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Lovie Luckie
Professor Vyvial
English 1302
May 5, 2017

How Many Words?

How many words should an essay contain to persuade an audience or provide research

information on a particular topic? After this semester, I would definitely say whatever your

professor suggests as long as you use strategies to support your argument. Writing has certainly

been a challenge this semester, but I survived. During the semester, I learned how to write a

Rhetorical Analysis using logos, pathos and ethos, along with Causal and Proposal Arguments,

and Short Academic Responses covering a vast range of topics. Initially, I thought I had it all

together and hoped that the class would resemble Falls 3-week mini-course, English 1301. I

thought it would consist of a few essays, feedback, and corrections. However, this was simply

not the case and getting that A first semester was a lot easier. Yes, I survived, but nothing

about it was easy.

I wrote my first Annotated Bibliography, several papers, and Short Academic Responses,

all of which I have never written before. Writing the three formal essays where I had to present

both sides to an argument was extremely difficult, but thank you Professor Vyvial for the

supportive documents and examples you provided. Reaching a high-volume word count was

new, along with the different paper types like the Rhetorical Analysis, Causal Argument, and

Proposal Argument. They all were very challenging, especially when presenting the

requirements and trying to get them to a quality that met the professors expectations.

Overall, my comments were positive as it related to grammer and organization, but any

difficulties stemmed from maintaining a third persons point of view. I improved on the point of
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view having a reduction in those comments over time, but if I had to self-reflect and pin-point

where I struggled the most, it would be obtaining the required word count for each essay without

a lot of jargon. To improve this weak area of my writing, I plan on doing additional research and

continue writing with a focus on incorporating ideas and presenting information into my essays.

The more experience I have will make me a better writer.

I have to admit that writing the Proposal was my tough assignment, but taught me the

most. I found it difficult to incorporate my solutions and what I would propose to do to resolve

the problems, but learned how to do both in the end. How successful it sounded to the reader is

questionable, but you know how an English grade goes, everythings subjective. The easier

assignment for me was the Casual paper, but writing about the effect was sort of a mirrored

image response. In fact, that is where I made my best grade.

Beyond English 1302, I would like to make sure I enhance my writing in other subjects

and hope that what I learned can be incorporated into any essays I have to write throughout

college and the remainder of my career. I have found that essays sound better from the third

persons point of view and will focus to make sure all my information is appropriately presented,

all while maintaining the same point of view. This class has taught me so much including how to

include a work cited, maintaining the same point of view, to proofreading to catch those minor

mistakes. Nonetheless, the course has made me a much better writer and I am sincerely

appreciative.