Gonzalez 1

Leila Rose Gonzalez

Dr. Sharity Nelson

English 1301-130

December 5, 2023

In the span of three months, my character and writing skills have undergone significant

development through the challenges presented in my English 1301 course. This essay reflects on

my journey, acknowledging the pivotal role played by various elements such as time

management, seeking assistance, and patience. I extend my gratitude to Dr. Sharity Nelson,

whose guidance proved invaluable, as well as to my mother and peers for their unwavering

support during the process of refining my writing skills.

In this English course, I learned that academic essays follow a specific formula to ensure

all components included are topical, concise, and address all points concerned. The activities that

helped me most were the genre analysis worksheets that outlined significant elements. The

worksheet forced me to detail the conventions of my respective article. For example, my Genre

Analysis Notes Assignment had me list conventions, what they said, and visual placement. This

process of listing and identifying allowed me to slowly understand what I was focusing on

because I was developing the muscle memory to recall those relevant pieces of information.

Then, the worksheet had me detail the purpose of the written article and the intended audience.

The repetition of writing the elements, placements, and what each element said allowed the

information to be etched in my brain. Learning critical analysis skills developed my thinking to

effectively converse on ideas presented when completing my Univ 1201 Career Presentation.
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Understanding the importance of the audience and the organization of crucial information made

the creation of the presentation more streamlined, and the prior research allowed me to answer

questions, expand on data, and reference slides with ease. I attribute much of the success of my

career project to the guidance and skills I learned in English 1301.

My learning reached new heights when I was exposed to the mental framework required

to find the conventions and their intended purposes. The analysis process was challenging

because of its meticulousness. It was a science, and the formula of composing a genre or

rhetorical analysis made me step out of my typical thinking pattern. In my conference with Dr.

Nelson for my Rhetorical analysis essay first draft outlined the following formula; "Topic

sentence - quoted edv- explanation (rhet strata and how it ties into supporting the arg." I took

that note in my first draft to assist me in future writing endeavors and to clarify my rhetorical

analysis essay. However, it did not quite click in my brain. I had the formula and toiled as I

struggled to implement it. My brain and hands were typing two highly different versions of the

same essay. Although I personally feel that the essay was terrible, I think asking for help and

being introduced to the recipe for success assisted in my overall arc as a writer throughout the

course and improved the quality of my final revision of my second essay for my second final

revision of the essay. I would not have produced a more precise essay had it not been for the

simmering struggle with the rhetorical analysis essay.

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I learned I am easily distracted by flourishes in linguistics. I get carried away with how I

sound, and I end up saying nothing at all. The revision process taught me to be cognizant of

when I started getting carried away, which was often, so I needed to cut to the chase. I had to

figure out how to hone my writing in a way that felt direct but not dry. The revision became the

melding pot of testing what I felt worked with the piece and what did not make the final cut.

Through the final revision process, I learned what Dr. Nelson meant by reordering information to

make the piece flow better. When revising, I kept most of the conventions mentioned and

scraped my analysis, leading to an overall more positive conclusion of the essay that I feel more

confident in. I altered my word choice and did my best to articulate the analysis of the movie

poster. Especially since my essay was description-heavy instead of allowing the meat and

potatoes of my essay to be my analysis. I made changes that made me happy. The topic of Barbie

and pink helped me keep a positive mindset while working on the essay.

The most challenging part of revising my second essay one last time was officially

scraping large portions of the essay. I felt attached to it because it was already there. I found this

last revision liberating because I felt no need to keep anything that did not make me happy. I

chose that article because it was a happy visual and a marker of an American girl's childhood.

Learning and letting my work to be criticized instead of harbored in the archives of my laptop

was difficult. I may not have liked that piece of writing, but it was part of my journey. I

remembered I could look at a previous version of a Google document, and my sentimental

attachment to my disordered essay dissolved.

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I chose to communicate course concepts as a conversive summary in my e-portfolio. I

wanted it to feel like I was talking about my personal struggles with someone in real life. The

process allows the viewer to see my stream of consciousness and how that translated to my work.

Essentially, what was easy, challenging, and what made the overall process of that unit more

enjoyable. More importantly, I found it imperative to communicate to the audience the steps I

took at that stage and make the formats of each unit as similar as possible without causing visual

fatigue so that my website was easy to navigate.

The most challenging portion of this course was the editing and proofreading process. I

write incredibly vague drafts, and that is the case because I am used to reading them out loud,

and I pretend my intended audience is myself. Having to express a thought entirely Is hard

because I typically only know how to fill in the content in speech format. Writing an essay and

filling in all my bases in writing instead of verbally was daunting and felt awkward at best.

The least challenging part of the course was establishing communication with the

professor. Dr. Nelson is great at establishing an open communication forum and providing

constructive criticism to help her students grow as writers and communicators. After each

significant homework assignment, Dr. Sharity Nelson blocked a period of lecture time to review

our work and for each student to ask any questions about the prompt, homework, process,

concerns, etc. These were answered in detail, and an example was provided if applicable. For

example, for my Rhetorical analysis essay, I found it an easy experience to attend her office

hours, present queries on the assignment, and get my corresponding article and conference time

and day vetted by her. Which made the rest of the process less arduous, considering I was
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already racing against time for that essay. Throughout the semester, I found my strengths in

analytical and writing skill sets were (insert really good example here)

This course prepared me to incorporate the structure of academic writing, but I still

needed to prepare myself to be fully adopted into the academic writing community. Due to the

criteria of writing in the academic writing community: MLA format, citations, sentence

formulas, and particular vernacular, this community needs some vetting to be adopted into the

collection of academic writers worldwide. This course is suitable for introducing community

values, critical thinking, and structure while developing students as writers. I am not ready to be

part of the academic community because of my lack of implementation of thesis, transition

sentences, and topic sentences in my papers. If I had grasped and applied these components in

my writing consistently, this course adequately prepared me to become a part of the academic

writing community. Since I lack confidence in my work and utilization of critical components, I

do not feel prepared to become part of such a revered writing community.

In conclusion, the journey through English 1301 has been marked by valuable lessons,

challenges, and significant growth. From understanding the formula of academic essays to

mastering the mental framework required for rhetorical analysis, each aspect has contributed to

my development as a writer. The iterative process of revision, the challenges in editing, and the

effective communication with Dr. Nelson have collectively shaped my approach to writing.

While I may not feel fully prepared to join the esteemed academic writing community, I

recognize the foundation laid by this course and the potential for continued growth in my writing
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journey. This semester has been a transformative experience, paving the way for future academic

and personal success in the realm of writing and communication.

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Citations

Gonzalez, Leila. “Rhetorical Analysis Outline Worksheet.”, 2023, ENGL 1301-130, Texas A&M

International University, Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Gonzalez, Leila. “Rhetorical Analysis Outline Worksheet.”, 2023, ENGL 1301-130, Texas A&M

International University, Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Gonzalez, Leila. “English essay 1 draft 1” September 19, 2023. ENGL 1301, Texas A&M

International University, student paper.

---“The Menu Genre.” Peer Review Draft. Date Month Year. ENGL 1301, Texas A&M

International University, student paper.

Nelson, Sharity. “Professor Essay consultation” September 19, 2023. ENGL 1301, Texas

A&M International University, comments on essay