City College of New York 

160 Convent Ave 

New York, NY ZIP 10031 

English 110, City College of New York 

160 Convent Ave 

New York, NY ZIP 10031 

Dear, English Department, 

Initially, I never felt writing as one of my strengths. I’ve always considered myself more of a STEM student because I have excelled in the math’s and sciences. As a student, I have tried to improve my writing by completing writing assignments that I was forced to do. As a young professional, I have written resumes with the notion that it was something I was forced to do to get a job. What I am trying to derive at is the mentality I had coming into this class. My theory of writing started off by having this feeling of doing something unwillingly. This feeling puts an imaginary cap on the potential I could have as a writer and limits me. I narrowed my thoughts on only as a form of expressing ideas to those who are interested in reading. The best example is my Source Based Essay. When I came about writing this assignment, my goal was to simply deliver what I was asked to do. I followed the prompt like I do with most writing assignments and compiled my ideas in an organized fashion and quickly skimmed through it for grammar mistakes. Once that was done, I’d submit it and hope for a grade. After submission I would never think back at the writing process and would continue-on with the next assignment. I had this “whatever attitude” and realizing it now there is way more to writing that simply doing what is asked of you. The next assignment was a reflection on the writing process and at first it was tedious. I was annoyed with the assignment prompt until I started writing my personal 

 thoughts on my writing process. It was therapeutic and I came to my first conclusion: Self-Reflecting on your own writing process could help with revision, puts value in your work, and may help you strategize upcoming assignments 

Self-Reflection is the process of analyzing and writing about your own process. This concept is something new to me that I have discovered in this class and there are many benefits to it as well. After my first reflection I realized how empowering it was, and it motivated me to go back to my essay and revise it. After writing about my own challenges in my reflection I came to realize solutions to my problems in my writing process. For example, one of the challenges I faced was gathering my research for my Source Based Essay and I mentioned how I resolved this issue. When it came to write my Research paper it was much easier to gather my research because I used my plan I had in my reflection. The reflection process is an important part of writing in general and if it were not for this class it wouldn’t be a part of my theory of writing. I understood it better when I read the excerpt written by Sandra L. Giles, “Reflective writing and the Revision process”, it introduced her perspective on the importance of reflective writing. The author mentioned she would make her students write a “letter to the reader” as a way of the writer to self– evaluate what they were writing. Unfortunately this concept did not work for her students because she did not appreciate how influential it was to reflect on writing and since she didn’t go through the revelation herself at the time; it was ineffective for her students to fully grasp the idea of reflection. After the workshop class she implemented reflection and reflective writing to all her classes. It did not matter what genre of writing she was doing whether it be nonfiction or fiction she felt it gave her more comprehension of what her intentions would be for the audience. Her overall message being reflection was a part of the writing process in order for the writer to gain more insight. Sometimes through the writing process an author can regurgitate and stumble their ideas on paper and as a result can be difficult for the audience to understand what the purpose is. The author finally achieved a version of “processed notes” of her own for students. It was a cover letter for their essay. It would be typed, stapled to the top of the final draft. In that cover letter, students had to explain “what you intend for the essay to do for its reader…”(194) She is an instructor to her students but she was also a fellow writer that helped other writers improve on their work. This article foreshadowed the strength of reflective writing and how beneficial it was to her. 

An article that helped me understand rhetorical elements was the, Rhetorical Situation, by Lloyd Bitzer, He mentions that he wants natural contexts behind the writer’s rhetorical discourse, the characteristics and how do those characteristics build up the rhetorical situation. In a way, I incorporate this in my writing because when you identify the situation going on and the actions behind it as well as the protagonist and the people impacted by it strengthens your essay. Rhetorical situation is all based on human perspective and how it affects us. Throughout his article, he uses analogies and examples to describe rhetorical situation and the characteristics behind it. A rhetorical situation might not have the same impact for myself as it does to you. 

Once it came to my research paper, I had already read Lloyd Bitzer’s Rhetorical situation and integrated his ideas of rhetorical elements into this paper. Previously, I never cared about rhetorical elements in my essays but after reading his article I’ve learned that identifying the rhetorical elements in your writing enhances the reader’s experience. Understanding the rhetorical situation, the genre, the author’s purpose, tone, stance, and the medium helped me dissect the research articles I gathered for my research paper. As I compiled my Research paper together it was easier to prove my thesis because the information was laid out better once the rhetorical elements were established. This was done because of the post-reflection on my Source Based essay mentioning how I felt the rhetorical elements were beneficial to me in my writing process. 

               By incorporating Reflective writing and Rhetorical elements in my writing, it has helped me understand the value in my theory of writing. One thing we focused hard this semester was different type of genres as well. This came into play when writing my composition of two genres. If you did not understand the way genres work, then it would have been difficult to convey my ideas to my audience.  At the beginning of the semester, the professor introduced us to an article called Navigating Genres. In the article, Navigating Genres by Kerry dirk, she talks about the theory of genre and how throughout history the way people perceive genre has evolved. Her purpose of writing this article was to be informative yet personal and discuss the definition of Genre. In the beginning of her narrative, she gives us a small anecdote on Country music. Many people perceive this type of music so many ways based on how it makes them feel. However, she questions us, what if we were to write a country song that does not do anything that classify the norms of Country genre. This was my introduction to understanding what qualifies a genre. 

She then goes about telling us how she came to the process of writing her essay almost like a reflection. As she searched for references, a guide to deliver her message; she noticed that most writers were conversational and gave their personal touch in their essays. She proceeds giving us small anecdotes throughout the essay of her previous experiences with writing professors. She admits her struggle with genre theory and how genre has had a “bad reputation” over time. The first fundamental she explains is the ideas of the rhetorician Lloyd Bitzer who basically said that anytime something new happens that requires an initial response; when the same thing happens again, people will use the first response as a basis. This reoccurrence eventually leads to a new genre developing. An example she gives that best exemplifies this was George Washington’s first state of the union address that allowed presidents after use overtime.  

Another concept the author discusses on Genre is it can be used to accomplish goals. The way you can do it is by manipulating the rhetorical situation to do what you desire. Now depending on the situation, you would use different rhetorical elements that would build the genre that would best convey your audience. She also gives us an example of two popular genres like horror and chick flicks. The reason behind why we choose to watch movies like this or not is because instinctively we already know what kind of emotions and expression’s they evoke from us and because we enjoy or dislike these feelings is why we do it. The writers understand the behaviors and emotions it creates for us. The comprehension and awareness of this allows for movie companies to make their money. The author states, “Your goal is to recognize these shifts in location and to be aware of how such shifts might affect your writing”. This is an important concept to consider because depending on who you are writing for, the style and message of your paper even if it is meant to be informative can change. An example I can think of is a comedian who talks about real world issues in a joking manner could be different in delivery as opposed to a news reporter. What changes here is location in which both people deliver their message. 

When focusing on the composition of genres I knew that I had to apply the rhetorical elements like understanding my audience and using the right genre so I could deliver the message that we need to transition to a more environmental–friendly habit / product that is not plastic. I wrote in my rationale and my reflection that plastic has proven to be essential in our lives because it is cheap, lightweight and easy to use. However, our natural habitats and ecosystems are in danger because we are polluting them with plastic waste. The amount of plastic pollution has far surpassed the billions and the number increases every day impacting the planet.   

The purpose of my work was to spread awareness to a transitioning adult audience like college students. I choose this audience because this generation is open-minded to new decisive actions, they could make that will impact the next generation. Also informing college students and making them more aware is knowledge that will be passed onto their kids later–on. In my presentation I list simple ways that we can prevent the usage of plastic. The most infamous case of pollution that is alarming is the Garbage patch in the Atlantic Ocean. The Garbage Patch sits in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and it is said to be the size of Texas. Texas is almost the same size as most international countries and the fact that the problem has reached that size is alarming.  

In addition, the transition from my research project to the composition of genres was a smoother transition than I expected. I had everything planned out on an outline as I did in my previous research paper.  The process for me was not difficult, however, I had to come up with a way for me to effectively communicate to my audience. I choose my audience to be college students who I feel are the next in line to change the future. College students are mature enough yet juvenile and have a willingness to spark a change. I myself am a student so I know the obstacles College students face and how busy they can be. However, with everything going on in the world this group of people are the best fit to create change. The best way I believe to portray the rhetorical situation of how humans are consuming too much plastic that it adversely impacting our ecosystem, natural wildlife, our food, and even our home is through a power–point and a flyer. 

The two genres I chose were a power–point and a flyer because it challenged college students to avoid plastics. The power–point will educate students with some statistics on the origins of plastic, the statistics on Plastic usage in the most current decade, it will also give some alarming statistics on what it’s doing to marine life and humans. Finally, the power–point ends with alternatives to using plastic goods. The power–point is meant to be short to not bore the audience plus college students are very busy and it would not be hard to talk to a student audience. The Flyer will be used for students to pick up on campus as well as posted around the school so they can see how they can refrain from synthetic goods. Students like being involved as well so it is a great way for them to be involved in the community. Overall, the goal of my paper was to educate people on the harm we are doing to the planet and I feel that learning about Rhetorical situations and reflective writing has helped me better when it came to finish this assignment. 

My theory of writing has helped me not only inside the classroom but outside it as well. I have applied the knowledge of reflection and understanding rhetorical elements in my actions and habits. When it comes to studying for a different class my own form of self-reflecting in classes like Chemistry and Calculus help me realize things that I don’t understand and things I should improve on. I also mention earlier authenticity, being authentic and having your own personal style is also something I apply to my theory of writing. This could be when I interact with friends, classmates and professors my theory of writing is like my voice. 

Another positive influence my theory of writing has had is it continues helping me with my professional life. When applying for a position at a company sometimes they ask for a resume and or a cover letter. These documents are the best way to present yourself to a company and sell yourself to the employer. A Resume may change depending on the experiences you had since your last update in the document. Luckily, I have been given numerous opportunities that I am constantly updating my resume. Other ways writing has helped my professional career are by recommendations letters given by past employers. My last recommendation letter was from a CEO for a company called Sterling Affair. His letter helped me get employed by my current employer.   

Overall, my theory of writing is something I implement in my daily assignments. When sending a text message or writing a paper, it is a theory that is always improving and changing. This theory of writing has continuously grown as my understanding of the assignments I’ve done grown too. In chronological order from the Source Based essay to the Inquiry Based essay to the Composition in Two genres I feel that my writing has improved most effectively when I self-reflected for the most part. After each essay I incorporated what I learn from these short readings and analyzing them to be aware of ideas that could add to my theory of writing 

Sincerrely, 

Sebastian Romero,  

Student of , City College of New York