Final Reflection Letter

Dear Connie:
Before going into this writing course, I figured that it would be similar to the previous
writing course I took last semester. The first week of the course I learned that this course was
completely different. I realized that more work would be required of myself. Specifically, I
realized that I would be required to dig deeper into my thoughts. I would not just scratch the
surface of writings, but really sit and think about topics with much more complexity than I ever
have in any other English or writing class. As a whole, my ePortfolio is reflective of the critical
and analytical skills I learned and utilized this semester.
On my critical thinking page, I chose to include five pieces of writing that I thought best
displayed my abilities as a critical thinker. Early in the semester, as a class, we watched a TED
video where Susan Cain was the speaker. She spoke on being an introvert in a society that
strongly encourages extroverted behavior. Many things that Susan said in this video stood out to
me. In particular, I hung onto what she said about solitude matters. I myself being an introvert
found her statement to be true. I began to think that it is important to know that it is okay to be
alone. Society must realize this as well. Susan helped me to come to the conclusion that there is a
difference between being alone, and feeling lonely. Society portrays introverts as being lonely,
when in reality this is not the case, we just do not always want to be with a crowd of people. For
easy access for my viewers, I decided to include a direct link to this video on my critical thinking
page. Secondly, I included my rhetorical analysis on Letter from a Birmingham Jail. This was
one of my favorite pieces that we read this semester. While reading this letter, I enjoyed how Dr.
King made it known that [he] did not show up to Birmingham, [he] was called to come there. I
believe that this statement set the tone for the whole letter. As I analyzed this letter, I admired

how Dr. King brilliantly worded his response. The letter challenged my critical thinking because
it required me to put my frame of mind in the social and cultural time period that the letter was
written in. I began to think of how insanely astounding Dr. Kings persona must have been. Just
think about it, here a man is arrested for nonviolent protesting and he is writing a response to
angry clergy. He did not disrespect or belittle them. Dr. King classically and in an educated
manner put the clergy in their places. I was very taken by such a well written piece. I also opted
to add a direct link to this letter.
The third and fourth writings on my critical thinking page are in relation to my line of
inquiry. The most important writing that I completed this semester would have to be my proposal
paper. In my proposal paper, I stated what it was that I wanted to explore this semester and what
exactly it was that I wanted to know. In my proposal, I said Police brutality and racial profiling
is an issue in American that has left many wondering if it really exists and if so, how will it be
solved? This was my thesis statement, and this statement was the basis of all of my research. I
was intrigued at how this one statement allowed me to find so much information on a topic that I
was already fairly familiar with. The fourth writing is my rhetorical argument. This paper was
interesting to me because it required me to analyze two different article, but I also had to show
how the differed and which was more supportive of my thesis. On the critical thinking aspect, I
struggled with this because I was not exactly sure how to compare and contrast two articles that
had information about the same subject. I also struggled to figure out which audience each article
was projected at. In my mind, the audience for anything dealing with my line of inquiry would
be America as a whole. But, thinking in a more narrow matter allowed me to see that the
audience of a specific writing is specific to the actual content of the article. Lastly, I added my
response to an article about the Millennial generation. I feel like I displayed a lot of critical

thinking talents in this response. While completing this particular assignment, I was able to
genuinely connect with the article because I am a Millennial. Due to my own experiences, the
article was easy to reflect on. Through this article, I was able to deliberate on my own life as well
as the views that outsiders have on Millennials.
The research blog was one of my favorite parts of this course. I displayed a lot of critical
thinking and analyzing in this section of my ePortfolio, as well as throughout the semester. I
must admit that I did struggle with the concept of analyzing the articles I read, but I tried my best
to fix this issue. I came to an understanding that analyzing is telling what I learned and who the
article is directed to. I learned that there is a difference between summarizing and analyzing.
Over this course, I had gotten better at that this. Through research blogging, I definitely
expanded my knowledge on my line of inquiry. It amazed me how from one article I learned
information that made me eager to research in the next article. I feel as if that is critical thinking
because it was as if information just triggered my mind to continue to know more about my line
of inquiry.
The multi-genre project was probably the most complex part of this semester, but it
helped me to find ways to connectively display my line of inquiry. Tom Romano said, [Multigenre papers] recognize that there are many ways to see the world, many ways to show others
what we see. I appreciate you including this quote in the introduction to the project. I used this
quote to decide that all of my genre must be interrelated. This project required me to analyze
what I learned through my research blogging and figure out which ways best got my line of
inquiry across. I enjoyed the creative freedom that this projected gave me. In each genre, I
decided to indirectly show my thesis. I also made each genre about officers using cameras,
because that was my solution to stopping racial profiling and police brutality. Please note that I

decided to include downloadable files of exactly how each genre was supposed to look just in
case you were wanting to see because Weebly and the PDF format distorted some of my genres.
Throughout the course, we read and evaluated many different types and genres of
literature. We watched videos, read articles, letters, informational texts, and many more types of
writings. As previously stated, my most memorable writing was Letter from a Birmingham Jail. I
was in total admiration of this piece and I felt as if Dr. King wrote with such poise. He said,
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. This statement stayed with me. As I did
my own research on racial profiling and police brutality I noticed that the same issues faced
during the time Letter from a Birmingham Jail was wrote are faced now. It made me think about
if society has changed or not. In contrast to reading a letter, we also a read blog about ten things
professors dislike. I found this assignment quite entertaining because I found myself guilty of
sometimes being the student that professors despise! The most appreciated text that we read this
class was Argument as Conversation. Although I did not talk much in class, I talked more
amongst my small group, and I learned from this article that argument is a part of everyday life. I
also feel like this article helped me with my rhetorical argument paper. The article expanded my
visions on how to create argument and identify difference.
It is very true that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. We are all better at some
things than we are at others. For a decent amount of time, I know that I am an exceptional writer.
When given a specific topic, I able to elaborate on it. For example, in my persuasive essay, my
topic was officers using cameras. I easily stated my reasons and elaborated on them. Through
this course, I noted that my weakness comes in when a broad topic is given or if I am not given a
set of guidelines to adhere by. Yes, I enjoy unstructured writing, but when it is graded work I find
it harder to complete the assignment. I struggled with knowing what was and what was not

appropriate to say. For example, with the rhetorical argument, I knew that I had to state the
arguments and elaborate on them telling what I learned from each, but I did not know how to
make the assignment flow. It seems as if there were less guidelines the more I struggled. In the
end, I believe that I have become better at trusting myself and just tackling assignments. I have
learned how to make each writing my own.
In closing, I can honestly say that I have progressed throughout the class. My
independent writing abilities as well as my critical thinking skills have improved. I have learned
the importance of digging deeper into writings. I feel like this actually can teach you about
yourself as a person. By this, I mean that the more into thought you become on a subject the
more knowledgeable you are about it. This allows you to be able to engage more with others and
have more intense conversations. You become a more intellectual person. I will never forget the
beginning of the semester and as a class we were all fairly quiet. I noticed that as more time was
put in, more input was exposed. I truly believe that it is important to get in contact with your
abilities to gain more understanding on a matter than what meets the eye. Overall, through this
course I believe that my analytical and critical thinking abilities improved and were reflected
through my work.
Thanks for reading,

Ariel Thompson