Course Reflection Letter

          Over this semester in Composition 101, I have to honestly say that I do not think that my writing has changed a very large amount, or maybe even at all. I would say that many factors contributed to this, however I think the main ones are that throughout the semester I got progressively busier and did not focus as much on improving my writing, I became more and more apathetic and careless as a result of this, and sometimes I think I just did not understand the assignments or try hard enough to understand them. All of these added to my inhibited growth as a writer this semester.

First of all, I did not focus on my writing as much because I believe that I took on too much as a student this semester. This is not exactly an excuse; however for me personally that is just one of the reasons my writing hasn’t improved as much as I had hoped it would. I think that at the beginning of this semester I started off strong, and did well with the first assignment, the "I Am Who I Am” piece. I truly thought about this assignment and spent a lot of time on it; I put a lot of effort into planning that assignment, and full participated in the writing group meetings. Also, in the beginning I think that I faithfully kept up with my daybook and made sure everything was in it. Even with the second piece, the group piece about presentation tools, I thought that I contributed as well as I could, although I think that I misunderstood the directions. However, then all of my other many classes started flooding assignments in as well, and I did not respond well to it all and did not balance everything well. Some classes started to take priority over others for certain assignments, and I was always just trying to get assignments done rather than focusing on improving my writing with each one.
            Secondly, because I was simply trying to get my assignments finished, I began to get more careless as well: turning in assignments unfinished and just following instructions to the bare minimum which did not contribute to making my writing better at all. Also, along with this I think there were some assignments that I did not fully understand. For example, the rhetorical analysis essay; I was so incredibly confused about this assignment that I still am not sure how exactly I was supposed to write it, and I still do not fully understand “ethos, pathos, logos.” I feel that I did not respond well to this either. Sometimes if I have a difficult assignment that I do not understand, I get frustrated and do not want to have to try really hard to figure it out, which is not an acceptable way to behave. Even in my other classes, I do not think I did very well with taking responsibility for my own learning. If I ran into a problem where I was confused or did not know how to continue with an assignment or particular subject, I did not utilize the services available to me such as tutoring or the Writing Center, and I was apprehensive about approaching my professors outside of class. Once again, none of these reasons are really excuses, they are just simply the truthful reasons I do not think my writing has changed or improved much over the course of the semester.

In conclusion, it is with regret that I say overall, my individual writing has improved little to none during this course. My coursework overload and my own apathy have caused me to be careless and inattentive, which has not aided in my improvement as a student. However, that is not to say that I have not learned anything from this experience; I now know my strengths and weaknesses as a student, and have some idea of how to balance my time more efficiently as I now know what does not work and what does work. I also know now that I need to allow myself more time to effectively complete my assignments and to actually gain and retain knowledge and information from all of my courses, not just the composition ones. I think that I have learned from my mistakes this semester and will be able to apply this knowledge to next semester and the semesters ahead. Also, I think that I did my best to revise the pieces I chose for my portfolio.

Working Draft Piece 1: "Who I Am"

For my "Who I Am" piece, I chose to create a word collage of words that describe me:

Working Draft Piece 3: "Rhetorical Analysis"

The Language Used to Understand Drunk Driving

            “Drunk driving is a major problem throughout much of the world. In 2008, drunk drivers in the United States caused 11,733 deaths. This number represents almost one-third of all traffic-related deaths that year.” (“Drunk Driving”) The issue of drunk driving is one that is widely discussed, examined, and heard about in today’s society. I intend to analyze the rhetoric surrounding drinking and driving using several texts on the issue in order to highlight this existing problem and to better understand the topic of drunk driving, its causes, and harmful effects as a whole.

“Drinking & Driving,” an article by David J. Hanson, Ph.D., is one that discusses some drunk driving statistics including the effects of it, and also gives some prevention tips in hopes of persuading the reader not to drink and drive. Hanson is a retired sociology professor from the State University of New York at Potsdam and a largely known and published alcohol researcher who is recognized in the media as an alcohol expert (Hanson). Hanson’s argument is based mostly on actual facts: facts about the laws in place for drunk driving, facts about the number of deaths and injuries drunk driving causes, facts about the penalties for drunk driving, etc. I think Hanson’s use of evidence makes his argument more credible as it shows that he is not simply basing it off of emotion or passion.

Radley Balko, policy analyst for the libertarian research organization the Cato Institute, is the author of the article “DC Forum: Lower DUI Threshold More Dangerous?” which also discourses about drunk driving. However, Balko argues that such strict laws for drinking and driving are only causing more harm as they cause police officers to spend more time on the non-threatening offenses and less on the life-threatening ones.

“Crash: drunk driving is a matter of life and death” is a magazine article that was published in Current Health Teens, a Weekly Reader publication in 2011. This article, like Hanson’s, focuses on the outcomes of drinking and driving and its mission is also to persuade the audience against drunk driving.

The photograph “Jacqui Poster” was created by the Texas Department of Transportation as a public service announcement against drinking and driving. It features a picture of Jacqueline Saburido, the victim of a drunk driving accident who has been horribly disfigured due to burns along with a picture of her before the accident as a young and healthy woman of twenty years old.

 Works Cited

Balko, Radley. “DC Forum: Lower DUI Threshold More Dangerous?” Washington Times 30 Oct. 2005: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

"Drunk Driving." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library 2010: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

Hanson, David J. “Drinking & Driving.” Alcohol Problems 2007: Gale Opposing Views In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

Lewis, Darcy. "Crash: drunk driving is a matter of life and death." Current Health Teens, a Weekly Reader publication Oct. 2011: 6+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

Texas Department of Transportation. Jacqui Poster. 2002. Photograph. TxDOT.gov. Texas Department of Transportation, 2009. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.

Working Draft Piece 4: "Multimodal"

For my "Multimodal" piece, I chose to create a sort of video/slideshow on the harmful effects of drunk driving:

Working Draft Piece 5: "My Own Piece"

To Be Literate in the 21^st Century

            In this day and age, it is pretty safe to say that technology is involved in just about everything we do. When “writing” a paper, no one actually writes a paper, they use a computer to type it and a printer to print it, or they send it via e-mail. Instead of reading an actual book, people own Kindles or other devices that enable them to read e-books. Even when people do read actual books, technology was used to produce those books. When one thinks of the term “literacy,” they usually think of the ability to read, write, or comprehend. However in today’s society it means so much more than just that. To be able to function or be literate in any sort of normal manner, one must be aware of and have some knowledge of how to use the many different types of technology available.

            First of all, understanding technology is essential to communicate effectively today. Rarely does anyone send an actual letter as a main form of communication anymore,

Revision Plan and Reflection Essay

For my two revised pieces, I chose to revise Piece 5, the "My Own Piece," and Piece 4, the "Multimodal Piece." The reason I chose Piece 5 was mainly because I did not finish it the first time, and also I felt what I did write of it could have been written better anyhow. I chose to revise Piece 4 because I felt that my video could have turned out better, and I think there could have been more added to it, such as music in the background that goes along with the subject.

For Piece 5, the assignment was to create your own piece; the only requirement was that it had to involve another assignment given previously in the semester. So, for my piece I chose to take the online discussion board assignment where we each put up a discussion about what it means to be literate in the 21^st Century, and write a sort of essay extending my thoughts on the topic: I wrote part of it but did not finish. So, when I go to do my revisions, I plan to take what I wrote for the online assignment and what I wrote for Piece 5 originally and sort of combine them, adding more detail in my descriptions of literacy and why technology is necessary for it. I plan to fully flesh out and complete my thoughts in my revision, and the result should be much better written than the working draft.

For Piece 4, the requirement was to make a piece on any subject you are passionate about, and it had to somehow be “multimodal”—that is, it had to include some type of media other than writing. So, I chose to make sort of a video/slideshow about drinking and driving, and put certain facts and statistics with pictures; also I told the tragic story of Jacqui Saburido and her fatal accident due to drinking and driving. However, I did not get to add music like I wanted to—I felt that that would have added a more emotional effect to the video—and some parts of the video cannot be clearly seen because of the font I used. Also, I did not complete the essay that was to go along with it explaining the choices I made in my multimodal piece. So, upon revising this piece I plan to add and fix those things I wanted to add and fix, and to complete the essay to go along with it.

            In conclusion, I will be revising Piece 5 and Piece 4 from this semester, because on both of them I did not finish a part that was crucial. Also, on Piece 5 I wanted to improve the writing I completed, and on Piece 4, I wanted to add and change a few minor things in the video as well.

Revised Piece 1

For my first revised piece, I chose to revise "My Own Piece" about literacy in the 21st Century:

To Be Literate in the 21^st Century

            In this day and age, it is pretty safe to say that technology is involved in just about everything we do. When “writing” a paper, no one actually writes a paper, they use a computer to type it and a printer to print it, or they send it via e-mail. Instead of reading an actual book, people own Kindles or other devices that enable them to read e-books. Even when people do read actual books, technology was used to produce those books. When one thinks of the term “literacy,” they usually think of the ability to read, write, or comprehend. However in today’s society it means so much more than just that. To be able to function or be literate in any sort of normal manner, one must be aware of and have some knowledge of how to use the many different types of technology available.

            First of all, understanding technology is essential to communicate effectively today. Rarely does anyone send an actual letter as a main form of communication anymore; in this day and age we are very much concerned with immediate responses and things happening quickly, and communication by letter, or “snail mail,” is not fast enough for a simple message that needs a quick response. It is simply much more efficient and timely to send a text message, email, or call someone’s cell phone. Therefore to be able to communicate effectively, one must be aware of and keep up with all of these different types of technology and how to use them.

            Literacy in technology is also necessary to simply function normally in society. Almost everything we have and use today runs off of technology; for instance, cars, phones, televisions, computers, and even things as simple as dishwashers or refrigerators. Honestly, if one does not have a basic knowledge of all of these it's hard to survive in our modern society. Cars are needed to get where you need to go quickly, television provides information about important events that are taking place in the world, and computer work and skills are required for almost every job. When you get down to the basics, it's really surprising to discover how much we rely on technology for everything.

             In conclusion, though it certainly is still necessary to be literate in the traditional sense of being able to read and write (we could not function in society without that skill either), it is just as important to be literate in the sense of understanding and being able to use most common types of technology. We need it to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently with each other, for one. And secondly we need it to be able to function in society and get work--whether it be an actual job, work around the house, or running errands--done at all. Technology truly is necessary in almost every aspect of our lives.

Revised Piece 2

For my second revised piece, I chose to revise my multimodal piece about the harmful effects of drinking and driving:

                For my multimodal piece, I chose to create a video about the harmful effects of drinking and driving. I chose this subject because this is a subject I am passionate about, because a male student from my high school was killed in an accident caused by drunk driving about two years ago. He was walking down the street at night, and a drunk driver happened to pass by and, being drunk, accidentally hit and killed him, devastating his family and many that went to my school. Not only that, but I feel that this topic is one that is taken too lightly today, and the devastating effects of it need to be shown more. Also, while doing my rhetorical analysis on this same topic, I found the story of a girl named Jacqui Saburido who was in a fatal drunk driving accident but survived—horribly disfigured, but survived nonetheless—and her story also inspired me to make my multimodal piece on this topic.

            First, I started off the video with a picture of people, clearly at a party, all with drinks in their hands and appearing to be enjoying themselves. I added the caption, “Everyone likes to have a good time with friends, right? What’s a little alcohol…?” I put this caption because I wanted to capture the audience’s usual view of drinking, that it is “no big deal.” Then on the next slide I quickly corrected that view by saying “the fun STOPS the minute someone gets into a driver’s seat drunk.” I wanted to quickly let the audience know that this behavior is much more harmful and dangerous than they may believe. My intended audience was teenagers through people in their twenties, since statistics say that this age group is more likely to drink and drive. After the second slide, I put several slides with facts and statistics about drinking and driving, such as it is the leading cause in traffic fatalities today, this year a person will die every fifty minutes in a drunk driving related accident, etc. I was attempting to use the logos appeal of persuasion by appealing to the logical side of the audience with facts. However with these facts I put several pictures of terrible drunk driving accidents and a picture of a funeral in an attempt to shock them and use the pathos appeal and play to their emotions at the same time. In this first section of my video I put music with the video as well. I used The Fray’s “You Found Me” because I thought the theme of tragedy in the song fit well with what I was attempting to portray about drinking and driving, and also because it is an emotional song that would appeal to the emotions of the audience.

            In the second part of my video, I mainly relied on the pathos, or emotional, appeal to persuade. The entire second part of the video was devoted to the story of Jacqui Saburido, a girl from Venezuela who was in a private language school in Texas studying English when one night, on the way home from a party with her friends, eighteen year old Reggie Stephey (who had been drinking) crashed into her car head on. Two of Jacqui’s friends died on the scene, but Jacqui miraculously survived, though suffering third degree burns on sixty percent of her body. Over the years she has recovered more, though life is still very difficult for her. Now however, she devotes her life to speaking out against drunk driving to prevent the same thing that happened to her from happening to other people. In my video, I started off with a picture of Jacqui before her accident and introduced her to the audience. Then, on the next few slides, I told about where she was from and how she grew up; I wanted to build up to the accident so the audience could see what exactly Jacqui lost because of the accident. I showed pictures of her with friends and living a happy life. Then, I put a caption on a picture of her with friends that told about the accident, and immediately after, I put a picture of the wreckage from the accident and described the fatalities and Jacqui’s condition. Again, I wanted to shock the audience and appeal to their emotions; to show them that drinking and driving is indeed a serious offense. Then, I put a picture of Jacqui after the accident which is shocking enough in itself—Jacqui is now horribly disfigured and does not even look like the same person. I then described Jacqui’s day-to-day struggle and how difficult this recovery has been for her, and told how now Jacqui lives to speak publicly about what happened to her. This is another reason I chose Jacqui’s story to use; she devotes her life to speaking out against drunk driving, so I thought it fit perfectly well to use her in a video that is persuading against drunk driving. At the very end of my video, I put a quote from Jacqui herself from a press conference in 2001: "Even if it means sitting here in front of a camera with no ears, no nose, no eyebrows, no hair, I'll do this a thousand times if it will help someone make a wise decision." Also for this section of the video I added different music. I used The Fray’s “Never Say Never” because I thought it appropriately fit with Jacqui’s situation and that she “never said never” even when life dealt her a terrible circumstance.

            In conclusion, through my multimodal piece I attempted to persuade my targeted audience of teenagers and people in their twenties not to drink and drive by showing them just how harmful and even fatal it can be. I used the logos appeal (using reason to persuade) by giving facts and statistics about the fatalities of drunk driving which emphasized my opinion of it. At the same time I engaged the emotions of the audience and used the ethos appeal by showing shocking pictures of fatal accidents. I then doubly appealed to the audience’s emotions by telling the tragic and sorrowful, yet inspiring story of Jacqui Saburido.