Reflective Letter

        

Midterm Portfolio: Reflective Cover Letter

            I am now in my third semester of college and wow it has been quite an adventure. The craziest thought that comes to mind is thinking this is my third English class. During my first semester of college, I did not have a stable place and was going through so much. I drove everyday of school and struggled to be there on time with sleepless uncomfortable nights. I was only able to manage so much. The days I made it to my first class being English I was always on time, the other days I just wasn’t there because I couldn’t be. It was the day before our portfolio was due and I miss that class. By missing that class meant I had failed the class, because it maxed out the days I could miss. That was an eye opening experience. Never have I ever failed a class. To think I failed it because of attendance rather that my work was harsh, because my professor loved my work, but she had to abide by the rules.

            After this my second semester of college was great. I had a new English professor and I was starting fresh. I was nervous about the class, but was determined this class would not reflect the prior class. So I learned a lot from my professor and was actually happy I got to experience English 5A again. I passed the class and was looking forward to 5B. It was again nervewrecking knowing that my professor was moving to another country to teach. So I then again thought to my self a fresh start and new professor will be good.

            So here I am now in my third semester off college in English 5B. This class has been quite different than my other classes. Of course because it is 5B and a lot more is expected of the student. I have learned many techniques and writing styles.

            I would say I’ve learned the most by writing the midterm essay. It has allowed me to write then edit, receive feedback and once again edit. I was not to sure what exactly a rhetorical analysis was when we were asked to. You focus on how or why the author wrote in the way in

which they did rather than pick apart what exactly they meant or what they wrote about. I was very confused about this idea at first because I was like how do I talk about something and not summarize or explain what it is about. After asking I realized that summarization is allowed, but limited. In a rhetorical analysis you want to speak more on they author’s tone, their use of techniques, the appeals they create such as pathos, logos, or ethos.

            The appeals pathos, logos, and ethos are all very common to authors. Authors tend to use them a lot in their writing. While writing my analysis I came across this in Trace Adkins song, “You’re Gonna Miss This”. My professor also discussed these appeals multiple times in class. Through her discussion and me analyzing this song helped me to understand the appeals and to identify with more confidence.

            Throughout writing this analysis we were required to read as well. The readings we read helped out a lot with writing the essay. I would definitely consider them a guide. They provided us with examples of writing and techniques to use in our writings. The readings also exemplified what not to do when writings. For example an article that was provided to us by the professor called “Fallacies” from the writing center of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Fallacies weaken arguments and do not help in devolving a well-written paper. I know one that I had to keep assuring my self I would not do was the Hasty Generalization Fallacy. Hasty generalization is when you make an assumption about something; it can also be considered stereotyping. Meaning you assume something because of something else, but your evidence is not enough to prove your point.

            I thought writing this analysis was quite difficult. It has been the first analysis I have written and I feel as though I have grasped a great amount of knowledge on what a rhetorical analysis is. I was also very confused throughout the whole project because I could not explain

to myself what exactly a rhetorical analysis was. This has definitely taught me a lot about writing and writing styles.