Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Rhetorical Situations


                When I walked into Rhetoric 101 on August 20, 2012, and was told I would be writing a paper that would ultimately decide whether I would be able to continue my presence in the class I was completely baffled. When looking around the room at the other students, just by their facial expressions, I knew that I was not alone. I began thinking how I could write a paper to completely win this teacher over. I finally decided I just needed to do exactly what she said. I read the prompt over, and over and then some more. However, reading the prompt only made me more anxious about the paper. While reading I thought it would be a good idea to begin making little notes, and highlighting here and there so I did so. I knew my only audience would be Ms. Jarmer herself, so I assumed she knew what I would be talking about. This little thought helped me a little in my writing. I finally decided to make the move, and began writing my paper in my room in a notebook in complete silence. As I began writing words just came flowing, and I thought “this is not as bad as I expected”.

                After receiving the prognosis on my teachers decision to keep me in the class or to drop me I felt much better. I know now however that I could have spent a lot more time on my paper. If only I had spent more time on my paper I may have been able to show Ms. Jarmer a better example of my writing. After being in the class for almost three weeks, I now know it is very important to do well. I really did not think this class could be that hard, but I took DACC’s “reputation” a little too seriously. I know now I really am going to have to put forth way more effort than I am used to. If I do not, I will not be able to pass the class. I realize I am no longer in high school so my papers should no longer be high school papers. I need to reach beyond what I am used to and learn how to better myself in my writing. If I had the chance to re-write this paper I would definitely spend more time on it, and take the assignment more seriously.  
-Sierra C.
401 words

1 comment:

  1. Hey Sierra, when I walked into the class that very first day, I completely felt the same way you felt. It was pretty overwhelming to find out that you had to complete an essay that will determine if you are ready for Rhetoric 101. I also thought the same way you did about the difficultly of the class as well. I assumed that attending DACC and being in this class would not necessarily require a whole lot of work, since a lot of people have said that DACC classes are easy. High school is definitely a lot different than DACC, that is for sure. I went to Danville High School, and all the english classes I took there were very simple and did not really require a whole lot of work. Taking notes on the article is a great idea, especially for getting the main ideas out. I will probably do the same thing for the next essay as well, since we have to read an article and express our beliefs on it. Anyways, I hope you continue to do well in the class and I hope the next essay you write does not give you mixed feelings or stress.

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