Final Reflection
Over the course of the three projects I did for this class, I have learned several things about genres, composing works, and rhetorical strategies. Regarding genres, Project 3 showed me that there are more genres besides ones like horror, romance, or historical fiction. Genres are the way an author responds to their audience. They range from advertisements to speeches to fairy tales to infographics. Writing in three unique genres for Project 3 allowed me to truly understand and appreciate the level of thought that goes into deciding what genre to compose for a specific audience. I have also learned that some audiences are better oriented for certain genres. The audience of teenagers is more suited to the genre of social media rather than journal articles. For Project 3, I chose to compose in the genres of an infographic, an email, and a blog post. Within these genres, I learned how to present the same information to two different audiences efficiently. I was able to discuss broody hens in both a personal and informal tone and in a factual and professional tone.
In regard to composing works, this class has taught me how to be a better writer. From my first assignment completed in this class to Project 3, I have seen my writings become more polished and more concise. Before this course, the essays I wrote were always written under a time restraint of usually forty minutes. This restraint inhibited the depth of my writing as I was simply trying to submit a completed essay. My essays were vague, unorganized, and used basic vocabulary. I did not have any time to explicate my words in a more distinct and professional manner. Unlike my previous classes, this course has allowed me to truly see how far I can take my writing. I will aim to develop my writing even further through my other classes in the fall semester. I hope that over my four years at FSU my writing skills grow exponentially.
Project 2 and Project 3 revolved around analyzing and utilizing rhetorical strategies. Through the supplemental readings about rhetorical strategies, I learned about two strategies I did not previously know. Those strategies were mode and constraint. Mode is the rhetorical strategy, while constraint is the limitations of the choices made about the mode. How the author presents her work in terms of written, audio, or visual form is mode. A constraint of the mode selection of audio would be that it limits the hearing-impaired from hearing the information provided or at the very least it would make it difficult for said people to understand the audio. Concerning the persuasive techniques of ethos, pathos, and logos, I was able to apply these techniques to two different audiences in Project 3. While in Project 2, I was able to examine those techniques within two different genres. This allowed me to view the similarities and differences in reference to how each technique was presented across two dissimilar genres and two unique audiences.
Overall, I have learned a great deal of knowledge about genres, composing works, and rhetorical strategies. Even though all the projects were stress-inducing, I am ultimately glad I took this course and completed these projects. They taught me plenty of concepts and provided me with great practice for writing in the future.