A Reflection of my time in Rhetoric and Composition

When I first decided to change my major from Computer Science to English, I spent time deliberating what would be the best fit for me and analyzing potential pathways for myself. The handout for rhetoric and composition on the university’s English webpage had me intrigued with connections between writing and technology. After looking at the course offerings and their summaries, I made up my mind and walked into my advisor’s office to make the major swap official. I had not fully realized it yet, but the rhetorical strategies used to recruit students into the concentration worked on me. Looking back at the English webpage and re-reading that handout made me appreciate the depth of rhetoric and my time in the program. Analyzing rhetorical situations and learning how to utilize rhetorical skills myself has helped me understand and appreciate the versatility of English.

I transferred to the Atlanta campus for the Spring 2019 semester with almost no clue what the term ‘rhetoric’ meant outside of its negative social connotations akin to trickery or empty words. My first two classes in the concentration were English 3050 with Dr. Gammill and English 3100 with Dr. Harker. These two classes pulled me right into the heart of the concentration and taught me to rethink all the English lessons I had learned before. English 3050 introduced terms that I would continue to hear for the rest of my time in the program and taught lessons given by figures millennia ago. Learning about the history of rhetoric and its applications today put me in the mindset that the rhetoric and composition concentration was precisely where I wanted to be.

My first definition of rhetoric began forming during this class: the ability to direct thought with the intent to alter another person’s perception. I developed this definition after completing lessons on Gorgias on George Campbell. This roughly forged blade of a definition continued to be hammered on as I absorbed more information and looked into potential career pathways. When I found a job titled “Technical Writer,” I began asking myself more and more how rhetoric and composition tie into that title. Rhetoric became more of a teaching mechanism than a thought manipulator. After a few short years of learning and tempering, my evolved definition of rhetoric is simply a method for producing effective communication to reach a desired outcome. That method of communication may come in different modes that rhetoricians should be thoughtful about.

Communication became a big focus in the same semester with Dr. Harker’s English 3100 class on composition studies. It was the first class I took that emphasized peer-to-peer communication and gave control to students. We created our own understanding of composition tools and bounced around ideas until every student came away with their own answers or interpretations of each lesson. With a partner, I developed a lesson plan based on readings of Kenneth Bruffee and Mike Rose about collaborative learning – Together, we guided our classmates towards understanding the pros and cons of collaboration with the assistance of Dr. Harker. Collaborative learning left such a strong impression on my experience in class that I built upon this lesson plan to write my final essay about collaboration and its roadblocks in American pedagogy.

My writing has improved substantially during my time in the concentration. I started to focus on the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, while also considering my audience and their perspective. I became more aware of Ken Macrorie’s term ‘Engfish’ and now look for empty prose when revising. Eliminating Engfish alone elevated my writing in my eyes. I began making a conscious effort to write words that I want to see on paper rather than what I think a professor would like to read. Reading notes or comments on my writing’s engagement pushes me to write and revise even better.

English 3100 also reintroduced me to the broad term of literacy. The implications of literacy being found all around us and not confined to reading and writing was a novel idea to me. I started to see literacy everywhere I went. Noticing certain aspects of movies or scenes? Film literacy. Watching Jacob Collier explain infinite variations of harmonies? Musical literacy. Understanding the micro and macro elements of whatever game I play or compete for high scores? Gaming literacy. I began having much more respect for people who did things outside of the scope of my abilities. This critical reflection of my time in the concentration feels like a literacy narrative on my rhetoric and composition skills.

For the Fall 2019 semester, I left the States to study abroad at Hanyang University in Seoul. At Hanyang University, I took a course titled Global English that opened my eyes to the practical utility of English in a country where English is the lingua franca. Rhetorical appeals became a focus of the class, as students had to present themselves in a manner of respect when communicating with foreigners. As a bonus, I began researching the technical writing void in South Korea while abroad. I wanted to combine what I learned and what I planned on learning to improve my English and Korean writing while discovering potential future career opportunities.

My experience as an English student has given me uncountable opportunities to use and refine my critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is composed of many parts: reading against the grain and evaluating arguments from multiple angles while considering evidence are just a few of these parts. When I write about critical thinking, Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca’s method of developing arguments comes to mind. Developing arguments by adapting to the audience and testing the argument with an outside view allows a person to revise and improve their arguments. Classes I took with reading responses often had students ask and present their own questions based on assigned readings. These questions impacted my understanding of certain lessons and got me to step back and see potential ways an author may have continued their work.

I elevated my critical thinking and rhetorical skills in English 3080 while drafting a letter addressed to a Georgia state senator and tweeting about voting laws while learning about digital activism. Targeting an online space during the COVID-19 pandemic made a lot of sense—the timing could not have been more perfect for the lesson. I had to stay clear and concise in my delivery with Twitter’s constraint of 140 words per tweet. Direct links to government websites allowed my posts to stay accessible, and I researched popular hashtags to garner as much engagement as possible.

Critical thinking is a continuously evolving skill that grows the more a person uses it day-to-day. It builds as the brain creates connections while reading academic journals or flashes warning signs while reading bogus articles. The Business Writing course heightened my ability to discern authentic sources and continues to play a role when I’m researching. I pay more attention to the background of an article before focusing on its message. In Business Writing, I chose to write about the COVID-19 mask shortage for an analytical report memo in February 2020. During a period before WHO had declared the virus a pandemic, it was hard to source quality articles about mask shortages. To establish my memo’s authenticity, I checked the backgrounds of each cited article’s authors to make sure I was not feeding Mr. Lombardo false information.

My confidence in my writing has soared since the semester I transferred to Atlanta. I continue to learn better rhetorical practices and adapt my writing to my audience while maintaining a distinct voice. Moving forward, the idea of using clear and concise writing will be useful in a professional environment and honing my critical thinking, which is vital to staying informed while receiving and providing valuable information. Thanks to my time in the rhetoric and composition concentration, I am now well equipped to jump into a professional writing career.