Reflective Essay 'How I Kept My' In English

Reflection of How I Kept My “A” in English Reflecting on this past semester I feel I have grown in several areas that needed improving and I have also learned many new techniques that were introduced to me. My goal for the class was to learn how to write an exceptionally good paper and learn techniques to help better organize my thoughts and ideas. I feel I was able to achieve that goal and take away concepts that will help me be more confident in future writing. Almost everything that we learned in English class was new to me because when I was in high school, we never wrote rhetorical analyses or argumentative essays following the MEAL plan. I had never heard of a MEAL plan for writing papers, but once I finally got the concept I was able to plan out my papers better using this technique. To …show more content…
I went from summarizing what I read to analyzing what I read and critiquing the author’s persuasiveness of the argument. I used a YouTube video by Shaun Roundy to help me grasp the concept of how to write a rhetorical analysis paper by showing the author’s use of logos, pathos, and ethos. He was able to break it down to the basics by giving the definition first, then by building the foundation of learning by helping me understand how to apply it. I reviewed the video many times and took notes until it finally clicked and I had my “a-ha” moment. I now have a full understanding of how to analyze what someone else has written, state my claim, and prove my point through convincing evidence. My performance in writing a rhetorical analysis greatly improved and by using the MEAL Plan I was able to effectively plan and organize my thoughts and show why the author’s claim was or was not effective. Dr. Kennedy was the biggest help with identifying my struggles in writing, observing my learning style, and helping me to overcome these challenges and start thinking and writing like a college