March 15, 2018

Dear Professor Crosby,

Throughout these ten weeks, I have written more assignments and, in my opinion, grown

as a writer more than I ever did in my grade school career. Through different types of

assignments, each distinct from each other, I have been forced to analyze my own writing skill

and indirectly improve with what was asked of me. Not only has my writing skill improved, my

analytical skills have also shown growth through the exposure of different styles of writing, each

with its own unique methods and manner of conveying certain messages. The culmination of the

Rhetorical Analysis paper on the article “Made in China”, the Rhetoric in Practice project, the

“They Say, I Say” assignments, the peer reviews, each contributed to my growth as a writer and

well-educated student.

For my Rhetorical Analysis essay, I chose the article “Fine and Caviar-Made in China”

by Tony Perrottet. Reading the article, annotating it, and understanding its hidden meaning

proved a challenge at first. I was intimidated by the size of the article and the amount of

“random” and raw ideas which seemed to have no correlation. Writing the first draft, I only tried

to make the vague connections in ideas that Perrottet used to convey his message that China was

on the rise in the global stage. After the first draft, I brought in outside sources in order to

support my own claims on what I believed Perrottet’s message. I supported each idea with

evidence from Perrottet’s own article and did all I could to be sure that my claims were

supported. Doing this made me realize that as a writer I never really glanced over my first draft

or support my claims enough. Writing this essay forced me to review my essays and self-analyze

my faults and correct them, a skill which I now implement on assignments following the essay.

Regarding my rhetorical analysis, if I could go back and add more to my final draft, I would
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include more outside sources; there is a myriad of sources that I could’ve chosen from, but only

used those that were necessary to add the needed support to certain claims.

Similar to the Rhetorical Analysis essay, the Rhetoric-In-Practice (RIP) essay presented

its own conflicts. As I was writing the RIP essay, the most prominent challenge was figuring out

my own train of thought and what purpose each element served. As I typed the project, my ideas

were constantly evolving, as was my project and the elements I was using to properly convey my

own message. Creating the essay and explaining the meaning behind my own elements became

one of the more challenging aspects about properly structuring and fabricating the essay

explaining my choice of words and certain rhetorical devices. I found that simply writing all my

ideas in a very informal, semi cohesive manner helped me decipher my train of thought. After

certain time has passed, looking back at what was written, I was able to piece my thoughts

together and properly analyze my own project.

Alongside homework assignments, in-class discussions and activities played a major role

in my analyzation of my own writing skills and the development of better ones. Interviews of

each other’s work with my peers helped me receive an audience perspective on my own work

and writing style that wouldn’t be found through giving a close friend your work to review.

When working in small groups to review Rhetorical Analysis drafts, I learned where my writing

may be faulty and where I can improve in terms of completing what is asked of me and properly

analyzing the article in a way that makes sense to whoever is reading it. In groups, I have also

gotten glimpses of the writing styles of others and their perspective on themselves and found that

trust in one’s own writing capabilities is common. In a way, it made working my colleagues and

giving each other feedback a bit easier given that we may be on the “same page.”
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As a whole, this course has not only given me the opportunity to grow, it has forced me

to by making me submit an amount of drafts of one piece of writing and not simply one final

draft. I feel as a “brand-new” college student, this course has expanded my ability to analyze not

only my own work, but other pieces of literature, whether it be articles about China, North

Korea, or an author’s own self exploration, and as a result made me a more educated and

prepared individual.

Sincerely,

Jorge Gomez