DearProfessorMcClure,

BeforeIbeginmyfinalreflectionessay,Iwouldliketoconfessonething:Iama
perfectionist.However,whenitcomesdowntowriting,oranythingthathastodealwith
words,especiallysinceIambetterwithnumbers,italwayshasbeendifficultformeto
grasptheideaofperfectioninmywritingsinceitgenuinelyneverhasbeenperfect.There
havebeenmultiplesituationswhereIpushedmyselftowriteanApaper,buttheactual
resultIgotfrommycriticswasaC+paper.BecauseIhavewitnessedtheimperfections
inmywriting,IwalkedinextremelynervousonmyfirstdayofmyWriting39BCourse.
MyinsecuritiesespeciallymadeitswaytothetopofthepeakwhenIheardthewayyou
effectivelycommunicatedwithmypeersandmeassoonaswesatdowntolistentoyour
expectationsofusaswriters.ThoughtslikeHowtheheckishenotstumblingonhis
words?orHereallydoesnthavetothinkwhenhespeaks.andDamn,IwishIdidnt
havefreakingtroublespeakingmyfirstlanguage!floodedinsidemyheadassoonas
youspokethatday.Althoughyouhadyourfunnywayofintimidatingmewiththeway
yousmoothlyspoke,yourtoneandcharacterultimatelyallowedmetostayengaged,
whichresultedinmychangeinperspectiveofmywriting.IthoughtmaybeIcouldlearn
somethinginthisclassandprovetomyselfthatIcoulddobetterthanjusttheusual.
Evenifwritingwasnevermyforte,Icouldlearnfrombothyouandmypeersonhowto
atleastimproveonmywritingskillsandgetittobenotperfect,butclosetoperfect.
Sincethisclassfocusesonrhetoric,whichiseffectivecommunicationthatprovokesan
emotionalresponsefromtheaudience,Iknewitwasgoingtobeachallenge.Inorderto
demonstratetheimprovementsofmyownwriting,Idecidedtoconsistentlyillustratemy
rhetoricalunderstandingofanassignedtextthroughcreativity,academiclanguage,and
detailedanalysisthatisprogressivelyinmywritingpieces.
Beingcreativeisdefinitelyachallengewhenitcomestowriting.Iinevitablyhad
toadaptandtrytobecreativeduetothewritingassignmentsthatyouinventivelycame
upwith.Ibelievethatmyattemptsatbeingcreativedirectedmetotheveryfirst
instancesinthegrowthofmywriting.Isawanareaofimprovementonbeingableto
expressivelyshowmyunderstandingoftexts,especiallyinNoelCarrollsideasofan
idealarthorrormonsterinhorrorgenres.Ineverownedadiaryorajournal,soitis
veryrarethatIexpressmyself.Withthatbeingsaid,theassignment,MyOwn
Monstrosity,wasanopportunityformetoexpressivelycommunicatethenecessarytraits
ofanarthorrormonstertomyaudience.Inthisnarration,Iwasthemonsterand
portrayedmyselfasthreateningandimpuresinceCarrollassertedthatitisoneofthe
traitsthatmoldsaperson,place,orthingasamonster.Forexample,tosuccessfullyshow
myunderstandingofthesetwoimportanttraits,Icreatedascenarioinwhichtwopeople
reacttothephysicaltraitsIcarriedasamonster.Idescribedmyselfasafaded,black
silhouettewithnomouththatwasabletoquicklyruntoward[theprey]inablinkofan
eye(MyOwnMonstrosity,ProcessWork).Themashupbetweenthedialogueofthe
frightenedcharactersandvividdetailsofthemonstersphysicalityresultedinthe
creativityofmynarration,whichhelpedmepursuethegoaloftheassignmentto
communicatewhatanarthorrormonsteriswhileprovokinganemotionalresponsefrom
myintendedaudience.Becausethisnarrativewasenjoyableandoneofthefirstpieces

assignedtous,Ibecameecstaticonthenextassignmentsgiventoustohelpmeachieve
whatittakestobecomeabetterwriter.
Tryingtoeffectivelycommunicatetoyouraudienceusingacademiclanguageand
thoroughlyanalyzesituationscanbeapain.Nonetheless,itultimatelyhelpedmegetmy
mainpointacrosstotheaudience(inotherwordspersuade),knowwhentouse
professionallanguageinreallife,andmostimportantlybeacquaintedwiththe
importanceofrhetoric.IntheRhetoricalAnalysisEssay,ourgoalwastoexhibitour
understandingofhowgenres(specificallyhorror)andconventionsshapethetextorhow
culturalandhistoricalsituationsimpactthetext.Torenderthecrucialmessageofmy
essaytotheaudience,aftermultipledrafts,Iusedacademiclanguageandprovided
exhaustiveanalysesontherhetoricalsituation.Forinstance,partofmythesisIusedan
academicresourcefromNoelCarrolltohelpanalyzewhyIAmLegendisspecifically
classifiedasahorrorgenrebystatingthattheprotagonist,Neville,eventuallyelicits
impureanduncleanactionsofamonster,whichisdefinedasanordinarycharacterin
anextraordinaryworldandbyassertingthatthenovelinstillsfearintotheaudience
usingMathiasClasensideaofuniversalhumanfears(RhetoricalAnalysisofIAm
Legend,ProcessWork).Duetothefactthatmylanguageisnotcolloquialandprovides
detailedexplanation,itbuildsmyethosasawriter,whichwillthereforeresultinthe
audiencelisteningtomethisiswhyrhetoricisimportant.Ifyouusetherighttoneor
languageitpersuadespeopletoagreeingwithyourideas.Inaddition,Iappliedthesame
ideatomyRIPEssay.IthoughtoftheRIPessayasifIwaspersuadingsomeonetocome
toanagreementwithmebyusingformallanguageandelaboratedcommentaries.Ihadto
persuademyaudiencewhymyfilmisahorrormovieandhelpmyaudienceunderstand
therhetoricimpactithasontheaudience.Ipersuadedmyaudiencebybeingdescriptive
suchaswhenIdescribedRachaelsevilactionsinparagraphtwosomytoneiscredible,
aswellasusingscholarlywordsthatcontributetologos.Understandingthisconceptof
persuasioninrhetoricreallyhelpedmeinwhatIshouldwriteandhowdetailedtoget
whenIdowrite,whichfinallyhelpmeseeimprovementsinmywriting.
Overall,thistenweekjourneywithyouasyourwritingstudenthasbeensucha
rollercoaster.IlearnedsomuchinjusttenweeksandIwouldjustliketosaythankyou.
Thankyouforhelpingmebranchoutinmycommunicationskillsandhelpingme
understandthesignificanceinrhetoric.AlthoughIwontautomaticallyacquireperfect
writingskills,IknowIllsomehowachievesomethingthatisclosetoperfectioninmy
writingbecauseyoutaughtmewhatittakestogetthere.
Sincerely,
ArielleSanAntonio