Ryan Sheldon

Ms. Larsen
5/3/2015
The SLOs
Education is not simply about getting a good grade, education is about evolving and
growing both as a person and as a student. If you have not evolved intellectually after taking a
class, than it does not matter what grade you have earned, you have failed to learn. This is why
the English Department of UNM requires students to address given SLOs (Student Learning
Outcomes) both throughout the year and in their final portfolio. These SLOs are the categories
that the University wishes us to grow in as students. We are not expected to have made major
progress in every category, or even in most of the categories, but by the end of the semester a
student is expected to have made progress in at least some of the categories. This is so that the
University can be sure we have made progress as students, and not just worked for the grade.
The first SLO given, SLO A, states analyze, compose, and reflect on arguments in a
variety of genres, considering the strategies, claims, evidence, and various mediums and
technologies that are appropriate to the rhetorical situation. Outcome A addresses argumentative
rhetoric in a variety of genres. Rhetoric is not always simply an essay, in fact it could be said that
most of the time it is not. Argumentative or persuasive rhetoric is used very often in genres that
many of us wouldnt think, such as movie trailers, flyers, or even an event such as a debate. This
Outcome also asks us to consider the strategies and evidence used in these mediums. The
rhetoric used in an argumentative style of work is much different than that of an informative

piece. We must know and recognize these strategies, and be able to use them ourselves in our
own work.
We have done much as a class to work towards Outcome A. One of our assignments was
to read Friends with Benefits: Do Facebook Friends Provide the Same Support as Those in
Real Life and "In Defense of Torture", two articles aiming to change the audiences opinion on a
certain topic. As you can see from the titles, these articles are talking about two very different
topics, one about social media and the other about using torture to save lives. But despite the
differences of these articles, we were able to find many similar strategies used in the articles.
This showed us that rhetorical strategies focus more on the authors purpose for writing, and not
what the author is writing about. We were later shown a third article, "Allowing Guns on
Campus will Prevent Shootings, Rape", which while still different from the articles above, used
very similar strategies to persuade the audience. We were also shown a slightly humorous comic
strip in class which tried to persuade its audience to get their flu and smallpox shots. The comic
strip was a very different genre than the articles, but this did not lessen its ability to persuade an
audience. In some cases it might have even been more effective. A comic is much more
appealing to read than an essay to most people, and so it garnered a larger audience. It was also
able to use images to support the authors argument. Despite being a comic strip, it still managed
to include a multitude of information on flu shots and how they help to keep us all healthier. This
rhetorical comic strip showed the class that there are other genres to use rather than just an essay,
and that even something as simple and silly as a comic strip can still provide a lot of information
and persuade an audience.
Another SLO given to student is Outcome F. Outcome F states evaluate your
development as a writer over the course of the semester and describe how composing in multiple

genres and mediums using various technologies can be applied in other contexts to advance your
goals. This outcome is focused on how we as writers have changed throughout the semester.
One of the main goals of any English teacher or class is to make her students better writers. You
will need to be able to write throughout your whole life, whether it be for a resume, a proposal,
or even a shopping list. The better of a writer you are, the more you can do in life, and so writing
is important for all students, not just English majors. The outcome also asks how using different
styles of rhetoric through different mediums can be applied in other contexts other than a
classroom to advance our goals. The skills we have learned in class can be applied to many
different aspects of life. Not only will these writing skills help us in our other classes, but they
will help us to progress in life as well. As I mentioned earlier, many interviews require a resume.
Using writing skills I have developed in this class I am better prepared to write a better resume.
Many formal exchanges now happen through email rather than in person, and so my writing
skills will allow me to present myself better in text formats. The skills I have learned in this class
will help me in many ways to accomplish my goals.
Almost everything we have done in class has worked towards Outcome F. We have had
many class activities in which we examine different genres in which to express our rhetoric.
Before every major writing assignment we have a peer review day in which we go over the
rough drafts of our assignment with our fellow peers. This allows us to progress as a writer in a
multitude of ways. We have to read others work critically and analyze it for errors, giving us the
skill needed to see the errors in our own work. We are also much less likely to commit an error
that we have seen on anothers paper. We are also given constructive criticism on our own work,
which is very helpful. It is much easier to see the errors in others work than it is your own, so
having others check your work for errors allow you to correct your mistakes and makes it easier

to notice them in your other work. This will help you to not repeat your mistakes multiple times.
And so my English class has helped immensely in developing myself as a writer.
Another SLO that we were given was Outcome J. Outcome J states analyze and describe
the writing and research conventions of an academic field in order to understand the different
ways of creating and communicating knowledge. This outcome is focused on how students and
other academic people write information and how we can change the style from one genre to the
next. It asks of us that we are able to read and take in information in a scholarly format, and then
be able to put that information in another format. The assignment we have done in class that has
most helped us to work on this would be our MWA 3, where we had to make a documentary
video on an urban legend. We had to find information from scholars and from online, and then
convert this information into video format. This assignment definitely helped me in making great
advances in this SLO.
The SLO I feel I have made the most progress on is Outcome H. Outcome H states
integrate others positions and perspectives into your writing ethically, appropriately, and
effectively in various mediums and technologies. This outcome deals with being able to take
others opinions and how they see things, and put this into your paper effectively. Many find it
hard to see things from a new perspective, and this can be very difficult. I felt that the position
paper we had to write helped immensely with this outcome. We had to include arguments and
counter arguments for our topic on our paper, which forced us to look at how the other side of the
argument views things, and to be able to put in into our paper effectively.
The SLO I feel I have made the least progress towards is Outcome I. Outcome I states
compose a research-based academic argument in one of various mediums and technologies by
identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing sources, which must include secondary

sources. I have always had trouble correctly citing sources, and knowing which ones are
secondary or primary. The position paper we had to write also helped me with this outcome, as
we had to include sources for our evidence in our argument. I was forced to learn how to
correctly cite sources and use them effectively.
Overall my English class this semester has helped me greatly in making progress on the
SLOs. The assignments we had were made to help us make progress, and I feel that I am now a
better writer and student than before.