Monday, April 15, 2013

Last Post! Huzzah!


As we wrap up the semester, I'd like to know your answers to two questions: 

1. Has anything you've learned in this class affected how you view the world, or how you think about writing, rhetoric, college, the world, or yourself?

2. If you could change one thing about our class this semster, what would it be and why?

11 comments:

  1. 1. Well first, I can say that I will never be able to look at a website the same way ever again. I learned a lot about how to make an effective argument and how I can appeal to different audiences. I can honestly say that this class has made me a better writer and has helped me to develop skills that I didn't even think I needed to develop.

    2. If I could change one thing, I would change the issues paper. I think it would have been easier to grasp at first if it was better defined. (like a research paper, etc.) I think that I spent a lot of my time trying not to put in too much research because it wasn't supposed to be a research paper, but then I wanted to make sure I had enough at the same time. I spent a lot of time trying to figure this out rather than actually focusing on the paper itself.

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  2. 1. I realized that rhetoric is much more than in a rhetorical question, or one that you ask but don't want anyone to verbally answer. Also, I realized that it can have incredible influence on success in different things - I didn't know that it could influence people as much as I ended up learning. The little things matter a great deal.

    2. I guess I would have appreciated a more rigid rubric than what was provided in the supplemental guide for grading each paper. Seeing where I needed to improve in different parts of a rubric would have been more effective in giving me direction as to what I needed to change in my writing to make it more effective. One of the table formatted rubrics would have been nice to have, and if it stayed constant for the most part, if not entirely, throughout the semester between each paper - that would be swell. =)

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  3. 1. I learned most in the rhetorical section because I had never really focused on the basics or tools. Most of my teachers focused on the outcome they wanted for making a good argument but not really how to get there. So that was great in helping me understand who and what I'm supposed to be targeting and how to appeal to them.
    2. I learned a lot in my anthropologie class about my writing b/c my TA had us write a paper then turn it in and then gave us a chance to redo them. This helped me realize my mistakes and drummed it into my head so as to never make the same ones again. I realize that it was a lot more work for the TA but it was helpful in realizing my weak points and then having to fix them.

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  4. 1. I agree with Erin; I will never be able to look at a website the same way ever again. I definitely learned a ton about rhetoric. I did not even know what rhetoric was before I took this class. I think that no matter what I read, I will always examine the font choice and the colors.

    2. I'm really not sure what, if anything I would change. Things went pretty well this semester. I think that the suggestion that Tandy made is a valid one. Getting the opportunity to fix mistakes and correct essays could provide a unique learning opportunity that could have been useful to learn even more.

    Overall, this class was pretty great and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to learn with all of you. Y'all are great!

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  5. 1. I would say that this class has taught me to be more critical of the things that I read and view. While that kinda sounds like a negative thing when stated that way, in lots of ways I think that it will help me in the future. I hope I won't be quite as naive and believe everything that I read without carefully evaluating it.

    2. If I could change one thing it would be not having to do the rhetorical analysis... blech! But that's not exactly something that I can change, so... oh well. At least it will be other students suffering through it in the future and not me :)

    Overall I have learned a lot in this class. I can;t believe that the semester is over already. Didn't it just start? I hope to see you all around campus again sometime in the future!

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  6. 1. I have definitely felt my writing improve as a result of this class - along with that, I feel that my ability to evaluate other peoples' writing has improved as well. I feel much better prepared to tackle writing assignments in other classes than I did before I took this class - a feeling which is wonderful, and that I haven't really felt before.

    2. If I could change something about the class, I would make it start at noon instead of 10am, that way I would never be late and would always be fully awake and attentive during class.

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  7. 1. I feel like I actually UNDERSTAND what rhetoric is and how to use it much more effectively as well as how to analyze it much more effectively. Writing hasn't been one of my strong points but as I have worked at it this semester, I feel much more confident in my ability to write and persuade. It's not all about the words you put on the paper. Rhetoric is a tool that uses so many other things such as sentence structure, emotional appeal, colors, pictures, etc. to convince someone of something. Thanks RoseE
    2. I was satisfied with what I learned this semester in this class. I agree with what was said about getting another opportunity to improve our work. Especially for me on the oped. First writing assignment I've had in a looooong time, and wasn't completely sure what was expected or how to write it properly. So after correction and what not, a second chance to fix my mistakes and make it better would've been helpful.

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  8. 1. What I have learned from this class is that diction is important, and especially appealing to an audience. I have never written with a specific audience in mind, but I've tried to appeal to the reader, whoever it might be. However, this class has helped me see that writing is better when the writer knows who they're talking to.

    2. There is not much that I would change about this class. That said, the one thing that I would change would be the timing for the assignments. I would get started sooner on the OpEd, keep the same time for the Rhetorical Analysis, and extend the time for the Issues paper and the Multimodal by however long possible. This is because I felt crammed for the Issues paper, and it would have been nice to have more time to work on the Multimodal. However, that is all I would change about the class. However, if it were possible, I believe it would be better to have each major give their own writing class, rather than have a GE writing class. I believe this because people should learn how to write for their specific major.

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  9. 1. Well, lets just say that I will be judging every single website I view now for the rest of my life! haha Thus, all the rhetorical devices we have learned through the semester have definitely been drilled into my head.

    2. If I could change one thing about the class it would be the definition of the research paper. Better guidance or clarity on what was needed should be more emphasized. I beleive the title of the project confused many of us.

    THANK YOU FOR A GREAT SEMESTER!!! :D

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  10. 1.This class has most definitely changed they way I view writing and rhetoric. I never had a second thought about what rhetoric is and how it affects not only me but basically everything. I doubt that I will every write a paper ever again without thinking about Ethos Pathos and Logos. Anyway I am glad I took this class; of all the English based classes I have taken this has been my favorite.
    2.There isn't anything major I would change about the class in general. However for the UN Summit it would be nice to have a better explanation about how it all works. I went in not having a clue what was happening: how to submit proposals, vote, etc. Overall the class was amazing, though I am not much of a writer I still loved this class.

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  11. I think the two things I learned most about in this class were relating everything to your thesis and always being mindful of your audience. These will be very helpful for making an argument or proving a point in any situation, whether in writing, verbally, or in design.

    I think it would have been nice to work more with classmates throughout the semester, because it seemed at the summit we were all becoming friends, but that was of course at the very end of the semester.

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