Constance Weissmuller WRD 103 Reflective Narrative 2 Writing has never been a passion of mine and past English

classes have given me a rather negative view on writing. This past quarter in WRD 103 has begun to slowly change the way I look at expressing my thoughts on paper. Not being graded on each assignment has given me the freedom to write how I feel without the pressure of a grade in the back of my mind. I believe this made me a better writer by letting the assignment instructions be guidelines, rather than the determining factor of my paper. I have decided to use my mid-term reflection revised and edited to represent my progress in WRD 103 by using examples from the first half of the quarter as well as the last half. In looking over my assignment I have realized that I am able to respond appropriately to different types of situations, as seen in my mid term and final papers, informing an audience, and compelling an audience. I have learned about the importance of the drafting process and the application of other technologies to improve my paper. The most difficult essay of this quarter for me, the Rhetorical Analysis, was the paper that was indeed the most challenging but also gave me the most room to grow. The lesson on rhetoric was hard to grasp until I focused it on one topic. The main purpose of the Rhetorical Analysis paper was to inform the audience. In order to inform, I had to analyze Obamas speech on climate change rather than present my opinion. I realized that Obama himself had to balance his opinion to satisfy a diverse audience and he did this by using tools such as word play, the band wagon theme, and double speak. My Rhetorical Analysis also gave me the ability to draft and understand that the

process of writing is just as important as the final product. In my first draft, I began with the plain text of Obama's speech and began to highlight and bold the parts I found to be important and worth analyzing. After doing this, I took into account the different examples of political word play explained in our exploring language book, and applied them to a few of Obama's themes and phrases. By doing this I took a raw speech and turned it into something meaningful and understandable to why Obama captivates his audiences the way he does. In our final assignment to revise a formal essay and mix it up by adding a multimodal component, I have been able to use a variety of technologies to get my point across. By using photos I have taken, I turn a photo into something with meaning by using it to back up my paper. My audience for this paper is also different. My purpose isnt to inform them, but it is to compel them into forgetting what they have heard and listen to my story. This essay contrasts my Rhetorical Analysis in that is less formal. I am able to use I because it is my story that I want to convey to people, not a critique or analysis of a political speech our President gave in which I need to remain neutral. Overall, I believe I have improved in my ability to interpret and respond to different audiences by taking the time to draft and apply other technologies. WRD 103 has definitely given me more confidence in writing essays by pertaining them to real world issues and allowing me to improve as I continued in the quarter.