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Emely Martinez

Professor Moore

English 1302

5 May, 2017

Education in Effective Communication

English had always been a difficult subject for me because I always seemed to have great

ideas but struggled to properly communicate my ideas through writing. The lack of education

and understanding of writing made it difficult to have effective communication but that all

changed this semester in 1302. I enjoyed the writing topics I got to choose this semester which

motivated me to learn both about the topic and writing skills. English 1302 has taught me the

importance of paragraph structure and the use of rhetorical strategies to effectively communicate

my writing.

The education I received in my first weeks of class allowed me to have everything I

needed to know from the basics of MLA structure to learning to properly develop paper in depth.

The notes that professor Moore gave the class and lectures helped me have a clear understanding

of the assignments. Followed by that, the short academic responses taught me how to develop

my introductions for my major essay. The main skill I developed was the use of background

information to allow the reader to clearly understand what I would be talking about in my essays.

For example in my proposal I included, The effects of obesity vary from heart disease, type two

diabetes, bone and joint disease, cancer, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and metabolic

syndrome which are the most common (Stanford Health Care). This allowed the reader to know

what the effects of obesity are to backup my emphasis on resolving the issue in the United States.
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Out of all of my major essays the one I mostly liked and learned from was the first essay

which was the rhetorical analysis. The grade I received on the assignment greatly reflected my

understanding of the use of rhetorical analysis. The rhetorical analysis essay allowed me to fully

go in depth of understanding rhetorical devices and how they can be used to have a positive

impact in my own arguments. My essay was based on an analysis of a speech by Lyndon Baines

Johnson. He had various uses of rhetorical devices, but the ones that seemed to be more

noticeable and personally had more of an impact were the use of rhetorical questions, personal

narrative and repetition. I did a tremendous amount of research on rhetorical devices in order to

know them and find them in the speech I was analyzing. This also allowed me to learn various

devices which I could implement in my future writing. The use of personal narrative was helpful

to create credibility in the speech of Lyndon B. Johnson being the thirty-sixth president of the

United States. I learned that the use of an important recognizable figure added credibility which

is why I implemented that device in my proposal essay. I used credibility by writing, As

Michelle Obama, a leader to end obesity and first lady (2009-2017) said, Childhood obesity

issue is critically important to me because it's critically important to the health and success of our

kids, and of this nation, ultimately (Beth 1). This allowed for my proposal and point of view to

be backed up by having the same point of view as Michelle Obama an important figure in the

United States.

The multiple skills I have learned this semester have allowed me to improve my

communication. I have learned that my weakness still continues to be in my grammar but with

the dedication and the help of others that can be improved. I also learned that my strengths in

writing are my ideas and how I develop them. Learning to use rhetorical devices has helped me

introduce my ideas into my writing to allow the reader to understand me and also influence my
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audience in arguments. I plan to continue using the writing skills I have learned this semester

because 1302 has been the most educational class I have taken. I have learned so much this

semester which has been a great help; with dedication and practice of the skills I have learned, I

am sure my writing will continue to improve after this semester.