McKenzie Olsen
English 1010
4.18.2012
Self-Reflection Paper
Process:
Three of the writing assignments that we have done so far that I considered beneficial was the
movie critique, reflection paper, and voice/tone assignment. In the movie critique, we had to compare
and contrast two movies that had at least one similarity between them. Included in the critique was a
brief plot synopsis of each movie, then comparing the similarity, contrasting other points of the movies,
and then a recommendation and conclusion. What I learned from this assignment was how to write a
piece that could connect with your readers and make them trust you, and also write an informative
compare/contrast piece of writing.
In the reflection assignment, we had to remember a certain memory that had an impact in our
life and describe it as detailed as we could. From this assignment, I learned how to create an image in
my writing and also make it more interesting by including dialogue, similes, personification, and
metaphors. The voice/tone assignment was a prompt that was given about a boy who cheated on his
math test because his friend gave him a copy beforehand. The assignment then said to write various
forms of writing such as a script, formal letter, texting conversation, and a letter to an editor. This taught
me how one setting can be written in many different ways, and how our tone and formality can change
in our writing depending on who we are writing to.
The writing strategies that I used to complete the Response Essay were outlining, rough draft
revising, using a graphic organizer, and filling out an agree/disagree chart. The outlining was the most
helpful because it helped me plan the way that I was going to write and the revising helped as well
because I could improve even more. The least productive was the graphic organizer because I already
knew what I disagreed with and what I agreed with and it was just a waste of time to write that all down
in an organizer
The biggest problem I faced in writing this paper was coming up with something that I disagreed
with. I agree with the fact that speech codes are wrong, so I decided to focus on something that I didn’t
agree with how Hentoff wrote. In my opinion, he didn’t include enough personal examples or opinions,
making his essay consisted of statements from other people. I could have been more successful with
that but for the most part I would say that it went well with the essay.
My most significant strengths in the Response Essay are my topics that I agree with, and my
personal example that I used to back up my opinion. I felt strongly about this argument so it was easy to
get my point across and elaborate on the topic. My weakness was probably the point that I disagreed
with, since I agreed with a lot of the discussion that was going on. I ended up having to critique his
writing which was a little more difficult.
What I learned about myself from writing this essay is that if I outline something and then write
it, it helps me a lot and makes my writing clearer. I also learned that I like to have a general plan and
that writing strategies such as revisions help me as well. Reading my essay out loud is also a good tool in
helping my writing. I also learned that in general I have to do things good the first time. We were
instructed to just sit down for 30 minutes and write a rough draft, not concentrating on making it well
since we were going to do revisions. It was hard to do a “bad job” on the rough draft because I just
wanted to do it right the first time.
Subject:
I didn’t encounter any tension between my ideas and the writers because I agreed with mostly
everything that he said. I believe that speech codes are wrong and not good for the college campus
because it restricts our freedom of speech, and can also prevent students from rising to their full
potential because they are forced to keep their thoughts in and not able to let them out. Students are
going to be exposed to hateful speech at any time, even off the campus, so why should there be codes
on campus? I also believe that students and people in general gain knowledge from others, so speech
codes don’t allow insights to be told which they could have benefited from.
I didn’t change my mind or come to see something differently as a result of writing this paper. If
anything it strengthened my opinion on speech codes on campus because of the statements from
others. Some of the stories from people who are for speech codes did not make sense, and it seemed as
though they were just coming up with a bad excuse. Hentoff easily counter argued their statement with
a logical explanation. Writing about this subject taught me that there are many things wrong with
speech codes, and people would still not be equal or protected under them. There is hate speech all
around, so even off the college campus students could be harassed or offended.
Rhetoric:
The audience I imagined in writing my Response Essay is the general public. They influenced my
writing by making my writing more informative, and giving background on the essay that I was doing a
response to in case that they have not read it. I want readers to take away from my paper that Nat
Hentoff wrote a great essay overall, but could have made his point more strong that speech codes are
wrong by including a person example. He did a good job of including both sides of the argument and
letting readers choose which side they want to be on, and did a great job of stressing the fact that
speech codes violate our first amendment, and there are far worse consequences with speech codes
than good ones.
I would describe my voice in this paper as somewhat persuasive, since I agree and elaborate on
the fact that speech codes are wrong. I say that I agree with Hentoff, and then I even give my own
personal example. The rhetorical strategies that I used that please me the most are purpose and
audience. I feel that I did a great job of getting my purpose across of how I felt about the job that
Hentoff did in writing his essay, and also that I did a good job of giving some background information for
the audience so they are aware of the issue and the arguments on both sides. I gave examples of both
sides of the argument so the readers could come up with their own opinion of the issue of speech codes
on campus.
I feel like I didn’t take any risks in writing this paper except for the fact that I disagreed with
something that took me a while to come up with. That was a bit challenging and I did my personal
example in that paragraph, which I thought was a bit risky since it may not connect as much as I wanted
it to. I tried my best to make it connect, and overall I think it turned out pretty well.