A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step (Coursework Sample)

The Introductory Reflection
A literary journey……
Quote: A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step
Hello there. Welcome to my literary journey; an insight into the process that has made me the writer I am today. My literary journey encompasses all of my written work for English Composition 131, under the proficient guidance of the ever so resourceful Zhenzhen He. For this portfolio, I have chosen four main works which I believe demonstrate the full range of my ability to satisfy the course outcomes. These four works have been revised and enhanced to satisfy the expected course outcomes satisfactorily. I chose these four works because they appealed the most to me. They also challenged me to go beyond my comfort zone because they required me to engage in research so as to come up with read-worthy interesting material.
I promise that these papers will give you a different perspective of looking at various issues. They will nudge you into taking a long-hard look at the beliefs and assumptions you hold because each of them has a perspective that is worth consideration. It is my sincere hope that they are informative and easy to interpret.
Combined with my personal analytical reflections, this portfolio will give you an insight into my expectations of the course, the realities that dawned on me and the thought process I went through to successfully get here. While going through my portfolio, I invite you to keep an open mind so that you can see things from my perspective. This will help you to value the differences we all have as budding writers.
When I attended my first English Composition class, I thought “this is one of those booster subjects that I do not have to work too hard at”. Shock on me! As the semester progressed, the tasks we were required to complete became more and more daunting and complex. I realized that this unit required much more effort from me than I initially thought. This gave me a new perspective of what is required for one to truly become a literary genius. It gave me a renewed sense of respect for authors and lecturers who work so hard to empower others to become better at communicating through the written word.
I am truly thankful to my lecturer who worked tirelessly to give me feedback and guidance as I undertook this unit. I am even more grateful that he equipped me with the skills I required to satisfy each of the four expected outcomes. I treasure the skills I have acquired from this class and I hope to utilize them in my coming college days and even after. I hope you find my work impressionable!!
Outcome 1: Demonstrates an Awareness of Strategies Writers Use in Different Writing Contexts
Different strokes for different folk
Different people have different needs, motivations, interests, passions and level of understanding on any one given issue. It is therefore important for a writer to understand the nature of the audience they are writing for. This will enable them to tailor their communication to that particular audience. Understanding the audience enables the writer to employ various tactics to appeal to the target addressees efficiently.
For the satisfaction of the first outcome which requires students to “demonstrate an awareness of strategies writers use in different writing contexts”; I will analyze the text I did in my short assignment 1 regarding “Rhetorical Analysis of Selected Genres”, in which I focused on newspaper articles. This piece targets journalists and virtually everyone who is interested in news paper articles and what they have to offer. Its intended audience is therefore very versatile.
To acknowledge the diversity of the audience group I was writing for, I noted that “News paper articles are published to address certain issues that afflict the society. They cover a wide range of issues such as politics, economy, technology, social issues and many others”. This makes every audience member to feel acknowledged. Each person has at least one topic that interests them in newspaper articles.
To appeal to the various audiences targeted by my work, I undertook to maintain a formal tone throughout the paper. I did not use any informal terms that would have otherwise been appropriate had I been targeting my college peers. This ensured that I got across to all the audience members and did not disengage any of them.
The piece uses a casual conversation tone instead of a professional tone to reach the audience. It does not therefore include journalism related jargon that would only appeal to the journalism professionals. Instead, I used common terminology that is applicable to my versatile audience. To pique the interest of my audience, I appealed to a topic that constantly makes headlines in America today. I noted that “…Many newspaper articles in the United States of America bear headlines regarding the ongoing presidential campaigns urging the readers to differentiate between political ideologies of the presidential aspirants. Donald Trump’s campaign has graced many newspaper articles…” (1).
To further interest my audience, I sought to explain the differences between journalists who are affiliated with particular media companies and those who are independent. I wrote that “Reliable newspaper articles are written by well-trained journalists who adhere to the journalism code of ethics and who are affiliated to a particular media company. On the other hand, there are those writers who are independent. They are not affiliated to any media company. These writers are more prone to make controversial reports because they do not have any superiors to report to, their sense of responsible reporting is much less than for the journalists affiliated to particular media companies”. This is very informative to the audience because it helps them understand why some writers write as they do.
I also sought to appeal to my audience not only as the writer of the piece regarding newspaper articles but also as a consumer of the same. I indicated that “the opening invitation of newspaper headlines is not only interesting but also uses opinionative language complete with vivid visual images of the situation being addressed”(1). This statement is relatable to anyone who has read a news paper article and so the article remains engaging to my versatile audience.
Outcome 2: Reads, Analyzes, and Synthesizes Complex Texts and Incorporates Multiple Kinds of Evidence Purposefully in Order to Generate and Support Writing
The power of literal evidence
To be a good writer one needs to be a good reader. A writer often has to refer to other books to attain evidence to back their writing. It is not proper for an author to make a claim that is not substantiated with evidence. Writing requires one to build on the pre-existing works of other authors to generate new ideas and concepts. For the satisfaction of this outcome which requires the student to “Read, analyze, and synthesize complex texts and incorporate multiple kinds of evidence purposefully in order to generate and support writing”; I will analyze the assignment I did in short assignment four: Genre piece regarding ‘Obsessive compulsive behavior’. Prior to the writing of this assignment, I did not have much knowledge regarding obsessive compulsive disorder. I therefore had to dig into books and journals to gain a deeper understanding.
Based on the work of Edalatzadeh, Kbirnezhad & Alilo (2011) I gathered that patients who are diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder have preoccupation with recurrent thoughts and they feel the need to do the same thing over and over again. This shows that I have the ability to read and analyze texts and use them to support my writing. Thoroughly analyzing the text by Menon (2013) enabled me to have a clear understanding of what type of behaviors comprised of compulsiveness. He noted that individuals with the disorder are likely to have checking rituals, preoccupation with disease and danger as well as washing and grooming. I was therefore able to synthesize this information and even integrated it in my paper to make it more compelling.
Regardless of what others may think, I have always believed that obsessive compulsive disorder is a serious ailment that requires medical attention for the individuals affected. From Edalatzadeh, Kbirnezhad & Alilo (2011), I have been able to piece together the negative effects of a lack of treatment for the compulsive disorder which include the intensification of the problem. This shows that I have been able to collect evidence to support the authenticity of the paper. Without reading, analyzing, and synthesizing complex texts, I would not have been able to come up with a paper that gives proper details regarding obsessive compulsive behavior like I have done. It is by analyzing these texts that I have been able to develop this very informative paper that is not only factual, but also based on evidence. This proves that I have satisfied the expected outcome number four.
Outcome 3: Produces Complex, Analytical, Persuasive Arguments That Matter In Academic Contexts
Persuasive Arguments
To be able to convince a reader regarding a particular issue, it is important to present a persuasive argument that will enable them to see the issue from your point of view. The argument should be so compelling that the reader is convinced that your way of thinking is the right way of thinking. To satisfy outcome number three that requires students to “produce complex, analytical, persuasive argu...