Final Reflection

Composition incorporates many definitions. Defining composition presents a challenge for many. On our first day of class in ENGL3360 we were told to write down our definition of composition. My first definition was that composition is a well written piece of writing over any subject that is grammatically correct. My ideas of composition were essays, reports, letters, and etc. However, after this class I have developed a new definition. After hearing the topics discussed in this class, it is evident, to me, that words have a power to shape people from what they are into something better. Personally, I believe composition is a written work that uses the power of words to shape and better humanity.

My first epiphany of the importance of composition occurred when our class discussed the idea of cannibalism. “If we do descend from apes, and they were cannibalistic, then what has kept human kind from inheriting the cannibalistic gene?” (Garrison Lecture). An obvious answer is language. Humans have the ability to communicate through composition, and therefore, share ideas of morality. If one person writes about cannibalism being morally wrong, then they have the power to spread that idea and shape other people’s thoughts. The next class discussion involved language. The class was presented with the question of what makes us human. The answer is language (Garrison Lecture). As stated before, language gives us the power to shape each other into better people. Language gives us the power to persuade each other to follow certain norms. Composition incorporates this idea of language’s power. Many write because they want to persuade someone about something. Therefore, our composition has a rhetorical purpose.

The next idea the class presented was that “all language and composition is rhetorical” (Garrison Lecture). This furthered my thoughts on exactly what composition is. If we are constantly trying to persuade something in our writing then our composition has more meaning than pure entertainment. If I write an article about gladiator sandals being in style then I am trying to persuade the world that it is important to follow fashion. Though, it may seem like a simple article about fashion, truly I am trying to persuade others to wear gladiator sandals. Composition involves many different aspects that make it rhetorical. Composition involves logos (appeals to logic), ethos (appeals to character), and pathos (appeals to emotions). In composition, many authors use these tools to persuade others of their opinions (Garrison Lecture). People state a thesis, back it up with data, and present warrants to people (Toulmin Argument). In all composition, these aspects can be found. Therefore, if composition involves these aspects, then it is rhetorical, and its purpose is to persuade.

Technology has lead to composition easily being spread to people. Why do we have blogs? Why do we have websites, such as Myspace and Facebook? The answer is because we want people to see our beliefs and thoughts. People want their ideas to be heard. “Internet makes composition cheap and easy to transport and store” (Garrison Lecture). Thanks to the internet our ideas are heard by a much larger audience. This further proves the idea that composition is a powerful device used to better humanity. If we did not care about spreading information to many people, then we would most likely not have the internet. Yet, because we care to compose our ideas, and because we care to share them with as many people as possible, we have technology like the internet.

All composition is rhetorical. Composition’s purpose is to spread one’s thoughts to another, and to permanently publish those thoughts to exist longer than we do. Composition incorporates the power of language. People use their words to shape humanity. Composition is more than just a grammatically correct written work. Composition is a rhetorical tool used to better humanity. This definition of composition is important for future composition courses because it shows students the power of their own writing. If students feel empowered by writing their thoughts, then composition will not be such a scary course to take. Students will be able to enjoy composition because they know there is a purpose behind it. Composition is so powerful it can change the world. Unfortunately, that change could be for better or worse.

Blog Post #10

This class has really helped to improve my writing. The discussion of rhetoric helped me to understand that all my papers are, in essence, persuasive. I also like how the discussions of cannibalism and humanism have given me a greater appreciation of language. I think the topics discussed in this course will really help me as a teacher. I never knew how I could convince students that language and writing is important to learn, but the discussions in this course have helped me to form ideas of how to get students interested in language, literature, and writing. Also, the presentations in class have brought many issues in composition to my attention. I like this because it will help me to address them in my own classroom. The discussions of technology have forced me to think of creative ways to incorporate both handwriting and technology into my classroom. Personally, this class has been a great preparation course for teaching. I really enjoyed it.

Blog Post #9

I really enjoyed Richard Lanham’s book, Style. I think it was a great nontraditional approach at teaching writing style which helps to make his point that writing style should not be set in stone. I especially enjoyed how he said that some writings need decorative style while others don’t. I would like to shove that chapter in a few of my teachers’ faces. I hate how teachers try to preach a certain style and condemn you when you try to think outside the box and make your writing more interesting. I really like how Lanham believes that decorative writing can be acceptable to a certain extent. I also like his book because it provides many examples of what not to do in your writing. The essays he provided as examples of poor writing really helped me to see mistakes in my own writing. I think this is a great book and should continue being used in ENGL3360 courses. It takes a nontraditional approach at teaching writing style which is good because students get bored with hearing the same rules over and over.

Blog Post #8

I have no personal experience with TOPIC because I took my lower level English courses at a Junior College and they did not use TOPIC. However, I have witnessed my boyfriend’s aggrevation TOPIC. I know he hates it because it confuses him when his papers come back graded. Everytime he has a new grader, and they always say something different is wrong with his essay. One grader might say he did a good job on citations, and the next grader will say he did horrible on citations. TOPIC has made it hard for him to develop in his essay writing because he feels he does not have that constant criticism that you get from one teacher/grader.
I enjoyed the class discussion in MOO. Perhaps that is because I felt like I was at home having random conversations with friends on Facebook Chat. I think MOO could be a great tool, but it definitely is easy for discussions to go off topic in there. I think it would help if there were only a few students in one chat room rather than twenty. However, I see how MOO could be a great teaching device. It helps to get students speaking up about topics in class without being embarrassed which is always great.

Blog Post # 7

I am far from a good poet, but I figured I'd take a shot at this.

I sat in the library today
And cracked open a book.
I was hoping to relax and get away,
But raised my head and took a look
At students engrossed in their computer screens
Facebooking friends right by their sides.
At students texting silly nothings
And procrastinating with the help of technology.
It baffled me how much the world has changed
Here I was with my book stuck in the old days.
There they were, the future of our world
Worrying about statuses, comments, and messages.
So I walked to a computer and put down my book
Decided to be normal and signed on Facebook.

Blog Post #6

I personally agree most with Berlin’s Rhetorical way of learning. I find it that I enjoy that way of learning most. Interaction among each other is evident in a lot that we do in this class and perhaps that is why I enjoy the class so much. However, I do believe that none of these three ways of learning could exist without the other. Students need to have the factual based Objective learning in order to expand to Subjective learning. And once they are comfortable with both of these learning types then they progress to Rhetorical learning. I think that High School is more Objective and a little bit of Subjective, and once we progress to college courses we encounter more Rhetorical ways of learning.
I think that this will help me a lot when I begin teaching. I want to integrate all three of these learning types into my lessons. I think that all students are different, and some may prefer one over the other so it is good to get them involved in all three of these learning types. I definitely want to involve a lot of Subjective and Rhetorical learning types into my lessons because I think that Objective learning can be dull and loses student interest in learning. Letting students explore their own minds and interact with others to help broaden their mind will keep them interested and more willing to learn and participate in school.

Blog Post #5

According to G.R. Elliot, "Humanism is the study and practice of the principle of human happiness uncomplicated by naturistic dogmas on one side and religious dogmas on the other." I find it hard to accept this whole idea of humanism. I remember one of my teachers telling me that she was a humanist and I had no idea what she was talking about. After reading this article I have a bit clearer idea as to what she meant, but the interesting thing is that she was saying it in relation to religion. Therefore, I have always associated the two together. However, I just find it impossible to conceive that a person could strive for happiness there whole life and actually achieve it. No matter what that thought of, "Is there greener grass out there somewhere?" would always be on the person's mind. So they would keep striving for that happiness which leaves the whole search kind of pointless. I also find it hard to see humanism working on society as a whole. We all want different things for our lives and therefore we all see happiness in different ways. In the end most people chose their own happiness over others so if it came down to them being happy or someone else, chances are people choose themselves.

Blog Post #4

I think that rhetoric will affect my future in many ways. It will definitely impact my writing. Understanding logos ethos and pathos will help me to make my personal opinions appeal to others. Toulmin’s theory on claims, data, and warrants will help me to make sure that points are backed up properly. I think that understanding all this will also help me be a better teacher. It will be interesting to see how this will affect high school students in their own composition. I was never taught this in high school and I look forward to passing it on to a younger crowd. I think it will help to explain composition to students better and will get them interested in writing.
Rhetoric will also show up in my simple daily writings such as emails. It is impossible to learn about appealing to people through logos, ethos, and pathos and it not end up in my daily routines. I think I will also analyze things in life differently and perhaps understand more. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I haven’t quite decided yet. I can see rhetoric changing my life quite a bit. I think it will definitely improve my composition which is the most important aspect to me.

Blog Post #3

So far I am really enjoying the class. It has completely altered my views on composition. I better understand rhetoric and its importance to composition. I think that Rhetoric is an important subject for students to learn. If I had been taught this new thought process of rhetoric earlier on in my high school days I think I would have understood my composition courses better. My whole thought process on things is expanded. I now notice minute items and begin to figure out in my head how they are persuasive to me. I then begin to contemplate how they influence me through logos, ethos and pathos. This can be troublesome at times because I end up missing a whole lecture because I am busy contemplating on how the chalk on the chalk board is trying to persuade me. However, it definitely puts into perspective a great way to get my future students introduced to composition. I definitely agree that rhetoric can completely change the composition classroom. For some reason this whole idea of rhetoric gets me excited about composition. Maybe that is because I feel like I understand its importance to humanity better?
I definitely believe that what I have learned in these first few classes should be taught to students early on in their education careers. I think that it will help students, as it has me, get their minds open and be able to express more in their writing. Of course I still have some skepticism because some students might not understand this idea of rhetoric at all and therefore it could completely turn them away from composition and result in horrible grades and writing skills, but I guess that is the same with all new teaching ideas. There is always someone who won’t understand it or who opposes it. However, all in all I think I am getting to understand this whole idea and actually find it interesting.

Blog Post #2

I think that seeing all language as persuasion could be correct. No matter what we do or say you can point it in a direction of persuasion. I think seeing the world this way can help us better understand each other, but I also think it could pull us away from simple interpretations. We might over analyze everything that someone is saying or doing if we only view it as persuasion. Just because I say “Hello” to someone I don’t want them thinking in their mind, “Oh she is trying to persuade me that she is a member of our society”. However, getting students to understand this can help with composition. I think it can help show them how important language is in our lives. The example of Joseph really showed me how language, something so simple and overlooked, could truly impact our lives if we did not have it. I know a common question of students is, “Why do I need to learn this?” I think the examples of rhetoric and Joseph are a great way to answer that question for students and put them on a path of understanding composition. Showing them that life is completely altered without language would put into perspective how important it is. Showing students how persuasion and rhetoric affects our society would do this as well. I think it is important that all students learn this early on in their educational careers and maybe they would understand the importance of their Language Arts classes. I know discussing all of this has really put a new light on how I view language and composition, and I understand its importance much more than I ever have before.

Blog Post #1

I found last class' discussion quite interesting. I never really pondered the idea as to why composition and language are so important to our society. The idea that humans are not cannibalistic never really crosses your mind. However, when observing our closest relative, the chimpanzee, you can’t help but wonder why we did not turn out a cannibalistic species. It is easy to say that because we are a compassionate species that possess morals we have strayed away from the cannibalistic path. However, when given the example of Dolphins killing babies one must wonder is our compassion truly the reason? I remember watching a documentary about Dolphins. They were compared to humans because it was discovered they possess the same area of the brain, as humans do, that sparks compassion. Yet, how are Dolphins still able to kill babies for survival if they are compassionate? Perhaps the answer is that we have language. We are able to communicate feelings to each other about certain issues. If one of us look down upon cannibalism and we communicate that to someone else we are able to sway them to the same opinion. Composition might also help with this. Many compositions can sway people’s opinions on certain matters. Our ability to communicate with each other could possible be why we stray away from cannibalism instead of inheriting it from our relatives the chimpanzees. It is interesting to see the importance behind language and composition through this topic.