Abstract

This final essay is about every course outcome that I have been able to learn and use throughout the FIQWS class. I included evidence of when I used certain outcomes and I explained in a detailed fashion of the other outcomes being used. It was a process of going back to all the homework, readings, and essays that I had to navigate through and truly see what I learned from them and how it was useful to me.

                                                         All the Outcomes I Learned

            Throughout my time in the FIQWS class, I have kept in mind of all the course outcomes that were spoken about during the first day of class and how those course outcomes would be beneficial to my writing. I had to write cover letters using some of the course outcomes and I believe that those cover letters helped because as I am writing this essay, I already have an idea of what to write about for each course outcome. I have written three essays, done my homework, and gone to the zoom classes, and throughout all these parts of the FIQWS class, I have used a course outcome whether I was aware of using it or not and it has been something that I find useful because these outcomes help to develop a coherent essay that was well thought out and it made me become a better reader and writer.

The FIQWS class was held over zoom and with that I was able to understand the meaning of, “Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences”, because the zoom classes gave an idea of how to communicate with others using technology and although we did not use print as much, knowing that the readings given to us would have been in paper was important. Technology became a huge part in this course because without it I would not have been able to accomplish and learn everything in the FIQWS class without it. I was able to communicate with my teachers and when I had to do a one-on-one conference with one of my professors, it was through Zoom that we held the meeting at. This was a vital part of my learning and understanding of what I can do with my essay and what I should change. Without digital technology I would have needed to figure things out completely on my own without the lectures or advice that my professors were able to give me in their Zoom classes. With the Zoom classes I was also given the opportunity to “Develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes” since during the Zoom classes and for homework’s, we would be set up in pairs or in groups and talk about what we read, what our essays were about and just give the others feedback on essays. It was crucial to read other essays and give feedback not just for the other person but for ourselves. It was good practice on what editing could be like and it could also give inspiration to the writer because sometimes picking a topic could be hard. We were given the tasks of going to the discussion board and have conversations on each other’s essays, statements, thesis, etc., and these were fun and interesting because we were able to see what the other person thought.

During the writing process of the first essay which was the Narrative Essay, we were given a range of stories that all had a meaning to language and the aspects that come with language; some which were how there is racism, self-identity issues, and acceptance. With the readings we were given a worksheet, Rhetorical Worksheet, which was a starting point of how to analyze the short story we were given. This task corelates to the outcome, “Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations”. Using this outcome and having the Rhetorical worksheet because of this outcome came to be a huge help because I was able to use another outcome which is, “Explore and analyze in their own and other’s writing a variety of genres and rhetorical situations” since using the rhetorical worksheet, it had given me many ways of reading and considering of what I should be looking out for. Which is the purpose of the story, who is the intended audience, when was the story/essay created and who the author is, along with other rhetorical strategies. I found this part interesting and engaging because it really made me think about the story and read into depth of its meaning and why it was created. Which led me to use those strategies in my own writing because I know that there are others who could be reading my own work and thinking about the rhetorical strategies. It was good practice to have and it made reading and figuring out the story better.  

Rhetorical Situation Worksheet

When writing my second essay which is the research exploratory essay, I was able to, “Develop strategies for reading, drafting, revising, and editing”, throughout my process. Having the one-on-one conferences and peer-reviewing helped in editing and creating a well-developed essay. Knowing what I was missing and need to work on was developed by drafting and rereading my paper multiple times. I came to terms with the fact that drafting is a critical part of a creating an essay because with a draft, you can make mistakes and write down all your thoughts. Then you can go back to the draft after peer-review and edit the essay so that it can be the best product. Another part of the research essay is that I had to learn how to use the University’s library and read as many articles as possible that were credible. Thus, making me use the course objective, “Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine, and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives an on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, and bias.” I was to make an annotated bibliography and with using that, I was able to locate research sources that were credible, accurate and formed an idea of their bias. This part of the research paper was important because without the annotated bibliography, I would not have been able to find the right sources that correlated to my topic and were accurate. Along with finding the right sources I was able to “Practice systematic application of citation conventions” because this part of the research paper was essential to quoting the other authors. I would not have been able to receive a good grade or any grade at all if I were not able to use citation since it would be considered plagiarism if I did not know how to use it. This part may have been the hardest one too because it was also a tedious part since we had to follow the MLA format which is usually used in many essays. Citations could become easy the more I use it and I do find it reliable because I can make sure that I am doing it right by using a website called Owl Purdue and it helps in creating an MLA citation. Below I included a section of the annotated bibliography to show how I was able to conjure up an idea of what sources I should use, and it gave a reason as to why I was using the source and how to cite it. It also helped in finding a specific quote because at the end of summarizing and synthesizing the source, we had to find one or two quotes that go along with the thesis.

                                                           Annotated Bibliograph

In the PDF research paper, Conflict in Catalonia: A sociological approximation (2019), authors Thomas J. Miley and Roberto Garvía, who are part of the Department of Sociology in the University of Cambridge and in the Department of Social Sciences in the Carlos III University of Madrid, respectively, asserts that language and ideologies are major contributors to the idea of independence. Along with the fact that Catalonia’s culture and behavior and suggests that Spain will have to find a solution because if they continue to go against Catalonia’s wishes in becoming independent, they could be tyrant. Both authors back up this claim by doing the following: first they bring into consideration the attitudes of the people in Catalonia by making surveys on the language policy, then, they use surveys that have been done in the past to ensure the fact that there is conflict in the independence matter and the factors the contribute to independence (which language should be taught in schools, etc.); finally, they have used many outside sources to continue with their research. Miley and Garvía appear to write in hopes of shedding some light to the problem arising in Catalonia over the language in which will be used and taught in schools as well as how it relates to the identity of the people to let the reader know that there are valid in which a country should be allowed to seek independence, especially if the people want it but they also show how there are others who want to continue to stay united. Because of the author’s informative tone, it seems as if they write for a political audience.

In this research paper, the credible authors are helping with the research topic on how people from Catalonia view the idea of Catalan being taught in schools, by conducting a survey from those who consider themselves pro-independence and pro-union. It can help further the point that language and nationalism can be integral to one’s independence and how it can be used. This research also goes into the same area as my second source, the one with Kathryn A. Woolard, in which it has the idea that language is used as a nationalistic way for the people in Catalonia. Although, in this research essay, Miley and Garvía use statistics to further their analysis it is their proof that there are people in Catalonia that want to have Catalan as a main language to show their culture and power that will not be hindered. But this research paper can also be used to counter-attack the other sources because in some surveys we can see that there is more of a want to stay together rather than separate from the rest of Spain. It can be used to further the research topic that schools, language, and nationalism are all interconnected, and they can be detrimental to students in Catalonia but also create a union in Catalans culture.

Lastly, the last course outcome would be to “Recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users”, this course outcome, in my opinion, is the main outcome that really stood out. In all my essays, the underlining meaning and message that I was writing about was how there are languages that oppressed, there is a hierarchy when it comes to languages and its dialects and how there are moments in which language can be empowering. In my Critical Analytical essay, I wrote about a Native Indian girl who was being oppressed because she did not speak English. I went into detail of what those moments in her life meant and how language could be taken into a negative connotation. In another moment when I read the short essay by Amy Tan’s, Mother Tongue, we read about how her mother was illiterate just because she spoke in “broken English”, this was a form of oppression and hierarchizing a person for their usage in a certain language. But then we read about June Jordan and how she was able to embrace and show her students the importance of their dialect which is “Black English”. It was an essay that showed that although a dialect or language may be looked down upon, there should be no shame in using the language you have grown up with because it represents who you are and not what you are capable of.

“And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.” (Tan 11) Shows the oppression Tan’s mother had to endure because of her “Broken English”.

“Because I have never taught anyone Black English and, as far as I knew, no one, anywhere in the United States, had ever offered such a course, the best U could say was ‘I’ll try’”. (Jordan 365) The fact that June Jordan is embracing her dialect and wants to teach other students who are in the Black Community, the dialect that they grew up with, as an academic standing language is encouraging for others and herself. To break away from “Standard English” and its notions that it is the language that intellectual people speak and write in.

These course outcomes have been vital to the process of becoming a good reader and writer. I was able to cultivate all these outcomes and try to use them all in different ways. Evaluating my own essays and reading the feedback on it has been important in writing this essay because I realize that there is always room for improvement. I have even used some of these course outcomes outside of the FIQWS class because I realized that these outcomes were not just to use them in class but to use them outside and be able to analyze and find credible sources for my own benefit. Learning these course outcomes have become part of my learning and writing. I believe that I am a better writer now than when I first came into the FIQWS class and it is because of the course outcomes and its power to help me analyze my readings and essays.

Work Cited

Jordan, June. “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan.” Harvard Educational Review, vol. 58, no. 3, 1988, pp. 363–375.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Threepenny Review 1990; 1989.