Introductory Message (Week 1)
Please tell me a little bit about yourself! Please provide me with a brief overview of your experiences with Language Arts in high school. Tell me what you learned in these classes, and how you might apply that knowledge in college. If English is not your first language, please let me know how long you have been speaking and writing in English and how comfortable you are with it. Please also tell me about your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I am here to support you and to provide useful responses to your essays. The more I know about the kinds of support that work for you, the more I’ll be able to help.
Mid-Term Reflection: What you’ve learned about rhetoric so far (Week 6, 9/27-10/1)
During the first six weeks of this course, you’ve been introduced to several terms–rhetorical situation, author, audience, tone, purpose, stance, language, genre, and medium. Describe how this approach to the study of writing builds on or departs from the way you studied writing before you came to CCNY. Explain how you understand these terms by providing examples of how you’ve used them, and describe how your understanding of these terms has affected how you approach writing in other classes or outside of college.
Length: 250-500 words
Final Reflection (Week 17, 12/13)
The Final Reflection provides you with an opportunity to think about what you’ve learned this semester and how you might be able to use it in future writing contexts. For this assignment, choose at least two of the rhetorical terms that we’ve used this year and that have had a noticeable impact on any aspect of your writing, from initial brainstorming to final draft. Describe the impact. Use examples from your writing to illustrate what you mean. You do not need to limit yourself to this class–you can write about things you’ve done for other classes, your job, or your life at home. Finally, speculate about how you might use these or other rhetorical concepts in future writing contexts.
Length: 250-500 words