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Brenden West
Professor Deadrick
English 102
9 May 2016
Reflective Essay
Looking back on the semester, I am happy with my performance in English 102. As a
business major, I must take English 101 and English 102 to satisfy the degree requirements.
However, I believe that studying English is just as important as any business or math class. In the
goal setting assignment, I expressed my enthusiasm for English 102 as well as my determination
to do well in the course. In order to succeed in the class, I had to meet the three course
objectives. The course objectives are as follows: effective writing, information literacy, and
critical analysis and reasoning (Anna Deadrick Syllabus 2).
I have demonstrated the ability to write effectively in all of my papers. In my rhetorical
analysis of Roger Eberts movie review, I established a clear thesis, audience, and purpose for
writing. My thesis is, Eberts overall argument against the movie is effectively made through
the use of rhetorical devices (West, Rhetorical Analysis of Roger Eberts Review 1). This is a
strong thesis and clearly takes the side of Ebert. In my analysis of a visual argument, I use a
strong thesis and then support it with reasons and evidence. The thesis for my analysis of a visual
argument is, Therefore, an e-portfolio is not a visual argument (West, Visual Argument
Analysis 1). I back this claim up with the following reasons: the e-portfolios fail to use devices in
a rhetorical context, lack of rhetorical images, and the e-portfolios in questions serve to inform

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rather than persuade. I provided evidence to support my reasons as well as a refutation to address
an opposing point of view. I have done this in all of my papers with a constant rate of success.
Information literacy is the second course objective that I have met. To achieve this
objective, I had to brainstorm research topics, identify credible source, and properly integrate
outside source into my essays. I did all of these things to complete my exploratory essay. First I
had to choose a topics. After considering several topics, I decided to explore the rise of global
terrorism. Then, I identified several credible source to write about in my essay. I cited an article
from the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) and a report from the Institute for Economics and
Peace, just to name a couple. The author(s) of each source provided plenty of founded evidence
and are well-qualified to write on the issue. I directly quoted the source, and paraphrased when
appropriate. I made sure to correctly format the in-text citations to meet MLA standards. I have
gone through the processes of brainstorming, finding sources, and formatting the citations for
each essay.
The last objective is critical analysis and reasoning. This is where the use of
argumentations comes into place. I have successfully constructed arguments and analyzed
arguments in several of my essays. In my research paper titled, The Rise of Terrorism in the
Middle East, I argued that the U.S. is partly responsible for the rise of terrorism in the Middle
East (West 1). In my exploratory essay, I synthesized various points of view on a similar issue;
the rise of global terrorism. I effectively synthesized various points of view in my exploratory
essay which led me to an argumentative position. However, to develop a concise argument, I
decided to narrow the scope of the issue to the rise of terrorism in the Middle East for my
research essay. After taking a stance on the issue, I supported my claim reasons and evidence. I
avoided the use of logical fallacies, and made sure to provide evidence from credible sources.

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Aside from the research paper, I have constructed an argument in my essays. Rhetorical
Analysis of Roger Eberts Review and Visual Argument Analysis. As mentioned before, I
crafted a strong thesis for each, clearly taking the side of one argument, and provided reasons
and evidence as support to meet the objective.
While I have earned at least a ninety percent on each essay thus far, I have not written a
perfect essay. There is a common theme that runs through all of my essays and that is
grammatical errors. Critics may argue that I have not met the first objective of the course due to
the grammatical errors present in each one of my essays. While there is definitely room for
improvement in each one of my essays, I believe that I have met the first objective as well as the
rest. I have demonstrated my ability to write effectively by constructing arguments, keeping
audience and purpose in mind. A grammatically flawed sentence or two does not make an entire
essay invalid, so long as there is a clear thesis, strong reasons, evidence, and a refutation.
I have learned a lot about argumentation in English 102. Meeting all of the objectives
took a lot of work, but in the end it paid off. The objectives helped to guide me through the
processes of argumentation. After taking this course, I feel more confident in my abilities to craft
an argument, explore a topic, and analyze arguments.

Works Cited

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Deadrick, Anna. Syllabus. Unpublished Paper. Rockville, MD. 2016.
West, Brenden. Rhetorical Analysis of Roger Eberts Review. Unpublished Paper. Rockville,
MD. 2016.
---Visual Argument Analysis. Unpublished Paper. Rockville, MD. 2016.
---The Rise of Terrorism in the Middle East. Unpublished Paper. Rockville, MD. 2016.