ENC 1102 Final Reflection

As the semester comes to an end, it has become evident that my writing has improved throughout the course. Writing a research paper is similar to learning how to ride a bicycle—at first you need training wheels and a little criticism along the way but before you know it you are all on your own. The drafting process was rigorous and the editing and revising was meticulous but I believe I have accomplished something far beyond the work—the ability to say I researched something I am passionate about and been successful at doing so. As I reflect on my final paper for ENC 1102 I can say that not only am I proud of the work that I have accomplished but I also believe I have met the course outcomes and objectives required.

It is important to understand the field in which you are researching. In my final paper, I demonstrated outcome one by showing knowledge of the discourse community for which I am contributing to. In the discussion section, I made clear the stakeholders in this conversation and why my research is important to the topic at hand. Since my topic is the civil rights issue of our time, it is very easy to say that the main stakeholders are those who have had their rights stripped away from them as well as those fighting for the LGBTQ community. I used vocabulary which made it clear that I was aware of the discourse at hand. For example, I show in my final paper that the aspect of media influence is an important aspect that has been added to the “gay rights discourse” and could be an outlet for a deeper conversation ( how it can further the gay rights movement).

The ability to pursue a research topic with courage is an important skill in this process. As I conducted a study regarding the influence of rhetoric in the gay rights movement, I demonstrated an ability to engage in dynamic inquiry based research. In my methods section of my final paper, outcome two is demonstrated through the study that I conducted. It shows my engagement in a survey method, a primary research method in which I chose participants of varying demographics to participate. I also demonstrated achievement of this outcome in annotated bibliography, in which I successfully took part in analyzing secondary research to use for my own research. Incorporating primary and secondary research in an effective manner throughout this process shows my ability to engage in inquiry based research

The incorporation of past research and credible sources is an important part of the research process. Outcome three was accomplished throughout my annotated bibliography, which analyzed texts and incorporated them into a larger picture. I went through a process of carefully selecting each source, analyzing it and finding its relevance to both my research and the topic as a whole.  For example, I stated in my annotated bibliography that “Billman eventually concludes that the main influential factor is religious affiliation” but it could be contextualized my analyzing how “religious rhetoric influences opinion.” I also demonstrated outcome three through my literature review, which used past research and combined the pieces to show the conversation being presented. I stated how although there has been “several explanations presented” for the gay in opinion over gay rights, it would be beneficial to look at how these factors collectively account for this change.

Outcome four covered the requirement to produce analytic arguments that are persuasive in the academic community. I achieved this through several of my papers throughout the course—one in particular being the final paper. I did this by drafting and redrafting my research question, which explored the effects of different rhetorical strategies in media on people’s opinion over gay rights. This led to my study which gave me the results for my main complex argument—the idea that certain rhetorical strategies can make an individual more willing to participate in a conversation about gay rights. This argument was based on my line of inquiry in my initial research and eventually concluded as something I was not expecting. However, I showed this argument to matter in the discourse community by proving its relevance to the topic and the gay rights movement itself. In my literature review, I outlined the fact that the gay rights movement has been successful over recent years, a claim may opponents may not agree with, but I provided evidence to back up this claim and make it persuasive and believable for my reader. For example, I used a graph as evidence to suggest the downward trend of opponents on the topic of gay rights.

            Throughout the course, I have also developed strategies for revising and editing my work to improve its quality. I demonstrated my achievement of outcome five through my multiple drafts of my literature review. My initial draft was filled with grammatical errors as well as syntax issues. It did not clearly articulate the method by which the researchers completed their studies and it failed to contextualize the research and analyze it deeper. Through many revising sessions, I feel that it has improved dramatically. For example, my topic sentence for my literature review was initially “Throughout the past decades, several statistic backed research has shown a dramatic increasing trend in favor of rights for the LGBTQ community.” This was edited several times, and eventually became “The conversation of gay rights has been an existing topic for many decades. However, the drastic increase in support for this civil rights movement has just recently occurred through the past two decades.” The version of the introduction sentence is much more simplified and clear for the reader to understand what is to come in the paper.

Overall, I have seen a major improvement in my ability to not only write a research paper but look deeper at a conversation. These skills will help me in my future classes as well as in life, because the analysis of a topic is far more important than how it seems. I believe that I have demonstrated the course outcomes in my final portfolio and my final paper showcases the improvements I have made throughout this process. I can truly say that I have learned how to “ride my bicycle.”