English 101 Reflection

This semester has been a very trying and very interesting time during this class, English 101. During that time, I have learned to integrate facts and real-life experiences to prove a point to persuade people and to get them emotionally invested on a specific topic. I also learned to read sources that require a higher understanding and be able to translate it into easily disgustable formats to understand the context of the source. As well, I had worked with others to improve my work to better itself in several steps and use facts to create quality content. With this quality content, I would be able to credit others work and hold a clear opinion about any topic.
Well while I was working on one of my assignments, I had to make it so I would

persuade the audience towards my side. Often, whenever I needed the audience to pay attention or really think about the topic, I would try to use emotional pleas to involve them. An example of a plea that I utilized was to claim that by getting vaccinated, with the benefits of herd immunity, they would be protecting loved ones as well. This would often make people react in different ways. If it was not trying to make them happy, it would often be how to make them feel sad and scared for what they choose to do. For one of my assignments, I talked about how people should get vaccinated because it would protect them from getting sick, or at least get their child vaccinated so they would not get infected with diseases, such as measles. After revising my work, I showed and explained the effects of Measles, Mumps and Rubella. I explained what could happen if they, or other loved ones, got sick with this and what pain and suffering they would have to deal with. This made them consider whether they should get vaccinated or not. This type of explanation utilized case studies and logical pleas to current events to provided evidence for why vaccinations are important. I found it hard to stay fluent with my writing though when it came to discussing about certain topics. I often jumped from place to place on ideas and it never truly transitions smoothly between these ideas.
When it came to gathering sources, I had to be very certain of what I wanted to look for. This also involved using other words to represent what I was trying to get at. This often lead me to dead ends, or down different paths that would make me question my decisions and opinions on certain topics. For example, while looking into vaccinations, I had to investigate ideas that would cause people to not want to get vaccinated and then counteract these reasons with facts. Many had claimed that either some vaccines were no longer needed because the viruses had calmed and almost disappeared because of changes in environmental conditions. Thus, they did not feel the need to get vaccinations. However, it became a requirement to obtain the vaccination later. Another misconception that needed to be refuted was that people who got the vaccine often got sick with the virus themselves. One of the main examples many used was the flu shot, because after getting it they believed that they would be perfectly fine. Yet, the body must be able to build immunity to the flu and the individuals ended up getting sick for a week or two while trying to adjust and create immunity for the person. Thus, I would try to use information that would used against me and find information to counteract those arguments to strengthen my position.
Creating my topics were often difficult, as I had to find topics I would be interested in and not get confused or bored with easily.

However, it also had to not be something that would often bore people because they have heard the same argument repeated beforehand. I also had to keep in consideration the possible sources out there that would be biased and so over-bearing that there would not be anything to counterargue. If there was not a counterargument, there would not be anything to prove and it would only be an informative paper. Unfortunately, several of my topics would often lead me to dead ends and make it difficult to find anything to speak about. After finding a topic, I would often try to write out several outlines to use for my main paper, as this helped to organize my thoughts. Sometimes I took different parts of an outline and replaced or merged it into another outline to improve clarity. After getting an outline, I would gather information under each section of the outline. I often wrote down a rough draft following this to organize my thoughts into a central format. When the rough draft was done, I had one of my peers review my work and give tips on what to change, clear up, or fix grammatically. After fixing up the first draft, I would see if I could add any more information to make my argument even more powerful than it was beforehand. I then would get it peer reviewed again and once that was done, I would edit it one more time to create my final draft. After I created my final draft, I got it checked one more time before submitting my final

product.
Whenever I had to talk to anyone about the topics that I wrote about, such as the vaccination controversy, I need to provide information such as the sources I got the information from. An example of sources I used provided information including why viruses spread or are created. This information was invaluable, as it provided means for me to provide counter examples to their objections to my claims. Another thing I had to be open to were other opinions and questions. To counteract this, I tried to explain the best way I can to counter argue their claims or explain the reasoning of my ideas. Also, by having academic information, I can improve my quality of writing. Without this reliable information, my points would seem flawed and opinionated, rather than supported by facts.
By utilizing argumentative strategies, such as emotional pleas, this allowed me to convince others that they should act in a specific manner. Furthermore, I learned to use my sources and be able to summarize them to benefit me in arguments to prove a point. I also learned to take certain steps to gather enough information to create an outline to help me to support my claims. By learning these things, I have gained a greater appreciation for rhetorical analysis and have learned how to apply these concepts to my daily life.