Madison Martin

UWRT 1103-052
Professor Marcum
April 27th, 2016
Post-Course Reflections
Part 1:
Rhetorical knowledge is important, because it is what you bring
to the table prior to starting the conversation. It is all of the things you
know in advance before you begin an argument. This is important,
because it shows that you are creditable and a reliable source to be
talking about a given topic. You need to possess some rhetorical
knowledge to be able to be taken seriously. Everyone needs to have
these skills, but these will be the most helpful when it comes to
furthering your education and moving up in society. I believe that most
all career paths will utilize rhetorical knowledge. You probably wouldnt
have gotten the job in the first place if you were not able to exemplify
some sort of knowledge or understanding of what the job description
entails. There are several future instances I can think of that I will need
to use this skill. I will be graduating with a major in communication
studies, and most likely going on to graduate school to get my masters
in speech pathology to become a speech therapist. I am positive that I
will have to show the rhetorical knowledge I have learned throughout
my college career in order to be taken seriously on a higher level.
Part 2:
Critical reflection is very important, because it allows you to be
able to look back and reassess why you wrote a piece and how. It is
about being able to revisit your work with the purpose of
understanding and finding meaning in the work you did. If you wrote
something that you spent a lot of time on and dont care to reflect
upon it then you probably shouldnt have written it in the first place,
because you dont really care about it. Reflection may seem redundant
at times, because you cant understand why you would need to think
about why you wrote something. But in all honesty looking back and
making those assessments truly helps understand yourself better as a
writer and helps you to find meaning in the things you say and write
about. Everyone needs to have these skills, and a career I have
seriously considered would use it everyday. That career is journalism.
As a journalist your job is to be dedicated to writing, and they need to
able to reflect on what they have written. There are several instances I
will need this in the future throughout school, but also as a person just
to be able to stop and look back.

Part 3:
Knowledge of conventions is extraordinarily important and
valuable. It is about being able to identify rules in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and several other things. If you are unable to do those
things then in return your writing will also hold little to no value either.
People will not think youre creditable if you cant write following the
rules, or if several words are misspelled. Several careers will use these
skills, including authors, English teachers, journalist, and every other
career that anyone can name. Even if you think a career path doesnt
involve writing, it does. Ill be the first to tell you that when I took a
pre-calculus class in high school the last thing I imagined I would be
doing is writing, but of course there I sat in a math class critically
thinking and writing an assessment of why I solved the problem the
way that I did. There is not a single instance that comes to mind where
I think that I will not need these skills. They are not only a key part in
writing, but also in everyday life. You will spend your entire life writing,
and if you do not have knowledge of conventions you will not be able
to get very far in the world.
Part 4:

Rhetorical Knowledge: The final draft literacy memoir best

corresponds with rhetorical knowledge. When I began writing I
had to realize that I was not just writing for myself but also for an
audience of my peers as well as for you as the professor. I had to
think about how to word what I wanted to say, and how to say it
in a way that would retain the audiences attention. In the
process of writing I also had to think about purpose, because I
would want to get off track. I needed to focus on the task at hand
and try to keep my writing within those lines.

Critical Reading: A time outside of this that is still very present in

my memory that I used critical reading would be in my AP
European History class my senior year of high school. About half
way through the semester we started doing writing assignments
called DBQs. I had never done one or heard of that in my life. I
got a hundred on my first one, and I believe I owe that to critical
reading skills I had developed over the years. We were giving a
complicated document that was usually 10 pages, an hour and a
half, and a pencil. We were told to construct an essay that
answered several questions that were presented and also give a
POV of one of the people from the text, and everything we did
needed to be labeled and highlighted. Needless to say, a lot of
students struggled with this, and Im not going to lie and say it

was easy for me either. I worked for my grade, because they

were weighed close to a test and a lot of stress, sweat, and hand
cramping went into each one. Obviously, I think this skill is
important, I wouldnt have graduated with the honors or grades I
had if I hadnt had learned and developed these critical skills.
Everyone should have these skills no matter what career just for
the sheer fact of being able to stay informed and read between
the lines so that they know exactly what someone is saying or
what they are reading. I can absolutely see myself using these
skills far beyond college, because they are necessary for a lot of
things in life. Whether its just reading the paper or reading a
contract a person needs to be able to read critically in order to
get the full meaning and impact of a piece.

Composing Process: All of the drafts before the final copy of the
literacy memoir best relates to the composing process. During
the three or four drafts I wrote I was constantly revising and
changing my piece. I was thinking about what I could add to
make it better, or sometimes I would think of a new piece when I
was in the middle it of it all. I would find a place the new memory
fit and then edit it to fit into the story line. I often times would
write big chunks all at once and then would go back and fix the
things I didnt like; that is all a part of the composing process.

Knowledge of Conventions: The readers guide best reflects

knowledge of conventions. When writing a blog that is published
on the Internet that anyone could stumble upon it makes one
more aware of conventions like spelling, and other mechanics.
When doing research you need to cite all of your sources, and
explain why you chose them and think about how they
influenced your research as a whole. When creating a web page
you also think a lot about the organization. You dont want to
create a solid wall of text, because the reader will be
overwhelmed and no longer be interested in what you wrote. You
may also want to include pictures or videos to engage the reader
further into your research and make them care about it as much
as you do.

Critical Reflection: The daybook best relates to critical reflection.

I used to notebook to reflect on how I felt about assignments and
how things would go with peer review. I also used it to organize
things I needed to fix in my literacy memoir; by doing this I was
literally critically reflecting on a piece of work I had writing and
thinking of ways to improve upon it.

Part 5:
1. Peer review can be beneficial when done the correct way
2. Being able to seriously reflect on my work
3. Making a portfolio
4. Making lists of goals I wan to complete when writing a paper
5. How to write objectively
6. Parlors discussions
7. Keeping a day book to be able to look back on
8. How to lead a discussion on a given topic
9. Public speaking skills
10. How to manage time more wisely
The topic I find most important is how to write objectively
The literacy memoir
The readers guide
Article blog responses
The portfolio