[SOLVED] Reflective Writing
The final written assignment for this class is a reflective one. I’d like you to reflect on your experience in this class, and how you see your writing changing (or not changing!) as a result. What did you enjoy? What did you struggle with? What would you like to do better in future written assignments in other classes? Key objectives: Briefly summarize your experience with each written assignment. Highlight the key moments that shaped your approach to each assignment. Include quotations from your own work to support your points. Provide thoughtful, engaged commentary on your experience with these written assignments.Additional considerations: You might structure this essay as a narrative, exploring each assignment from this class and your experience with each. This might provide you with useful scaffolding to structure your writing.Style and Format 12 pt., Times New Roman 2-3 full pages of written material, double-spaced, with 1 margins, excluding Name/Title headerYou cannot achieve a grade above a C with less than 2 full pages of content.Most of the writings are on:After 40 Years, Will GE Get A Pass For Polluting The Housatonic River? by Clara Chaisson, NRDC.orDiscussion I submitted:I will first say that this class has definitely provoked my thinking because when I write, I do not typically think of ethos, pathos and logos. It may seem odd, but when I write it just comes out. It is almost like I am not even thinking but I am and the thoughts just flow out through my fingers. I would say the main assignment that provoked my thinking was when we had to choose one of the four articles to write about. I chose the one about rural schools and budgets being cut because I felt it related the most to me personally. After writing the paper, I was very intrigued about the topic because I realized, “hey I do this for a living so I want to know more.” There are so many days where I just flow through the day and worry about what is happening in the moment rather than if budgets are cut further, what will happen. So I would say this was the most thought provoking assignment for me. The other assignment I would say was though provoking was the introductory discussion because it made me really think of how to write in a more meaningful way.The part that was challenging for me was the summarizing and synthesizing assignment. This is not because we were to read all four articles but I often have trouble when it comes to difficult terminology or things that might not be as enticing as others. For example, The Case for Reparations and Losing the Democratic Habit were both difficult for me because I simply had trouble deciphering what was being talked about throughout the articles. The other challenging part for me is that I have been recently writing a lot (not specifically for this course) and I feel like I am constantly in a writers block and it takes a bit to get me back on track. As I mentioned, it is not due to this course but it is something that I have been struggling with and finding the right words to say or write. I think the main thing that was rewarding, and likely for most, is feeling accomplished with the work I submitted. I really like constructive feedback and typically am one to always ask a million questions so I really appreciate when people respond on comments here or when Annie gives us feedback on how to improve or what we did correctly. I feel it is always rewarding to get a new perspective on things which definitely happened throughout this course. I might revise the summarizing and synthesizing assignment only because I feel I probably could have worked harder to interpret what those specific articles were speaking about that I had mentioned above. Perhaps I would take a day to fully try to understand each one and then be able to convey my thoughts on themMy work:Summarizing and SynthesizingAfter 40 Years, Will GE Get A Pass For Polluting The Housatonic River? by Clara Chaisson, NRDC.orgThe article, After 40 Years, Will GE Get a Pass for Polluting the Housatonic River? is a demonstration of an environmental health issue in the United States. Housatonic River has been polluted with PCPs since the nineteenth century by GE Company. There have been complaints raised regarding the natural resource and the need for GE to stop the pollution. Some of the resolutions that were put in place to mitigate the situation included ensuring that GE starts the cleaning process. The public, on the other hand, has been warned against the consumption of aquatic life from the river due to increased contamination. The cleanup process continued for some time as GE was committed to the United States EPA requirements. However, with Trumps administration, there has been a problem. The GE management team has taken complaints to the Environmental Appeals Board of EPA, trying to avoid the liabilities indirectly. The author of the article expresses concern about public health by pointing the environmental pollution. Besides, the author points out that GE is a powerful organization that is misusing the law to try and avoid cleaning up the pollution. The primary audience for the article is the members of the public.Engaging in CoversationChaisson uses statistical data and scientific study results to convince his audience. For instance, she outlines the amount of pollution that has been caused by GE, a multi-million-dollar company. The statistics give a very factual account of the causes of corruption in one of the most valuable rivers in the country (Chaisson, 2017). The data brings out the details of the topic that may seem vague to the reader. Scientific data is most effective in reaching out to the audience regardless of their belief system or intellectual capacity. In general, most people can be able to derive agreeable conclusions based on scientific data.The author uses the pathos technique to evoke the readers’ feelings towards the environment. She manages to sway the reader into believing that the GE company has a lot to do with the pollution of the Housatonic River. She Capitalizes on the reader’s ethics, where she invokes feelings of guilt for not agreeing with the presented idea. She suggests that people should realize that people live near rivers. It is therefore humanly to avoid dumping hazardous waste next to a river. Chaisson takes a shot at people’s ethics to influence them to agree with her formed notions about pollution of the invaluable river.I find that her article has the weakness of not presenting adequate facts to support her claims. For instance, she does not provide practical steps that can be taken by GE to raise the money required to clear the river. She also explains what polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are and the potential danger they pose. However, she says little to provide a sustainable solution (Chaisson, 2017). She leaves it to the reader to determine the possible solution that would be sustainable to other companies that may have the challenge of proper waste disposal. Chaisson uses a progressive account of events to show how the government’s negligence has allowed companies like GE to pollute the river (Chaisson, 2017). She provides a generalizedsolution that includes the government taking the initiative to take measures against companies that defy government directives. Her flow is commendable as it brings the reader to a firm understanding of the importance of environmental conservation. She does this by explaining the dangers of lack of adherence to the set standards, as seen in the Housatonic River. The river falls among the many rivers in the country that are “fighting for their life.”In conclusion, writers should explain challenges exhaustively and provide sustainable solutions to the outlined problems. Pointing out issues in society is just as important as providing solutions for them. Failure to do so will only help the community to recognize questions whose answers they don’t have. However, Chaisson’s delivery is quite commendable as her article can communicate to any genre of an audience, which is the ultimate goal of any material. ReferencesChaisson, C. (2017). After 40 years, will GE get a pass for polluting the Housatonic river? NRDC.
