Espinoza 1

Jasmine Espinoza

Professor Lawson

English 113B

8, May 2017

Word Count: 626

Reflect & Rethink

As a student you are expected to learn from professors and classmates, but you rarely

think about the amount of work you will learn from yourself. In my opinion my portfolio

displays the amount of work and time I put into my essays. My portfolio made me

acknowledge the amount of work I learned from the beginning of the semester compared to

now. During the process of writing my final essays for my portfolio, I noticed my writing had

improved significantly. I learned how to properly work cite the resources and incorporate

quotes to strengthen my argument. As I read my portfolio I noticed my essays have improved

on organization and grammar. For example, when I read my essay on project space and

compared it to project text, I was able to identify the errors I made such as being vague,

repetitive, and unorganized. However, within time I became educated with the help of peer

review and professors on how to structure my ideas and elaborate more on my thesis. In the

process of writing different project essays, I found out what type of writer I am. In order for

me to begin writing my papers, I must first write down my thoughts and organize every

paragraph on what I want to focus on. Next, I have to conduct research and collect as much

information and evidence that can help support my arguments and claims. After, I put my

ideas and resources together to create a strong supportive essay.

From the beginning of the semester, I would type my essay without planning ahead and
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only free write without checking it after. Now, I wait until I know my topic to be begin my

paper. In this class I have learned how to persuade my audience by using the three rhetorical

appeals; ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos helped me provide supportive information in regards

to my main point for my audience to believe in my arguments, with the evidence I used, the

readers needed to know the credibility of my resources. Pathos allowed me to create an

emotional connection towards my readers to convince them of my topic. Logos is what I

needed to persuade my audience of my idea, to try to convince the audience of my logic and

reason. I believe learning the rhetorical appeals strengthen me as a writer because it allowed

me to engage with my audience. In this class I learned the more students and professors read

my work the better, it can only help me improve my writing skills. Taking what I learned in

this class can benefit me in my other classes by not being afraid of asking someone else to

review my work and revise it. A skill I have developed in this class is brainstorming before

starting an assignment without knowing what the topic is.

Although I found some perks this semester, I managed to find my fallbacks. I realized

my essays can be stronger by adding in more credible resources and making my paper more

academic. In addition, I can improve on minor grammar mistakes and minimize repetition. I

have become familiar with different styles of writing, I can break down words and sentences

to understand the author clearer and not assume what their message is. Making my portfolio I

am now aware and educated on what I need to revise and look for when revising. Before I

was never certain of what needed to be fixed and what I needed to search for in my essays,

but now I know and can revise better. In my next writing I will be looking for grammar

errors, repetition, and structure. As well as my resources, a strong clear thesis, and well

organized body to back up my thesis.

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