De La O 1

Kate De La O

Instructor McCann

English 1301.127

27 November 2021

An Experience: The Final Reflection

Writers are not born but grow through time and experience. A writer must undergo a

journey to reach the level of mastery in communication that they are associated with. English

1301 was just that, an experience in my writing journey. Prior to English 1301, my knowledge in

writing was minimal; only the fundamentals taught in one or two writing classes. Now coming to

the end of this journey, there is an apparent improvement in my writing. From the writing

process to new resources, English 1301 has significantly impacted all aspects of writing.

Writing in grade school differs greatly from that of writing in college. With a time-

restraint set on the articulation of an essay, I had never completed the circular writing process.

With only one hour to brainstorm and generate a complete essay, I was familiarized with a linear

writing process. Only ever going back to re-read the essay once completed. This created a

problem when drafts were required in this course. After years of editing a sentence mentally

before setting it down on paper, writing drafts that truly were drafts was difficult. Every

sentence, word, and paragraph written was the finalized version of itself. It was almost as if once

written the phrase was set in stone, un-editable. Leaving me to question if the words chosen

accurately express what I am trying to say, which in turn generated writer's block. However, the

two-week time frame set for each essay allowed me to undergo the complete writing process:

prewriting, drafting, revision, editing, and publication. Now understanding the importance of
 De La O 2

each writing phase, writing has become more enjoyable. No longer feeling burdened by the

"perfect" choice of words, writer's block is less prominent.

As previously mentioned, writer's block was a recurring problem prior to English 1301. I

often found myself only being able to generate one cohesive and engaging essay before needing

a break, not being able to create anything else worthy of being seen. Activities in this course,

such as Christopher Lehyman-Haut's "Critic Notebook," covered the bases of writer's block

along with possible cures. Learning to write during a writer's block episode is one of the many

life-long lessons acquired during this course. Before beginning an essay, fear of writing in the

unexperienced genre tainted my ability to write, shattered any self-confidence in my writing,

often inducing writer's block early in the process. My writer's block is less prominent as my

writing has become more efficient and flexible to differing essay styles and prompts. Writer's

block will never fade for as long as there are writers; however, writer's block may evolve. In my

case, writer's block is no longer about the intimidation of the requirements but by the

overwhelming number of ideas. Having practiced viewing essay topics from various aspects, in

essays 1-3, I am no longer grasping at straws for ideas to mention within my essay. Instead, I am

overflowing with ideas, often feeling overwhelmed, not knowing where to begin or what

concepts to mention. A solution is the use of essay outlines. This tactic creates a foundation and

visual for the plethora of ideas floating around, waiting to be elaborated. Being able to pick and

choose which essay topics are worthy of being mentioned within essays is improvement

compared to staring at a blank page, waiting for inspiration to hit, for that one idea to appear

suddenly.

With a new advanced perspective in writing, going back to revise my essays for the

English 1301 portfolio revealed significant changes and patterns in my writing style.
 De La O 3

Patterns, such as the decline in the utilization of the author's words and quotes, are apparent

throughout the semester's essays. Analyzing an essay's subject allows me to integrate more of my

analysis, my words, my ideas. After all, the power yielded by words is unlimitable.

Evidently, a formal tone can be found throughout the three essays. A formal tone is not so much

a liability, but a bit of a blockade, preventing me from connecting with my audience emotionally.

When trying to appeal to the audience's emotions, a formal tone is not very effective. There is a

wall of formality preventing me from connecting with my audience. I wish to practice more with

what I call a "poetic writing style." This is when the author becomes vulnerable yet formal and

creates vivid imagery similar to poems. This style of writing, in my opinion, is what keeps a

reader captivated and desiring more. The "poetic writing style" is evident in my reflections, as

there was experimentation with certain words, imagery, and vulnerability.

Essay 1, "The Problem in The Shadows," was a rhetorical analysis of a community's

rhetoric. Not having previous experience with rhetorical analysis, essay 1 proved to be a bit of a

challenge. In addition to the "new" circular writing process, the new essay genre gave way too

severe writer's block and uncertainty. With assistance from Andrea Lunsford's "Everyone's an

Author," there was a basic understanding of what this essay required. After completing my

second draft, I went to TAMIU's Academic Center for Excellence (ACE). It is there where my

doubts were addressed. Identifying the root of my uncertainty with the format of the essay

revealed that it was not the content of my essay that was the problem but rather the order in

which it was presented. Taking this into consideration, the final draft for essay 1 was

reformatted. While editing this essay for the portfolio, sentences and grammatical errors were

revised to convey what I was trying to say more effectively. The sentence structure was also
 De La O 4

edited to fix complicated and confusing thoughts. Overall, the essay was cohesive and covered

the genre analysis prompt.

Essay 2, "Menu Masters," was the comparison and contrast of three communities'

rhetoric. The three restaurants selected all differed in ambiance, meaning the comparison of their

online menu would be more intriguing to the audience. Using experience in format acquired

from essay one, the format chosen for "Menu Masters" was selected based on the content of the

essay and taking into consideration repetitiveness. Familiarized with compare and contrasts

essays a recurring frustration is repetitiveness. Constantly having to name the subjects being

compared can become frustrating for a reader and even more for a writer. The integrated format

provided a solution to this problem. Instead of organizing my paragraphs by the subjects, in this

case restaurant's menus, the essay is formatted by the aspect in which the subjects are being

compared. For example, instead of writing an analysis of each restaurant's menu in separate

paragraphs, the paragraphs will be written by the element they either differ or have in common.

Because essay 1, "The Problem Hidden in The Shadows," was a rhetorical analysis, it served as

sufficient practice for the rhetorical analysis required in essay 2, "Menu Masters." The actual

articulation itself was a breeze compared to the stagnant writing process and style of essay 1. It is

in this essay where an improvement in my brainstorming outline became apparent. The

brainstorming process was more in-depth, allowing for more organization and control over the

essay. Attending the TAMIU ACE center confirmed that the integrated format was the best

option and the writing itself cohesive. When re-visiting this essay for the portfolio, similarly to

the first essay, only sentence structure was revised along with minor grammatical errors.

Essay 3, "Genetic Modification Hysteria," was the rhetorical analysis of an argumentative

essay. Besides the practice of rhetorical analysis, there was also the practice of researching. With
 De La O 5

today's advanced technology, thousands of articles are available with a couple of clicks of the

keys. Anyone, anywhere, can upload new discoveries, share their thoughts, build a community of

like-minded people, and so on, but nothing comes only with positives. Because anyone can

upload anything, there are many false claims. Identifying which sources are reliable and which

are not is a crucial skill in today's modern world. With various activities going over reliable

sources and improved research, the article selected was "Why Worry About Genetically

Modified Babies?" by Jessica Cussins and Marcy Darnovsky. Having done two previous

rhetorical analysis essays, "Genetic Modification Hysteria" was an enjoyable process from the

start. As previously mentioned, writing became a dreaded process after years of writing in a

linear writing process. Being a book lover, writing was a way to mirror what I became engrossed

in during my free time. An opportunity to experiment with the accumulation of differing writing

styles, all in hopes of finding my own. The desire and excitement of writing were drained away

by the demands of grade school writing. The stripping of individuality in one's writing, forced to

write in the only "correct" and "preferred" style of writing. "Genetic Modification Hysteria" is

the first essay in many years that kept me enthusiastic during the entire articulation of the paper;

it reinstituted my love for writing. Out of all the essays "Genetic Modification Hysteria," served

as proof to myself of progression, proof that all the time and work set into English 1301 was not

in vain, but for lessons that will be utilized for years to come.

The portfolio is the accumulation of the semester's work. It represents all of the struggle,

frustration, joy, relief, and growth of the semester. This portfolio is the first of many to come in,

which showcases my growth and most valued pieces. When designing the online portfolio, many

ideas and themes came to mind, but in the end, I resulted with a sunflower theme. Not only is the

sunflower my favorite flower and color, but it mirrors the growth of my writing. Just like the
 De La O 6

sunflower, my writing has grown and faces the sun, a promise of tomorrow, as I look to the

future, to where a writing journey awaits. The activities selected for this portfolio showcase the

enhancement in my writing, as well as the most impacting activities. The "Chrysler Ad Analysis"

was the first activity. Notably, the writing was not as elaborative and had minimal structure.

"College Writing Activity" not only shows the significant improvement made in a couple of

weeks, it also represents comprehension of formatting. With more elaboration and a structure,

my writing style almost instantly became more efficient and effective. "Coping with Writer's

Block" was a key factor in the identification of what caused my writer's block episode, as well as

identifying means of procrastination. Each of these activities were selected for their contribution

to the journey of my writing style. The program was pretty straightforward, not overly

complicated, but not overly simplified, allowing sufficient room for personalization. The most

tedious component was the relocation of the features amongst the page. With the boxes quickly

snapping to suggested locations, navigation to the desired location was time-consuming and

frustrating. Loving arts and crafts only amplified my excitement for the designing of the website.

However, that was quickly dismayed following the crashing of the website. The website crash

caused all of my progress to become deleted, resetting all of the pages back to the default

template. Despite the major setback, this website portrays part of my personality while

simultaneously representing the end of a journey and the beginning of others to come.

Every journey comes to an end. Regardless of whether the journey was joyful or

infuriating, every journey provides a new lesson. As Ernest Hemingway once said, "It is good to

have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." My journey through

English 1301 has left a permanent imprint in not only my writing styles but also other aspects,

such as research. Now having written three varying rhetorical analysis papers, there is room for
 De La O 7

experimentation in future essays correlating with rhetorical analysis, messing with formatting,

and finding new ways to break down varying rhetoric. My writing came in as a seedling, waiting

desperately for the drops of knowledge needed to bud. Having gone through the blooming stage

of my writing, it is time to wilt and regrow. Time to start a new journey and share what

knowledge I have acquired to others waiting to begin theirs.