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A Valuable Experience
My time in Dr. McGinnis' class has been helpful in expanding my skills in rhetorical writing, and analysis, as well as researching topics, creating multimodal projects, and designing unique interfaces to showcase my work. These skills will no doubt be of significant value to my future endeavors, and I look forward to utilizing them.
Becoming Rhetorical
We've had numerous assignments based on creating and analyzing striking literature designed to aim your mind towards a specific meaning. For example, the entirety of Project Two was focused on examining a writer's techniques of persuasion. I chose an opinion article in the New York Times, about how Hong Kong's freedoms are being stripped from them by the Chinese Communist Party. I agree fully with this author, but it was interesting to see all the techniques he used when you look closely at his style. Specifically, I noted in my podcast how he always referred to the CCP as a "wolf", or other dangerous entity. I learned that these things are very apparent when you look closely.
Multimodal Projects
Our first multimodal assignment was to create a podcast, and examine rhetorical techniques in an article. It required that we create a podcast in which we read a script written specifically intended to be read aloud and posted on Soundcloud. This allowed me to emulate some of my favorite podcasters (most notably Dan Carlin) and use devices/software well suited for this purpose. I always love being able to create my own digital projects that align with my existing filmmaking skills, so this project was a great avenue for that, and provided more needed experience with creating/mixing/mastering voiceovers. For Project Three, my group and I had the opportunity to help create a powerpoint for the Brunswick African American Cultural Center, with the intention of it being shown to the Brunswick City Council. I believe we were incredibly successful in our goals, and the representative from the center found us to be very helpful. I'm glad I could have a part in assisting my community, while still being able to exert some creative design choices.
Graphic Design
One key element of the latter half of our semester has been focusing on efficient and good-looking graphic design. One specific guide to this was commonly recited- the Big Four. The Big Four, in this case, are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. These, along with the rules for web design we were given, are crucial in making a slideshow, poster or webpage appeal to the eye. If you use bland colors, with text that blends in too much and is not evenly spaced, you will most certainly not even garner attention to your project, much less maintain the reader's attention. We had to utilize all of these rules when considering how we would lay out our projects, and I believe I became a better designer because of it.
Conclusion
In summary, I gained valuable experience from my participation in English Composition 1101. While I admittedly was not always on my A-game in terms of due dates, I always put in significant effort to ensure my work was always done with the best of my ability (maybe that's part of my OCD, I'm not exactly sure). I truly believe I grew as a writer and student because of this class.
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