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California Baptist University

Final Portfolio

Reflective Essay

Lance Sao Melendez-Heart


English 113
Professor Sung
19 August 2016

Starting English Composition 113 for a second time was intimidating


because I knew my whole academic career was on the line. However,

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because I previously took this course I thought I would be one step ahead.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. My name is Lance Sao Melendez-Heart,
I am a Navy MP, and this is my second semester here at CBU. If I successfully
pass this course I will be majoring in Criminal Justice in hopes of becoming a
JAG officer. Due to my learning disability and not communicating as much as
I should have with the professor, this lead me to be in the same position as I
was when first taking this class. Although I am at a crucial point in my
academic career I believe everything happens for a reason.
The course theme was carpe diem meaning seize the day and that is
exactly what I have done in hopes to successfully complete this course.
Learning about carpe diem has given me a new philosophy to live by in my
own life. It has motivated me to take on any challenge that life throws my
way, and uncover the positive out every situation. A major project for this
course was the multimodal project I was able to have a better understanding
of carpe diem and how it has been interpreted throughout the generations.
With the help of Dr. Sungs detailed lectures, PowerPoints, and Smart
thinking tutors I have been able to finish the semester strong. With these
tools I have had the preparation to be able to analyze rhetoric, understand
different genres, create persuasive arguments, focus on improving my
weaknesses as a writer, and develop critical thinking.
Normally we are accustomed to think of rhetoric in term of formal
articulation or public speeches, the types of public speeches that are made

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by politicians, CEOs, or Priests. This is when rhetoric is significantly


recognized. Rhetoric is described by Aristotle as a "means to an end." As a
part of our first weekly assignment we were to analyze who was persuading
whom, how, and relate it to carpe diem. In this class I was able to explore
carpe diem through rhetorical analysis which I was not able to grasp the first
time I took this class, and learned that using rhetoric as a tool has the ability
to convey different emotions, and actions. Through different mediums like
literature, poetry, music videos, and graduation speeches. Carpe Diem and
rhetorical analysis are open to interpretation. Like carpe diem, rhetoric has
evolved over time. All of these tools have helped me learn various rhetorical
devices like the art of persuasion, different genres of rhetoric including
forensic, deliberate, and celebratory. These tools helped me to think logically
and recognize weak arguments and build good arguments on complex and
simple issues.
During the first weekly assignment I was asked to compare graduation
speeches by Steve Jobs and David Foster Wallace, and music videos give
me everything by Pitbull and motto by Drake. I was able to learn that
celebratory rhetoric is sometimes called epideictic rhetoric. The goal of
celebratory rhetoric is to praise or denounce something in the moment, like
giving a graduation speech, or giving a eulogy. During this assignment I
analyzed how rhetoric conveyed carpe diem. After watching the graduation
speech by Steve Jobs I learned that a rhetorical statement has the ability to
make an impact on an audience and can influence emotions. For example,

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when Steve Jobs talked about getting fired from Apple and buying Pixar, he
persuaded the audience to believe that from a bad situation a new
opportunity can be created. When comparing the graduation speech given
by David Foster Wallace, I observed that he had a different approach to
rhetoric. His goal was to have the audience believe in a higher power, and
persuaded them by illustrating that life is a routine filed with dead-eyed
clerks, long lines, empty phrases and scores of minor annoyances. He
wanted them to believe in a higher power no matter what that higher power
might be, because without it their life would be meaningless and empty.
When comparing these speeches, I noticed that rhetoric can be used
either negatively or positively to influence the audience. Rhetoric aims to
make comparisons, to evoke emotions, to serve as criticism and this is done
to persuade listeners. Rhetoric can be seen and heard in many places like
music videos. When analyzing the rhetoric in give me everything by Pitbull
the lyrics used encouraged listeners to live in the moment because tomorrow
is not promised. In motto by Drake he uses YOLO as a rhetorical device in
his interpretation of carpe diem. He does this by encouraging listeners to
indulge in their desires because we only live once. When comparing them I
realized that both target different audiences but have similar messages.
Which is to take advantage of the moment. I realized that the use of rhetoric
can come in many different forms, including rap and pop songs.

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During the second assignment while studying rhetoric through poetry it


was difficult to understand. Due to my lack of experience analyzing and
reading poetry it was a struggle to get through this assignment. So I
referenced Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric From Aristotle to Obama by
Sam Leith, which stated the art of persuasion: the attempt by one human
being to influence another in words." This helped me understand that the
persuasion of rhetoric is very complex and has a wide range of possibilities,
prone to analysis and understanding. I was assigned to read this book during
the course. And found that it helped me gain a better understanding of the
meaning of rhetoric and its purposes. For example, for the poetry and
paragraphs assignment I had to interpret the poetry while analyzing the
rhetorical strategies the poet used.
When reading the poem First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay a couple
dozen times I was able to understand the message that she was conveying.
For my poetry and paragraphs assignment I stated that The poet uses
rhetoric in order to persuade the reader to live life in a manner that will be
worth living, and emphasizes that life is short, so we should make the most
of it. In her poem she emphasized that women should be free to experience
life the way they pleased. This was controversial during her time period
because women were expected to carry out certain roles, like having children
and caring for their husband. Although I was able to get a good grade on this
assignment, I received feedback from the professor that encouraged me to

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continue working on my rhetorical analysis. This allowed me to want to


improve in order to do well on future assignments.
As a requirement for this course I was to write three types of academic
papers; summary, analysis and evaluation. Summary is an account or
statement of the main points of something, whether it is a short story, poem,
speech or any other genre. Summaries are important in academic writing
because they enable the reader to grasp the original text in order to
understand the main points. The assignment I completed that incorporated
summary was Absurd Freedom by Albert Camus. I found this to be difficult
because as the smart thinking tutor pointed out I was giving my opinion
rather than giving a summary of the text. She also stated that it was unclear
if I was stating my opinion or the opinion of the author. After reviewing the
comments, I was able to change the direction, by extracting my opinion and
rewriting the summary. However, I believe I should have given myself more
time and resubmitted it to my tutor. In order to ensure the success of the
assignment because I received a D. In the future I will work with the tutor,
and resubmit corrections to get feedback before submitting my work.
In week four I was asked to write was an analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Winter Dreams. Analytical writing commonly shows the relationship between
pieces of information. To do this one would take the writing apart to
understand how it works. When writing my first draft I tended to summarize
the work rather than analyze it. While working on this assignment, I found

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that Fitzgerald incorporated his idea of carpe diem, by emphasizing the


American dream. This was confusing because Fitzgerald illustrated how the
main character came from humble beginnings and was able to build his
status and become wealthy. However, this was not enough even when he
met Judy Jones. She was beautiful, but shallow. And even when he was with
her, he could not find his happiness.
During the multimodal project I was able to further analyze that the
meaning of the short story was that Americans wanted to achieve the
American dream, which was an equal opportunity to achieve the pursuit of
happiness through hard work. Dexter tried to validate his success by
pursuing Judy. Fitzgerald proves even with money and power this can restrict
happiness and emotional fulfillment. I learned that when analyzing what I
wrote in the first draft, it allowed me to see Fitzgeralds message a little bit
clearer.
This assignment helped me understand how to analyze writing more
effectively, and taught me a life lesson. Fitzgerald used Dexter as an
example of a man trying to achieve the American dream, but in the end was
disappointed and full of sorrow. I came to realize that sometimes when you
are tied down to materialistic things you lose focus on what truly matters.
Which is working hard, achieving your goals, and being able to prosper. You
then realize that what is most important is the higher power, that guides you
in the proper direction. And because God is based on love, we should choose

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wisely when we choose a partner because that partner can support us and
help us achieve our purpose in life.
In order to learn about evaluative essays, I explored the theology of
biblical passages. I was able to have a better understanding of this by
listening to lectures and PowerPoints provided by Professor Sung. I learned
that evaluative essays can incorporate a summary. An evaluation essay is an
essay in which you present and opinion or viewpoint on a body of work. An
evaluation should provide a summary of the work then provide a wellstructured argument to support your point-of-view. Your point-of-view should
be supported by examples and evidence from the text. For this assignment I
evaluated carpe diem through biblical passages. I learned that the bible has
a specific interpretation of carpe diem than we have in todays society. For
example, YOLO is interpreted as living in the moment and not thinking about
the consequences of tomorrow. However, from a Christian perspective this
phrase is used to embrace every moment because it is a gift from God. This
assignment was difficult because I did not establish criteria in order to
evaluate the passages. However, I feel I gained a better understanding of the
Christian perspective of carpe diem.
The first time I took this course I overestimated my time management
skills. I found it to be difficult to balance the work load in this class due to my
Navy schedule. When taking it a second time, I set aside more time to work
on and complete assignments. According to Owl Perdue Writing Lab online

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during the revision process it may be useful to work on your paper and take
breaks from your writing. I found this useful because when I work on an
assignment without taking a break, I overlook my mistakes. When time
allows it I find it helpful to set my draft aside and come back in a couple of
hours, to return with a fresh outlook. I found that when reorganizing my work
there were guidelines I was able to follow; like stating my main point, identify
my readers and my purpose, evaluating my evidence, being aware of my
grammar, and switching from writer centered to reader centered.
Through smart thinking I was able to discover where my literary
weaknesses were, which is in my thesis, transitions, and organization. I
worked diligently to improve yet, I feel that it might not have been enough.
Unfortunately, when completing assignments most of the time I would use
smart thinking only for my first draft. Later in the course, I found that time
management is very important in the revision process. Because I was able to
send more than one draft to smart thinking. I found that this helped me
develop my skills as a writer. In the future I will have a better grasp on time
management. Because I plan on utilizing smart thinking and communicating
better with my professor to receive feedback before submitting an
assignment for grading.
Faith has played a major role in this course and has been integrated in
all of the assignments. I found that the theology and evaluation assignment
had a specific interpretation of carpe diem in the Christian faith. According to

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Merriam Webster faith is defined as belief in the existence of God: strong


religious feelings or beliefs. When doing this assignment, I enjoyed it the
most because I was able to reflect on my own theological views of carpe
diem. I evaluated works from Albert Camus, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and passages
from the bible. What I found interesting was that Albert Camus believed that
we should not do anything that we do not fully understand, however in the
Christian faith we are taught to believe in a higher power that we may not be
able to see physical. I was able to look at a different perspective other than
my own. I had never questioned my faith because I was not able to see it.
I feel that I was able to get a different outlook on what others may feel
about the Christian faith as well as carpe diem. For example, Camus believed
that the idea of carpe diem was that we should live only what we can be sure
of. And I believe that carpe diem is the ability to embrace every moment in
your life like it is your last. I have used my faith as a platform in the essays
that I have written. I can say that my own faith has helped me get through
this course because I am not a strong writer. In the future I will be able to
better understand others views and interpretation of carpe diem and the
Christian faith.
This course has helped me improve my writing skills by allowing me to
explore different facets of carpe diem through rhetoric, genre, revision, and
faith. I was able to overcome some of my writing weaknesses with the help
of Professor Sung and my smart thinking tutors. The tools I have learned will

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be essential to use in my future career and academic career. Taking this


course for a second time, I was able to have a better grasp the course
material. I feel that rhetoric is very important in our society, because we are
constantly using rhetoric in everyday speech without even realizing it. During
this course the revision process has been a very integral part of the essay
writing process. I learned how to become a better writer and acquired some
new skills that will carry me through my academic career.

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