Letter of Encouragement to my Future Self

Dear Future Laura,

It seems that only minutes ago I was consulting with past Laura, who is certainly not as well informed as us! Luckily, we are both older, wiser, and slightly more prepared for obstacles we will face. However, that's not to say that you won't encounter some hard times. Maybe you're reading this right now in a desperate attempt for help.

Well, you've come to the right place!

Regardless of whatever you're upset or stressed about right now, in 40 years you will be sitting in your mansion, counting your money, college just a distant, unimportant memory. But for real, just put your problem in perspective- is it really the end of the world? I'm 99% sure the answer is no unless we are having an apocalypse (and why then are you on this blog?!).

The most important thing to remember is that you have to power to change the outcome. If you're unhappy with something, then it's up to you to either change the problem or change your attitude. By letting an issue make you upset, you're letting it control you. And then you lose. And I know how much you hate losing.

So I advise you to take a step back, put things in perspective, eat some ice cream, make a plan, and execute. I know you love to mope, but moping doesn't change a dang thing. I believe in you! After all you are me, and I'm the best person I know!

Good luck and let me know how it went.

Best regards,
Past Laura

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Letter to my Former Self

Dear Past Laura,

College will not be as easy as you expected. You'll be sleep-deprived, slightly stressed, and overwhelmed, but along the way you'll have unforgettable experiences and learn more than you could have imagined.

But lucky for you, I've compiled a few pro tips to help you survive! First of all, don't expect to just breeze through your classes with minimal effort and a 4.0 GPA. That might have worked in high school, but in college you get out what you put in. DO NOT START HOMEWORK THE SUNDAY BEFORE. I know you will anyway, but seriously, when has that ever worked out?

Furthermore, don't spread yourself too thin. I know that right now working 30 hours a week seems like a wonderful idea, especially considering the paycheck. There comes a point where you have too much to do, too little time, and it makes you break down. Save more time for what is important, and that might not always mean work or school. Mental health and enjoying life is just as (if not more) valuable than money or grades.

Finally, you have much to learn in the realm of writing and rhetorical analysis. Right now, your skills are weak and you honestly would rather do anything than write an essay. Little do you know, that later you will actually slightly enjoy it! Crazy right? You even got paper of the week! The most important thing to remember in your writing journey is audience, audience, audience. Identifying the audience of your argument (or the argument you are analyzing) is crucial in identifying the author's purpose, the effectiveness of a text, and the reasons behind certain rhetorical strategies. Without considering the audience (or deciding on an ambiguous "general audience"), any analysis or public argument becomes vague and ineffective.

While this letter may be futile, I hope you take away one message: Prioritize your life effectively, and do the things that make you happy and balanced. But don't worry you'll do just fine! <3

Love,
Laura

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Reflective Essay Organizing Idea and Theis

Focusing on an Assignment: Through the process of writing my rhetorical analysis of a visual source, I learned how to analyze the intended audience, the occasion, and the effect of certain rhetorical strategies, and how the author uses these skills to achieve their purpose.

Comparing Experiences: When comparing experiences in English-109H with those of past english courses, my writing process is more refined in the areas of rhetorical analysis, revision, and prewriting, transforming me into a much more effective writer.

Strengths/Weaknesses: Through my experiences and growth in English-109H, I've struggled with time management and conciseness, but developed strengths in the areas of rhetorical analysis, revision, and prewriting.

Course Objectives: Though my time and experiences in English-109H, I've developed and refined important skills in the course objectives of "rhetorical awareness", "critical thinking and composing", "reflection and revision", and "conventions".

Writing Process/Self Perception: Through my experiences in English-109H, my writing process has expanded to include rhetorical situations, extensive prewriting, and beneficial revising, causing my perception of my own writing to dramatically improve.

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I believe the "Focusing on an Assignment" theme will be the most effective for my reflection because I personally connect to this one the most. After writing our second essay, something clicked in my mind and I understood the strategies we have been learning in class. This essay was a dramatic improvement over my first and I can easily highlight the differences in language and analysis to show how I have improved. I can also explain in detail how effective my paper was and how much this process taught me about rhetorical analysis.

Speaker: Me!

Occasion: A written reflection on what I have learned in English 109-H

Audience: Dr. Bell and my peers

Purpose: To convince my audience that I have improved and learned over my time in this class and demonstrate my growth

Subject: My second essay and the strategies and knowledge I used

Tone: Formal and academic, to demonstrate how seriously I took this course, which is appropriate my my audience (my professor)

Audience and Invention for My Reflective Essay

In my reflection, I wish to discuss with my reader my transformation as a writer and show the differences between my old strategies, and my new and improved skills. I plan to accomplish this by analyzing the change in my writing process and by providing details of what I have learned. Specific topics I wish to touch on include: prewriting, rhetorical context, PIE, revision, and motivation. I want the reader to understand how much I have grown as a writer and see a dramatic change in my skills.

My primary audience for this paper is Dr. Bell, who will be grading my reflection. She has already read my papers and has an idea of how my papers have improved. Also, she is aware of topics we have focused on in class, which I should definitely include to demonstrate my understanding of course objectives. Furthermore, I have a secondary audience of my classmates who might peer edit my paper. However, they don’t personally know my writings so I will have to make my reflection more detailed for clarity in this context. Because they are also writing a reflection, they understand the process of this paper and the course objectives, which makes it easier to understand.

I will organize my ideas in a logical sequence, by first explaining my writings at the beginning of the semester, then detailing how they have developed into what they are today. I will thoroughly develop these ideas by supporting them with quotes from the "Student's Guide" as well as from my own essays. This provides my points with adequate research and examples to convince the reader how my writing has improved.

My ethos with my readers will be more personal, as I know all my audience members from class. However, I still wish to keep a formal tone to demonstrate that I am taking this assignment and the class seriously. I can establish ethos by showing my dedication to the class and what we have learned as well as quoting credible sources to add support and reliability.

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Discovering Your Writing Process (Revised)

I would consider myself a heavy planner with a hint of procrastination. Depending on how much other homework I have, how much I'm working, and other general circumstances, I sometimes fall a bit more on the procrastination side. I'm more successful sitting down for a few hours and writing than splitting up the draft over a few days or weeks. While I attempt to write my draft earlier, I often start the Sunday before. That said, by this point I have already heavily planned my ideas, examples, and writing, so the actual draft does not take as long to write and is very near its final form.

Over the semester, I have gotten busier and therefore have become more of a procrastinator. However, I have tried to incorporate more of a revision process into my writing to combat the effects of procrastination. By still heavily planning my essay and leaving time for the revision process, I hope to still produce a well-written and effective essay despite my tendencies to procrastinate.

In the process of writing our second essay, a rhetorical analysis of a visual work, I developed my skills dramatically in considering the rhetorical context of a work to analyze the effectiveness. Although we also worked on this concept in the QRG, I really didn't apply this until the rhetorical analysis. After gaining this skill, I applied my knowledge in my public argument to consider my audience, the context, and what rhetorical strategies will be most effective.

My writing process first begins with identifying my audience, occasion, and purpose by writing a SOAPSTone. After that, I develop my ideas by making an outline and doing necessary research. Then, I construct a first draft that is very well developed; after making minor revisions and edits I am finished with my essay. This process stays mostly constant but the elements of my SOAPSTone and research vary with the project. Before this class, I never considered the rhetorical situation, but now that I do, my essays are much more effective.

This semester I did try to spend more time on the revision process and outlining. We used a variety of prewriting strategies, SOAPSTone, observation/inference charts, and outlines, that dramatically improved the content and organization of my essays. I also learned different revision strategies which improved my language and conventions. Overall, the skills I've learned this semester furthered my proficiency in writing and taught me how to become and more effective writer.

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