Course Reflection
1. Soon after starting my first semester here at the University of Iowa it became clear that my Rhetoric class was going to be the toughest of my classes. First week I was scared because I was told I had to interview a specialist. But 3 papers later, with more knowledge about how to write in a compelling way for different audiences, I feel more confident in my writing ability than ever before. My writing has gotten better in 3 major ways.
The first thing that this class has forced my improvement in, is the skill of writing for different audiences(as I mentioned earlier). In high school I wrote in the same voice and tone all the time with no real knowledge as when and how to write for different people. After these 3 papers, I can accurately spot when authors switch their style for more academic and specified audiences, or when they are writing for the common folk. I can do this in my papers(semi-successfully), especially in the IMRaD paper, where the style can fluctuate within different sections of the paper.
Another area that I have improved in was the ability to maintain focus throughout my paper. Writing papers that were over 1,000 words and usually more than 5 pages naturally pushed my to go off on tangents and lose the central focus of my paper. After meetings and revisions, I learned how to keep focus within a paper. This came with learning the structures of all the types of papers: analytical report, literature review, and IMRaD. While maintaining the structure, good flow allows the paper to flow with purposed direction.
The last area of my writing (that I will mention) that will stay with me beyond this class was how much I rely upon topic. In this class, I tried to write about things that I didn't truly find interesting in my analytical report. This was painful, and it taught me how hard it is to try and put energy into something you know that you don't really care about. After the first paper, I decided to try and write about things that I was curious about and things I was eager to delve into. Both my literature review and IMRaD paper focused on topics that I found that challenged my line of thinking and sparked my interest. They were far easier to write, and it made the class one of my favorites instead of an 8 am I had to drag myself too.
So as the semester comes to the close, Rhetoric was the class that made the most impact on my academic journey here at Iowa. I learned how to write for different audiences (and how authors do), how to maintain focus in my paper, and (most importantly) the importance of choosing topics that will be engaging. This class could've been a grind, where I was forced to shovel out 3 different 1,000 page papers, but it turned out to be a beneficial class where I was challenged and my writing skills improved heaps.
The first thing that this class has forced my improvement in, is the skill of writing for different audiences(as I mentioned earlier). In high school I wrote in the same voice and tone all the time with no real knowledge as when and how to write for different people. After these 3 papers, I can accurately spot when authors switch their style for more academic and specified audiences, or when they are writing for the common folk. I can do this in my papers(semi-successfully), especially in the IMRaD paper, where the style can fluctuate within different sections of the paper.
Another area that I have improved in was the ability to maintain focus throughout my paper. Writing papers that were over 1,000 words and usually more than 5 pages naturally pushed my to go off on tangents and lose the central focus of my paper. After meetings and revisions, I learned how to keep focus within a paper. This came with learning the structures of all the types of papers: analytical report, literature review, and IMRaD. While maintaining the structure, good flow allows the paper to flow with purposed direction.
The last area of my writing (that I will mention) that will stay with me beyond this class was how much I rely upon topic. In this class, I tried to write about things that I didn't truly find interesting in my analytical report. This was painful, and it taught me how hard it is to try and put energy into something you know that you don't really care about. After the first paper, I decided to try and write about things that I was curious about and things I was eager to delve into. Both my literature review and IMRaD paper focused on topics that I found that challenged my line of thinking and sparked my interest. They were far easier to write, and it made the class one of my favorites instead of an 8 am I had to drag myself too.
So as the semester comes to the close, Rhetoric was the class that made the most impact on my academic journey here at Iowa. I learned how to write for different audiences (and how authors do), how to maintain focus in my paper, and (most importantly) the importance of choosing topics that will be engaging. This class could've been a grind, where I was forced to shovel out 3 different 1,000 page papers, but it turned out to be a beneficial class where I was challenged and my writing skills improved heaps.
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