Kagie 1

Jeff Kagie
English 1010 5:30pm
November 1, 2015
Self-Reflection Paper
As I look back I would have to say my three most beneficial writing
assignments were the first person narrative, the ad analysis, and the photo
free write we did in class. The first person narrative was a short paper that
was written in the present tense about a situation or experience we had. This
assignment taught me the difficulties of thinking and writing in the present
tense, which looking back at previous assignments I found I typically avoided
present tense. In the ad analysis, we were asked to identify the rhetoric
strategies used in an ad from our book. Ad analyzes have always been one of
my favorite activities in English, and this one showed me more of rhetoric
analysis and how to implement it. The photo free write was an interesting
challenge for me. We selected a photo then, in a group, had to write our
version of what was happening in the photo from one of the character
perspective. It was the first assignment Ive had where I had to write from
someones point of view that wasnt my own, and it gave me a better
understanding of how to adjust my writing style to different situations.
My response paper was based on the five-paragraph essay model and
built on that in greater detail once I had the framework down. Although, I
tried to free write my arguments but frequently fell off track by my own
arguments. So I decided to make a list of everything that supported my ideas

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and built arguments that made sense off of that list. The biggest issue I had
with this essay was finding and linking common ideas into a solid argument.
To fix this, after I had the first draft done, I went through and highlighted all
of my main points. Being able to see them highlighted showed me where
thing made sense, or didnt work. The biggest strength of a response paper
is providing another opinion on the subject rather than just that of the
original author. And on the same coin the biggest weakness of a response
paper is the opinions. In my paper, the author is biased and rarely used facts
or figures to back his statements up. In this essay, I learned to not just give a
deeper analysis of an essay, but to also more clearly express my opinions on
the subject.
For my response essay, I had a paper written by David Gelernter titled,
Unplugged: the Myth of Computers in the Classroom. I felt like David
Gelernter should have written a little more in depth paper, and taken more
variables into account. However, writing this paper did make me take a
harder look at my own education, and the shortcoming that were related to
the computer. Writing on this subject gave me a better idea of how
computers were integrated into the classrooms a decade ago.
My intended audience was primarily college students, and I changed
my writing to a little more informal and open style. I wanted my reader to
take away a better understanding of the subject then that of the original
author short-sighted option. My voice in this paper was more argumentative
than I originally planned on, but as my own ideas grow I felt it was the most

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appropriate tone to implement. I used pathos to try to convey these ideas

the best way I thought possible. For example, I used a personal anecdote to
show how I viewed computers in the classroom. I did not take any risk in this
paper; however I was forced to write my first draft from memory while on a
flight back from California.