I remember the first day of my English 111 class, my first college class ever. I was exceptionally nervous and anxious for the teacher to arrive so that class would begin. I remember taking notice of the only person to enter the room that didn’t look like they’d just walked out of high school; he was youthful and striking with Auburn hair and freckles. He sat just behind me, a place I am very uncomfortable having people, waited a few moments and preceded to query on how long we were to wait for the teacher before leaving. He then introduced himself and asked us what kind of assumptions we had made about him before hand.
In my personal opinion, this is a manner of teaching that immediately allows the student to take notice of the value in knowledge as well as the best way to ensure that students retain the knowledge taught.
There is a fairly short list of what I learnt this semester that can be also be easily defined or described, most of which involve maturation in the thoughts behind what is written as well as a hard lesson in how to manage and organize time and loose direction coupled with rigorous format. Never before had I been introduced to the Rhetorical Analysis Triangle. I found it a rather useful way to remember the three key elements of a written work, Author, Audience and Purpose. The fact that the triangle is used also helps students to remember the Purpose Triangle that is offset from the main triangle, containing the three major purposes for writing a piece of literature, to inform, to persuade or to entertain. The third and final triangle consists of the three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Ethos and Pathos.
In my personal opinion, this is a manner of teaching that immediately allows the student to take notice of the value in knowledge as well as the best way to ensure that students retain the knowledge taught.
There is a fairly short list of what I learnt this semester that can be also be easily defined or described, most of which involve maturation in the thoughts behind what is written as well as a hard lesson in how to manage and organize time and loose direction coupled with rigorous format. Never before had I been introduced to the Rhetorical Analysis Triangle. I found it a rather useful way to remember the three key elements of a written work, Author, Audience and Purpose. The fact that the triangle is used also helps students to remember the Purpose Triangle that is offset from the main triangle, containing the three major purposes for writing a piece of literature, to inform, to persuade or to entertain. The third and final triangle consists of the three rhetorical appeals, Logos, Ethos and Pathos.
If there is nothing else that I have learned during my time in English 111, it is Logos, logical appeals, Pathos, emotional appeals and Ethos, ethical appeals (the authors apparent credibility). I can imagine that these appeals have been known to me before I could even define rhetoric, but in learning the triangles, I have refined my ability to scrutinize text, both written and visual.
I have been presented with several challenges over the duration of my time in this class and have managed to conquer several! Not only did I learn to better analyze written works and unwritten text, with or without ‘copy’, interestingly enough, I also learnt how to analyze the X-men (movies)!
As my professor will tell you and has told all his students, myself included, if there exists only a singular element each student may gain because of their time spent in this class, it is the ability to follow directions.
I can say that I found it an extremely rigorous course only towards the end as the mental list, hanging ever so precariously in the deep recesses of my mind, approached and surpassed maximum capacity. I have learnt not only to budget my time but to manipulate it, doing more than I even conceived possible in a very short period of time.
I have been presented with several challenges over the duration of my time in this class and have managed to conquer several! Not only did I learn to better analyze written works and unwritten text, with or without ‘copy’, interestingly enough, I also learnt how to analyze the X-men (movies)!
As my professor will tell you and has told all his students, myself included, if there exists only a singular element each student may gain because of their time spent in this class, it is the ability to follow directions.
I can say that I found it an extremely rigorous course only towards the end as the mental list, hanging ever so precariously in the deep recesses of my mind, approached and surpassed maximum capacity. I have learnt not only to budget my time but to manipulate it, doing more than I even conceived possible in a very short period of time.
Link to Tidewater Community College: http://www.tcc.edu/
No comments:
Post a Comment