This semester I have achieved the course learning objectives to the highest extent possible. My growth from this course can be seen through the improvement from my first paper all the way to my last one. One of the course objectives in which I really improved on was the ability to explore and analyze in writing and reading throughout many different genres and rhetorical situations. In my second essay, the “Rhetorical Analysis Essay” I analyzed a text from June Jordan titled “Nobody mean more to me than you and the future life of Willie Jordan” in which she talks about Black English being underappreciated and overlooked compared to White English which was the “normal” form of English. This was something that through High School I had never done before, I was so used to writing about what my opinions on things and my thoughts about books but now this class has showed how to write about the authors opinion which is shown through their writing and instead of reading something and writing about what I get from it, instead read and understand what the author intended their audience to learn and comprehend from their writing. This helped me later on the semester on my Research paper which I wrote about Drake because as I was writing it I realized that the point of the Rhetorical Analysis Essay paper wasn’t just to analyze the sources for that paper but to change the way in which I read and write forever. In my Research paper about Drake,  due to the previous essay I didn’t write about what his lyrics meant to me but instead I analyzed the lyrics and the point these lyrics were trying to get across to his audience. 

  This English class not only taught me how to improve my writing and reading and tactics which are good to know in order to become a better writer but also how to use the resources around me to better my writing. One major resource I learned about and one I will have to use for the rest of my college experience is the online CUNY Library which allows me to find any resource such as articles, magazines, papers, and novels which I then caan evaluate for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, amd bias which I can then use to credit my point and view on a certain subject or opinion. This Library was very hard to figure out how to use and if it wasn’t for this class later on down the road I would have struggled immensely and not been able to find the sources needed to prove my claim, bit due to learning about this resource now I am better prepared for my future endeavors in writing and finding resources in the Library. I also learned how to engage in the social and collaborative aspects of the writing process such as taking notes in class, discussing my essay with my peers, and doing group assignments and reflections on articles we need to know. My note taking throughout this class improved so much to the point where by the end of the semester I was color coating my notes based on each category as you can see in the picture below. Overall this class has improved not only my writing skills but also my ability to analyze texts, use my resources, and collaborate with my peers.

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