Micciantuono 1

Alex Micciantuono Mrs. Hinnant 12/2/2013 Final Reflextion

My Final Thoughts

This semester of English has been a beneficial period of time towards my reading and writing abilities. Ive been pushed to my limits which had allowed me expand my horizons in the English world. Through the many writing assignments weve completed the literacy narrative, rhetorical analysis, genre re-creation, and daily writings have most greatly impacted my English abilities. Theyve allowed me to get the much needed practice I needed to finally gain a bit of confidence in my English abilities.

We began the year with our first assignment of the literacy narrative. As we were first assigned the task I was quite disappointed since it reminded me a lot of a high school essay. That mentality began to change as I broke down the assignment. I knew if I kept that negative mentality that my English abilities would never improve. I decided to become more open minded

Micciantuono 2

which allowed me to write a strong paper. I decided Id write about something I was passionate about which ended up being music. I went on to say how artists such as DeadMau5, Kid Cudi, and Led Zeppelin had a direct effect on my reading, writing, and verbal communication. Then as the more I wrote, the easier the assignment became. I learned that when you write about something youre passionate about it becomes much more enjoyable. What surprised me is when I received my mock grade for my first assignment. Though I thought it was one of my best papers Ive ever written, it received what Id consider a below mediocre grade. At this time I realized Id really have to earn my grade in this class. So even though I was disappointed with my grade, it gave me the motivation to better on my next one.

Our next assignment was the rhetorical analysis. This was my least favorite assignment of the semester. I didnt understand the purpose behind it and thought it was just a long summary. I found my writing to be very repetitive. This irritated me a lot through the process of writing the paper. I tend to judge myself and my work very harshly. When its not up to what I consider tolerable, then I tend to get angry at myself. Though I didnt like the assignment it pushed me to leave my usual boundaries. Ive never broken down a text to such an extent, but it made me realize many things that Ive never previously paid attention to before. One example would be in the Clydesdale commercial I reviewed. The authors use of color and music helped

Micciantuono 3

portray his message to the audience in a much more emotional way. Another aspect of the video I noticed was the authors use of tempo. The change of pace in the text allowed for the connections between the audience and characters grow stronger. If the commercial were to go at a more upbeat pace, then the message to the viewers would be lost due to the loss of dramatic pause. Another aspect the rhetorical analysis made me realize was the fact that everything in a text has a purpose. If the author took the time to put even the minutest detail, it must be there for a reason. I figured this out when the Clydesdale commercial showed the tree without any leaves. This represent the empty farm as the horse had finally left.

Unlike the rhetorical analysis, the genre re-creation was a perfect fit for my style. The creative aspect gives you a lot of freedom to create whatever new text youd like. I decided to take the Clydesdale commercial and turn it into a billboard. I thought taking out the emotional factor and replacing it with humor would allow for a much more successful advertisement. The major aspects of my advertisement were color, illustrations, and text. I decided to go for a patriotic color scheme to add a slight emotional factor while keeping the traditional Budweiser colors. The illustrations contained two females each holding a case of beer. With the text pick a pair it adds a comedic factor that many consumers in the target market would like. Overall, this assignment allowed me to express my creativity while still testing my English abilities. I also feel my defense of my genre re-creation was very strong. I continued to say how humor would

Micciantuono 4

possibly draw a larger market while keeping a slight emotional innuendo, making my billboard a stronger form of advertisement then the commercial. The majority of my English abilities have been improved through the weekly assignments weve completed. Changing every week, they allowed for me to read and respond to many different forms of writing and videos. This has opened my mind to the world of reading. Until this year Ive never had any motivation to read. It wasnt until I read about Malcolm X and how he taught himself to read in prison. I thought it was the most impressive story that an uneducated man with nothing but a dictionary taught himself how to read. Considering I have many more resources then Malcolm X did, I feel it is necessary for me to improve my reading and writing abilities to the best I can. Another daily writing which caught my attention was after we had watched Fight Club. Being my first time seeing the movie, I was completely confused throughout the first half. As the end began to approach, it began to make sense. I liked how the author didnt use one distinct genre throughout the movie. This attracted many different types of viewers. Someone enjoyed the dark comedy while others liked the psychological thriller. I then realized that you can incorporate ideas such as multiple genres into your writing. This attracts many different readers instead of having a select group. This semesters assignments have brought my English abilities to a new level. They have allowed me to expand my mind and be open to new forms of reading and writing. Ive finally escaped the dreaded five paragraph essay, and can develop my own voice and style. I plan to continue this way of writing throughout my college experience.