1) Reading Process Essay  - This was first essay that was assigned in English 104.  Before this essay we read something by Mike Rose that  helped us define reading based on our own experiences/beliefs. In this essay I had to explain how I identified myself as a reader by incorporating, “Rhetorical Strategies and the Construction of Meaning” written by Hass and Flower. I had to use the three strategies explained in this reading along with my forum posts to identify the kind of reader I was. The essay was broken up into three parts. The first two parts has to be written in an academic tone and the last part was more of a reflection.  This essay helped me focus on my strengths and weaknesses as a reader.

2) Difficulty Essay- This essay was one of the last essays I was assigned in English 104. Even though at this point we read a lot of various articles, I had to focus on Sondra Perl’s article, “Understanding Composing”. This essay really allowed me to reflect on my individual writing process. We focus of this assignment was to find a problem we see in our writing, expand on this issue and then talk about how we can improve. This essay also allowed me to see my strengths and weakness but not as a reader, instead as a writer.

3) Letter as an Author- This was the last essay we wrote in English 105. All in all, this is the essay that challenged me the most because we had to show a deep understanding of two readings we did and write a compare/contrast essay. I chose “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave and “Being an Other” by Melissa Algranati. This assignment was hard mainly because these readings didn’t have a lot in common. It was hard for me to find a topic that would make my essay flow the way I wanted it too. This essay helped me work on my writing skills because it challenged me to write as one of the author’s, which is what made this assignment very unique.

4) Support Service Essay- This was the very first essay we wrote in English 105. This is was the assignment that I enjoyed the most from both semesters because it allowed me to chose a problem I was passionate about. There was three parts to this assignment. The first one was writing letter to the administration explaining why we wanted our service to continue to receive funding. Then, I had to write a reflection paper on what I learned after the research I did. I was able to apply the new skills I learned in class to persuade my audience: ethos, pathos and logos. Lastly, we also got the chance to get a little creative! Overall this assignment was my favorite and it was a good way to start off second semester.

5) “Right to our own Agency”- Tricia Edmison

Titles

College is..

a “Reading Ladder”

(Reading Process Essay)

“Growing up I was allergic to reading”,

I was forced to read books with

“extraterrestrial vocabulary

and hidden meanings underneath the text”.

I wasn’t foreign to reading

I just didn’t always understand it.

I learned “reading is like a ladder”

You “can’t skip to the top without

stepping on the first two rails

(Content and Function/Feature)”.

I wanted to have a choice,

I wanted to have a voice.

English 105 let me

because I had

“The right to my own agency”

┉

College is..

a “Double R”

(Difficulty Paper)

After reading,

I learned about writing.

Better yet, my writing.

I learned I “get carried away

in trying to satisfy what the reader

wants to hear”

Sometimes I would “focus too much on my feelings

towards the author’s opinions

that I forget to create my own”.

I learned the “foundation…

to be a successful writer:

Repetition and revision!”

Writing is expression

Writing is improvement

Writing is growth

┉

College is…

a “War Within Ourselves”

(Letter as an Author)

What we read can identify our personality,

How we write can reflect on where we grow up.

Identifying ourselves is important.

But “It seems as if ‘identity’

[is] more than a just word.

And more like a war,

a war that we [fight] in,

seeking peace within ourselves

in order [to] find our true identity”.

I learned I can express who I am

through my essays,

through my reading assignments,

and through my reflections.

Because part of identity is how you think,

and how you analyze.

Identity is more than how you look.

“Place might define who you are in society,

but it does not define

who you are as a person”.

Your thoughts and opinions

Identify who you are.

┉

College is…

a “Search for Answers”

(Support Service Essay)

“How can you teach a student to be confident?

To be motivated?

To be a leader?”

There are some things,

school can’t teach.

Sometimes “we learn through experience”

Not always through instruction.

Learning “goes beyond

the walls of a classroom”

Learning is researching.

and exploring.

In college,

you can be your own teacher.

“The more you search

the more answers you’ll discover”.

I identify myself with two names. Ashley and Naomi. My mom told me when I was small there was too many Ashley’s in my kindergarten class so she wanted my teacher to call me by Naomi, that way I wouldn’t get confused. Although, I think the real reason is because my dad named me Ashley and she picked Naomi. My family and my friends up to 5th grade know me as Naomi. It wasn’t until 6th grade when I discovered my real name.

I had just graduated 5th grade and transferred to a different school, St. Peters Catholic School. This was a huge change for me. Mainly because I had to wear uniform. I never though of going to a “nun school”. My first day of 6th grade I was late because I couldn’t find my classroom. And when I walked into class my teacher said “Sit down where you see your name”. I walked down the rows looking down at the yellow folders laying on each desk. I went up the teacher and told her my name wasn’t there and she stared at me and asked to see my slip and said, “your in the right class room. maybe you didn’t check right”. I walked down the rows of chairs once again and saw an empty seat with a folder that said “Ashley Rodriguez”. And I decided to sit down, I thought, “well that’s my last name.. maybe the confused my first name with another girl’s”. When my mom picked me up from school I told her about what happened and that they need to change my name. And that’s when I found out my real name. It took some time to get use too.

I feel more like a Naomi. I hated the name Ashley growing up mainly because there’s no good nicknames for it. I didn’t like being called Ash because it reminded me of the boy from Pokemon. And the other nickname is Ashy, but I didn’t want to be called that at all. I also heard Ashley is a boy name in Europe. Not to mentioned people always spell it wrong. Ashlee, Ashely, Ashly.. etc. Whenever someone says Naomi, I automatically assume its a family member or an old friend from elementary school. Naomi is like my personal name and Ashley is my business name.

This showed that you’re never to old to have fun. It advertised Taco Bell while it gave the impression of what teenagers are doing now a days. It showed our ethics. (Click on title)

A teacher from a precious class introduced me to a club called Students for Quality Education (SQE). This club was formed by students in order to create a student movement to fight for educational rights in universities like SFSU. Clubs like this have made a huge impact on low income families and immigration students. Programs like “EOP” were outcomes of clubs like SQE. Education has been greatly impacted because of the economy in the U.S. While the economy began going down things like budget cuts began arising.Classes started being eliminated and “undegradute fees have arisen 182% since 2002”. Now a days, students cannot get the classes they need to graduate in 4 years. Which means they wind up paying more because they have to stay a few extra years. Go to http://csusqe.org/ for some info.