FIQWS 10111 was a very insightful class and personally, one of my favorite classes of this semester. I distinctly remember that when I was still choosing courses to pick for the semester, I was excited to see that I had a composition class. I always loved reading, yet I struggled with writing my whole life. Therefore, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to hone that skill and also find a passion for writing. And boy was I right. I missed many of my classes due to covid, however, I was able to cope with all the rich and insightful resources provided for us from the google Docs folders and with Prof. Crowe’s help. Because I had never taken a class like this in the US before, I was initially a little intimidated to start the class. However, Professor Crowe was always so lovely, warm, and welcoming, that all of my worries dissolved away just like that. Her workshops were amazing and through them, I was able to converse with so many great people and make new friends. This course was so effective for me. The course was divided, each of the phases was different and focused on different styles of writing. As a result, I was able to concentrate and focus more on what I was writing my writing style and my intended audience.

The first phase of the course focused on constructing a well-developed narrative essay. To be quite frank, this had to be the easiest out of the 4 phases as I had been writing stories since I was a kid. However, I was still nervous as I did not write anything in a while. In this phase, we read some wonderful and beautiful essays such as “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, “Ghosts of The Future” by Sarah Kaplan, and “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros. They dealt with many deep and interesting themes such as feminism, discrimination, and global warming. By doing the discussion posts and reflecting on them, I learned to address controversial topics more deeply and head-on. I tried to fit into those themes and incorporate those into my essay. My intended audience for this essay was my professor and peers, so I tailored my narrative to sound more like a story and make it more engaging for them. Another very important thing I learned from this phase was the use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. I had no idea about those before. However, by identifying them in the text Prof. Crowe provided, I was able to understand them more clearly. I also used Pathos in my narrative essay to make it more personal and thought-provoking. This phase’s assignment was able to successfully achieve what it was trying to accomplish. For example, it was able to effectively check out goal number 11. “Find joy or meaning in the act and practice of writing.” This phase was really fun for me and it evoked a newfound passion for writing in me. It successfully accomplished goal 1 too which is, “Recognize the role of language in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing their users, and be open to communicating across different languages and cultures.” Stories such as “Mother Tongue” and “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You” tackled those issues and showed me that the way a person speaks should not be the reason why they should not be taken seriously.

The second phase of the course was interesting. We had to analyze deeply about a text and critique the author’s writing style. The intended audience for my Research paper in Phase 2 was my instructor. I tailored my language and tried to present this paper more professionally. I read all the handouts from the google doc for phase 2. I also used the worksheet we completed in class and used that as a reference. This was helpful for me as it was more effective and saved time when doing the paper. In this phase, I had to detect the rhetorical choices the author made while writing this story. I raked my brain hard to think why the author wrote what they wrote and what it meant. Most importantly I tried to notice why the author chose to write a certain way. Personally, this was probably the most difficult out of the 3 phases. However, it was only because I had never done anything like this before. So, I would like to thank Professor Brenna wholeheartedly for this phase. I learned so much while writing this paper. For example, I had never second-guessed a writer’s writing choice before, and this phase was of great importance as it opened a new perception for me. I really enjoyed “The Tent” and analyzing the way Margaret Atwood wrote. I also used the teachings from this class to craft a book review for my history class which, I can gladly say, was a real success. This course was effective in completing goal number 2 which was, “Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.”. I analyzed the story by Margaret Atwood in this case. It also fulfilled goal 3, “Explore biological concepts and rhetorical discourse.” By reading the paper, “Writing About Biology: How Rhetorical Choices Can Influence the Impact of a Scientific Paper” by Randy Moore, I was able to think more deeply about the rhetorical choices made while writing research papers. I learned about the rhetorical tactics authors used such as dramatization, purpose, imagery, etc and I was able to add these rhetorical devices into my own composition.

The third phase of this course was how to compose a research paper. I tried to present this research paper as professional and kind of legit. I put in a lot of effort to make this sound not childish if it makes sense. I put in a lot of effort for this paper and tried to follow the construction of a model research paper. In this phase, I would say I tried my best to correct and put proper punctuation in place. Although I am still doubtful; I might have made some mistakes here and there. I did not really learn proper punctuation when I was a kid for some reason (Another reason why people should focus more on a child’s early education). But the most important aspects I have learned in this phase are the use of in-text citations, quotations, and paraphrasing. This was a completely new thing for me, and I enjoyed constructing them and placing them on paper. Growing up, I used to watch my older cousins (they were STEM students) use citations and mention them to my other older cousins when they were working. I seemed to never understand what they were talking about. Although it is kind of stupid, to finally be able to do this now is totally exhilarating. I believe this phase was successful in completing 2 of the course learning outcomes: goal 10, “practice systematic application of citation conventions.”, and goal 8, “Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazines, and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.” The first one was that it made me locate research sources. I was able to successfully work my way around databases, gain, and use the information that I wanted smoothly. This phase also made me understand that the sources did not have to be credible but also recent for them to be effective as findings change over time. Even though this took me a long, long time to write, I believe I thoroughly enjoyed writing this. In my first research paper, I tried my best to include a lot of sources. Furthermore, I enjoyed sprinkling in the citations here and there. I felt that they looked professional and added a bit of a flare to the writing.

The final phase of the course was drafting a self-assessment essay using our cover letter and the digital portfolio. The cover letters were very fun to do. I think it brought all of us pretty close to Professor Crowe in a way that we could communicate with her directly via these letters. I am glad she made us do these letters as we could look back and see how much we grew throughout the semester. The digital portfolio phase was a bit unexpected to me. However, that being said, I enjoyed crafting the website meticulously and putting all of my work on the website.

Words cannot express how sincerely appreciative I am of this course. This was honestly a lifesaver. As a freshman, I was slightly doubtful of my writing. However, I believe Professor Brenna was able to equip us with all of the necessary skills we would need to move forward and for the rest of our academic journey. This course is a must for every freshman, and I am glad I chose this course and was lucky enough to have a compassionate and knowledgeable professor like Ms. Brenna.