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Jerry Hernandez
5/3/16
ENGL 102
Prof. Deadrick
Reflection Essay
English 102 proved to be a challenging course. It required a lot more writing as compared
to English 101. The class had higher standards than English 101 and primarily focused on
argumentation. While the course was challenging, it ultimately helped me become a better writer.
At the beginning of the semester I had to complete a goal setting assignment that helped me
figure out what I wanted to get out of the course. The goals I wanted to achieve were to be able
to effectively argue a topic and also be comfortable with writing multi-paged essays. As the
course winds down I have met those goals along with many of the course outcomes shown in the
syllabus. I have met the standards and achieved the outcomes of the course by becoming an
effective writer, becoming literate in gathering information, and becoming better at critical
analysis.
The most obvious outcome that English 102 provides is becoming an effective writer by
the end of the course. I feel that I have become a better writer through taking this course. I am
able to argue effectively and incorporate rhetorical techniques in order to support my argument.
In all of the papers I have written this semester I have been able to incorporate strong thesis to
structure my argument and use rhetorical strategies such as logos, ethos, and pathos to make my
argument effective. For example, in the visual arguments paper I argued about the effectiveness

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of the iPhone 6S ad and analyzed its use of logos, pathos, and ethos to convince the reader of its
effectiveness. The use of rhetorical strategies to support my arguments has increased the
effectiveness of my papers. This is something I have not had to very often in the past. In English
101, I did not have to use rhetorical strategies in any of my papers, but still earned good grades
on each paper. The higher standards established in the course have pushed my writing to be more
effective not only in English class, but outside of it as well. Along with English 102 I am taking a
history class which required a five page essay. The essay needed to have multiple sources and
provide a valid argument in it as I argued between whether boxing is the best combat sport in
history. The standards set by this English class have helped me write effectively to receive good
grades in writing assignments outside of English 102.
In addition to being able to write effectively, I am also able to gather proper information
for my papers. Conducting research for essay topics is essential to writing multiple-page essays
in any college course. This class helped me formulate research questions to explore my topic and
find useful sources to integrate in my paper. Personally, one of the most difficult parts about
writing a paper for me has always been finding useful sources that can be cited in my paper.
Having to do research for the papers written this semester helped me get better at determining
which sources are more appropriate to use at a college level. A good source can make all the
difference in making an argument effective. In the research essay that I am doing on pollution I
am citing environmental science experts such as Jennifer Schultz and Paul Robbins and what
they have to say on the effects of pollution. Learning to conduct effective research will aid me in
future classes I have to take the rest of my college years.
Analyzing critically is a crucial part of English 102. Taking this class has helped me to
analyze readings and other papers to critique their arguments. I can now properly determine

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whether a reading has an effective argument through its logic and other rhetorical appeals.
Before taking this class I was not able to clearly identify flawed logic or logical fallacies the way
I am able to now. When writing the first essay of the semester, which was a rhetorical analysis of
an article by Lorelei Bennett, I was able to break down her logic and analyze it for its
effectiveness. I analyzed the rhetorical strategies she used and discovered the multiple logical
fallacies she had as well. After taking this course I am able to develop my own arguments using
clear logic and other rhetorical appeals such as ethos and pathos. Being able to critically analyze
and reason was an important outcome of taking this course. I feel that I am able to do that now
and determine whether or not an argument if logical or not without any need of assistance by a
professor.
While I do feel that I have met the standards and outcomes of taking this course, my
peers and professor may think otherwise. A reoccurring issue in my papers was grammar. While
they were not major grammatical errors, they still resulted in having points taken away. Even
though I had grammatical errors, the argument and analysis that I provided in my essays were
always well written and effective. There were always little to no comments made on the
arguments I made in my papers. I believe this made up for my grammatical errors since the
argument was always the most important part of the paper. In order to develop my grammar
skills and minimize the frequency of grammatical errors in my papers, I will visit the writing
center more often and use the resources that Montgomery College provides. Overall, I feel that I
have become a better writer by taking this course and met the requirements set in each paper.
English 102 was one of the most challenging and time consuming courses that I took this
semester. I did enjoy the challenge that this course provided as it pushed me to become a better
writer. The different types of papers that I had to write made the class more interesting, which

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made me want to engage in it more. Being an effective writer is a skill that is necessary to
succeed in college as I have already had to write multiple papers this semester. The writing and
analysis skills I learned in this course have already helped me in other classes and I know they
will help me even more in the future.