Self-Assessment Essay

Simoun Urcia

Phase 4 Self-Assessment essay

 

“The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement”- Helmut Schmidt.

This semester was a semester for growth and improvement. As each phase passed, I either learned more or I strengthened parts of my work that were weak. Whether it was finding sources or analyzing a quote, there was always room for improvement in every category. I always carried this mindset throughout the semester. Always be open minded and analytical of yourself so that you can improve.

The main focus in this semester was language. Language played a key role in each of the phases. Something we really focused on was “Recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users, and be open to communicating across different languages and cultures.”. Throughout the semester, we were given many texts and we also researched many of our own sources. Through these texts and different sources, we learned how language has a huge affect on people in our society; especially how it has a huge effect on minorities in America. For example, my Phase 3 research essay was about how the pandemic affected non-English speakers in America. I provided an example on how a Hungarian woman in Brooklyn couldn’t get proper treatment because she wasn’t able to speak English. She died a day later. (Kaplan,2020)

Another objective we focused on was “Develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.” and also “Engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes”. I feel these 2 objectives go hand and hand with each other because a big part of our revising and editing process was through peer reviewing with each other. The breakout rooms were effective for me. I always improved my essays through them and also learned a lot about my peers. In phase 2, Shornakay helped me edit my essay by helping me find the target audience of Saleem. In phase 3, Isabel helped me edit my usage of precis because it was messy and needed to be more organized. I always left the breakout rooms with a better essay.

The precis template was something new to me but it really helped. The template for the precis added key information and helped make your essay lengthier. The usage of precis helped me with the objective of “Practice systematic application of citation conventions”. The template for precis added the author’s tone and the author’s target audience. This helps make your essay more detailed but also helps the reader have a better understanding of your main idea. The template also helps cite your sources, so it definitely helped to have a template when it came down to writing my sources.

In this semester, we were given a variety of texts and this helped me fulfill the objective of “Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.”. Whether it was Amy Tan or Saleem, the main topic was language. However, different authors have different styles. The exposure of different texts helped me see the different genres and rhetorical strategies different authors use. For example Amy Tan used many of her own life’s personal experiences to convey her message. She spoke about how her mother needed her help in the hospital to talk with the doctors and also how her mom needed help with talking to a broker. (Tan, 1990). Saleem used personal experiences as well, but also he used historical references and also funny animations. Saleem talked about how the Greeks used to describe the ocean as “wine red” and he tied it to his main idea (Saleem,2016). This helped me see the different genres and styles of different authors. The phase 2 essay also helped me achieve “Compose texts that integrate your stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as summary, critical analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and argumentation.”. In phase 2, I analyzed Saleem. When I analyzed his Greek historical reference, I was able to interpret that he wanted to relate the Greek situation to modern society. The Greeks used to think “wine red” as the normal color for the ocean but now people think it’s blue. It all ties into his main idea that social norms are always changing. We need to challenge the social norms so that what’s weird now can be normal in the future. He wants more people to publicly speak with accents until it becomes normal in American society.

The exposure to different texts also helped me “Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations”. Once I read the plenty of texts we had, it was my turn to take some of the styles we analyzed and come up with my own work. For example in my phase 3 research essay, I implemented pathos and also logos in my essay. I wanted to appeal to emotions because my essay was COVID-19 related which is a sickness that affected and continues to affect many worldwide. I also wanted to add statistics to demonstrate the wide range effects it has. Like stated previously I provided a story of a Hungarian woman that died because she couldn’t properly communicate in English(Kaplan,2020). This is one way I tapped into readers emotions or pathos. One way I used Logos was through providing a statistic. My statistic was “Blacks make up about 13% of the U.S. population but on average 5% of clinical trial participants, research shows. For Hispanics, trial participation is about 1% on average..”(Aleccia,2020). I feel as if I implemented rhetorical strategies pretty well throughout each phase. My phase 3 essay also helped me with the course outcome “Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences”. I feel as if my audience was catered to more than just 1 group. My audience could’ve been people who have relatives that don’t speak English but my audience could also be people that had power to make a change.

However, the outcome that I feel as if I need more work on is “Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.”. I had a hard time finding sources during the phase 3 research essay. I originally didn’t want to write about COVID-19 for my phase 3 essay, it was my second option. However, I couldn’t find enough sources for my first option. So I felt my second option was the better choice. I definitely need to work on finding good quality sources in the future. Even with the usage of scholar google’s search engine I still had some trouble.

Overall, I learned a lot about the impact of language this semester. Through each phase, I learned a lot of strategies to implement into my writing but also I strengthened parts of my writing that were weak. However, I still need to work on finding quality sources as sources are an important part of your work. I will definitely carry on everything I learned in every future essay I write.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORK CITED

  • Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” [Threepenny Review 1990; 1989.] The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 11th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill , 2011. 76-81. Print
  • Saleem, Safwat. “Why I Keep Speaking up, Even When People Mock My Accent.” TED Talks, uploaded by TED Talks, 7 July 2016, ted.com/talks/safwat_saleem_why_i_keep_speaking_up_even_when_people_mock_my_accent.
  • —. “The Color of COVID: Will Vaccine Trials Reflect America’s Diversity?” The NM Political Report, 28 July 2020, nmpoliticalreport.com/2020/07/28/the-color-of-covid-will-vaccine-trials-reflect-americas-diversity.
  • “Hospitals Have Left Many COVID-19 Patients Who Don’t Speak English Alone, Confused and Without Proper Care.” ProPublica, 12 Apr. 2020, www.propublica.org/article/hospitals-have-left-many-covid19-patients-who-dont-speak-english-alone-confused-and-without-proper-care.