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Reflective Essay
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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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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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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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