ENG 112 Portfolio
Christian Schmude
This class has taught me a lot of
strategies on how to write properly and more professionally. First off, I’d
like to thank Professor Stephen Brandon; I appreciate his insightful teaching
style that focuses on my individual growth rather than just providing us with textbook information. A career interest of mine is creative writing. Two techniques I
feel will be particularly valuable is the writing process and the appeals
triangle. I learned that critical thinking is the ability to understand a point
of view that is not necessarily my own; not only is this important for
understanding what you are reading, but in my opinion, it is a great practice to adopt simply
to be a better person. An important focus of this class was to
teach us that ‘everyone has an agenda’ which makes it important to judge the credibility
of an author or commentator. However, the most unexpected experience we had
this term was the group activities. I
have worked in groups at many times before in school, but for reasons I will
explain later, this class gave a very fresh and enjoyable opportunity with my
classmates.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
One interesting requirement the
professor had of us was to make a personal blog to post assignments rather than
traditional ‘type up, print out, hand in’. I decided to use the same blog from
ENG 111 out of convenience. Before this class, I had never used www.blogger.com for anything, and the website is
really interesting. I plan to start to make use of a blog more regularly with
personal writing, because it gives me the opportunity to branch out and find an
audience. The nature of the website allows me to be personal and really put
myself in my writing. Another tool I
briefly started to use was Google Docs. This was not a requirement of the
class, so I did not put much effort into learning how to utilize the site. From
my limited use of it, I did not pursue further was because I did not see any
advantage over blogger.com. It appears to have tools I can use outside of this
class, so it was a good introduction. One technology that was an important
accommodation since high school included the use of Dragon software providing
speech to text technology. I highly recommend this program for individuals who
have difficulty transferring thoughts to written form in addition to physical
disabilities.
CRITICAL THINKING,
READING, AND WRITING PROCESSES
Critical
Thinking is the ability to gain another perspective different from your own.
There is no way to learn or develop as a writer if you disregard criticism of
your own writing and demonize contrasting views. A major portion of our time was
devoted to arguments and discussions, and I can now appreciate the need for everyone’s
thoughts on a topic that are shared for comparison. If a writer can acknowledge
multiple, contrasting views, along with his own, it shows that he is aware and
understands the topic, and adds to the validity of his position. One could even
see this as an act of respect for those who do not agree with his opinion,
which is another important component of being a writer. This is where we
connect to the Appeals Triangle. There are three kinds of appeals: Ethos (Ethical Appeal), Pathos (Emotional Appeal), and Logos (Logical Appeal). All three
provide rhetoric or the relationship between author and audience. If an author
has positive rhetoric, then they have convinced the reader. Overall, the level
of rhetoric, and ultimately credibility, depends on how effective the writer
demonstrates his appeals. Some writers may not be as adept in one appeal versus
the other, but this does not necessarily dictate his overall success in
conveying his message. Logos demonstrates your education or even simple common
sense. The point is you fully research your topic and cite your sources (see
Rhetorical Knowledge). Pathos demonstrates an actual appreciation for the
topic. The writer conveys how much they personally feel about the topic, but
they must be careful to not allow their bias to overshadow their logic to
maintain credibility. Too much emotion
will lose you rhetoric, but with that said, I will not care about the topic if
I can tell the author does not have a personal interest. Finally, Ethos can
make or break you as a writer. I have read or watched news that was conducted
by a biased and uncompromising writer. Personally I do not respect this because
it is though I am being looked down upon and cannot form my own opinion. To
maintain a professional style, the writer needs to understand he is not the
only person capable of forming an opinion on a topic. You must respect the
ability of your readers and understand the value of an argument as stated
earlier.
ORAL COMMUNICATION
When the
class was split up into groups and instructed to start a conversation, we were
completely unprepared. Since then I realized we were deliberately removed from
our comfort zone and forced into a social setting, something that has always
been a challenge for me personally and I understand the real-life inevitability
of this simulation. Prof. Brandon stopped the exercise to make us aware of our
body language which showed our discomfort. The instruction was to avoid any tic,
expression or display of body language that would say ‘I do not want to be here
right now’. We maintained eye contact with each other while talking and made
sure all participated in the conversation. Gradually our group was no longer
just talking, but was having a true conversation as our dynamic changed. This
exercise, although similar to others in my past, was refreshing and I’m glad to
have had an opportunity to flex my social skills. Though it may not look like
it, this activity does demonstrate how we relate to our audience in our writing.
We must be comfortable in both the spoken and written word.
RHETORICAL KNOWLEDGE
As mentioned
earlier, it is not enough to just have an opinion. You need to ‘back it up’.
When you are writing an article, it is very important to know where you get
your information, whether the source is credible or reliable, and to make sure that
your readers are aware of the source material. Throughout class we were
reminded to cite our sources and given strict discipline on how we presented
our research. Avoid plagiarism at all costs. Along with the key elements
discussed in the Critical Thinking
section, I have been introduced to the writing process. This comes in six
stages – prewriting, drafting, revision, proof reading, publishing, and review.
Stages One (1) through Four (4) are very important in finalizing a body of
work, and a useful groundwork to writing a complete document. This is where
everything comes full circle. Critical Thinking mostly occurs after publication
in the form of feedback from professionals and the public. That is not to say
there is no Critical Thinking in the writing itself. Good rhetoric is important
in maintaining one’s respectability and validating the position, and the
receiving of criticism, while possibly enlightening for the sake of future
writing, can also be argued in response to the criticism. Rhetoric is when you use logic and facts to persuade an audience that your message is valid. Ultimately, this is where Logos is important and supports the rest of the appeals. People are convinced by your logic, and if you effectively appeal to them ethically and emotionally as well, then you have achieved good rhetoric.
This year
will be a great influence to me and I will do my best to apply all these techniques
when appropriate. To use as a comparison of my progress here is a link to my essay
for the end of last semester. http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3548419645958609618#editor/target=post;postID=7209783805661425592
