Pablo Maradiaga

Professor Wenzel

ENC 2135

July 28th, 2020

 

Reflective Statement

             Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about the importance of genres in communication and how to utilize them effectively through rhetorical strategies. When I first started this course, I had a very shallow understanding of genres and did not have a solid grasp on the subject. When I thought of genres, my initial instinct was to think of action, drama, and comedy, and I had never viewed genres in the sense that we talked about in this class. As we progressed through the course, in conducting the first and second projects, I began to understand and see the vast variety of genres that existed, ranging from photo essays to multigenre projects. Also, most importantly, I began to notice the value and importance of these genres in communication. I learned that when you are trying to reach a certain audience or trying to present a certain point of view effectively, picking the right genre is a crucial step. Different genres work in different ways and help the writer achieve different things. For example, If I was trying to present a detailed argument to a knowledgeable audience, I would not utilize a photo essay or memo; instead, I would use genres like an argumentative essay, a speech, or a presentation. 

             Secondly, through the second and third projects, I was also able to further enhance my skills with rhetorical strategies. At the beginning of the course, I had a fairly hard time finding and analyzing rhetorical strategies in depth. In the second project we had to do, I struggled to find rhetorical devices often, and oftentimes, I would come across one and not realize it was there until the second or third time around. Another issue that I had was that my analyses were concise and to the point; I lacked the ability to elaborate and go in-depth into how the strategy was used and what effects it had on the artifact. Because we had to reach a certain minimum word count, it forced me to think harder and continuously analyze the strategies until it became second nature. Towards the end of the project, I found myself being able to dissect the strategies much quicker and fluently than when I started. What I learned from the second project, then in turn, helped me with the third project because by knowing how to analyze rhetorical strategies properly, it helped me know how to implement them correctly into the three genres of my campaign.

            Overall, what I learned in this course helped me become a much more eloquent composer. I now have a greater understanding of what steps I need to take to create a well-rounded paper and have also developed a greater appreciation for writing. As a composer, I felt very lost in the beginning and did not have the ability to find direction on my own. I had a lot of self-doubts, and as a result, I experienced many writer blocks which caused me to spend a lot of time rewriting my project one. As I progressed, I began to feel a lot more comfortable and confident in my writing, and I genuinely have to thank Dr.Wenzel for all the 1-on-1 help and the book The Big Book Of Genres.