Abby White
Period 4A
April 8, 2013
English 1010
Self-Reflective Essay
Process:
Three assignments that I have finished this semester that I believe have been
beneficial to me as a writer were the medical article summary, the comics and cartoons
assignment and the personal narrative assignment. The instructions for summarizing the
medical article were to make a highly intellectual article easier for the general public to
read. In paraphrasing this article I learned more about unnecessary word usage. The
comics and cartoons assignment brought together visual and verbal communication. I
had to interpret and answer several questions about a political cartoon. The personal
narrative assignment was my favorite of the three. I love to write stories about my past
because it lets me revisit those memories. We were asked to look at a picture from our
childhood and write a story related to it.
In the response essay I wrote about Margaret Atwood’s essay “Pornography,” I
realized how unstructured my writing is at first. I start of by thinking about what I am
going to write in my head and then just go at it on my computer. I type whatever comes
to my mind and fix everything later. The most effective writing strategy that I used was
brainstorming. Brainstorming is an important part of the writing process, it is the way
you realize for yourself what you are going to write about.
White/2
One of the many problems I encountered while writing the response essay was
deciding how to think of a positive aspect of the essay I read. I did not agree with any of
the proporners but rather thought violent pornography should be done away with. I
believe I did a good job when arguing the fact that there should be government regulation
of violent pornography. I realized while writing this essay that even when I am opposed
to an issue there is always another side with groups of people that feel just as strongly as I
do. From now on when I write about an issue I will try harder to consider both sides.
Subject-Related:
Although Atwood made very good points in her essay that I agreed with, there
were some aspects I was frustrated with. Atwood did not include enough factual
evidence in her essay, but instead imposed her personal opinion. If Atwood had taken
more time to find hard evidence to back her claims she could have had a greater affect on
her readers. While writing my response I realized how big of a problem pornography is
in our society. Pornography continues to evolve which makes it more dangerous. The
more times pornography evolves and changes, the stronger it gets and the harder it will be
to get rid of it.
Because I had to read Atwood’s essay and respond to it, I learned more about
violent pornography. Pornography is not a subject I would have ever studied on my own
so I am glad I had the opportunity. Because of reading this article, I have a greater
knowledge of the dangers of violent pornography which makes me want to do more to
stop the growth of this epidemic. I believe that because I read this article I will take the
White/3
necessary actions to help the fight against pornography, such as writing letters to local
congressman.
Rhetoric-Related:
The main point I wanted to get across in my response was the need for
government regulation. Because of this need I imagined some member of either local or
federal government reading my essay. Members of the government are the people that
can help in the fight against violent pornography. I was very blunt in my writing because
I wanted my essay to stand out to its readers.
I want the readers of my paper to understand a little more the dangers of violent
pornography. I want them to understand that it is not just a form of entertainment but that
it has gone too far. I wanted them to know that if society and the government do not take
the necessary actions to stop it in its tracks now, it will grow too large to stop. The voice
I used in my essay was close minded because I will not tolerate violent pornography. I
realize that my close minded voice may deter some people from reading my essay, but I
believe that it will make my point stronger.
My word choice for my essay fit will with the subject I was writing about. I was
pleased with the vocabulary that came to mind while writing. Word choice and
vocabulary can make all the difference when writing and I think I did a good job
reflecting what I wanted to say in my writing.
I did not take any risks while writing my essay response. I could have tried to see
the positives of the proporners but that would go against everything I believe in. I
White/4
decided that rather than take a risk, a possibly make my writing stronger, I would rather
stay true to my values and beliefs.