Dear Professor Douglas,

After getting my first semester of college under my belt, I felt as if I would have
everything under control when it came to the writing in this course. I can say that I was
adequately prepared for the workload of this course by my previous UWRT professor. Coming
into this semester though, I was not completely sure about what to expect as far as course content
and just like first semester I was surprised when I found out what we would be covering. In the
1101 section of this course, the main theme we were supposed to take away was the idea that
literacy encompassed so much more than just reading and writing and through our assignments
we displayed that. In this section of UWRT the primary takeaway for was an improvement in my
rhetorical knowledge, which is one of the student learning outcomes for this course.
Our introduction to rhetorical analysis came on the second day of class when we started
to discuss rhetorical analysis as it pertains to our reading and thinking and it really started the
process of looking deeper into all things I came across. That same day we were assigned A
Letter from a Birmingham Jail to read for our next class. This was not only my favorite reading
I have ever done but it also helped begin the journey of rhetorical analysis. The text was
highlighted in specific colors to show the reader what type of appeal Dr. King was making to the
reader in order to persuade them, or at least allow them to see the issue as he did. The highlighted
portion gave me an example of ways authors incorporate pathos, logos and ethos in order to
persuade their readers and also provided me with an example of what to look for when it came to
me analyzing works on my own. The fake news articles and google search articles also helped
me get an idea of how to find accurate information for my line of inquiry and how to separate the
real information from the fake information that is out there. As we kept moving through the
course we were introduced to our line of inquiry which is the umbrella that the rest of the
assignments from the semester fell under. I struggled for at least a week picking a topic that had
nothing to do with rap music, but I finally decided to pick something that related to certain
aspects of my life. I chose to research medical marijuana and its possible medical benefits
because for the last seven years my mom has been struggling with reflex sympathetic dystrophy
syndrome, which is characterized by the severe burning pain that people affected by it feel and
the sometimes purple skin on affected areas. The causes of RSD are not known and there is no
cure for it at this time, so I wanted to see if marijuana was a viable medical option to ease my
moms pain.
 After choosing my topic for my line of inquiry my research began, I had to look for
articles that I could use to write my rhetorical analysis. This was the first major assignment in the
course and the first time that I could put what I learned into practice. I chose peer reviewed
articles that showcased views that I found interesting and picked them apart as a part of the
analysis process. I was happy with my overall effort on the assignment, especially since it was
my first time putting what I had learned into practice. I tried to make sure that my audience could
understand what the author was doing and what message they were trying to get across in each
piece and I think I did a good job of that.
The most difficult major assignment for me was the annotated blog post, firstly because I
was unfamiliar with the format we were supposed to do them in but also due to the fact that it
was a lot of work. Although it was tough my blogs are the artifacts that I am the proudest of in
my portfolio, I put maximum effort into each and every post and was rewarded with so much
knowledge on my topic and the nuances that come along with such a complex issue. It was a
chance for me to show how I had progressed when it came to analyzing a piece, taking out the
most important parts and connecting them to others I had read. The assignment that followed
asked me to take voices from my blog posts and insert them into a round table to discover what
the different groups of people associated with my line of inquiry had to say and explain the way
they think about the topic. This incorporated a few of the SLOs that included the composing
process, rhetorical knowledge and knowledge of conventions. Looking back on the round table
essay now I realize how it exposed me to the different ways people think about medical
marijuana and made me more able to connect with other people my topic when having an
academic conversation. While all of this was going on we were also assigned a slam poem that
needed to relate to our line of inquiry, this was also difficult because I am far from a poet but I
feel like my end product helped my peers understand where I was at in my line of inquiry and
how serious the topic is.
The final assignment associated with our line of inquiry was our multi-genre project. This
assignment caught me off guard because I assumed we would just have to write a final research
paper as is the case in my other courses, but this assignment forced us to show versatility and
also creativity. I enjoy being forced to think out of the box and challenged to broaden some of
my intellectual horizons, so this project was welcomed. I chose to do a menu, newspaper, lab
report, cartoon (which it only allowed me to post a downloadable file) and a traditional research
paper. The SLOs used in this project were the composing process, rhetorical knowledge and
knowledge of conventions. This assignment allowed me to reach my audience through a host of
different ways and allowed them to be presented information across different modes each to
provide the audience with new material to provoke thought and conversation.
The culmination of all these different works and assignments can be found in my
portfolio. Each artifact in my portfolio is a major part of my journey through my line of inquiry,
every paper, reflection and blog has its purpose and has propelled me to where I am now in terms
of my thought process and my continued progress in the area of analysis. After everything is
taken into account, I feel as if I have worked hard and shown that I have grown through every
assignment and have presented a high quality portfolio that displays this growth. I put maximum
effort into this course day in and day out and feel better prepared to take on any writing intensive
courses that may be in my future. I also realize that this would have been impossible without a
quality instructor who was ready to help me every step of the way if I needed it and who was
also fair and kind. I truly appreciated my two semesters with you as my professor and would like
to thank you for all of your help.
Sincerely, Ian McAdoo.