Madison Martin

Rhetoric 1
Mrs. Weaver
November 21, 2014
Portfolio Reflection
This reflection is a summary of how my Rhetoric 1 class went this semester. It has
been a literary journey with many ups and downs. In this class we learned everything
from using commas and other punctuation, which we did in the beginning of the
semester, to applying the use of pathos, logos, and ethos to commercials, which we did at
the end of the semester. I know what you are thinking, Oh! yea punctuation is easy!.
Then you see the three words pathos, logos, and ethos and you are just as confused as I
was when I first saw these words. Thanks to Mrs. Weaver, my writing skills have
completely changed for the better and she has taught me how to brainstorm and dive deep
into ideas. This reflection will show you how as you continue to read.
The first week of this class we were assigned writing assignments every day we
had class. We were instructed to read a passage from either East, Shoots and Leaves or
Writing About Writing, or both. This gave me the impression that this was all we were
going to do everyday. Then Mrs. Weaver gave us our first paper. Personally I loath
papers. I am very inconsistent when it comes to producing well written papers.
Sometimes I will have amazing papers and other times I will write a paper that looks like
a middle school student wrote. We continued to have writing assignments for the rest of
the semester for homework and spent our class time discussing the read material and
talking about how it incorporates into reading and writing.

My writing has evolved over the past semester. It may not have evolved much but
I learned the basics to help me further improve my writing. As it has improved, it has also
faltered. To move forward you must first take a few steps back. Taking those steps back
was finding what I was doing wrong and fixing the problem was taking steps forward.
First coming into this class I was an inexperienced writer or student writer. Whats a
student writer? A student writer is an inexperienced writer who focuses on using
impressive words and rewording what they already wrote instead of completely
scratching out some ideas and adding others. I was the cookie cutter layout of a student
writing! I would write my first draft and then reword my first draft and label it as my
second draft. I was also very inexperienced in brain storming my own ideas and
expressing them on paper or through words. I read plenty of books and could interpret
meaning from others work but when asked to interpret my own thoughts and write it
down on paper I literally would sit at a table with a pencil and paper for a very long time
and get absolutely nothing done. During our class discussions on the writing assignments
it felt like I struggled to keep up with everyones discussions in class and I didnt
contribute much to the debate. By debate I mean most of my class mates would get very
heated over commas and there would be an ongoing argument about each others
opinions. I am a quiet person and I dont talk much when in large crowds, but trying to
express an idea I cant put into words doesnt help either.
Though I am no longer inexperienced in writing papers I would still consider
myself a student writer. Instead of rewording my first draft and labeling it as my second
draft, I now look at it as trying to clear up my point and keep or add the important,
relevant information and get rid of the irrelevant information. Now I am able to brain

storm and interpret topics well and I am able to write a decent paper. When I wrote my
first paper in this class on our Literacy Narrative we did not use thesis statements. In high
school we were taught to always start with a thesis statement and build the paper on that.
We did not use thesis statements until our last paper on Rhetorical Analysis.
Another area I struggle with is public speaking. I am a very shy person who does
not like being the center of attention. This is something I have always struggled with and
hope to improve. Mrs. Weaver assigned three oral reports this semester and with each one
I get more confident and comfortable. My fist presentation I struggled with not only
because I was nervous but also because it was about my personal life. I do not like talking
about my personal life. This is an area I strive to get better at.
Before this class I had no idea what a Discourse community was. After doing
research and writing a paper about a specific DC, I now understand what discourse and
speech communities are. When I look at clubs and organizations or teams I now think
about how they are a DC or SC.
My first writing assignment was very vague. Like Mrs. Weaver said, You are
barely scratching the surface. Compared to my writing assignments then, I now go into
more detail and think about all of the possibilities and I am not scared to voice and
support my opinion. I am still have not fully grasped the three modes of persuasion
(Logos, Pathos, Ethos). Our most recent paper has helped me to understand it a little
more than I did when we first learned about it.
Some of my strong points is reading. When we read texts in class I am able to
think about what it means and how I can relate to the subject. Even if I do not voice it, I
am still able to create my own meaning and opinions about the text. One thing we went

over in the beginning of the class was grammar. Punctuation was a very big subject in
this class and I can say that it is one of my strong points. Though I have not improved
much in some areas I plan on focusing on my weaknesses in my Rhetoric 2 class next
semester and use that class to further my learning. I hope that this sums up my portfolio
and you can see how my literary journey has been in Rhetoric 1.