Final reflection essay

My thoughts on engl110? It was interesting. The class was not that difficult, but it was worthwhile. It was interesting because for the first time, English class was not about reading Shakespeare or writing an essay. I mean, we did write essays (duh), but the point of the class was more about figuring out how to express my language, outside of “standard English”. However, to be completely honest, my language is pretty much just standard English. So, I was basically experimenting with writing styles this semester. Even this one! So, I’ll be breaking down the 3 big “experiments” and what I learned from them.

Experiment 1: Language and literacy narrative

This assignment was supposed to be a reflection of my language and literacy journey. The one that stuck out to me the most was my first time reading a proper book. Initially, I was writing a run-of-the-mill story. But then I remembered Professor Brain’s insistence on not writing something generic. Now I could have written some deep philosophical things about me reading Charlie and the chocolate factory and how that had lasting effects on my mindset and life; but didn’t feel right. After all it was a memory from 8-ish years ago when I was still a child. What better way to talk about it than by writing something my 10-year-old self would enjoy reading. One of my favorite parts from the final product was the short play at the start of the narrative. Specifically, how I framed my reaction to my friend actually reading a book:             (Language Literacy Narrative, Sayed, 1)                                                                                               

Another way I personalized the essay was the addition of quips to the side- almost like I’m whispering to my friend in the back of class while the teacher explains something. This was not planned at all. I just sort of went with the flow of how I would talk and let the words write themselves.

Experiment 2: translation 1

I hate giving speeches. From the bottom of my heart. So, when Prof. Brain explained that we could have the translation be other mediums than a speech, I immediately decided to switch it up. Since I already had some outlines for a speech ready, I decided to just use it to make a YouTube-style video presentation. Why? I have no clue. I just felt like it. It turned out to be the right choice though. Following the theme of the LLN, I edited the translation video in a manner that would call back to the era of YouTube I grew up in. The 2010s with PewDiePie and Markiplier and Game theory. I basically took the funny parts of the LLN and stitched it together into a video. My goal was to make something funny, so our class could laugh and get comfortable during the presentations. So, I filled the thing with memes and funny gifs (like the ones below).

Basically, I made a video for my 12-year-old self to watch.

Experiment 3: synthesis essay

This assignment was challenging. At first, I approached it as a study paper, before realizing that I was meant to make an argument. Big mistake; especially because I was already 2 weeks into the project. Now I could have turned my original idea of analyzing bilingual relationships with each of their languages into some argument about how code mixing is okay. That’s what Professor Brain suggested. But that didn’t feel like something I would write about. At our 1-1 meeting I requested to start a new topic and prof. Brain, being as chill as she is, let me do it. At the time I had to do a study on comic books for another class. I guess that is what led me to pick “why manga and Anime have been increasingly more popular compared to American superhero comics”. 

 I did tone down my voice a lot for this essay as I wanted it to sound professional and informative. Let’s compare two extracts from my language and literacy narrative with my synthesis essay to analyze this difference.

                              (LLN, Sayed, 1)

    (synthesis essay, Sayed,1)

I am actually really proud of both of these introductions. For the LLN I was able to use humor to grab attention while for the synthesis essay I used an epic moment to do so. The former is very personal while the latter is more general. I think this was one of the best skills I refined while working on these. The ability to maintain my quality of writing while adapting to different contexts and tones.

It is important to note that the topic itself was very niche (for lack of a better term) which is why even though I know a lot about it, I struggled to find scholarly sources to back up. Thus, I had to get really creative with my sources and include unconventional ones such as Reddit threads, YouTube videos and blog posts For example:                                                                 (Synthesis Essay, Sayed, 3)                                                                             This was a snippet from a Reddit thread that I used in order to strengthen my claims.

Looking back, the synthesis essay was the “safest” piece of writing this semester, style wise, at least. But the topic and content were so unconventional for this type of essay, that it still felt like an experiment. This made writing it more challenging but interesting. I learned 2 important from this project:

1. To not be afraid to listen to my instincts and change a decision if necessary
2. To look in unlikely places for inspiration

I also visited the writing center when I needed help with my instructor feedback draft. That really helped me move forward when I was stuck, unable to find sources. The lady told me to narrow down my points more and focus on specific rather than just keep spouting lots of random broad claims without evidence to back them up. Overall, this assignment was a proper mix of challenges and fun. In the end, I think I managed to put out an interesting argument for Anime/manga’s rise and superhero comics’ decline.

Overall, this course was a very enjoyable ride. I really appreciate Professor Brain’s encouragement of freedom and self-expression in our writing, and I believe the class has improved my writing for the better. I also gained a new perspective on language from observing my classmates’ work. I never knew that people struggled to feel belonged due to a disconnect with their mother tongue, or that code mixing was looked down on. For me, this was a very educational experience, and I am glad to have taken this class.