Alina Hadzovic 

12/17/2022

Final Class Reflection

Like many first-semester college students, I have found myself experiencing the highs and lows of school. From making new genuine friendships to losing sleep over studying, these past few months have encapsulated countless emotions in my classes. However, it is this class specifically, Freshman Composition, that has fueled my passion for writing beyond high school ever has. Despite the few other classes that required papers and other writing assignments, this one specifically stood out for the range of genres and course focuses across the many class sessions. Not only that, but the knowledge I have gained about myself is stronger than any class’s lessons ever were. 

This idea of discussion and collaboration has been instituted in the class since the beginning; each day, at the start of class, we “write into the day” by independently answering questions posted for us and then sharing with the class. This discussion not only engages the students in the class, but also sets up the class for that day with a taste of what we will talk about in the hour to follow. I found these practices to be very helpful and prompted healthy discussion and analysis in an educational setting, something not found in some other classes. Although the topic of rhetorical analysis has come up often in high school and these writing exercises, this class taught me multiple new ones that I have never even heard of. For example, I have used fear appeal multiple times in my final paper because I think it is extremely persuasive and effective; while I knew fear appeals existed, learning the term and its uses of it added a new tool to my repertoire. I hope in my next classes that I can expand this toolbox even further. 

Although I am studying Earth and atmospheric science, I have always loved English. The writing was how I cleared my head, reading was how I escaped my issues and passed the time. I was extremely set on getting my undergraduate degree in English until my AP environmental science class senior year, but half of my soul (like the poets say) will be teathered to English and composition I think. There is a stereotype that all STEM majors hate English, but I have always happily been an outlier to that. I think that writing is beautiful and reading is a gift; literacy has always been a privilege I do not take for granted. My bookshelf has practically doubled this semester alone. I’ve always considered myself an avid reader- the title of “writer” has never really been one I’ve used to describe myself. These past few months have proven that anyone can be a writer if they set their mind to it. I started writing poetry again after being reminded of the beauty within allusions and metaphors, for example. Creativity and free will are blessings, forming a liquid box around the bounds of any thought and spreading with each passing moment. Much of this semester has focused on nonfiction writing, but I think that only set my love for fiction higher. It was the experience and immersion embedded into this class that allowed me to learn what I loved most about composition. 

While I always knew language arts were beautiful, the only thing that has transcended this was the idea of trying new things and knowing that I will always have my love for writing to fall back on. Writing has always come relatively easily to me to the point where most of my family was shocked that I chose to commit to a STEM major. At the beginning of the year, I wrote “Rediscovering how beautiful the art of language is proved that society is ever changing, but composition is transcendent.” If I could go back and give myself a pat on the back, I would. I think that I put my feelings towards both this class and composition as a whole perfectly and eloquently. I would rather not boost my ego, but at times like these when my heart is full of love, I can only do so much against it. I hope beyond words that next semester will only increase my love for writing and reading as I continue to learn about myself, others, science, and the world. 

Alina Hadzovic 

12/18/2022

Learning Objective Statement

In my portfolio, I included the three main papers with their respective reflections. These three alone include examples of my mastery of the eight course objectives for the class. I have included the eight objectives at the bottom of this page for your reference. 

The first paper, where we had to come up with a situation where an opinion or belief of ours has changed throughout our life, was probably my favorite. I wrote about my developed opinions on the ability to have my dreams and aspirations grow in New York City. This assignment covered the first, second, and fourth course objectives. In this paper, I had to explore a different genre of writing- personal narration was a genre of writing I never really gravitated towards because I had always favored analyzing different stylistic decisions an author/writer made in their piece. Furthermore, we spent time in class for this assignment discussing and brainstorming different ways to stay organized while drafting and collaborating by conducting peer reviews and combining ideas in guided in-class conversations. 

The second paper of the class was focused on analyzing rhetorical decisions made in a movement of our choice and comparing them to the old rhetorical strategies from ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Cicero. This assignment covered objectives one, three, five, six, seven, and eight. For this assignment, there was no class-mandated peer review because we were not graded on our writing itself, but rather on our skill. However, I did explore and analyze the development of rhetorical strategies in the settings of this social movement and practice these rhetorical strategies in the presence of others in my own writing. I also had to use different sources for this assignment, exploring the City College archives in the library with the class and researching digitally for articles on the current analyses of the Schools Strike for Climate movement. Since I used a variety of sources, I also had to cite them for the sake of allotting credit where it is due and avoiding plagiarism. 

For the third and final written assignment of the semester, we had to write a research paper on, again, a topic of our choosing, so long as it fit the criteria provided in the rubric. I chose environmental racism, which I was very enthusiastic to learn more about. This paper covered, realistically, every learning criterion. We went through two rounds of peer review (learning objectives two and four), which narrowed down ways to improve our writing with fresh eyes and colleagues in the same boat. This paper also required extensive research (objectives five, six, seven, and eight), dialing in on the importance of education on a topic that is not so well researched. By spending so much time gathering data and other information and understanding the value of a reliable source, I was able to analyze the purpose of each data point in reference to my overarching thesis very effectively. This writing assignment was somewhat foreign to me in an English class since I was so used to writing research papers in classes like science or history. However, since we had to include different rhetorical devices in these papers that we learned in class (objectives one and three), it felt more natural and appropriate for this class in my head. 

While there were only eight objectives, I learned a lot more about myself as both a reader and a writer. Spending so much time in different genres of writing truly allowed me to perceive language and composition differently than I did walking into my first semester of college. I think that with my next composition class, writing for the sciences, I will be able to continue applying these strategies and goals with a more targeted approach for my major. I am truly excited to see where next semester will take me after such a strong foundation in college composition. 

1. Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
2. Develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.
3. Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.
4. Engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.
5. Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.
6. Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazines, and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.
7. Compose texts that integrate your stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as summary, critical analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and argumentation.
8. Practice systematic application of citation conventions.