Alexis

Velasquez
Professor Noh
English 114
7 December 2015
Reflection Paper

At the being at the beginning of the semester we explored the meaning of

advertisements through the use of rhetoric devices. Two brand new concepts to me. The
use of Ethos, Pathos and Logos was brand new to me and it helped understand why people
wrote a certain way and what was their objective. Exploring the meanings of
advertisements made me think and question a lot which was a great way to start the
semester because progression one made me think and develop my ideas more and more.
Development was the number one thing I learned this semester, in very essay, Mr. Noh
would say develop your ideas, develop your thesis, and develop your essays. In the
beginning, it was difficult but I got better with practice. I believe it to be the single most
important thing I learned in the class and what I lacked most before coming to college. How
well ideas are explored and developed can be the difference between a good paper and a
great paper, before taking this class I would usually just introduce the topic and touch the
surface on it but never really get into depth. Now I push for an argument and branch out in
talking about a topic and develop my thoughts well while keeping them organized.

Paragraph and sentence structure was also a well explored topic this semester. I

learned how to keep my ideas organized on a paper. Coming in to the class my papers were
not organized, I would talk about multiple ideas in one paragraph and I would not even
notice it. Now I do a part job of keeping one idea per paragraph. I also make sure my

sentences lead into my next sentence as well with my paragraphs so my paper has smooth
transitions and feels more connected to everything. I used to jump from topic to topic
without introduction or connection this made my papers very messy and confusing.
I still have more a lot more room for improvement but this was a great start to my
college career in English. Mr. Noh has really help me realize my strengths and weaknesses
and understanding my voice as a reader. Identity was one of the main topics of the
semester, and the one that I felt that impacted me the most. Life is all about finding your
self and we did so through writing and reading stories of people who have faced challenges
of self-expression and over came them.