RA reflective questions

Reflection Questions

Goals: How did I do with the goals I set? Why didn’t I achieve my goals? Which goals were most useful to me? Which didn’t really help?

I felt like I did very well with achieving the goals I set for this Rhetorical Analysis paper. At first, it was a real struggle because I couldn't see clearly the different rhetorical tools used in the article as they weren't very evident. The most useful goal was just to write down my thoughts and ideas on the page and go from there.

Quality: Where in the writing do I feel most confident? Where am I weakest? What would I change if I had more time? What am I most proud of?

I feel most confident in the supporting of my claims. I feel like I am usually the weakest in my main claims until I finally know what my support really is. If I had more time I would have tried to connect the tools and paragraphing a lot more by making it all support one main claim. I am most proud of being able to find new angles to write about each tool.

Writing Processes: What writing process did I use to write this? How well did it work for me? What needs to change, moving forward?

My writing process was that of the main outline. I felt like I actually used it pretty well despite the fact that I don't really ever use it. Something that really needs to change moving forward is that I need to be able to make the entire outline first and then start writing.

What I learned: What did I learn from this writing task? What was the hardest part? What’s something new I’m taking away from it? What part of the process interested me the most? What did my instructor do to help me learn? What did my instructor do that wasn’t effective and didn’t help me learn?

I learned what a rhetorical analysis is compared to any other piece of writing. The hardest part was identifying what the tools used were and then not sounding so redundant when elaborating on them. Something new I learned is how to find another angle on the topic so that I can cover all my bases to have a well rounded supporting argument, and that is the part that interested me most. I loved that my instructor gave us template sentences to work with and guided us with what exactly we were meant to be doing.

How to apply what I learned: How will I apply what I learned from this writing task to future writing tasks (in my major, for example, or in the workplace)? What new goals will I want to set?

I will apply these new things to my future writing tasks by looking for new angles to examine the topic with. My new goal would be to create a better outline before I started writing.