Evaluation of Learning & Performance Midterm Post

EVALUATION OF LEARNING & PERFORMANCE MIDTERM POST


To be perfectly honest, I am not really sure where to go with this blog.  I'm not really good at putting words to paper unfortunately, so I’m not going to type in a bunch of "stuff" just to make it look like I know something, instead I’ll tell you what I have learned so far in Eng 111, plain and simple.

I think the biggest thing I have learned with regards to rhetorical knowledge is how the analysis is structured starting with the major claim or topic followed by the opinion paragraphs, which include the points or evidence supporting your opinion.

Also, part of the rhetorical knowledge is the rhetorical triangle, which has the author, audience and message, one at each point of the triangle.  The rhetorical triangle came into play largely while making the portfolio for SDV100 as we had to take into consideration what we (the author) were going to include (the message) and would it be understood or how would it be received by the audience (Professor Morrison).

I learned about the writing process and the six steps that are included in order to properly compose a paper, article, review or any other writings.  We discussed the difference in reviews and evaluations, with reviews being of made up of your opinion, good or bad, and evaluations being done in accordance with set criteria.

Post draft outlines are new to me too, I have never heard of it to be completely honest.  I did not think it was too bad with breaking down my rhetorical analysis paragraph by paragraph, to include one topic, the point of the paragraph and the evidence to support it.  I imagine it could get fairly complicated if the article you write an analysis about is really long.

I think metacognition or critical thinking, defined as; the ability to understand, reflect on and alter how you think about writing, falls into place in all areas of writing, but as novice writers I don't think we realize it until we understand the concept of critical thinking.  It seemed to me that it was in some ways the same at the brainstorming or mind mapping because you have to understand your focus, then you reflect briefly before putting thoughts onto paper.

Notes.... I have learned how to takes notes better, although I am still honing in on that skill.  I was never a good note taker, probably because I had never learned the proper way to take them.  My notebook will show how disorganized my notes are in the beginning of Eng 111, but get better as class progresses.  I know there are still some adjustments I need to make to become a better note taker.

My drafts, reviews, rhetorical analysis, SDV Reflection letter, weekly life files and portfolio are some of the documents that will show the development of skills learned in English 111.