Abstract

In the self-assessment essay, I evaluated whether or not I have achieved the eight Course Learning Objectives. By using my previous homework assignments, essays, and in-class work as evidence, I was able to prove how I have accomplished the Course Learning Objectives.

Reflections and Accomplishments 

Throughout the composition of world culture and global issues course, we focused on the topic of language and literary. We were able to explore the different attitudes of language and how it has impacted individuals in society. With class readings, videos, written essays, and worksheets we have been able to further explore the topic of language and literacy. These assignments and activities have allowed me to gain and improve many reading and writing skills. Through this course, I have been able to achieve the course learning objectives. 

One of the objectives that I achieved during this course has been to “ recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users. Through the author June Jordan in “Nobody Mean More to Me than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan “, I was exposed to the idea that those who speak standard English are usually seen as socially superior. While those who are non-standard speaker, are usually socially oppressed in society. According to “Nobody Mean More to Me than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan”, “Should we use the language of the Killer-standard English-in order to make our ideas acceptable to those controlling the killer? But wouldn’t what we had to say be rejected, summarily, if we said it in our language…” June Jordan is referring to the death of Reggie Jordan, who was killed by police officers and the desire to write to the public about this police brutality. The author acknowledges that if she was to write in standard English in order for her voice would be heard. Whereas, she knows that writing in Black English will only be rejected or not read by those important figures in society.  This further divides into the idea of hierarchizing language, where there is a division being made between non-standard speakers and standard speakers. Where those who speak the standard- English seems to have more power and have this profound image over the non-standard community. The author Walt Wolfram in “Challenging Language Prejudice in the Classroom” also addressed how standard English is being empowered and non-standard speakers are oppressed in television cartoons. Non-standard speakers are portrayed as inferior and given a negative connotation as villain charcters, while standard English speaker is portrayed as heroes in the media. 

Another objective that I was able to achieve was to “explore and analyze my own and other’s writing a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.” In this course, we read a range of genres that include personal essays, academic journals, and memoirs. To continue, through rhetorical situation worksheets we were able to identify the genre, purpose, stance, and the audience of the course readings, and this also gave me an idea of what I needed to include in my own writing. Identifying and using these rhetorical situations helped me further analyze the message that the authors are conveying or what I wanted the readers to receive in my writing. For example, below you can see the rhetorical situation worksheets for the course readings for “English Belongs to Everybody”,  “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, and how I used the rhetorical situations in my Critical and Analysis essay(cover letter).

 I also had the opportunity to “develop strategies for reading, drafting, revising, and editing.” The strategies that I have developed for reading have been to annotate the texts by highlighting, underlining, and writing side notes on the margin to analyze and point out the significant sections of the text. 

To continue, throughout the essays that we have written during phases 1,2, and 3 we have drafted, revised and edited our essay multiple times. In class, I had the opportunity to give and receive feedback on the essays that we have drafted. This feed given by my classmates and professors has helped my revising and editing porcess to be more successful. This process of drafting, revising, and then editing has helped me my writing and better conveying my ideas to the readers.  

In phase 2, the prompt of our essay was a research essay that reflected language and literacy. In this essay, it has allowed me to “practice systemic application of citation conventions.” We were introduced to Purdue Owl, in the library by the librarian, and it gives us the format for citing the different sources that I used in the essay. Using the format for citing I was able to use this application and include it in my essay. 

Another objective that I accomplished in this course has been to “recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.”  With the rhetorical situation of purpose, I was able to figure out the reason why the source was created or the message it was trying to transmit. The rhetorical situation of the audience helped me acknowledge the people that viewed the source. By acknowledging the targeted audience, I was able to find out what they have in common and their beliefs. Using these rhetorical situations and identifying them in my essay has assisted me in strengthen the way that my essay is set-up and the message that I am trying to transmit to the readers of my essays.

 I also “understood and used printed and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.” For example, I used the digital book called Myth languages, edited by the linguists Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill to refer to people who don’t speak standard English and the group of people who has an accent. 

Lastly, I meet the course goal of “locating research sources(including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles )in the library’s database or archives an on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, and bias.” In the library session, I was introduced to the city college database and j-stor. Through this database, I was able to gather and search sources that I needed for my essays. In this session, we also taught how to tell if a source is reliable and accurate. This was done by acknowledging the author, when or it was published, the date, and more.

Through this course, I have been able to achieve the eight-course learning objectives. I was able to achieve was to “explore and analyze my own and other’s writing a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.” through rhetorical situation worksheets we were able to identify the genre, purpose, stance, and audience of the course readings. I have been to “ recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users. I also had the opportunity to “develop strategies for reading, drafting, revising, and editing.” Using the format for citing I was able to use this application and include it in my essay. Another objective that I accomplished in this course has been to “recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.”.  Lastly, I meet the course goal of“locating research sources in the library’s database or archives on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, and bias.” 

Work Cited

Bauer, Laurie, and Peter Trudgill. Language Myths. London ; New York, Penguin Books, 2007.

MacNeil, Robert. “English Belongs to Everybody”.Wordstruck: a Memoir. Viking, 1989

Wolfram,Walt. “Sound Effects: Challenging Language Prejudice in the   Classroom”.Teaching Tolerance, vol.43, 2013, pp.29-31

June Jordan (1988). “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And the Future Life of Willie Jordan”. Harvard Educational Review. September 1988, Vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 363-375.url.