Engl 110 was not the class I expected it to be. I thought that it was going to be an intense read-and-write session where we would dive into books and talk about the authors and whatnot. But this turned out differently. In this class, I was able to learn more about English and we went through a multitude of different topics and ideas.
One of these topics was how “attitudes towards linguistic standards empower and oppress language users”. One of our assignments was to create a Personal Narrative on what literary experiences we’ve had and how they have impacted us. At first, I never thought any literary experiences had any form of impact on me. Then I realized the impact of never learning Tagalog from a young age. How not knowing the language seemed to cut me off from my family in the Philippines and from my home culture and that I may not get a second chance. Another reading that we did as a class that affirmed that attitudes toward linguistic standards empower and oppress language users was our reading on a mother tongue. An anecdote that she gave about her mom when she was young, she described how “at department stores, at banks, and restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”. And this was all because of her accent. Showing how linguistic standards empower and oppress other users.
Another thing we did throughout the class was that we’ve been able to “Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.” Most of these came from the readings and videos that we watched. Each one was unique in the way each author covered their topics. In the sense of how they presented their story and how they used rhetorical strategies to help bolster their claims. One of these examples was in “Why I Keep Speaking Up” by Safwat Saleem He used comedy to lighten the story he was telling and to keep the audience engaged. He also uses videos to help visualize his message which was how people’s perspective on normal may make them uncomfortable to those who may not be like them.
Another thing that we worked on in English 110 class was “developing strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing”. When we would work on our essays, like our Personal Narrative, we had to make first and final drafts. For each draft, we would take suggestions from the teacher and our peers. Another thing that we would do often is group together to either work on ideas and suggestions for our upcoming essays, or we would have discussions that would help build up the foundation of those essays. Not only that, but we would also help make edits on grammar or the phrasing of the essay. The most impactful example of this was during Phase 2. Where we were able to analyze our peer’s narratives. We were reviewing what rhetorical strategies they used.
Something that I don’t think I understood too well was “Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.” We were able to practice recognizing and practicing key rhetorical terms and strategies. What I found hard was recognizing if those rhetorical terms had rhetoric in them. Or if there was any hidden intent in how they wrote. Or if they wrote it to be concise. And in terms of practicing it using rhetoric. I feel that my writing doesn’t have a lot of rhetoric in it. My way of writing feels very straightforward. Like this essay. For the most part, it just feels like a normal self-reflection with no rhetoric or hidden intent that shows those reading who I am or what kind of message or feeling I’m trying to give. Compared to others who did a very unique way of writing this essay. With some writing in a way that feels like they are talking to the audience as if they were in the same room. Maybe that is just me and my limitations in creativity.
Finally, we were able to go over, “understand, and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.” Although, a lot of this I learned before this class. One of the things that we had to practice doing was printing our essays before class. Either that or we must know how to email and share our essays online. Both of these skills were crucial in our classes when we would peer review. For the most part, I knew how to print and send my docs to my peers Another thing that we were able to learn how to do was to create our website on CUNY Commons. This was where we would post our work for the entire web. Which was interesting because that was the first time I had made my web page for people to see.
