Setting Goals for a course

As I mentioned before, I’m not a good writer though I wish I could be. I merely say that I can write with correct spellings and punctuations.  I can express the things I want to say. I can state all my ideas and opinions, but I often commit mistakes in grammar. I also have limited vocabulary, due to my being a non-native English speaker, so I can’t be separated from a dictionary when I write. Now that I’m enrolled in this course, I’ve been given a chance to improve not only my reading skills but my writing skills as well. It will help me build and construct my ideas clearly. I know that this is an important factor in pursuing my dreams in the future, so I’m going to study hard for this course.

Although a bit uneasy at first, I’m having some fun and excitement as I scan the modules for this course. I’m particularly interested with learning rhetorical analysis, which this subject promises to teach. I want to learn how to analyse things that you can make better use of in persuading people with your words, in writing. I believe that all written documents have the primary goal of making people believe, and not just inform or make them react.

This rhetorical analysis correlates in the essay “Writing in the Twenty-First Century”. I think that everyone now has the opportunity to become writers, because we can freely write everything that comes into our minds. I think also that we might be more adept in rhetorical analysis than we expect us to be, since whatever we write in social media nowadays, are opinions about recent issues, such as Climate Change, political programs, etc. Writing about timely events, in words and ways that will be more understandable by others, is I think an application of rhetorical analysis. People even employ rhetorics when writing emails to different people of different statuses or background.

I think everyone has a natural writer inside, but in the past this is not tapped, probably because writers are separated as a culturally different group in society, i.e. they are the more observant, more creative, or both. But now, we are bounded by new models that design new curriculum and teaching techniques, resulting to higher educational learning experience, and more potential for intellectual development and advancement. This opportunity helps us to become effective writers of this generation.

With proper studying in this course and having a plan of activities to be done in sequence, I know that the modules of this class will help me improve my writing ability. For week 1, I need to do module 1. My task is to scan the modules, and probably list down all th tasks or activities I might be prepared for in each module. For week 2, I’ll do module 2, read about and understand rhetorical analysis. Perhaps, reading sample works, short ones of course, of 3 or 4 famous authors will help me in this area. For week 3, I’ll do module 3. I’m going to read chapter 5 and the sample essays indicated to have the knowledge on how to create my own essay. For week 4, I’ll do module 4, list down all my ideas about the topic I chose to become more creative in my insights, and probably research for good sources. For week 5, I’ll do module 5. I need to continue searching for very good references related to community involvement to support my chosen topic with factual evidences from credible sources. For week 6, I’ll do module 6, and maybe module 7, too, which will require me to brush up on rhetorical analysis. For week 7, I’ll do module 8, and read about Vonnegut’s advice to develop my writing style. For week 8, I’ll do module 9. At this time I must be preparing an annotated bibliography for my final paper. For week 9, I’ll do module 10, and start writing my first version of the final paper. For week 10, I’ll do module 11, and enjoy reading creative materials for a change.  Week 11 or module 12 will probably be the most difficult, because I have to write the final paper in the most effective way that I can provide. For Week 12, I’ll be doing the Exam, and finally say goodbye to this course.