SLO Reflections

Rhetorical Situation and Genre

analyze, compose, and reflect on arguments in a variety of genres, considering the
strategies, claims, evidence, and various mediums and technologies that are appropriate
to the rhetorical situation

I chose to analyze the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe for my genre analysis. Some of the
elements a poem can contain are repetition, rhyming, and allusion. Therefore, I chose to look at
these elements in the poem and how the poet uses them to add deeper meaning. In addition, I
chose to look at this poem through a psychoanalytic lens because the main character experienced
the death of his loved one which severely affected his mental state. The way I chose to present
this information is in the form of text so that I could describe the deeper messages in detail. For
my literary analysis, I chose to analyze the short story Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by the
Grimm Brothers and more specifically, the character of Snow White. Through how the Grimm
Brothers, described her appearance, personality, and interactions, they showed the standards of
women during their time. Finally, I added images along with my text to better show what I was
writing about.

Writing as a Process
use multiple approaches for planning, researching, prewriting, composing, assessing,
revising, editing, proofreading, collaborating, and incorporating feedback in order to
make your compositions stronger in various mediums and using multiple technologies

For my genre analysis, I decided to go with the poem Annabel Lee because the stanzas were
short, so I can better look for the elements of a poem and what they show. For structure, I
decided to have an introduction, body paragraphs being each of the stanzas, and a conclusion.
After I finished my rough draft, I got my text peer reviewed by my classmates to look for any
errors in grammar and content. After I wrote my final draft and incorporated feedback, I got my
sibling to help proofread my final draft before submitting it. For my literary analysis, I made an
outline where I did the thesis, the topic sentences of the body paragraphs, and the transitions to
the next body paragraphs. Then, I filled out the rest of the information. Lastly, I realized that I
did not meet the word count and decided to a visual essay which involved adding pictures.

Research
compose a research-based academic argument in one of various mediums and
technologies by identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing sources, which must
include secondary sources
For the genre analysis, I used the poem Annabel Lee as my primary source and included
evidence from the poem to support my argument. In addition, I used an article by Andrew
Spacey as a secondary source which gave me information about the various techniques that Poe
used and the intentions behind them. I also used a peer-reviewed journal by Bill Flatt which gave
me information about the stages of grief that I could use for the psychoanalytic lens argument.
Also, having a peer-reviewed journal makes my argument stronger as I am using credible
evidence. In addition, explaining the significance of the evidence I provided helped build my
argument. For the research paper, I used the primary source of A White Heron by Sarah Orne
Jewett and three secondary sources to help build my argument. I used one of these sources to
write my counterclaim which helped make my argument more effective as I recognized the other
side.

Grammar and Usage

improve your fluency in the dialect of Standardized Written American English at the
level of the sentence, paragraph, and document

For MWA2, the literary analysis, at the sentence level I made sure that every sentence began
with a capital letter and ended with punctuation. At the paragraph level, I made sure to include a
topic sentence and include transitions as I went from sentence to sentence. At the document
level, I made sure that the body paragraphs connected to the thesis in the introduction and then
revisited my thesis in the conclusion so that everything was coherent. Finally, I made sure to be
formal in my writing by not including words like I, me, and myself. In the first MWA, at the
sentence level, I made sure to not use any complicated words so that my message would not
come across as confusing. As for the paragraph level, I made each stanza its own distinct
paragraph and summarized what they were about as a topic sentence. Lastly, at the document
level I made sure it fit essay format with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Grammar and Usage

analyze and describe the value of incorporating various languages, dialects, and registers
in your own and others’ texts.

For the literary analysis essay, I used a formal writing style which gave the impression that I
know what I am talking about, and that the audience can trust me. In addition, using simple
language makes sure that a broad range of people can understand my writing. With the Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves story, I realized it uses informal language, which means it is more
approachable for children. I also saw that the Grimm Brothers used words that we do not use in
the modern day which shows that they are catering to people in their time. With my third MWA,
I also used formal style to express my argument so that it seemed more credible. With the short
story of A White Heron, I recognized that the dialogue between the characters had a southern
twang which better immerses the reader into the countryside setting. Moreover, the diction that
the author uses is more complex which shows that they really care about describing things so that
the imagery is stronger.

Research
Analyze and describe the writing and research conventions of an academic field in order
to understand the different ways of creating and communicating knowledge

With my academic journal secondary source I used for the second MWA, the author had an
abstract section which summarizes what they will be talking about. This demonstrates how they
present their information in a short and long format which makes it convenient for anyone
looking for a quick summary to see if the source is a fit for them. Furthermore, I realized that
they have a references section at the end to cite the sources they used. This shows that as a
society, we recognize where we get our information from, and we share our ideas with others. In
the first MWA, I also used an academic journal about the stages of grief which used headers for
the different stages, making specific information easier to spot. I also used a website that pulled
lines from the original poem and analyzed their significance which made looking at the different
aspects of poetry easier to understand.

Writing as a Social Act

describe the social nature of composing, particularly the role of discourse communities at
the local, national, and international level.

For my third MWA, my topic was about how humans should take care of nature because it is
beneficial to us. At a local level, a discourse community could be a nature club at a school that
helps pick up trash or helps plant trees. At a national level, a discourse community could be
national park services like Yellowstone that manage a certain amount of land and take care of the
environment and animals within. Lastly, at an international level, there are organizations focused
on taking care of the Earth. My paper was just to inform the general masses about the issue to
hopefully think about taking further action in protecting nature. With my first MWA, I looked at
the genre of poetry and how themes about humankind are present in just a short number of lines.
In addition, literature itself allows people to talk and learn about information at all levels of
geography and in different ways.

Research
use writing and research as a means of discovery to examine your personal beliefs in the
context of multiple perspectives and to explore focused research questions through
various mediums and technologies
For MWA3, I used research to find my topic by searching for what other people wrote online
about the short story A White Heron. I then used research to find sources to support my ideas
about why nature is important and how the short story shows that theme. Research also helped
me answer the question of the dangers of preserving nature which gave me another perspective
on my topic that I can incorporate as a counterclaim. With the first MWA, research allowed me
to learn more about the techniques that poets use in their poems and made me understand that
even though a poem is a shorter form of literature, it still has complex elements and rules. Also, I
had a general idea about the stages of grief but, finding a peer reviewed article that went in more
depth about what each stage looked like really helped with looking through a psychoanalytic
lens.

Research
integrate others’ positions and perspectives into your writing ethically, appropriately, and
effectively in various mediums and technologies

In MWA3 I included a works cited page that follows MLA format at the end of my paper to
recognize the resources I used to form my argument. In the works cited page, there are also links
to my secondary sources so that a reader can access the original information if they need to. In
addition, when including quotes in my writing, I used in-text citations to recognize what source I
got it from and where to find it in that source. After I included the quotes in my writing, I
described the importance of the quote to my argument so that I could balance my essay between
quotes and my own words. For MWA2, I also made sure to have a works cited page and in-text
citations included to give credit to the authors. In addition, I used introductory phrases to
introduce my quotes so that they are embedded in my essay better.

Reflection
evaluate your development as a writer over the course of the semester and describe how
composing in multiple genres and mediums using various technologies can be applied in
other contexts to advance your goals

With all the MWAs this semester, I had to do research to find secondary sources that would help
support what I was writing about. Through this process, I learned about useful places to find
academic sources like the UNM library database and Google Scholar. In addition, I learned
google search bar filters to help find sources more easily. For example, I used the file type filter
to find pdfs of academic sources for my research paper. As a writer I also experimented with the
rough draft process like with MWA2 where I did the topic sentences of each of the paragraphs
and then went from there. In addition, with the MWAs I got to practice more with citing sources
using MLA format. Therefore, through this class I learned skills about brainstorming,
researching, and formatting which are all important aspects of writing that I will continue to do
throughout my college journey.