Guerrero 1

Julie Guerrero

Rosario Jarrell

ENGL 1301 - 211

15 March 2024

Reflection Essay

As I reflect on Essay 2, Visual Analysis, I have gained a better understanding on the use

of illustrations. They are everywhere and are made with much meaning. Art is made with the

intention of targeting a specific audience. Ranging from album covers to posters, and even ads.

The creators of visuals attempt to reach out and connect with their intended audience emotionally

or to educate them. My particular essay, along with the conference, urged me to gain an in-depth

perspective on illustrations.

Learning to grasp a deeper concept of elements can come in handy in my UNIV course.

Recently, in this class, I was presented images on rallies of feminism. Women waving up signs in

the air, speaking out on disregarded issues. Such as, the pink tax. These signs are composed of

drawings such as the symbol for female, in pink, with an “x” over them. A bloody axe next to the

phrase “Axe the Tax.” The message on these posters are straight-foward, but when taking a

picture of all these women rallying as a whole with no context, analysis is needed. Visual

analysis can answer various questions that come to mind. Such as, what are they rallying? Who

are these women? Why are they located in that specific area? Deeply observing these images and

looking beyond what is presented will make it simpler to understand what is going on.

During the composition of this second essay, I tackled it the same way as the first, for the

most part. In this essay, I wanted the ideas to flow easier. I didn’t want to procrastinate as I did in

the last paper, so I attended a tutoring session. At first, the ACE tutoring session seemed as if it
 Guerrero 2

was an extra, unneeded step in order to complete the essay. Yet, when I attended it, writing the

essay became much simpler. I usually have an idea of what will be included in my paper, but

never have a visual. So, when attending the ACE meeting, I spoke my ideas out loud, and my

tutor wrote them down. When coming to a dead-end on content to add, we bounced off each

other's ideas. Soon, things that had gone unnoticed on the album cover were all jotted down. We

interpreted what each element of the album art meant. Such as, why all the landscaping was

showcased, why the specific colors, etc. Multiple “why” questions were thrown around. The

result of this ACE meeting was constructing a brainstorming paper. Once I got home, I started

pre-writing. I had the main-idea, but now it was time to form sentences. Then, came the first

draft which just flowed out of my fingers.

The process on the concepts of composing an essay can also help in my History 1301

class. History is filled with many stories from the past, and to make sure I got an understanding

of a particular topic, I must complete an essay. There are many stories that build-up to major

events, so brainstorming is required. Listing all the stories working-up to the event will help

when composting the first draft. Pre-writing would help in knowing the background on the minor

events. When they occurred and why they occurred. Once I get to writing, it will be a breeze.

The essay will be, practically, written for me.

Regarding the conference with you, I got a lot of helpful feedback. I realized I was

off-topic in my introduction. I went on about elements that were not provided in the image. I

gave too much background on the album itself, instead of the cover in general. That correction

was made right away. I deleted all the redundant information and included more background on

albums in general. Another mistake pointed out was the “cracked lens.” Since I had made the

analogy, the metaphor made sense in my head and didn't take into consideration how readers
 Guerrero 3

could be confused. I needed to be more clear on how my metaphor was not a literal cracked lens

on the album cover. To fix this, I reworded my sentence to clear up any confusion that could be

made.

When my essay was reviewed by my peers, I got only good feedback. My second

paragraph was filled with underlined text saying I did good on analyzing the album cover. The

only corrections I got was to change the title of my essay to something more creative. So, I

removed “Reflection Essay” and edited it to “Essence of Art.” The second correction I was

suggested to make was to move my image. I had placed the album cover image at the end of my

essay when it was supposed to be placed on the first page.

Continuing, after making all the edits needed to clear up any irrelevant information, I

proofread. I made sure to state how the “cracked lens” was a metaphor. I deleted information in

my introduction that gave too much, unneeded background information on the album. As well as

statements regarding the music in the album. Afterwards, I reread the whole essay to make sure I

made the proper, suggested edits my essay needed to transform it to the best version. It is

important to become aware of these mistakes so in other assignments they are easily spotted and

corrected. After enough practice, much editing will not be needed.

This essay, to me, was the easiest essay so far. The only part I usually struggle with is the

word count. Sometimes, I feel as if I have given as much information as I could, and I still do not

meet the word count. One of the lessons you taught in class was “there is always more to say.”

So, I would reread my essay and spot any places where I could be more descriptive. Before I

knew it, after analyzing and going more into depth on the album cover, I met the word count.

“There is always more to say,” is what I will keep in mind for future writing assignments, since it

helped me a lot with this essay two.

Guerrero 4