Truong 1

Richard Truong
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
12 May 2016
Reflection of 1302
Before entering 1302, I learned a great deal of communication from ENGL 1301.
Communication in ENGL 1301 was minimal and there was not much need for communication
unless it was to turn in late assignments. For me, there was not much communication that was
needed between me and my professor in ENGL 1301 because I did not have any questions for
the most part and the only time outside communication was needed was for turning in a late
assignment. Most of the communication took place in class, while outside of class there was little
communication. ENGL 1302 was a totally different story. The very first assignment was making
communication outside of class through email. Communication was more frequent in ENGL
1302 because there were more questions that needed to be answered than in ENGL 1301.
Emailing was the easiest and fastest way of answering any question. Academic writing has
improved my communication by analyzing a document and finding ways to appeal to people
using logos, ethos, and pathos in essay one.
In writing essay one; we had to analyze a speech from the 100 greatest speeches from
www.americanrhetoric.com. We then had to analyze our chosen speech and find examples of
logos, ethos, pathos, and fallacies. We then had to assess the overall effectiveness of the speech
and how well their points were made. In my essay, I analyzed the speech Nuclear Peace by
Dwight D. Eisenhower. The main idea of the essay was to get members of the United Nations to
use nuclear technology to improve infrastructure rather than for malicious intentions like for war.

Truong 2
From analyzing the speech, I learned and improved my use of rhetorical arguments. It helped me
better understand how to use logos, ethos, and pathos. Before writing essay one, I use to think
that logos was facts, ethos was morals, and pathos was emotions. After writing essay one, I
learned that ethos was more than morals, but also building credibility. Writing essay one helped
me further improve what I already knew about logos and pathos. Overall, writing essay one
helped me in more ways than just communication. It also taught me how to manage my time
better and not procrastinate as much. When we could check our originality for our rough draft I
only had 292 words. In the end for my final draft I ended up with 924 words. In analyzing the
speech Nuclear Peace by Dwight D. Eisenhower, I learned better ways to appeal to my
audience. For example, I learned how to state and/or build my credibility. I also improved in
using pathos and tug at my audiences heart strings by making them feel guilty or pity. After
analyzing one of top 100 speeches, I learned more about communication and appeals.
In the end, I now know more about communicating through academic writing than ever
before. I understand that communication is more than just speaking and emailing but
communicating through writing. Communication through writing is not synonymous and there
are sometimes emotions that can be hidden behind a piece of literature. Essay one and especially
ENGL 1302 has taught me a great deal about academic writing, but more importantly
communication.