Ebone Rhodes 10/3/13 Mid-Term Reflection At the beginning of this class, I felt as though I was not that bad

of a writer. I had good English teachers in High School, who pushed me to write better with each and every paper. I still feel that there are some things that I need to work on, for no one is a perfect writer. Before this class I wrote mainly on the surface of subjects, I wrote the obvious, rather than writing with deeper meaning or deeper content. For example, if I was told to write on my opinion of gay marriage, I would mainly place the ideas that were obvious to anyone such as Gay marriage is wrong and should be changed because everyone deserves freedom. With this example, its not wrong but it doesnt elaborate more on why gay marriage is wrong or could be wrong. Also, before this class, I would always get feedback on how to elaborate more on examples to support my work. What has helped me with this has been both the literacy narrative assignments and the rhetorical analysis activities that we are engaging in now. With the literacy narratives they really forced me to think about the specific examples in my life that has affected my literacy. Having a specific topic to compare my literacy too, being religion, also forced me to elaborate on examples. The purpose of these literacy narratives was to explain in depth how certain social forces have affected our literacy. If I didnt describe thoroughly the affect of religion on my writing, reading and speech, it wouldnt be a literacy narrative, just a common statement. Having to really think about personal experiences allowed me to become a better writer as far as elaborating on my content and connecting that content with specific examples. Writing the literacy narrative not only helped my writing but also reading, listening and watching the literacy narratives from Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Parish Jenkins and Molly Daniels helped as well. It really showed me how in depth one could go about their lives, with just giving more of a background to every subject. Specifically the Malcolm X and Langston Hughes narratives taught me as writer about

Ebone Rhodes 10/3/13 Mid-Term Reflection creativity. They taught me how to formulate my words in ways that reveal character and detail. An example would be me writing, I am a young black female, versus I am a female, who is part of the younger generation, with skin that resembles brown sugar. It is obvious that between the two sentences the second one definitely is more descriptive and reveals more details along with character. This is where I now see my writing; I see that I am able to branch out of the common sentences and be more creative and distinct. The rhetorical analysis that we are working on now, also allows me to be aware of explaining things in my writing more by giving distinctive examples. With rhetorical analysis we look at every detail possible. This has helped my writing specifically because it allows me to be conscious of writing in a form where my audience can analyze my writing as deeply and thoroughly as they would any other. I actually enjoy rhetorical analysis, because its interesting to see what the writer or creator was possibly thinking when creating their text. Rhetorical analysis has also helped me to put in mind audience, and how to bring in and focus in my audience. Because rhetorical analysis involves the analytical aspect, I write to have my readers find the underlying messages or purposes. Overall these literary genres, both the literacy narratives and the rhetorical analysis have helped me to pay more attention to detail, character and audience while writing. In relation to how I read and how Ive grown with that, I think relates back to the beginning discussion of what is an author and what is audience. It has helped me to read with a look out on how the writer wrote and how he or she appealed to their audience. In Bohannon's I Hate Writing she speaks of several ways in how to introduce your writings such as illustrations, examples, personal experiences and more. When I read writings of my peers I now tend to look for things like a hook or strong introduction. I feel like I mostly still read the same but Ive

Ebone Rhodes 10/3/13 Mid-Term Reflection become more of a conscious reader when it comes to looking for tone, audience, and details. This is mainly from the discussions on Bohannons writing, about what writing is and what it should consist of. In one of her chapters, Bohannon speaks of voice and how voice is one of the most important aspects of good writing. This is an example of what I try looking for when reading. Building questions in my head, such as How are they communicating voice, and Is there voice soft, bold, timid or more? These questions are an exact image of how my reading and writing has improved. I have grown in my writing and reading, for I have learned to ask question, specifically questions that will be answered with clarity and elaboration. One thing that I found interesting when reading Bohannons text was her view on how everyone writes Shitty first drafts. This very statement allows me to relax when writing for the first time. It doesnt make me want to write a Shitty first draft, but it allows me to not be afraid or self conscious of the words that I place on paper, for they are my words and my words only.