Composition - English 1010:

Introduction to Writing

To satisfy the English 1010 General Education requirement, I took James Celestino's course in the Fall Semester of 2016. Initially, my only reason for enrolling in the course was the fact that it was one of the general education requirements for an Associate's degree. However, as I continued in the semester, I began to notice how much the course was facilitating my progress in becoming a better writer and that I was developing the ability to think more critically about ideas and events going on around me. English 1010 also provided assistance to me in my other General Education courses, since being a skilled and concise writer is always important on papers, and essays in every course, regardless of whether it is stated directly or not. Challenges I faced in this course were, for the most part, making sure I finished all of the assignments on time, and to the best of my ability, through editing, revising, and ensuring the correct syntax was utilized in all of my work. For the signature assignment, I will include my Independent Exploration Project on the United States’s current "War on Drugs" policies titled "How the "War on Drugs" Harms Us All,” along with the Annotated Bibliography that details my source content.

  

English 1010 Reflection

 Reflection Questions:

• How does your performance on this assignment demonstrate achievement of-- or progress toward-- SLCC’s college-wide learning outcomes?
• How does this assignment (or the whole course) connect with what you learned in another Gen Ed course?
• What impact did the assignment have on you or your understanding of the world? Did it challenge any of your assumptions?
• What process did you go through to complete the assignment?
• What challenges did you face in completing the assignment? How did you address them?
• What does this project demonstrate about your learning process in English 1010?
• How does this project demonstrate your progress with respect to the English 1010 course goals?

    Reflection Answer:

         My performance on this assignment showed progress towards communicating effectively, and critical literacy of writing through the use of a professional syntax and voice to assure that the message of the essay was heard loud and clear. Furthermore, through editing and revising my essay to ensure that it was cohesive and sent the message across I desired it to send, I showed effective communication starategies and critical literacy. The essay also demonstrated progress in critical thinking since I had to examine many different sources, and opinions regarding my topic, and engage the opposition on my topic to create a valid argument for my essay. I also was forced to examine any negative biases or assumptions I had about consumers of illegal substances, or about drug culture in general.

     Progress towards civic engagement through dispelling all the negative stereotypes associated with consumers of illegal substances, as well as showing how the War on Drugs affects us all through civil forfeiture statutes. English 1010 connected to many of my different courses by teaching me how to be an effective and well-spoken writer, and how to think critically about the world around me. English 1010 also covered some of the same topics as my other courses, such as diversity, and disadvantaged groups protesting for their rights in the case of the Black Lives Matter Movement and the original 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. This assignment affected my understanding of the world by making me realize how cruel and unjust the War on Drugs is to drug consumers through incarceration, mandatory minimum sentencing laws, as well as the American public through civil forfeiture statutes that can and are used to steal property from people innocent of any crime. It also challenged assumptions I had about people that suffer from an addiction to illegal substances through revealing that they are ordinary everyday people that just so happen to use substances we deem “immoral” or “evil” and that they shouldn’t receive the treatment they currently do in society.

      The process and challenges I went through to complete this assignment were mostly just finding time to accurately research and write a strong persuasive argument on the War on Drugs, in addition to attending, and completing assignments in my other courses. I addressed this problem by scheduling to write portions of the essay and review and edit it before draft reviews and the final deadline. This project demonstrates my progress in the English 1010 course goal of mastering the use of the Rhetorical Strategies of logos, ethos, and pathos through the deliberate and careful use of syntax and quotes to convey a logical and credible argument.

      I also clearly identified the audience I was speaking to and the purpose of my argument. I exhibited my progress in regards to conventions of writing through correctly citing the source material I used both in the essay and on the works cited page, along with crafting effective sentences and attending to the overall structure of the project. I displayed a mastery of critical thinking processes through the delivery of a compelling and logical argument as to why we should abandon our current drug prohibition policies for a more reasonable solution to the United States drug problem. I displayed progress in regards to composing processes through editing and revising the essay many times to ensure it was cohesive and easy to understand, alongside receiving the feedback of others in regards to what was and was not working in the essay.

The following is the Final Draft of my Independent Exploration Project, along with an accompanying Annotated Bibliography: