Farooq Salam
12/4/2023
English
Lobell
Self Assessment Essay
Going into college I was already expecting a completely different environment, mindset and learning style than what I had grown accustomed to in high school, but I was only expecting this from the STEM classes as an engineering major. Which is why I was shocked to see that my English course was much more different than I expected in that there were actual course objectives that we were working towards instead of unrelated lessons every week like in high school. I also got to explore new concepts that I didn’t fully correlate to a college English class and learned how to improve on the skills of researching, and allowing my writing to express me instead of tailoring it to what was expected of me.
Our first assignment was the written narrative of a specific moment in our lives that related to language and literacy. This was the first time in the course where I was exposed to the idea of writing in whatever tone or style I wanted and it wouldn’t affect my grade rather it would improve it because it made it more authentic. I mainly used the model of “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan to create this narrative by using the example of Amy’s mother and specific instances where I met people that were similar to her. Writing the narrative wasn’t difficult because I wasn’t limited or fearing that I had to convey a certain writing style; I just had to tell my story. However when I first had to collaborate with my peers in order to revise my writing pieces I ran into the obstacle of taking peer feedback seriously. This is a weakness I’ve always had I become lazy to be able to go back and analyze my writing again to see where the feedback is coming from and how I can fix the issues.
Our second assignment was the peer review which exposed me to a different writing style and way of telling a story. From the readings we had in class I began to have the mindset that I might potentially be one of the people that discriminates against different ways of speaking English without even realizing it. From reading my peer’s narrative I was not only able to learn about how it feels adjusting to a new country, language and environment but also how common it is for people to be treated differently or as if they’re “stupid” because of the way they speak English.
Our third assignment was the research essay and I chose my topic as “Why is fighting language loss something we should be concerned about?”. This assignment taught me how to use research databases and scholarly articles to craft a research essay. I was able to practice my source finding skills and other skills such as applying the CRAAP test to the sources I found. I also was able to develop different writing techniques such as how to build a strong argument and using ethos and logos to communicate it. However, this was also where I ran into another challenge which was being able to explain my evidence and relating it back to my arguments. One of the areas I need to work on is elaborating further on the quotes I provide instead of explaining it by wording the quote differently.
One major aspect of this class that I was exposed to because of this semester was rhetorical situations. I didn’t know what rhetorical situations even were until we began to analyze the texts that we discussed in class such as “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You”. I learned how different factors make up a rhetorical situation such as the purpose of the writing or the audience that the author tailored their writing to. Using this newly found knowledge of rhetorical situations of other texts I was able to create my own writing throughout the semester, specifically the written narrative assignment and the research essay. For example, I wrote my research essay with the intended audience being the Americans who are hesitant or even hostile towards immigrants and their differences.
The beginning of the semester started off shaky and uncertain but as it progressed I became more confident in my writing ability and understanding that much like other things in life, writing is also a skill you can develop, it’s not just something you are born with. I am proud of the work that I did this semester and how I grew as both a writer and a student in this class. I definitely learned more about the field of language and writing than I was expecting. The knowledge I gained wasn’t of no use and I was able to apply it right away to myself and my own writing. But even more than that I learned more about myself and how people around me have just as or even more complex lives than I do with situations and stories that I have never been in.
