Self-Reflective Essay Guidelines

Due: 05.09.07 @ noon.
Word Count: 750

Multi-media: None required
Hyperlinks: All citations need to be linked to original blog post.


At the end of this course, you will be asked to write a self-reflective essay on the writing of your blog. This post explains the purpose of the self-reflective essay and gives you some ideas for thinking about what you want to write.

Ideas for Self-Reflection
Note: You don't need to deal with all of these; in fact you won't. Choose the ones that best apply to you and your blog.

A. This course as learning experience.

• How do you see yourself as a writer?
• Has your attitude about writing changed? How?
• What have you discovered about your own processes of/for writing? What writing processes do you use and how have they influenced you?
• What part does workshopping with other students play in your own writing processes?
• How important to you is conferencing with your teacher or a writing tutor?
• What do you think is "good writing?" How do you evaluate your own writing and that of others?
• Have you learned to apply your knowledge about writing to situations outside the
UC-D composition classroom?

B. Your own development as a writer during this course.

• How has your writing changed during this period?
• What do you see as your greatest strengths as a writer?
• What areas of your writing are you still working on?


HELP YOUR READER see these changes, strengths, and--yes----weaker areas in your writing. Refer to specific writing on your blog to show your reader examples of your progress in key areas of your writing. These examples should be ited using quotation & linked to the original post in which it was found. You might talk about some of the following: ideas, content, insights, development, organization, focus, word choice, paragraphing, language conventions (grammar, punctuation, spelling). Your reader might be interested to hear you talk about your voice and style.

Important class announcement

Section 10: We will not meet on Monday, 04.23.07. Instead, we will have an out-of-class writing day. If you would like to meet & discuss your Rhetoircal Analysis, I will be in my office (1015 9th Street Park) during our regularly scheduled class period.

Section 01: We will not meet on Tuesday, 04.24.07. Instead, we will have an out-of-class writing day. If you would like to meet & discuss your Rhetoircal Analysis, I will be in my office (1015 9th Street Park) during our regularly scheduled class period. Also, as mentioned in class, I will have a substitute instructor directing your first peer-review session on Thursday, 04.26.07. I will return on Tuesday, 05.01.07 for the second peer-review session.

FYI: Peer-review forms for the Rhetorical Analysis will be uploaded to Blackboard this weekend. Please, print out 2 for the first session & 1 for the second session.

Rhetorical Analysis Guidelines

PLEASE NOTE: The final weekly writing assignment is located in the post immediately after these guidelines.

For your third assignment, you must choose a visual or hybrid text that contains an argument (e.g. a political cartoon, television commercial, photograph, or work of art). Once you have your primary text selected, analyze the piece by paying close attention to the types of rhetorical strategies (page 31 in “Envision2.pdf”) & appeals (logos, pathos, & ethos) utilized. A discussion of the text’s cultural resonance may also prove fruitful. As such, you will want to ask yourself, & then answer, the following questions: “What is the argument of the text?” “In what ways is the argument structured?” “What types of claims are being made?” & “What design elements are employed to forward the argument?”

The rhetorical analysis requires substantial time and thought, so it’s best to find a text you find interesting or feel passionate about. If you know a topic/text well, you’ll have a sense of what arguments are being made about it, and you’ll likely be eager to undertake sustained research and analysis.

A rhetorical analysis looks at the way an argument works (NOT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ARGEUEMENT) and may evaluate its effectiveness. You might think of your analysis as an argument about and argument. Accordingly, rather than simply listing every rhetorical detail you see in the texts, you should focus on some specific thesis, or claim. After examining the arguments closely, generate a claim with supporting reasons that describe or assess the way the text works

If you’ve chosen arguments that interest you, readers will sense your enthusiasm and want to learn more. But remember that won’t necessarily be familiar with the text you’re analyzing. You’ll need to provide background information and enough examples—quotations and images—to show them how the argument works.

When you write a rhetorical analysis, it’s obviously important to study your chosen texts carefully to identify key patterns. It is also important to lay out for each text the basic facts of what is called the rhetorical situation: who is writing about what for which audience. Conduct research in the library or on the internet so that you can accurately identify the argument, where and when it appears, in what medium, and so on. You may need to provide a paragraph or more of background information early in your paper to set the context for the argument.

How will you most effectively accomplish this assignment? Examine logical appeals by looking carefully at how well the claims made in a piece are stated, qualified, and supported. Be specific in identifying these appeals, quoting from verbal arguments and describing visual arguments. Examine the emotional appeals by identifying emotions and explain how they are generated. Evaluate their relevance to the claim offered. Again, be specific, quoting or describing the emotional details clearly enough for readers to understand them. Examine ethos and assess the credibility of the writer, artist, or sponsoring institution. Is the argument presented by someone you are moved to trust? Is the appeal honest? Explain why, using specific evidence from the argument you are analyzing.

These analyses will make up the body of your essay. You’ll also need to frame this discussion with an introduction, perhaps outlining your thesis and providing relevant background information, and a conclusion that comments on your focal point and answers the “So what?” question.

Check that the logistical elements of the paper work smoothly: If you’ve incorporated images, are they clear and readable? Have you documented any outside source materials? Does the structure and content of your analysis make sense—can readers move easily from idea to idea as you develop your analysis?

Minimum Criteria: a) 1000 words, b) 2 multi-media elements, c) 2 hyperlinks, d) 1 print-based secondary source from the library integrated into the fabric of your text, & e) a works cited section at the end of your post.

REMEMBER: You will need to construct a clearly articulated thesis statement in your introduction that specifically addresses the argument you will be forwarding about the text you have chosen. Think of this an argument about an argument.

Once you have chosen your primary text, answer the questions on the Prewriting Checklist on pages 52-4 in “Envision2.pdf.” Since you do not have the last three questions on page 54, I have transcribed them in their entirety below:

Rhetorical Appeals: How does the author of the text use images to work in conjunction with rhetorical appeals? For instance, does the image reinforce an appeal to reason? Is it designed to produce an emotional effect on the audience? Does the use of a certain style, such as black-&-white authority, contribute to the ethos of the text?

Strategy of Development: What strategy of development does the text rely upon? Narration? Definition? Comparison-contrast? Example & illustration? Classification & division? How do these strategies contribute to the ad’s persuasive appeal?

Cultural Resonance: Does the text use ethos—in the form of celebrities, famous event or places, or recognizable symbols—to increase its persuasive relationship to a cultural movement?

The Prewriting Checklist on page 25 of “Envision1.pdf” may also be of use as well.

Finally, refer to your MLA handbook for proper integration of secondary source material. If you have any further questions about this assignment, please feel free to stop by my office hours.

Final Weekly Homework Assignments

For your final weekly homework assignments, you will freewrite on 2 topics (i.e. 2 separate entries) of your own choosing. Remember, each post must contain a minimum of 1 multi-media element & 1 hyperlink.

Addendum to Homework Assignment

For those of you who emailed me asking if they could just place a link within their post (this is will not be adequate for the assignment) or don't remember how to embed a Youtube video, the directions are here. Have your video posted by this afternoon at latest or you will not receive credit for this assignment.

Extra Credit Assignment

To receive extra credit for this assignment, you must go see the new David Lynch movie, Inland Empire, then write a 500 word response about the movie no later than 04.20.07. The movie is playing at The Mayan Theater as a limited engagment, so the movie will probably stop showing by the end of the week. In addition to this, YOU MUST PRESENT ME WITH YOUR TICKET STUB. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.

Assignments fro week Beginning 04.09.07

1) Post a Youtube video clip on your blog by Wednesday, 04.11.07. DO NOT provide any accompanying text.

2) The following student pairs will write 250 comments on each others video clip. For example, in the first paring, Jose Acosta will post a 250 word comment on Jackie Yllescas' Youtube clip, & she will post a 250 word comment on his. The pairings are as follows:

Section 10: Jose Acosta & Jackie Yllescas; Roint Alkayam & Jiarui Xie; Elizabeth Benton & Jonathan Tran; Nathan Bos & Lu Tian; Aaron Deng & Anna Ters; David Kim & Anna Palissa; Chelsea Kissell & Amanda Mount; Nga Le & Ed Moran; Jordan Lopez & Genevieve Marquez.

Section 01: Yusuf Algarni & Fu Wang; Martha Altman & Kiah Wallace; Ahmad Alwanza & Breanna Vogt; Michelle Brake & Korin Redig; Nancy Bui & Bridgette Petit; Jennifer Chavez & Issah Mohammed; Donielle Dominguez & Jackie Martinez; Analisa Fisher & Sophia Mahmood; Christopher Forrester & Tsering Lama; Wogahta Gebreyesus & Rachel Krier; Hannah Houck & Molly Bloom.

FYI: If for some reason your partner does not post, please contact me as soon as possible so that I may a) inform your partner that they need to post ASAP, or b) so we can replace your current partner with myself.

2) Your second post will be a freewrite on any subject matter you wish, just make sure you follow the standard 250 word, 1 image/video, & 1 hyperlink minimum.

3) Write 3 additional comments. These need only be the standard 50-75 word repsonses.