Ana Granados

ENGL 1301

Dr. Nelson

December 11, 2023

Final Reflection Essay

Throughout this whole course, I learned new techniques, new ways of writing methods,

and many more things. The new things I have learned will continue with me throughout my

whole college and for sure I will implement them in future essays.

What I´ve learned about the writing process is that at the beginning it might be difficult

or even scary to start drafting a new essay, however, that´s how it is for every single one of us. It

might take me a little to start giving ideas on how to develop my essay but every time I think I

did better on starting to draft the essay. During the course, we had some homework activities to

help us in the writing portion of the essay. For me, one of them has to be the outline assignment.

It helped organize my ideas and how I wanted my essay to be structured. It is very easy to

develop an essay and you just need to follow the main ideas you have already written in the

outline. This learning helped me in the writing processes in other courses too. For example, I had

a writing assignment for my anatomy class and the first thing I did was an outline. As mentioned

before, this helped me really organize all my ideas and I even did 3 different options for my

essay. Out of those 3, I chose the one that I thought was going to be the best one and the one that

was going to express my ideas more clearly.

During this course, we did a lot of analyzing different things. This course taught me how

to analyze different things in a more detailed way. The analyzing homework really helped me

better in doing this task. First, because I wouldn´t take care of every single detail of things and
for this course, I had to. For example, the essay 2 we had to analyze a visual text. The

assignments really helped me notice every single detail because I just would pay attention to the

superficial things of the image. My essay was about the movie poster for Queen. I had to give

meaning to why is the sky in this type of colors and many different things. I think this helped me

a lot and will continue to help me because now I pay attention to little things. Now I try to give a

meaning to why is something the way it is and what meaning the person who created it was

trying to give the audience. Definitely I recommend these assignments for the future and

personally, I will go back and use them, just in case I have to create an assignment like that.

My second essay revision turned out to be a life-changing educational experience. It

emphasized that writing is an iterative process and that the initial revision is merely one step in

the process of becoming better. I gained an understanding of the value of objectivity and distance

through this process because it enabled me to look at my work from a different perspective. I was

able to determine which sections needed more explanation, development, or organization as a

result. The significance of feedback was emphasized in the second revision, wherein perspectives

from mentors or peers were found to be invaluable in exposing potential blind spots. It also

forced me to carefully consider each sentence for meaning and clarity, teaching me the art of

concision and precision. My respect for coherence and flow was further enhanced by the process,

which made me make sure that ideas flowed naturally from one to the next. I also became more

conscious of my writing style and improved it to achieve a balance between fluency and clarity.

All things considered, I learned from the second revision that writing is a craft that requires

constant improvement. It gave me the discipline to go back and evaluate my writing critically,

which improved the overall caliber of my work and helped me develop a continuous

improvement mindset. I realized that my essay needed better transitions between paragraphs
when I was rewriting it. I added transitional phrases and rearranged the content to address this.

This modification guaranteed a more fluid flow of ideas and enhanced the essay's overall

coherence, making it easier for readers to follow my argument as it developed.

My biggest struggle when rewriting the essay was trying to understand a difficult idea

that needed to be explained more clearly. It became clear from the first draft that the

complexities of the idea required more attention because it lacked the requisite depth and clarity.

To guarantee a thorough and comprehensible explanation, revisiting and rewriting this section

required in-depth research and careful planning. This process forced me to strike the correct

balance between depth and accessibility, testing my ability to effectively communicate complex

ideas. On the other hand, I found that editing the introduction was the least difficult thing to do.

Although the first draft had a strong foundation, it lacked a clear thesis statement and a more

engaging hook. This task went much more smoothly because all I had to do was change the

wording and consider how the introduction worked as a whole. Here, the difficulty was in

coming up with a clever yet brief method to grab readers' attention right away and provide a

clear outline for the essay. This assignment gave me the chance to demonstrate my originality

and concise writing style without the intricacy that defined the more difficult portion. By

overcoming these obstacles, I was able to get an improved understanding of my writing strengths

and areas for development. The process demonstrated the dynamic nature of editing one's work

and emphasized the value of flexibility and perseverance in navigating the various demands of

essay revision.

I focused on accessibility and clarity when approaching the genre analysis, visual text

analysis, and rhetorical analysis in the unit writing assignment to make sure that even someone

who was not familiar with these ideas could understand them. I gave a clear definition of "genre"
and discussed its significance in writing for the genre analysis. I then provided an example of

how various writing formats, including essays, articles, and reports, could be divided into various

genres according to their conventions, style, and goals. To bring the idea to life, specific

examples were given. In the section on visual text analysis, I deconstructed the procedure into

easily understood steps. I highlighted the importance of visual texts in informational

communication and clarified that they include pictures, graphs, and charts. I explained how to

examine design components like color, layout, and symbols to determine the intended message

using a specific example. I defined rhetoric and discussed its use in communication as I

introduced the idea of rhetorical analysis. I made it clear that rhetorical analysis looks at how

speakers and writers use language and persuasion to sway listeners. To help with terminology

confusion, concrete examples and explanations of rhetorical devices like pathos, ethos, and logos

were given. Overall, I tried to simplify these analytical concepts using a step-by-step method,

simple language, and relatable examples so that even someone who is not familiar with genre

analysis, visual text analysis, or rhetorical analysis could understand the basics.

Some difficulties surfaced during the writing and analysis phases, necessitating careful

maneuvering to generate a coherent and well-organized unit writing assignment. One of the main

obstacles was overcoming the visual text's complexity that was chosen for analysis. It was

difficult to understand minute details and understandably communicate their importance. To get

around this, I conducted a thorough investigation to comprehend the symbolism and context of

the image, guaranteeing an accurate reading in my analysis. Keeping the three analytical

elements—genre analysis, visual text analysis, and rhetorical analysis—in balance was another

challenge. It was a delicate challenge to make sure that every section offered distinct insights and

flowed into the next with ease. To ensure a cohesive whole and prevent duplication, these
components needed to be continuously reviewed and improved. There were unique difficulties in

synthesizing rhetorical analysis. Careful preparation was needed to connect the ethos, pathos,

and logos elements to the visual text and genre analysis while integrating them into a cogent

discussion. Maintaining the focus and insight of the analysis without going overboard or

becoming complicated required striking a balance between comprehensiveness and concision.

There were difficulties in keeping things clear and steering clear of terminology during the

writing process itself. It was a delicate task to simplify complicated analytical concepts without

going overboard. It required careful consideration of the audience's possible lack of familiarity

with academic concepts and a dedication to using simple language without sacrificing the

analytical depth required for a thorough unit assignment. Additionally, because the writing and

analysis processes were interdependent, time management proved to be difficult. It was always

difficult to strike a balance between thorough analysis and timely completion; this required

strategic planning and prioritization. It became essential to make frequent changes to improve the

assignment's overall coherence, respond to criticism, and guarantee a polished final product. In

the end, conquering these obstacles aided in my development as a writer and analyst and served

as a reminder of how crucial flexibility, tenacity, and careful planning are when taking on

challenging writing projects.

Participating in this course has made me more proficient in writing and analysis. My

ability to think and analyze critically is one of my strongest suits. I showed that I could deftly

analyze complicated data, identify underlying trends, and reach perceptive conclusions. This

analytical skill set was especially clear when I was able to recognize and explain the distinctive

qualities of various writing genres during the unit assignment's genre analysis section. My ability

to conduct effective research is another asset. I demonstrated a talent for in-depth research,
looking into a variety of sources to find pertinent data for the assignments. This ability was vital

in laying a strong basis for the rhetorical analysis and the visual text analysis, both of which

required a thorough comprehension of the subject. I found that I had a gift for writing prose that

was both clear and succinct. I always made sure that the intricacies of genre analysis, visual text

analysis, and rhetorical analysis were communicated understandably by striking a balance

between readability and depth of analysis. This ability became especially useful when explaining

complex concepts involving rhetorical devices and visual components. Another thing that came

out as a strength was my ability to be organized, which helped my writing flow naturally. My

essays were well-structured, taking the reader through a logical flow of concepts. This

organizational skill made it easier to synthesize data from various analytical components and

create a coherent story that improved the unit assignment's overall impact. Furthermore, my

ability to modify my writing style to fit various assignment sections demonstrated a flexible set

of writing skills. I showed that I could modify my style and methodology to fit the particular

needs of each analysis, whether I was explaining the subtleties of visual components or exploring

the complexities of rhetorical devices. Together, these skills demonstrated my ability to think

analytically, conduct thorough research, communicate, organize information, and be flexible.

They also gave me a strong platform for future writing projects in both academic and

professional settings.

Thanks to the instruction of fundamental skills and the development of a thorough

understanding of scholarly practices, this academic writing course has greatly helped me to

become more integrated into the academic writing community. I have refined my capacity to

conduct exhaustive and reliable research—a fundamental skill in academic writing—through

rigorous training in research methodologies. My ability to assess and comprehend complicated

which has encouraged a deeper engagement with academic material. In addition, the

investigation of different writing forms, including essays, research papers, and literature reviews,

has enabled me to acquire a refined comprehension of the varied standards and traditions among

academic writers.