Reflections of a New Found Interest

Darin G. Lopez
Diagnostic Revised
11-53
March 6, 2009

Reflections of 111

As a student in English 111 I have to admit, that the skills that were once minimal have been able to blossom into a much better acquired skill. In such a short period of time I have learned how to take an idea and transform it into a piece of writing so that a reader may understand my point of view.

Specifically Mr. Gasparo himself and the structure of the course material I believe was well developed and aided to the success of the people attending his class. He took pieces of writing that were interesting and showed that writing does not have to be bland. All of our writing assignments were different styles of writing so that it didn’t’ seem like just “another walk around the park”. Personally it positively influenced my view of writing, from once seeming like it was a chore, to something that I now will do for recreation.

Also, I enjoyed Mr. Gasparo’s teachings of the rhetoric and the correct ways to it. I myself enjoyed this portion because once explained the value of rhetoric and how it can be used to amplify a piece of writing I then saw the true value. Along with the actual teaching, the short stories and the homework assignments were complimentary to the subject. I learned how Pathos is a powerful writing tool that when used accompanied by Logos and Ethos could help the intended audience to feel, and understand as the author intended.

As for my future in writing I believe that the tools acquired from Eng 111 along with the format has developed a solid foundation that has sparked a new interest in my career. I intend to make my pieces of writing away from my day to day work life of factual non opinionated writings and transform them into pieces that I will use offline to reflect what my actual views are of these topics are. The argument assignment really helped mold the idea to do this. In the paper I took two topics that I am interested in and chose a side. It was interesting to be asked to make writing solely on an opinion and be asked to take a side in a argument. That alone was enough to make me realize that writing pieces of the sort is a good start to make people see things that they might not have seen before. This could in the end be a great thing because it has a great potential to get things fixed that need to be taken care of. These are important issues that some people that have the power to make changes may not have the time to see.

On the other side of the more serious aspect of writing, he also showed me that writing can be not as serious and in some cases can be misinterpreted. An example of this would be the song “Born in the U.S.A” and how the actual song does not reflect America’s view of the song. I find this important because it showed that writing can be misleading and should be looked into with more depth. I have already begun to notice that when I read now I am more critical and aware of the intended meaning of the txt.

In the end, I feel as though Mr. Gasparo’s English 111 class was a great success. I know that his class may be the sole purpose that I have learned to enjoy writing as a student and a professional. I enjoyed the course load as well as the instructor. I will go on and use what I have learned until the day that I write my last word and am very thankful that I had the opportunity to be instructed by Mr. Gasparo.