An Exploration of the Student Learning Outcomes

English 120 is a course which teaches students how to write, research, and create an
argument academically and effectively. During this semester, I learned how to successfully
compose large writing assignments such as a rhetorical analysis, position paper, and proposal.
Throughout the semester, the student learning outcomes have been an appropriate tool to guide
my writing in the right direction. The SLOs gave me an opportunity to see what my instructor
expected of my work but also showed me what I was working towards and attempting to learn
throughout my time in this course.
Student Learning Outcome A
One of my greatest progressions towards the student learning outcomes was seen with
SLO A. SLO A encourages me to examine my purpose and audience and write appropriately to
match that situation. Also SLO A encourages me to be comfortable with the rhetorical situation
in different genres of writing. English 120 allowed me to build upon my previous knowledge
from English 110 about the rhetorical situation and how to write in accordance to these
conditions. Previous English courses did not put an emphasis on the rhetorical situation; they
simply asked you to answer a prompt but they did not ask you to consider who your writing
could be seen by. However, in English 120 each small and major writing assignment had a
different rhetorical situation which allowed me to tailor my writing to meet this criteria. For
example, the first major writing assignment I worked on had a rhetorical situation where I would
be showing my work to a student group that was interested in how other universities or programs
were recruiting members or employees. Because I was writing to a student group, my writing
was not extremely formal but still remained credible as I did not use slang nor did I have an
excessive amount of spelling or grammar mistakes. However, major writing assignments two and

three required my writing to be more formal in nature as I applied for a job at a non-profit
organization and attempted to persuade a university department head to donate money to a cause
I felt strongly about. These rhetorical situations also involved a great amount of appeal to
credibility. The rhetorical analysis, major writing assignment one also allowed me to examine the
appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos in an online advertisement and assess the strength of their
strategies. Not only have I mastered the idea of a rhetorical situation but I also gained knowledge
of writing different genres and how to use technology in my writing. As mentioned previously, I
have composed an essay, a rhetorical analysis, a position paper outline, a position paper, a memo,
and a proposal throughout the course of the semester. I have also learned how to use technology
through academic means. For example, while creating both my position paper and my proposal, I
created a PowerPoint in order to show my peers my work and my claims. I believe that learning
to write in accordance to the rhetorical situation in a variety of genres while integrating
technology will be extremely useful in my life not only academically but also in my career. For
example, as a nurse, I will now be able to write a memo to the other hospital staff and be able to
address them in a way that is most appropriate and therefore, effective.
Student Learning Objective F
Working towards SLO F allowed me to reflect on my work throughout the semester and
measure my development as a writer. This student learning outcome also encouraged me to
consider how composing different genres and uses of technology will be beneficial to me later on
in life. Personally, I feel as though I have grown significantly as a writer over the semester. More
specifically, I feel as though I became a better writer by becoming a better student. As a busy
college student, it is sometimes hard to work ahead on assignments as opposed to waiting until
right before the deadline. Because of the element of scaffolding in this class, I was able to work

on smaller assignments that would help build up to a large assignment. This encouraged me to
complete my work with plenty of time before the due date. This also improved the quality of my
writing because I was giving myself more time to create a document that I felt confident in. This
course will benefit me later in life because it showed me that working ahead is extremely
beneficial. Also during this semester my knowledge of the rhetorical situation and how to write
to fit that situation grew substantially. This will benefit me in my academic progression and
future career because it allows me to write in a way that is acceptable when writing to an essay to
a professor, a resume or proposal to an employer, or a memo to peers in a work place. One of the
final developments I made as a writer due to English 120 is my ability to cite other works of
literature appropriately. Through the time spent in this course, I was able to see how to cite
different genres such as newspapers, electronic journals, and books. Also, I learned how to use
technology to search for academic sources online through the University of New Mexico online
library database. This is extremely important academically because if a student does not cite
others literature, it is deemed as plagiarism and there can be serious consequences for such
behavior. Even small aspects of writing have improved, such as word choice and grammar. For
example, one of my vices in my writing was the use of the semicolon. Through instructor
suggestions, I learned how to use this form of punctuation through The Oatmeal website. I
especially wanted to enrich my writing this semester with vivid and detailed words. I feel as
though I have accomplished this goal. My vivid word choice and descriptions can be seen in my
position paper, major writing assignment two. Because I was able to write about something I was
passionate about I was able to demonstrate that passion through my locution. Examples from my
writing include phrases such as I wish I had her abs and I wish my legs looked like hers run

rampantly through your head and voracious appetite. I am quite proud of my work
throughout this semester and reflecting on my work gave me the opportunity to realize this.
Student Learning Objective C
SLO C allows me to see the significance of planning, peer review, and making revisions
to your writing. Before taking English 110 and 120, I made no effort to plan my essays. English
120 allowed me to see the importance in planning work as it will make your writing process
more effective in the long run. I planned my work in English 120 by posting on a variety of
discussion forums about what I thought I would discuss in an assignment long before the
assignment was due. For example, before the second major writing assignment I posted on a
forum telling my instructor what I would be interested in writing a position paper about and my
instructor and I collaborated in order to find my topic of the negative affect media has on
women. Along with this, I had to do a variety of planning and research to write this position
paper. I needed to find academic sources that agreed and disagreed with my claim. The
importance of prewriting is evident in the use of scaffolding in this course. Before every major
writing assignment, I had a low stakes assignment which would allow me to work towards the
major writing assignment. This gave me a more directed approach to my writing. Peer review
showed me the value of editing, proofreading, collaboration, and incorporating feedback into my
work. Through the use of technology on Google Docs, my peers and I would review each others
assignments while also receiving feedback from the instructor. This allowed me to notice
mistakes I would have otherwise skimmed over before turning in an assignment. The element of
peer review in this course was extremely unique. I had never put this much emphasis on
reviewing my work. While using peer feedback can be very beneficial, I had to sometimes make
the decision to dismiss suggestions. For example, during peer review of my proposal a peer told

me to not put so much detail of the problem and solution in your intro, maybe try to shorten it
and only put the key points. However, I disagreed with this suggestion. I believe the
introduction gave just enough information to inform the reader of what was to come in my
proposal while still giving me the ability to expand on these points and make them more detailed.
Also, I was particularly proud of the detail I put into the introduction so I decided that maybe I
would disregard that particular suggestion. Then after peer review, I would take these comments
and suggestions from my peers and instructor and revise my work in order to improve my
writing. Learning this skill will greatly impact my future academic and career life. Not only will
I be encouraged to plan my writing but I will also be motivated to revise my work to make it a
more effective composition.
Student Learning Outcome H
English 120 has many aspects involving research. Working towards SLO H encouraged
me to use others ideas and work but also taught me how to ethically and correctly incorporate
their work into my own. Research was especially important during sequence two of the course
while writing the position paper. I was asked to write about a topic I felt passionate about and
provide sources to support my opinion as well as the opposing argument. Using the technology
of the UNM library online database, I was able to view academic articles, sections from books,
online editorials, and many other forms of scholarly articles. Through this assignment I also
learned what is deemed as academic sources meaning that these sources have been peer
reviewed and generally are reliable and have true information. I learned that the most ethically
way to cite someones work is by providing an in-text citation and also mentioning the source in
a works cited page. I also learned the significance of citing different forms of academic sources
in the appropriate ways. For example, I found sources from a book, an academic journal, and a

non-profit organizations website. I then had to research the proper way to site all three of these
very different sources. Another use of technology was my use of the Purdue Owl online site
which provided me with examples of how to cite all three of these works in MLA format.
Lectures and in-class activities also improved my knowledge on how to cite properly. The inclass activities involved group work where each group had a different genre of work that they
had to cite, then we would work together to cite the sources properly then discuss with the class.
This not only gave me insight on how to my groups source but allowed me to see how to
properly cite a variety of different genres. Integrating others perspectives is extremely important
in the academic world. If a student was to use someones work without giving credit to the
author, it would be considered plagiarism and the student would face some very serious
consequences such as failing the assignment, failing the course, or being sent to the Dean.
Learning these skills in this course will greatly impact my academic success in the future while
writing papers, no matter the genre.
English 120: Composition III taught me a great deal about the nature of composition but
also showed me things about myself as a writer. Throughout this course, I have learned to pay
special attention to my purpose and audience and write in a way that is most appropriate to that
rhetorical situation. I have demonstrated my knowledge of this topic by using a more formal tone
when writing to a university department head rather than a more informal tone when writing to a
peer group. Also because of this course, I have learned to complete my work before the deadline
in order to better my writing. I have also learned the great importance of peer revisions and
incorporating feedback to make my writing more effective. Another significant thing I learned is
how to incorporate others work into my own appropriately. I learned how to cite a variety of
genres and I used my universitys technology to find academic sources. Finally, when reflecting

on my work throughout the semester, I feel as though my writing has improved greatly. I have
learned how to compose genres such as a rhetorical analysis or proposal, which I did not have
knowledge of how to compose before this course. Even small elements of my writing have
become more effective such as word choice, spelling, and grammar. I am proud of the work I
have completed in this class and I am excited to use the knowledge gained in English 120 in my
future.