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Hannah Flores

Mr. Keaton Powers

English 1302-210

29 April 2023

Overcoming English 1302

English 1302 has taught me many things this semester. As I reflect on my experiences

with the three essays that were written, I can visibly imagine the hard work and effort I put into

each article, eager to learn from the previous critiques and perfect each piece by asking plenty of

questions. English 1302 was challenging, and I found it very different from its prerequisite

course, English 1301. Although English 1301 taught me the essence of basic college level

writing and the responsibility of uploading work on time, English 1302 felt much more stressful

to adjust too and required a deeper level of critical thinking. One of the biggest differences I

noticed was the different perspectives of argumentative writing and research analysis. Being

required to construct research analysis essays required me to develop new skills such as

researching, analyzing, and synthesizing new information. From the difficult essay prompts to

the long days of writing draft after draft, English 1302 felt overwhelming at times. As the

semester kicked off, I expected a busy couple of months, but little did I know I was in for a ride.

This semester truly went by in a flash due to the complete business of classes constantly

alternating from the library to the classroom setting. It was truly a collegiate level experience that

I learned how to somewhat survive through. It was a stressful semester, but with all the

information I have learned from my peers and my professor I would suggest this course to

individuals who are willing to put the work in. The critiques I received only formed me to
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become a better writer and most importantly, educated me on the crucial aspects of research,

analysis, and providing an argument with purpose. As this semester comes to a close, I wanted to

reflect my portfolio on my favorite places I have traveled too over the past years of my life, with

images on my home page displaying different landscapes and picturesque scenery of a closer

look into my life. I decided I wanted to follow this theme because it reflects what I like doing

most and the appreciation I have gained from experiences outside of a school setting.

Additionally, traveling also relieves plenty of stress from the mental strain school can bring and I

am incredibly grateful to be able to relax and recharge in this way. I wanted the theme of

traveling to connect with each of my English 1302 essays because it has contributed to each

essay by enhancing creativity and inspiring new ideas that take place outside of Laredo Texas.

English 1302 is just the beginning of my writing journey, but most certainly pushed my comfort

zone and allowed me a different perspective on collegiate writing.

Throughout the course of articulating three different essays, I have learned the

importance of efficiently incorporating the use of rhetorical choices. For example, the use of

logos can appear to the audience in essay one under the “Results” section of the data collected

for the experimental research report (Flores, “Essay 1 Genre Analysis: The Impact College

Students Major Has on Sleep,”5). This use of descriptive language allowed readers of my essay

to visualize the research being conveyed. Furthermore, in essay two I chose to incorporate the

use of pathos to portray a significant impact on the reader’s understanding of the message

covering the topic of mental health. The perpetual use of emphasizing the “isolated and lonely

time at a university,” allowed an effective method for communicating with my audience when

constructing this essay (Flores, “Essay 2 Research Analysis: Effectiveness of University's Mental

Health Institutions,”1). On essay number three I had the opportunity to incorporate pathos
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towards mental health and use of a persuasive tone to convince the reader of my point of view on

university mental health institutions. An instance of this is shown in the introduction of essay

three, "In order to combat elevated levels of depression among its population of Black and

Latino students, TAMIU must hire mental health professionals on campus” (Flores, “Essay 3

Position: University Mental Health Institutions are Ineffective,”1). This is mind, I understand

that the use of argumentative writing is not always guaranteed and unlikely to be applied to

courses that do not require it. While I believe that the skills and knowledge obtained from

English 1302 are valuable across a wide range of courses, I also recognize that the use of

argumentative writing may not be necessary to every course. For example, in a college Algebra

course there is a lack of persuasive use with there being an equation to constantly follow. Also,

although there is a prompt in an English setting, it is not as objective as an algebraic equation

that only has one correct solution. Being a writer allows you to take the prompt in several

different routes addressing creative freedom between the author and reader, however some

courses do not permit it. Despite this, I still believe the skills and principles learned in English

1302 can be valuable in any course that requires communication and written responses. The use

of proper grammar and citation techniques can be used in a wide range of courses.

Moreover, using the MLA standards throughout this semester has become the most

challenging to perfect when articulating the format of a new essay. The format of MLA is very

particular and professional at the collegiate level, and I have received several comments

critiquing the format throughout all three essays. From citing tables and graphs to the citations of

my own work, there is a precise way to do it in MLA every time. One of the common MLA

errors I made in essay two was the improper use of quotation marks. Though I was familiar with

the use of quotations from a previous English 1301 course, I was still unable to successfully cite
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in MLA format for essay two. However, thanks to the easy and accessible comment on my final

draft I was able to correct this citation and make notable changes in essay three. My

understanding has been improved after realizing the impact MLA errors can have, and the simple

changes have allowed me to make the MLA format for my essay cleaner and more efficient.

However, this was the most challenging aspect of each essay because of the consequence of

errors and constantly being deducted points for simple mistakes on the specific rules MLA has.

The least challenging aspect of this essay has been to contribute my thoughts and ideas to the

paper. Throughout constructing each essay, I have realized that I like to incorporate the use of

creative expression and I struggle the least with obtaining good ideas. Most of the time, the

challenge comes with organizing these ideas, because although they can be engaging, the

audience must be provided with evidence and examples to support those ideas.

Coming from a generation that is completely digital savvy, I expected creating a website

to be challenging due to the large technological advancements. However, the least challenging

part of creating a website is to include my essay drafts and assignments in an informational

setting and text. The most challenging part of this portfolio has been the revision to my essays.

This part had me viewing the final draft of my essays through an even smaller perspective and

truly having to take in all the aspects and comments on my writing pieces. Revising my essays

became even more challenging, because now it was essential to reach a wider audience and

become a more neutral stance to the reader. In the process of making my website it was crucial

that I made my essays evident to the reader while including my drafts as well. I made sure to be

inclusive for my audience viewing my website and exploring the idea of ethos, pathos and logos

into my work. Being only a college freshman, adjusting to different writing methods was

challenging, and I wanted to reveal how these essays progressively showed better results every
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time submitted. Throughout my website I could not help but notice the hard work I put into these

past couple of weeks. It has truly furthered my education and made me become a better writer in

general. Throughout the course of English 1302, I have been able to consistently develop my

writing skills through various activities and homework assignments. The activities and

homework assignments that influenced me to create this portfolio have allowed me to

consistently become a better writer and analyze the smallest aspects of writing within a piece. In

creating this portfolio, I made sure to include “Analyzing Argument Structure” to develop a

better understanding of my writing as it has given me a deeper understanding of rhetorical

thinking to further analyze my final drafts (Flores, "Analyzing Argument Structure,”1). By

reflecting on these assignments and analyzing my final drafts, I have been able to further develop

my skills of rhetorical choices and better understand my own writing process.

The skills and knowledge obtained from English 1302 has opened by eyes to the

connection to other courses such as Literature and History courses. The collegiate level writing

experience has allowed me to analyze the writing activities in other future courses as well. With

the principles writing skills in English 1302, I am now equipped with the ability to properly

construct Literature essays to analyze and interpret complex texts and distinguish the meaning

behind them. With proper connection to the audience, I will ensure that research is effectively

cited and formatted efficiently. Aspects such as the use of proper grammar and MLA formatting

of an essay will continually be a work in progress as proper citing and formatting are essential in

collegiate level essays. Since English 1302 has equipped me with the necessary skills to excel in

those areas, it will come easier to properly format essays for other courses. Additionally, courses

such as History often require strong writing skills in order to effectively communicate thoughts

and ideas. With the knowledge I have gained from English 1302, I will be prepared for these
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future writing challenges that can also be essential in professional contexts and allow me to excel

with the skills I have learned over the past semester.

Over the course of this semester my identity as a writer has changed from essay one to

my essay three final draft. It has truly expressed my progress as a writer and adequately

represents my adaptiveness to new prompts and ideas throughout the span of a couple months.

Some of my writing strengths include a strong presence of ideas and an analysis present to hold

them together. One weakness that I have in writing is organizing my ideas and presenting them

to my audience through a new perspective lens. Many times, when writing a piece, the

information is organized in my view but to the reader it appears messy and unorganized. I have

noticed this weakness starting in essay one and have been working to contain my ideas

connecting to an effective controlling idea. The critiques I have received on my essay drafts

consist of this weakness and it provides a barrier between an author to reader connection. I

understand how meaningful this weakness is and will continue to work on constantly using more

organizational skills to connect my writing more efficiently. Furthermore, the critiques within

my writing, along with all my strengths and weaknesses, have shown me a constant strive for

more. The progress I have made over the course of this class has been surreal in my education

experience, and I am beyond grateful that this course is completed. The principles of writing

skills such as proper grammar and MLA formatting will be valuable throughout my academic

and professional career. With this being said, from hard work, to adapting to criticism, these

characteristics that I learned in the classroom setting these past couple of months can be applied

to other courses I will take throughout my college education. I will carry these traits into this

upcoming school year expecting a sense of stress but embracing the impact that it has in the long

run.
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Works Cited

Flores, Hannah. “The Impact College Students Major Has on Sleep.” 16 February 2023. ENGL

1302, Texas A&M International University, student paper.

Flores, Hannah. “Effectiveness of University's Mental Health Institutions.” 12 March 2023.

ENGL 1302, Texas A&M International University, student paper.

Flores, Hannah. “University Mental Health Institutions are Ineffective.” 19 April 2023. ENGL

1302, Texas A&M International University, student paper.

Flores, Hannah “Analyzing Argument Structure.” ENGL 1302: College Composition II, Texas

A&M International University, 2022.