Throughout this year I have learned many literary skills and tools to better my writing. This class has been very interesting and honestly I’ve only had one English class similar to it and it was last semester. All the communication that has been done for writing during this course is very helpful, the peer reviews and constant different opinions on how to do this better or what to fix is great. A lot of people don’t like criticism but it’s how you improve in life and work to better yourself all around. This course has taught me to use my resources better and I can say that it has helped. I don’t think I’m very good at writing but my papers have gotten better. Looking back at this whole semester each paper has improved and I think that I have achieved the course objectives, I have improved on integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources. 

The first assignment for me was the resume/cover letter. This assignment was the second time I had created a resume and cover letter, so it felt somewhat familiar to me. Because of that, I did not struggle too much with completing it, although I still had some difficulties with making sure everything was organized clearly and looked professional. My revisions were decent, but I know I could have improved my resume further by making it look more polished and professional. Even though I did not make all the changes I could have, this assignment helped me better understand how to formally create a resume and cover letter. It also showed me areas where I can continue to improve, and hopefully in the future I can add more experience, skills, and qualifications to strengthen my resume even more.

The second assignment for me was the rhetorical analysis essay about an anti-vaping campaign and the various rhetorical strategies that were used to educate people about the problems of vaping. Prior to this assignment, I had not been very experienced in analyzing ads and how the visuals, tone and facts can impact on viewers. This assignment gave me insight into the fact that while words are certainly part of rhetorical analysis, they’re not the only part. Every time I wrote this essay, I was trying to emphasize on the three major styles of argument, which are pathos, logos and ethos. I believe I was able to achieve course learning objective 6 because I was able to clearly form and keep a strong stance throughout my essay. I was basically arguing that stopping the anti-vaping campaign was ineffective because it relies on emotion, facts, and trusted sources to make the dangers of vaping more serious and convincing. I feel like I did a pretty good job on this assignment, but if I had more time, I could have done a better job analyzing this essay and could have strengthened some parts of my essay and organized them in a more cohesive way.

My third assignment was the literature review, and our group chose to research the dangers of microplastics in humans and marine life. I was a little worried at first because it was a lot of writing, but splitting it up between four people made it way easier. Everyone did their part, and even though one person was a little late with their section, they still got it done and didn’t hold the group back. We had good communication and were able to bounce ideas off each other, which made the process pretty smooth. I worked on the introduction and part of the body, and I spent a lot of time making sure the sources I used were specific and really supported what I was writing. The topic itself wasn’t too hard to research, but finding the right sources took some effort because there was so much information out there. Overall, the paper came out really well, and I think we all did a good job working together without any arguments or major issues. It showed me that collaborating with a good group can actually make a big project much easier and more manageable. 

My fourth assignment was the collaborative research project, where my group had to choose between creating a website or a children’s book. We decided to do a children’s book because we felt it would be easier, especially since our topic was microplastics in the ocean and how they affect marine life and humans. None of us had ever made a children’s book before, so at first we had to really think about how we wanted to organize everything. We ended up splitting the work up between all of us. One person created the outline, two people worked on the dialogue, and I was responsible for all of the illustrations. At first, I thought it would not be too difficult because I planned on using AI to help create the pictures, but I quickly realized it was harder than I expected. Since the book was 16 pages long, that meant I had to create a lot of illustrations. I struggled for a while because I was not being specific enough with my prompts, so the images were not coming out the way I wanted. I spent a lot of time trying different ideas until I finally created images that actually looked like they belonged in a children’s book and would catch a kid’s attention. The final design of a little girl and her friendly dolphin showing the dangers of microplastics came together really well, and the outline helped me know how each picture should look. Once the illustrations were done, the dialogue was added, and everything started coming together. Overall, this project turned out better than we expected, and it showed me that even something that seems difficult at first can become easier when everyone does their part and works together.

My fifth assignment was the presentation on the children’s book that my group created. Presentations have always made me nervous because I am not someone who likes speaking in front of a lot of people. Even though I still felt nervous, this class being online made it a little easier and less stressful for me. Before the actual presentation, my group practiced twice, which helped us feel more prepared. During the presentation, one person read the book while each of us had our own parts to speak about. Overall, it was not very difficult, but one thing I struggled with was speaking slowly. I have never been very good at slowing down during presentations, so that was something I had to work on. Luckily, two people in my group spoke louder and slower, which helped balance everything out and made the presentation go smoother. In the end, everyone did their part and the presentation turned out well. Out of all the assignments we completed, the children’s book project and presentation was probably my favorite because it felt creative, different, and more enjoyable than a regular paper.