Most of what I learned I already had an idea about from my previous college writing 1 class. Understanding rhetorical analysis and using it was not a problem, but this advanced class showed me one of my flaws when it came to rhetoric and analyzing it, the subject matter. I had previously done so well on rhetorical analysis papers simply because I had been allowed to branch out and find an article or topic that I related to and was passionate about. The Mark Bittman New York Times Op-Ed was tough for me to read and it was actually a bit difficult for me to discern what could be rhetoric and what wasn't. The topic did not appeal to me in the least, so getting the assignment done was like pulling teeth for me. The RAD documents which Dr. Kyburz had created turned out to be a pretty big help, in that it was a sort of guideline on how to take a statement and analyze it. However, under pressure to at least get a decent grade I ended up writing a paper that was good by my standards, but not great.
One of the projects that was at first extremely daunting but later extremely fun was the multi-modal assignment. I am horrible with technology when it comes to trying to produce something, and using it in a writing class seemed strange and wasteful to me in the beginning. It was tough for me to take the directions given by Dr. Kyburz, that is, just rant about something that bothers you, and later be able to turn it into a visual movie complete with background music that will match the tone of the footage. I had found the topic I wanted to discuss and titled it the "Evolution of the Infantryman". I used pictures from online sources that depicted United States infantrymen soldiers and Marines from almost every war. I pieced the photographs together chronologically, from the Revolutionary war to the current Global War on Terror. These photos showed how the gear and weapons has evolved over the course of over two centuries, and how it has affected the infantrymen. The pictures were meant to silently illustrate how the gear became heavier and more cumbersome, making it appear to be more difficult to successfully fight. The music I chose was an upbeat tune titled "Semper Fidelis" by John Phillips Sousa, and was meant to be used as a song to help troops march in unison. In the end I was shocked at how pleased I was with the outcome of my project, and it gave me a new confidence in believeing that I could succussfully compose a short video with music and effectivley communicate the message I am trying to send out to an audience. Here is a link to my other blog, which has the video posted on Tuesday, October 21st.
http://oklydokly.blogspot.com/?zx=7f36a358207a8fa2
When it came to typing up papers, I would always just open up the Microsoft Word program, put my name, date, the class, and the instructors name, title it, and then start typing away. While I understood how to actually compose a paper, I didn't understand how to have proper line spacing and edge spacing. More over, I had a difficult time in remembering how to show the page number on the top right with my name along with it. It wasn't until the last assignment that I fully understood what to look out for and how to correctly format a paper. Another quick thing I learned in one of the very last classes was how to add a footer to further describe the meaning of a word, or in this case, the title of a web page.
Overall, the class was rewarding in the sense that it helped me identify a few problem areas that I have in regards to writing rhetorical analysis papers. It really helped me in learning how to use different modes of communication(multi-modal project) to 'speak' to an audience. The RAD documents are something that I will definitely use in later papers throughout my college education.
