So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good-bye

As the semester comes to a close, I have started thinking about how far I have come as a writer throughout the course of English 225. I have learned more about myself as a writer in the way I approached each assignment for this class. There were definitely times when I felt the workload in English 225 was very overwhelming. Until mid-October, I walked out of class most days feeling confused, stressed, and like I had too much to do for only this class. However, as I became accustomed to the expected workload of English 225, I began to strategize how to wisely utilize my time to write thoughtful papers. Meeting with my instructor outside of class really helped me to organize my ideas and outline what I wanted to write for each paper. Now, I can say that towards the end of the semester, I actually looked forward to coming to English class. I grew to become very comfortable around my instructor and peers, and felt that I was more able to express the social identity I discussed in my first few posts in this class.

My instructor has done an excellent job of teaching this class. She has taught me a methodical way to approach rhetoric, using mature reasoning and evidence containing logos, pathos, and ethos. In previous classes, I had always seen argumentation as containing only logos: facts and statistics. But I saw the powerful impact ethos and pathos could play in conveying a writer’s point. I liked how I was allowed to develop the same thesis and topic throughout the semester, and how I could relate what I learned in English 225 to my own learning. Through studying the biopsychosocial approach for three months, I do thoroughly believe that it is important to implement it when doctors interact with patients, and personally plan on using it when I become a doctor. Writing each paper taught me a different angle of rhetoric: gathering facts to learn more about a topic, taking a stance to convince an audience that an idea is valid, and persuading an audience to take action. The papers I have written for this class are much deeper than my previous concept of research papers, and have allowed me to stretch my mind and view facts from multiple perspectives and integrate information from various sources. I enjoyed being able to apply concepts I learned in class to something I am passionate about. While doing my research, sometimes I looked things up just because I was curious, and it didn’t even seem laborious like I had to do work for a class. I am certain that the analytical writing skills I have acquired from English 225 will benefit me in future biomedical engineering courses and in my medical studies.

During persuasion presentations, my instructor pointed out how every student in the class started with the same prompt, yet we developed it in such different ways to suit our own interests. Topics pursued by my classmates ranged from changing medical school admissions, to binge drinking, to the media’s construction of a professional athlete’s identity. Whoever thought that studying identity could take on so many forms? With that said, I have really enjoyed learning about the identities of my classmates and instructor over this semester. I hope that you have enjoyed reading my blog and have gotten to learn a little more about me and my identity too!