Descriptive Reflection
Intermediate Composition 2089 was a thorough writing class that focused on digging deep into research and formulating accurate depictions of what defines literacy, different tactics of rhetoric, and the foundations and effects of discourse communities. Furthermore, it required us as students to look within ourselves and evaluate our own writing voices and tactics in order to develop our approach to writing and analysis and how this knowledge applies to our own lives. This course took place Spring Semester 2015, in McMicken Hall, and the wonderful Professor Gary Vaughn led the course. Because this course was a designated Honors Seminar, only students active in the Honors program were permitted enrollment, but there was a broad spectrum of majors involved. Coming out of this course, I felt appreciative and well-informed, not only about other people’s writing that I had read, but also about my own writing. What really validated the course for me was the practicality and enjoyment involved in writing each paper about a topic that was extremely relevant to each student. For this reason I got to write each paper about either my own involvement, or a controversial issue, in ballet. This experience met and exceeded my expectations, because I felt like I knew myself better after being required to think at a higher level about the topics that I engage in every day. My prior knowledge in essay writing and rhetoric certainly helped with the papers we wrote in this class. I can thank my AP Language and Literature classes for familiarizing me with how to analyze and present material in a swift and stylish fashion. However, there is also plenty of new, transferable knowledge that I have acquired from this course. I now know to trust myself and my writing style even if it isn’t the “norm,” as long as the content is strong. I’ve also found myself highly observant of what makes people insiders or outsiders within particular discourse communities, and plan on using this awareness to give myself an advantage in future endeavors.
Below, find my artifact from this course: my third essay, an
Ethnography of a
Discourse Community:
Intermediate Composition 2089 was a thorough writing class that focused on digging deep into research and formulating accurate depictions of what defines literacy, different tactics of rhetoric, and the foundations and effects of discourse communities. Furthermore, it required us as students to look within ourselves and evaluate our own writing voices and tactics in order to develop our approach to writing and analysis and how this knowledge applies to our own lives. This course took place Spring Semester 2015, in McMicken Hall, and the wonderful Professor Gary Vaughn led the course. Because this course was a designated Honors Seminar, only students active in the Honors program were permitted enrollment, but there was a broad spectrum of majors involved. Coming out of this course, I felt appreciative and well-informed, not only about other people’s writing that I had read, but also about my own writing. What really validated the course for me was the practicality and enjoyment involved in writing each paper about a topic that was extremely relevant to each student. For this reason I got to write each paper about either my own involvement, or a controversial issue, in ballet. This experience met and exceeded my expectations, because I felt like I knew myself better after being required to think at a higher level about the topics that I engage in every day. My prior knowledge in essay writing and rhetoric certainly helped with the papers we wrote in this class. I can thank my AP Language and Literature classes for familiarizing me with how to analyze and present material in a swift and stylish fashion. However, there is also plenty of new, transferable knowledge that I have acquired from this course. I now know to trust myself and my writing style even if it isn’t the “norm,” as long as the content is strong. I’ve also found myself highly observant of what makes people insiders or outsiders within particular discourse communities, and plan on using this awareness to give myself an advantage in future endeavors.
Below, find my artifact from this course: my third essay, an
Ethnography of a
Discourse Community: