The purpose of this essay is to create a self-reflection concerned with the improvement of my literacy skills, as a result of my experiences on the English 105 course. These skills include my written ability, my critical thinking, my critical reading ability, and my visual literacy – being able to read and analyse various different forms of text. I will reflect on specific examples of my work throughout the course and demonstrate areas in which I have made progress, or not. Of particular interest to me are the areas of rhetorical knowledge; critical thinking, reading, and writing; processes; knowledge of conventions; and composing in electronic environments. These areas are of interest due to their combined ability to enhance my literacy and written ability and have been focuses throughout the course’s work. In practice, most areas of my literacy have improved significantly over my time on the course, which I feel proud of. Most notably, my ability to write clearly and correctly has improved which I feel will enable me to present myself in a better way to potential employers, for example. An area of weakness is my critical thinking, which I still feel can be improved upon but it is a skill which I hope will continue to develop over time.
Rhetorical knowledge is the skill of being able to demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of various facts in your writing. For example, an understanding and anticipation of what your audience will require in their work; an understanding of tone, style, and voice; and an awareness of the correct formatting and organisation of a piece of work. This has best been shown throughout my essay work. My essays are clearly well-structured and organised in such a way as to guide my reader through my thought processes and the subject matter. I routinely make use of focused thesis statements to introduce the subject to my reader. For example, in an essay on Genetic Engineering, I stated: “Even though the intentions of genetic engineering has always been to help in the improving of life, critics have also come up with arguments against the practice citing both ethical and safety concerns” as a clear thesis statement to show that my essay would explore both sides of the argument both for and against genetic engineering. In doing this, I was able to introduce my reader to the essay content in such a way as they knew what to expect. The use of a thesis statement also clearly allows me to state my intent and focus for the essay, meaning that it helps me and the reader to stay focused on the subject in hand. I refer back to my thesis statement throughout the essay too, to help maintain that focus, and state a suitable thesis statement at the start of each paragraph. For example, “The use of genetic engineered organism in Agriculture is set to benefit the world in attainting food security.” In doing this, I am able to keep bringing my reader back to the essay focus. I also kept up my anticipation of my audience’s needs throughout this essay by including clear definitions of terms such as: “DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)” where I have clarified for meaning, in case my audience is not familiar with this term.
Critical thinking, reading and writing skills are massively important for literacy development as it enables us to think carefully about what we’re being told or saying and the effect that it has on others. My essay on genetic engineering shows my ability to use reading and writing for inquiry. Throughout the essay, I have used read evidence to support my ideas, such as: “The “animals, insects and birds living in areas where GM farming takes place are under great threat of cross-contamination from the GM seeds” (Wang, Dordick, and Linhardt 65).” In doing this, I have shown my ability to read critically, select key ideas, and use them to communicate and support my own arguments in my writing. In using secondary sources, I feel that I am also able to show my understanding of how a written assignment is actually a series of tasks. By enhancing my own writing with secondary sources, I am demonstrating my appreciation of the various stages attached to composing written work, particularly since I am able to critically select key textual references to support my ideas. I still feel that this particular area requires some improvement but I have the basics under my control now and feel confident that I can continue to improve this.
The process of writing an essay is one which can require a number of drafts. For the genetic engineering essay, I wrote a few revisions from the original text. For example, the opening lines of my essays:
Original: “Genetic engineering is among the top heatedly debated topics in the modern society.”
Final revision: “The evolution of human being’s intellect has seen innovative technological devices designed to make life.”
It is clear to see here the evolution that my writing has gone through to go from square one which is vague and unfocused to a specific, focused opening topic sentence. Through this process, I feel more able to see my weaknesses and flaws and I am more able to correct them without need for a professional eye to spot them. It also enables me to produce work of my best ability and highest standard. This was also improved by the various peer assessments we carried out during lessons as I was able to see mistakes in the work of my peers and realise what not to do in my own writing. My knowledge of conventions such as spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation has also improved significantly. This can be seen throughout my work and has been improved through my use of the drafting process. I have found that by drafting, I am able to notice my mistakes and correct myself autonomously now.
Writing in an electronic environment has always aided me in my written form as I have long since been a fan of word processors and spell checkers. However, rather than mindlessly accepting the word of Word, for example, I have begun to question where I have made a mistake and I have begun to take on board my errors and how to improve upon them. Equally, I have learnt to use electronic sources to support my work. For example, in my essay on drawing comparisons between the Pantheon and the LA City Hall, I stated: “The building itself, especially the tower's concrete, was constructed of sand from all of the 58 counties of California, and mixed with water from the 21 historical missions that the state possesses ("Architecture," 2012).” This was taken from a website which provided me with a more current form of evidence than most books could, as webpages are regularly updated. I have also developed an appreciation for the use of visual aids in my essays and have used images of tomatoes being genetically engineered in my essay of the accompanying topic. I find that these visuals, depending on the topic, allow the reader to learn in a variety of different ways and it helps to break up an otherwise potentially long block of text too.
In conclusion, my levels of literacy have grown exponentially thanks to the course and the various strategies we have used in class and in our own work. Most notably, the in-class peer assessment work was invaluable as I was able to see first-hand the expectations that are held of me and my writing and reading. Actually writing the essays and using the drafting process has also proven to be exceptionally helpful as I have begun to correct my own mistakes, showing a true sense of autonomy in my approach to writing. In short, I am now a more confident and accomplished writer with a love of words and a desire to complete work to my highest ability.
