Going into this class, I thought it was going to be super easy because I've taken plenty of English classes before and felt like I could handle anything. To an extent, this was true, and the work was not too difficult for me to complete. However, I still learned more than I thought I would. For example, everyone grows up hearing the word "genre”, but no one talks about what it is. This class really taught me what genres are and showed me that they are everywhere and affect everyone without anyone noticing. Similarly, rhetorical situation and appeals are everywhere and are much simpler than most might think. Taking this class has shown me the importance of understanding this information, rather than just teaching it to me. I think my work from project 2, the rhetorical analysis of field artifacts essay, which I revised and posted here, displays my understanding of rhetorical situation and appeals pretty well. I was not only able to recognize them in each artifact but analyze and compare their effectiveness. Then, I was able to create my own genres and make them effective to their intended audiences. I began already knowing all about rhetoric but now I see that it is in my life every day in so many places I had never thought of before. 

​

Another thing from this class that has impacted me is consistent practice with citations. In the past, I have been told what citation to use and it was never used in much detail. With each project I would get comments on how to improve them because they were never quite perfect. I tried to go back and check for each assignment, but I still never got them all the way. In the beginning I learned that different fields use different citations, which makes sense, but I never thought about it much before. Through that, I discovered that business uses APA, which I had not used much before. I think that is why I struggled to do it properly and had to use resources to help make sure I was doing things right. 

​

The artifacts I chose to display on this website I feel are good portrayals of my comprehension of what I've learned in this class, but also my process of writing the assignments. I chose my self-reflection of the investigative field essay because in the first paragraph I explain what I liked and did not like about my work, but then in the second paragraph I describe how I would sometimes struggle when writing but would keep asking myself essential questions that I had to answer in the paper to keep going. It shows who I am as a writer and what my personal mental process is. I chose the PowerPoint that I created for project 3 because I think it is my best genre to achieve my goal. It was designed to appeal to an audience of experienced investors, so it has a neutral theme and will maintain attention without being boring or overwhelming. 

​

In the end, I can appreciate this class for not being repetitive to the other classes I have taken before and for giving me a new perspective on certain topics. I am proud of the work I created for each project and assignment and proud of the effort I put in all summer.