Mary Grace Kelly Z1698595 English 104 Reflection Prior to entering English 104, I think I had a fair concept

on what a good paper should contain. I had never written a paper longer than 5 pages so I was nervous to write long papers. I expected college writing to have fewer guidelines and to be a lot stricter than high school writing. Throughout this course, I have gained a better understanding of my audience, the genre, the different forms of evidence, the skill of analyzing, the writing process, and the final product. In English 104, I learned how important audience awareness is. I believe that my final project arguing for a soda tax in all fifty states showed the most understanding of the needs of my audience. This is because the whole paper was aimed at persuading my audience. In the introduction paragraph of my research paper, I wrote, Thirty-three year old Abbey Arndt was an avid soda drinker. She would indulge in a cold drink of the sugary beverage every morning, afternoon, and evening. In her early twenties, Arndts weight began to skyrocket in proportion to her soda drinking habits, and she weighed 314 pounds at her peak. In addition to being obese, she also experienced a mouthful of cavities, recurring mood swings, and inconsistent energy levels. Abbey Arndts soda drinking habits are strikingly similar to the average American today. I believe that this short story engages my audience by relating the problem of soda drinking to the average American. By taking this course, I learned how to write an objective summary, a rhetorical analysis, an analysis of an issue, and a persuasive paper. I showed the most understanding of the objective summary genre because I was able to give a short summary of an excerpt from the book without

giving my own personal opinion. In my objective summary papers thesis, I wrote, Throughout her essay, Le reveals the importance of a college degree through citing statistics and explaining how it affects her and her family personally. By using this sentence to set up my paper, I am able to summarize what the author said without giving bias or opinion. This course taught me how to use various forms of evidence to improve my paper. My final research paper showed my strongest understanding of evidence. I was able to use statistics to help persuade my audience into supporting a soda tax. In my paper, I wrote, In 2010, the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute asked residents of New York if they supported or opposed the idea of a soda tax. Thirty-one percent supported the tax and sixty-six percent opposed it. Then, they were asked if they would support a soda tax if the money were used to fund health care. In this poll, forty-nine percent were in favor and fifty-one percent opposed. This poll statistic gives evidence for why a tax should be implemented on soda in the United States. I also learned how to thoroughly analyze other writings and arguments by taking English 104. My rhetorical analysis paper showed my analytical skills the best because I was able to pick out the appeals that Arne Duncan used when delivering his Keeping The Promise to All Americas Children speech. In my thesis, I wrote, By thoroughly explaining the problem, progress, and solution of the disability issue in America through establishing creditability and appealing to both emotion and logic, Arne Duncan successfully supports his impressive and informative argument. In this thesis statement, I set up my paper by discussing why his use of credibility, emotion, and logic made his argument valid. Another important skill I learned in this class was how to improve my rough draft into a polished final copy. My rhetorical analysis paper also showed my best mastery of the writing

process. In my draft, my paper was only going to be focused on Arne Duncans use of credibility, emotion, and logic. This caused my paper to fall short of the length requirement, and the set up was unorganized. I revised my paper by adding that he used credibility, emotion, and logic by explaining the problem, progress, and solution of the disability issue in America. This revision made my paper very organized and it met the length requirement. Finally, with the skills I learned from this class, I was able to understand what a great paper should contain. I believe that my rhetorical analysis was my most polished work because it was free from grammatical errors. I spent a lot of time revising this paper with the help of my classmates and the writing lab. Also, I was able to use certain words influence my audience. In the last part of my thesis, I wrote, Arne Duncan successfully supports his impressive and informative argument. My using the words impressive and informative, my audience was able to see that I approved of Arne Duncans style of argument. In conclusion, I believe that my writing has improved throughout the semester by learning about the importance of organization and supporting my thesis. I learned important tools such as use of evidence to help me write a successful paper. I still can focus on thoroughly editing my papers by utilizing other students and the writing lab. This way, I will have a paper free of grammatical errors.