Patrick Baca

English 220-007
Jennifer Gammage
May 15, 2014
Final Portfolio Reflection
At the start of the semester I came into the class feeling lost about what I wanted to do
with college and life after it. I felt like I was just going through the days. When I registered for
this class I thought great another weird, probably pointless, class. I had just took class on memes
and digital media and it was to me pointless. I saw yolo culture and said here we go again. I was
completely wrong. This class was very interesting, and now at the end of the semester, has truly
given me a better state of mind. I feel like I am on track in college and life. I know what I want
to do, and although I dont know how to get there, I know that I can and there is a purpose
behind it.
In terms of English this class has helped me immensely. The student learning outcomes
are what we should have got from the class and I think the instruction and work put in was
definitely sufficient to meet these student learning outcomes.
Analyze Rhetorical Situation: You will analyze the subject, purpose, audience, and
constraints that influence and determine what kind of document (genre) you will write.
This SLO relates to the class as a whole not just actual writing, because nihilism itself is a
rhetoric situation that plays out in society in general. We discussed what nihilism throughout the
class and how it effects everyone. The audience is everyone because human nature is prone to
such ideas. With this being said the main genre type would be argumentative. The purpose was
to expose nihilism, understand it, and then also finding solutions to nihilism. Finding solutions
was the overarching argument to most papers and, to me the overarching outcome of the class.
Find and Evaluate I nformation: You will develop research strategies for your rhetorical
situation, and then gather information from primary and secondary sources; you will
evaluate the sources for quality, validity, and appropriateness for the rhetorical situation.
With the independent research project, finding and evaluating information was the main
technique used. Besides the argument itself, finding sources to support our argument was critical
to further developing a way to prove a point about the rhetoric situation. Evaluating the
information found was important to the validity of possible claims and whether or not they were
appropriate to support our argument. All this leads to a quality paper that thoroughly explains,
supports, and defends ones stance on a rhetoric situation.
Compose Documents: You will develop strategies for generating content, organizing it
into a logical structure, and otherwise shaping it to address the needs of your audience
within particular disciplines.
From the start the concept of composing a paper step by step was evident. The Expository
Conceptual Analysis is a great example of this SLO. Starting with just developing a basic thesis
gets ideas flowing and from there generating an outline narrows down what you are trying to
convey to the audience. Peer reviews also help with guiding the structure of the paper. By getting
feedback you see where you need to strengthen weak areas and how to better organize parts of
your paper. All these steps to composing documents helped me sharpen my writing and planning
skills. I found better ways of explaining things, and ways of just sounding better in general.
Present Documents: You will edit and revise your writing to provide clear meaning and
coherent structure; you will use effective document and paragraph structure,
documentation and genre conventions, and document design to create a rhetorically
complete presentation.
This SLO basically encompasses the whole idea behind the Final Portfolio. Addressing the
rhetoric situation of nihilism required multiple papers from the initial conceptual analysis to then
supporting an argument. Editing and revising was continuous not only on papers but on my
thoughts of the subject matter. The assignments went from a broad explanation of nihilism to
concisely arguing something. My thinking followed the same narrowing path. I had so many
thoughts that went in every direction and then I began to focus on aspects of the subject matter
that were poignant to me. Using different genre conventions helps in going from broad to
narrow. An expository analysis just explains the topic to some depth, and then once at the
research argument is written, the concise ideas you are focusing on are explained to greater
extent. This all contributes to conveying a complete and thorough presentation of any rhetoric
situation.
Reflection: In reflecting on major writing assignments, you will be able to explain
course objectives and how you have achieved them.
Reflecting on the class and assignments as a whole really gave me an understanding of the
concept of nihilism and how it relates to our world. The course objective was not only to better
our writing, but to expand thinking about our world and our life in general. What I got from the
class was how to look at my life with greater appreciation, and how to think about what we
ourselves find meaningful and how to pursue that meaning. I feel I achieved course objective
because I really have developed a better outlook on life.
I will conclude by saying that this class was truly a way for me to make strides not only
academically but personally in life. I dont feel a sense of being lost anymore. The class has
opened my eyes to the idea that we have our lives (after beating the astronomical odds) to go out
and find meaning and purpose. I came to this realization after being tore down by the idea of
being meaningless and I thought it cannot be that bleak. After the analytic argument, I thought
that it is up to me to make something of my life and to find my own meaning. One day after that
assignment I was particularly happy and just walking around campus on my way to class
brightened my day; the trees seemed more vivid and the day just seemed vibrant. I have realized
that just being alive is the best thing to happen to us. This class was awesome and very inspiring.