Vigil 1

Kenneth Vigil
Ms. Taylor Diaz
ENGL 120-050
April 30, 15
Student Learning Outcomes Essay
This semester in my English 120 class with Ms. Taylor Diaz we wrote in variety
of different genres, many of which will be used when we leave the university
environment and enter the workforce. Some examples of these genres include proposals,
memos, analyses, position papers and a variety of others. These types of writings can be
related to the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) in that they incorporate multiple
approaches for planning, creating and revising our document, using writing and research
as a means of discovery as well as a variety of other outcomes. Throughout the semester
my instructor has done a good job of incorporating these SLOs into our writing sequences
and making them apparent to us so we can improve on them and as writers.
The SLOs given for the English 120 course are worded difficultly which some
students may misinterpret. Here is how interpret SLOs A, F, G, H and how I have word
towards them to improve myself as a writer. The SLOs that I will be discussing in my
following document are SLOs A, F, G and H.

SLO A
SLO A asks for students to look at arguments in different types of writing while
considering the rhetorical situation in order to assess the most appropriate way of writing.
I have progressed towards this SLO by analyzing the rhetorical situation that is given to
me and using my knowledge of genres to properly decipher what genre would work best

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for the given situation. At the beginning of the year I had never created a lot of the genres
we created this semester so I was not sure on how to go about properly creating these
documents. With help from our book, Writing Today, and my instructor, I was able to
create quality works. In the analysis of sequence one the rhetorical question informed me
that I needed to report to the university how other universities were attracting students
and faculty to their establishment. I know many universities use ads to reach out to the
public, thus an analysis of an ad was my best choice for answering this rhetorical
situation. After choosing to write an analysis I recognized my audience to be well
educated individuals. To accommodate this circumstance I was sure to use appropriate
and ethical language when discussing the ad. I was also sure to into great detail on how
the ad was being used to attract students and staff to address the rhetorical situation being
asked. To change gears in sequence three we were given the rhetorical situation that we
needed to request money from a department at the University of New Mexico to help fix
an issue either facing the university or the Albuquerque area. Most people do not just
hand out money without knowing what it will be used for. To address this issue my group
and I constructed a proposal that would address the issue, propose our solution and show
the department how the funding would be used in our solution. In our proposal we first
off began by addressing the issue we wanted to help solve, an Albuquerque Tent City. We
discussed what this Tent City was and why it was becoming an issue. We were sure to use
lots of facts and dates to show the department we were well educated of the issue and to
be as credible as possible. During the entire proposal we used ethical and persuasive
writing in our attempt to gain the funding we need for our solution. We then proposed our
solution to the problem, which was creating a permanent Tent City on city land to help

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the homeless population since many homeless individuals do not like the shelter setup.
Following our solution we gave a cost analysis to show the department how the funds we
were requesting would be used. This is a very important aspect of proposal because the
person funding this solution wants to see if the money will be used in a correct manner.
Creating these documents and understanding when how to use them are both very useful
especially in my academic and personal life. I am currently involved in a volunteer EMS
program that serves UNM campus. As leaders in our organization graduate their
leadership position become open to other members. At some point I would like to become
chief. Being chief I will need to be able to draft proposals and a variety of other
documents in order to keep the program running strong. Having a vast knowledge of how
to compose different types of writings will help me greatly

SLO F
SLO F is evaluating how you have become a better writer and how using the
several genres throughout the semester can be applied towards working towards your
goals and used in your future career. As stated in my SLO A analysis, composing in a
variety of different genres of writing allowed me to gain experience on how each of the
various types of writings should be laid out and presented. I have gained progress in this
SLO because at the beginning of the semester I had no idea on how a proposal of memo
should be properly composed. I did not know what either of these types of writings
looked like or how to even begin creating such a document. Luckily I was able to
construct a strong proposal and memo with the help of my colleagues and instructor. The
documents we learned to compose this semester including proposals, memos, analyses
and other types of writing are all very useful documents especially in the professional

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medical career, which I am pursuing. I will need to know how to write things such as
proposals for funding either for research or for my department in a hospital or I may need
to analyze a patient and properly document it for their file.

SLO G
I interpret SLO G as using various types of research methods to discover what
your personal beliefs are on certain issues and relating them not only to your own
perspective but also allowing you to be open minded to the opposing arguments
perspective to interpret it. I have progressed towards this SLO by becoming more open
minded when I conduct my research taking in both perspectives of the topic. Previous to
this course I would choose a topic, choose a side, and only discuss why my topic was
better than the opposing argument. I progressed in this SLO for the perspective paper in
sequence two. We had to choose a side and write counterarguments to our own
arguments. Though I chose to support UAV use, this assignment opened my eyes that the
U.S may be forging reports to paint a better picture for their UAV program or that
Pakistanis appreciate the elimination of terrorists in their country because they pose a
large risk for their familys safety and that not all Middle Eastern people are antiAmerican. This outcome will be relevant in my daily life to remind me to always view
both the pros and cons of each side before making a definite decision on a topic. It will
also remind me to identify the issues even with the topic I choose to support to spread
knowledge of the topic.

SLO H
SLO H involves integrating other's positions and perspectives into your writing
ethically, appropriately, and effectively in various mediums and technologies. I have

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progressed towards this SLO by taking exact quotes from works that I have chosen to cite
and expanding on their thoughts in an ethical way. Previous to this course my only means
of research included Google searches, which sometimes brought up less than credible
information. After a discussion with Ms. Diaz, she said that using the UNM library would
allow me to look for scholarly journals that would provide more credible information
than just information from a Google search. When using information from another
person you need to do so in an ethical and effective way. This is where I also improved
my writing ability towards SLO H where when expanding on others thoughts I am sure
not to twist the authors original words around to not match his or her original thoughts in
their document. One example of using this SLO can be found in my sequence three
proposal where I quoted Albuquerques Mayor Richard Berry when he stated that he
disapproves of funding an Albuquerque Tent City because he cannot see evidence from
other camps around the nation supporting their effectiveness. I could have backed up my
own argument that the city is picking on these establishments by just saying Berry
disproves of them but that would not be entirely accurate or truthful in my writing, two
very important components of being a credible writer. This outcome will be relevant in
my future life by always taking what people say and using them in the same context that
the original composer meant for them to be used in to avoid ruining their demeanor.
In my English 120 course with Ms. Taylor Diaz I have learned a variety of topics
that will continue to be used both throughout my academic career but also my personal
and professional career. Things that I have learned in the course include always using
credible academic works (not just anything that comes up in a Google search), getting
feedback from a variety of people to improve my paper, using cited works appropriately

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and ethically, staying open minded in a topic providing counter arguments for both side
and how to write an entire assortment of useful documents. These are all important pieces
of information that are not only useful now, but will continue to be useful knowledge
throughout my academic, professional and personal life.