As I said in the beginning of the semester, I love reading. I enjoy reading classics, poetry, horror, and mysteries. I like poetry that I can relate to or that addresses a specific issue, such as mental health, sexuality, love, or adversity. Rupi Kaur is one of my favorite poets. Many of her poems have resonance for me, and I think she does a great job of raising awareness of the issues facing South Asian immigrants. I have recently become interested in a poetry book. The author of All the Things I Didn’t Say in Therapy is Logan Duane. I am a big supporter of reading about mental health because I personally struggle with it. I can relate to many of his words in this brief but potent book. I was able to write my own style of poetry through some of the writing assignments we completed this semester. I used a poetic style of writing; just like in the “this I no longer believe” paper and my revision of that paper. This class made me appreciate reading other people’s stories like when we read Vershawn Ashante Young’s article “Should Writers Use Their Own English?” It is critical to recognize that language comes in many forms, and there is no proper or superior method to write. Keeping the writing in the intended tone and script helps to maintain the meaning and message of the piece. I especially liked the three sample essays, “Q,” “Lesbian,” and “This I No Longer Believe.” I enjoy reading about other people’s perspectives and experiences.

I learned about different rhetorical devices that I wasn’t familiar with like procatalepsis and distinctio. I already knew about the rhetoric of the open hand and closed fist. I learnt it in highschool, but I understand it better now because of the reading. I also knew about romantic, sex, and gender appeal. But I never thought about how those appeals are used in everyday advertisements. I also never knew about the bandwagon appeal. Some of the rhetorical devices became clearer to me. My junior year English teacher dedicated an entire unit to rhetorical devices. Some of them were a little confusing, but the rhetorical device book was very helpful in explaining them. 

I would make my writing more analytical. I believe I miss important information that would help readers understand my work completely. I don’t think the papers I wrote for this semester were my best. I believe that despite knowing I can, I fell short of the paper’s objectives. To fix this, I’m going to write everything I want without regard for length, then cut out the redundant stuff. I’d say that my creativity and imagery are what make me a good writer. My contribution wasn’t all that great. I remained attentive and present, but I remained silent. I did have things to say, but I feel like others have already said them, and my anxiety simply stops me from saying much. It’s my goal to fix this in the future. 

I gained an appreciation for the value of maintaining organization and remembering my assignments’ due dates as a result of this course. I also discovered the importance of participating fully in class discussions and raising questions to get a better understanding of the subject matter. Regarding what I want to learn more about, I want to delve deeper into the various rhetorical techniques I could apply to improve my writing. In my upcoming classes, I’d like to further my ability to analyze information and conduct research. I also want to put a lot of effort into improving my capacity for critical thought and effective communication.