At the beginning of the semester, I lacked confidence in writing in English. I did not write in general. I was only familiar with casual and personal writing, but I didn’t know how to write at a college level especially when it came to considering rhetorical situations such as purpose and audience. However, throughout the four major assignments, in-class freewritings, and reading assignments, I learned how important it is to write with clear ideas and strong structure and also how transitions and the language I use—every word and sentence—help deliver my message more clearly.

One of the areas where I grew the most was in negotiating my writing goals and audience expectations in terms of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation. For example, in my Statement of Purpose, I wrote about my experiences and future goals. Even though it was a personal narrative, I focused on explaining my experience as a software engineer in a way that is more understandable to a broader audience. I tried not to focus too much on technical aspects, and instead described the personal meaning behind those experiences in detail. After receiving feedback on my first draft, I revised the tone to sound more professional while keeping it authentic. Through this experience, I realized that genre is not just a “type” of writing but a set of expectations that the audience brings with them.

I also improved in my ability to formulate and articulate a stance in writing. In my Rhetorical Analysis Essay, instead of simply summarizing the article, I had to critically evaluate and analyze whether the author’s rhetorical strategies were effective. I analyzed how Nierras used emotional language and scientific evidence effectively, but pointed out that his conclusion was weak because he didn’t offer specific actions for readers to take. This assignment helped me build the ability to judge and explain which rhetorical strategies work and why.

Another area that helped me grow was freewriting. In the beginning, I often didn’t know what to write and often times I went off-topic. But over time, I learned to stay more focused on the topic. I also realized that these freewrites, especially the ones we did before a major assignment, helped me form opinions more clearly. By casually writing down my thoughts first, I was able to better shape my stance before jumping into the full assignment. Translating my opinions into writing became easier.

I also worked hard to enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment. In my Literature Review, I struggled a lot with structure. I had good ideas, but the transitions between paragraphs were not smooth, which made the flow unclear. I read my drafts aloud, color-coded ideas, and restructured my outline multiple times to fix this. These revision strategies helped me better organize and clarify my writing.

I also learned to practice using various library resources, online databases, and the internet. I had learned the basics of using databases last semester, but I didn’t get to use them much. In this class, I searched for and read several academic journal articles for my projects. I also learned a more efficient way to read articles. Starting with the abstract, I then go right into the conclusion, and then move back up to the methods section if needed. This strategy helped me save time and better understand whether the article was useful for my topic.

Another key lesson was how to acknowledge linguistic differences and use them as a resource for rhetorical sensibility. As English is my second language, I often felt nervous about grammar or expression. But the freewriting activities helped me realize that my ideas matter, even if my writing isn’t perfect. For example, in the freewrite about a “pressing scientific issue,” I found it hard to start writing in English, so I started writing in Korean first. After organizing my thoughts, I translated it into English. It helped me move from thinking to writing more naturally.

Additionally, reading the article “Human Well-Being and Per Capita Energy Use” and the NPR article that translated that academic work into accessible public writing helped me understand the importance of language adaptation. It made me reflect on how complex academic ideas can be rewritten for general audiences without losing meaning.

Through peer review and the Public Awareness Campaign project, I learned about the collaborative and social aspects of writing. For that group project, we came up with a topic and produced multiple pieces of writing for a public audience. By reading my groupmates’ drafts, I learned from their structure and tone, and became more critical of my own. I want to improve this area even more in the future by exchanging feedback more actively.

On the other hand, I still feel that I need more practice in genre analysis and multimodal composing. For the final project, I worked on creating the infographic, which helped me try something new, but I still feel unsure when writing in media formats. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t be sure where to start. This is a skill I definitely want to develop further. I also think I need to improve how I cite and quote the sources. Although I practiced this a lot, I still find it hard to integrate other people’s research smoothly into my own argument. I’m more aware now of the responsibility that comes with citing sources meaningfully.

This class helped me grow as a writer and a thinker. I developed a deeper understanding of rhetorical situations, learned more effective reading and revision strategies, and became more confident in using research. Most of all, I began to trust my own writing process. Writing is not just homework—it is a way to express my ideas and connect with the world. I’m proud of the progress I’ve made and hope to keep improving.