. It

was very awkward reaching out to other peers that I had never interacted with before. I was

uncomfortable with the fact that we were supposed to share our papers with a stranger

considering that I am very insecure about my writing abilities. Therefore, it was harder for me to

ask them questions about their comments because of the lack of communication between my

partners and I. However, I came to appreciate the peer review process when I was paired with a

classmate who genuinely seemed interested in helping me improve my paper and provided a

good amount of constructive criticism.

The most important thing I learned from my partners is that I need to work on ensuring

that certain components of my essay aligned with the methods we were instructed to use. For

example, I did not use the “Three-Step Method” to establish the credibility of my sources until
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my final draft. This was an important component in assuring that I could establish my authority

through the use of the credible sources. Additionally, I learned that I had to focus on ensuring

that I did not repeat certain phrases or words continuously throughout my paper. To be specific, I

had this issue with my conclusion paragraph which at first restated my entire introduction.

Fortunately, with the guidance of my Professor and peer review partners I was able to compose a

conclusion that added further insight to message communicated to the audience.

My greatest improvements as a writer as the result of my essay was my attitude towards

academic writing and my attention to detail. Shifting my mentality towards the essay allowed me

to become more dedicated to the writing process and develop a piece that I am proud of.

Additionally, my attention to detail improved and is demonstrated in the essay through the

placement of each paragraph. Each paragraph is placed in a way that the analysis of the previous

paragraph is further examined in a defined scope in within next paragraph. For clarification

purposes, my paragraphs build on the broader ideas presented in previous paragraphs in a way

that further dissects specific components of the main idea . My attention to detail allowed me to

successfully connect all the elements of my essay in a logical way.

I will reflect on this writing experience upon my enrollment in upper division writing and

my participation in research. The knowledge I gained on academic writing will allow me to

present myself as a writer with authority and credibility. Meanwhile, my increased attention to

detail will allow me to be distinguished from my peers when writing research papers in my

respected field. Overall, I will use this experience in order to work towards improving my time

management skills for future writing assignments allowing me to develop higher quality pieces

thus increasing my confidence as a writer.