Drawing Connections 

Over the course of this semester, I have written several essays that discuss the importance of writing in today’s world. I first wrote about how writing lessons need to be more intensely implemented into students English 1301 courses. I discuss the lack of passion that is absent in present students academic careers, and the lack of reading which has caused the writing process to lose its importance in students eyes. Through Professor John Pekins essay, “A Community College Professor Reflects on First-Year Composition”, he proposes an idea of a course redesign that will heavily incorporate a nation wide assessment of the English 1301 course as a whole, along with integrating critical reading as a vital part of the course. The purpose of a redesign is important because it supports the idea that strong writing skills are important in order to succeed in your desired field of study. 

I also discuss the importance of Discourse Communities I have been a part of in the past, and one I will be a part of in the future. I believe writing about the relation between my Drill Team Discourse Community and my future Film Discourse Community challenged me to think of ways  to connect ideas when writing because these two communities are so different. 

I believe a common thread these Learning Unit assignments share is that they pushed me to think critically and analyze either passages or my own ideas with more depth in order to connect ideas to one central theme. The idea that writing is not important can easily be refuted because it is prominent in everyday life, and I learned that because of all of the assignments I have been given, which pushed me to think out of the box, and connect ideas in order to efficiently communicate my ideas to a reader. I believe these assignments have helped me improve my writing process and understand the importance of finding a theme, and being able to back it up with evidence that accurately supports my ideas that I am trying to convey to the readers. 

The Relationship Between Drill Team and Film Majors

A Discourse Community is a group of people who share the same values, beliefs, interests, and goals. The discourse community I was involved with in high school was Drill Team. I was a part of the McCullough Junior High Highland Girls and Woodlands High School Highsteppers. I became involved with drill team in the seventh grade. In order to be on the team, I had to train myself to become flexible and pick up dances under pressure. There was no guarantee that I would make the team. Usually about two hundred girls tried out for the team, and only eighty girls made it. In order to make the team, you had to prove you were capable of dancing, being flexible, and possessing the traits of a good leader and role model. I learned many important lessons from these two teams, and I believe the values I gained from them will help me with my future career in Radio, Television and Film. 

The dances consist of a lot of tricks that someone who is not on the team would not know. Some examples include: splat, planch, crab, figure skating turns, and press. The dance moves were also very different from other drill teams. We did jump kicks, fans, around-the-worlds, grapevines, sidekicks, and more. The jargon that was used on the team was very unique to the Highsteppers because we were such a different team compared to other school’s drill teams. Mastering these dance moves and tricks did not happen overnight. When I first started out, I was not flexible at all and did not know how to do any of the tricks. Each night, I went to dance classes with other girls who were trying out for the team, and I even attended private lessons with a former Highstepper, Mrs. Wyatt. I remember there were times when I did not think I stood a chance to make the team, and each time, Mrs. Wyatt would tell me “ I can teach you how to be flexible, and how to do tricks, but you will have to teach yourself how to believe in yourself.” She taught me that no matter how good or bad I was at the dances, I needed to show the judges I was worth watching. I needed to show confidence, good leadership, strong communication skills, and show a passion for hard work. I learned I needed to believe I was good enough for the team, and that one of those spots was for me. So with her advice, I practiced the dance moves and tricks, and I also stopped doubting myself. Over time, I became very flexible and the choreography was not as difficult to pick up on short notice. 

Being a part of this discourse community also taught me valuable skills that will help me throughout life. Through this team, I learned the importance of having a good reputation. I was privileged enough to be an officer on my drill team for one year, specifically a Lieutenant. The position of officer was a highly coveted spot on the team that was only given to eleven girls. In order to be an officer, I had to prove I was willing to work extra hard, show great leadership skills, and most importantly preserve the respected reputation of the Highland Girls and The Highsteppers. When I tried out to be an officer, I had to prove I was physically capable of being a lead dancer, but it was more important for the coaches to see how strong my character was. I had to write essays about the power of strong leadership skills, and I also had to participate in interviews with the coaches.

  I learned that it is important to be respectful, give back to the community, work hard, and trust people. I think I really improved my trust skills because a lot of the tricks we did involved partners where our bodies were lifted off the ground, or balanced on top of another teammate. I also learned the value of trusting myself when it came to trying new tricks, which pushed me out of my comfort zone.

I also learned the value of creativity within this discourse community. As an officer, me and the other ten officers met for extra practices to make the dances for the team to perform during Football season and Competition season.  It was very important that we worked together to come up with dances that would leave a positive impression on spectators and judges. This meant that we had to use our creativity and teamwork to choreograph the dances. We met throughout the summer before the school year to make up the dances. At first, we were not very good at making dances together because it was a new experience for us all. As time went on, we learned how to work together to make individual dance moves into one cohesive routine that would impress the judges. Once we learned how to work together, we met every morning for practice, and every afternoon. We were so successful in making up dances, that both the drill team as a whole, and our team of officers took home awards during competition season.  I believe being a part of this Discourse Community has definitely changed me for the better because I learned how to use creativity, leadership, and teamwork skills in order to be successful.  

My Communications major is specifically for Radio, Television, and Film. I want to pursue a career in Screenwriting and Film Production. I am transferring to the University of Texas at Austin, and after reviewing their course outlines, it seems like many of my classes will be centered around media, culture, film history, the many different genres of film, and the elements of film production. 

Since I want to learn how to be a screenwriter, I assume that most of my classes pertaining to screenwriting will include writing assignments about the different genres of screenwriting such as comedy, horror, thrillers, indie, drama, action, and so many more. I think if students have a passion for writing about certain genres, their work will be better. This major involves a great deal of passion, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking. 

There is specialized language that comes with a film degree. I will learn about the elements of directing, cinematography, digital editing, and much more within the career path. I will learn about the creative choices screenwriters and directors make in order to make scenes memorable.  In order to be considered “good writing” within my major, your screenplay should capture the imagination of moviegoers. That is the goal of any screenwriter. Screenwriters try to get their films adapted into films or television series. Some screenwriters even become lucky enough to win awards for their work, such as Oscars. 

To be successful in this industry, it is important to be bold and use creativity to show the world new stories that inspire, uplift, persuade, inform, and entertain people. It is also very important that I uphold a strong, positive reputation in order to be taken seriously, and get to work on the projects I want to be a part of.

 I believe the lessons I learned from Drill Team, such as creativity, and upholding a respectful reputation will help me succeed in my career. My career is very competitive, and a respectful character goes a long way when interviewing for jobs. Since I was on Drill Team, I had to learn how to make routines under pressure, and be vulnerable enough to let my creative side show. With the film industry, it is all about showing off creativity and creating messages and stories that people can connect to. When you first start to make up a dance, you begin with a blank slate, brainstorm, and revise the dance until it is impactful for people who watch it. The same thing happens when writing a screenplay. They are both creative processes which require patience, and hardwork. In drill team, we learned how to tell a story, especially in our Novelty dance, where we were dolls who came to life. Experiences like this taught me how to use the power of storytelling. Creativity is such a powerful skill to have, especially if I want to pursue a career in film because films would not exist if it were not for people who think out of the box and use their ideas to make amazing stories that stay with people forever. 

Discourse Communities have such an important role in people’s lives. They can provide outlets of relaxation, fun, exercise, leadership, and they can teach you valuable life skills. I truly believe that being a part of Drill Team has made me a more responsible, respectful, confident, and creative person. These strong skills and personality traits that I gained through Drill Team will help me pursue and succeed in my Film career because these skills are such necessary tools in today’s world.

A Rhetorical Analysis on John Pekins 

John Pekins’ article, “A Community College Professor Reflects on First-Year Composition” reflects on the issues within the English 1301 course nationwide. The Tallahassee Community College Professor discusses the decline in academic writing proficiency with students entering college courses, particularly in his first-year English Composition class. He believes changes must be made to fix the decline in interest and passion, as well as the competency levels for students taking the class to improve their writing skills, such as a course redesign. Pekins delivers an effective argument that English 1301 is in major need of reevaluation in order to help students succeed in their careers, and lives. 

Pekins structures his article by establishing the problem associated with English 1301 in his introduction and lays the foundation for his essay such as a decline in reading, students struggling with the writing process, and an unclear criteria for the course nationwide. He effectively supports his findings throughout the essay while simultaneously proposing solutions to the courses flaws. I believe he successfully maintains a coherent flow when connecting points he made in his introduction and making sure his arguments follow through to the end. 

Pekins believes in order to help students enrolled in English Composition, he must speak to the correct audience that would be responsible for making that happen. He gears his essay primarily towards English professors, as well as to first-year English Composition students because the problem with English 1301 essentially only applies to students enrolled in the class or the professors who teach the class. Pekins would want these two specific audiences to read the article because it serves as a call to action for professors to alter the course in order to help the students. It is also geared towards first year English Composition students because the article gives students an idea of what is expected of them in the course. Pekins creates a common ground by establishing his credibility as an English professor. The author utilizes third person pronouns, particularly the word “we”.  Pekins does this in order to convey the idea that the course redesign will be a team effort from professors, and students. He provides ethos, or background information about himself, by stating that he has been teaching English Composition for eighteen years. The title of his article itself, “A Community College Professor Reflects on First- Year Composition”, even lays the groundwork for his credibility for readers to engage in his article, and listen to his argument. By doing so, he makes himself a reliable source for English students to listen to, and a relatable voice of reason for fellow English professors.

Pekins sets up his intentions for writing his essay by explaining the problems associated with the course, and the students entering the course, such as a loss of passion, or pure confusion.  The author juxtaposes the standards that English professors have for their students versus what the students are actually capable of. Students struggle to meet the expectations of their English Composition course because the instructors of the class have different expectations for what the course should focus on. He even states that writing processes are so foreign to students that the essays students write suggest that the writing process is a “disturbingly unfamiliar experience”(Pekins). Since student’s writing experience is so diverse, it is hard to engage students in the class, potentially causing a lack of interest from the students. Due to a lack of student interest, it is difficult for teachers to perfect their English Composition criteria because they do not receive feedback from students. Pekins suggests that the lack of interest in writing could be a direct result of students not reading for pleasure anymore. Based off of Pekin’s research, he has concluded that “reading is not an integral part of many entering students’ communications experience” (Pekins). He argues that the decline in reading comes from the presence of technology, particularly television. Technology is what Pekins sees as a driving force in the incompetence of students when it comes to writing. Pekin’s discusses the negative effects that television has burdened the English Composition course with, such as its “addictive qualities …which often appear to contribute to a decline in more active medium of reading.” Why read when there are shows to watch? This question is what Pekins sees as the leading problem for why reading has declined, which is a direct result as to why students are at an amateur level when entering English 1301. 

Pekins stresses that the English Composition course is in dire need of a redesign in order for it to appeal to all incoming English Composition students. He establishes the class as an  “anchor course for their dreams” (Pekins) proposing that its purpose is to help students build a foundation for the writing process in order to succeed in life. Pekins appeals to his audiences emotions by showing empathy, and “heartfelt concern” for his students in English Composition (Pekins). Expressing his pure intentions for the course redesign shows that he genuinely wants to help his students succeed both in the course and in their lives. He wants students to realize why this class is so beneficial. He stresses that no matter what major a student is pursuing, English 1301 is vital because all careers have the potential to involve writing devices such as, “involving thesis, organization, development of support, etc.” (Pekins). Students go into the class without knowing what English Composition is, so he wants to change that. Pekins believes that professors should make a set list of criteria for the course so that students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and what they should expect from the course. He wants to make an even playing field so that all English students can learn at a steady pace. 

Pekins relies heavily on himself as a source, which can weaken his argument. If he wants to encourage professors to rally together to redesign English 1301, it would be beneficial to add more quantitative data. He provides a small amount of quantitative data in the beginning of his essay by listing the average grades of new English 1301 students. This provides an insight into just how much students struggle with the course, which strengthens his argument for the redesign. Concrete evidence such as polls, and data collected from past and present student grades would help professors understand how to help the students. However, his use of qualitative data does improve his plea greatly. He shares data collected by himself, such as anecdotes he has heard from other professors, as well as investigative work about finding English courses that integrate critical reading with writing. Since his essay is geared primarily toward English professors as a call to action, using other English professors as sources is a clever way of proving his point. It supports his argument because there is a better chance the teachers will listen if the points are coming from fellow professors who share similar beliefs.

The author proposes solutions to the English 1301 courses flaws, such as producing a nationwide assessment of the English Composition course in order to produce a set list of criteria for the course. He also suggests integrating critical reading as a staple piece of the course so that students are required to think outside the box and embrace the writing process. Pekins suggests that a complete course redesign might not be an immediate success, but will be beneficial in attempting to encourage students to want to learn about the writing process. He strengthens his argument for the positive effects of the redesign as compared to its negative qualities, by presenting a clear metaphor as to why the integration of reading would improve students’ writing. He presents the idea of what if a doctor studied the art of inhalation, without studying exhalation.These two actions clearly must go together in order for a human to survive. Pekins then goes on to explain how students attempt to write without the process of reading. He compares the art of reading to inhalation, and the art of writing to exhalation. The author confidently states that professors, “cannot ask them (students) to exhale if they do not also understand how to inhale” (Pekins). This metaphor effortlessly explains how the integration of critical reading into the English 1301 course would be incredibly beneficial to students, because the two processes complement each other. 

In his conclusion,  Pekins refutes his points by acknowledging the fact that a course redesign might result in “more vigorous, more challenging assignments and grading criteria,” (Pekins) which might result in short term problems. However, he states that the course redesign will be incredibly beneficial in the long run, because the redesign has the potential to improve students’ competency levels in writing, as well as cause a return of passion in students’ work. Pekins ends his essay with his consistent hopeful tone for the future of students’ academic success and is willing to work hard to make sure English 1301 helps them achieve their goals.

Building Block Number One: Descriptive Summary

English 1301 is a hands-on course where students will study different types of writing processes, such as revising, editing, and identifying rhetorical devices to further explain a topic. The class tackles writing processes through peer revisions and individual work and helps students to think of complex ideas rather than pushing them to stick to one restrictive idea. 

The course consists of three Learning Unit papers, and one Learning Unit website which averages to 15-20% of the students total grade. Learning Units will cover different writing styles that students should know. Students will participate in peer review sessions and undergo vigorous revising and editing to improve their essays. In addition to that, class engagement is 15% of the overall grade. Being engaged in class will help students with analyzing passages in order to find the author’s purpose. All of this builds up students strength and confidence in the writing process. 

Students are expected to attend every class session, with the only exceptions being religious events or UT Tyler athletic affiliations. Having perfect attendance will be a great advantage for students, because they are learning key writing and thinking concepts that will improve with every class they attend.

The overall goal of this course is to help students understand the writing process in order to write a strong paper with strong support and thoroughly thought out ideas. Students will be able to identify a passage’s purpose, and understand the audience for which the text is intended. Attending class and working on the assignments consistently, paired with a conscious effort to improve, will hone students’ writing and critical thinking skills. 

Building Block Number Two: Argument Summary

John Pekins is an English professor at Tallahassee Community College. In his essay, “A Community College Professor Reflects on First-Year Composition” Pekins’s discusses the decline in academic writing proficiency with students entering college courses, particularly in his first-year English Composition class. He believes changes must be made to fix the decline in interest and passion for students improving their writing skills. 

Students struggle to meet the expectations of their English Composition course because the instructors of the class have different expectations for what the course should focus on. Since student’s writing experience is so diverse, it is hard to engage students in the class, potentially causing a lack of interest in the students. Due to this lack of student interest, it is difficult for teachers to perfect their English Composition criteria because they do not receive feedback from students. Pekins suggests that the lack of interest in writing could be a direct result of students not reading for pleasure anymore. Teachers have accepted that there is not a passion for learning to write from students anymore, because most students are focused on taking the course to reach their required credits for their degree. He argues that the decline in reading comes from the presence of technology, particularly television. Technology is what Pekins sees as a driving force in the incompetence of students when it comes to writing.

Pekins believes changes must be made, and proposes solutions such as producing a nation-wide assessment of the English Composition course in order to produce a set list of criteria for the course. He also suggests integrating critical reading as a staple piece of the course so that students are required to think outside the box and embrace the writing process. Pekins suggests that a complete course redesign might not be an immediate success, but will be beneficial in attempting to encourage students to want to learn about the writing process.