REFLECTION
Analysis essays are the bane of my existence. On the other hand, argumentative essays are my favorite. I came into this course thinking it would be an absolute breeze—I could not have been more wrong. The topic I had originally chosen was about adults in children’s spaces. This topic piked my interest because of my younger cousin who was basically raised by a tablet. I noticed he was being taught problematic ideologies and would mimic almost everything he saw on YouTube. I wanted to dive into what is known as ‘Elsagate’, but I could not find any credible or scholarly sources about the topic. Which is why I decided to go with the topic of parasocial relationships predominantly in East Asia.
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When it came time to write the argumentative essay I was ready! I did have a little setback with the topic change, but the new topic was one I had background knowledge on. As an avid listener of Korean pop, I have seen how parasocial relationships are more prevalent than ever. Before I started writing I created an outline listing my solutions and what each paragraph should contain. This helped me stay on topic and allowed the rest of my essay to flow together. Although I made my outline I felt like none of what was written showed cohesion, but that was all in my head as my only mistakes were semicolons and citations. I despise semicolons and have a bad habit of using regular commas instead. Using the APA format was also new to me and I found myself struggling with using it instead of MLA. Overall, the argumentative part of the essay was a breeze!
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Now, the rhetorical analysis part caught me off guard. I chose to write about Alfred Hitchcock and the essay alone made me hate Hitchcock. However, as I did my research it gave me more reason to dislike him. I felt like my claims were not being backed up properly and I was grasping at straws. I usually have no trouble meeting a word count, but it was extremely difficult for me this time around. I spent hours at my desk, blankly staring at my screen hoping I could think of anything to write. This essay also made me realize that I am not the best at finding scholarly articles. In the end, I completed the essay and met the word count!
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Ultimately, I breezed through the argumentative essay and struggled through the rhetorical analysis. I learned I work best under pressure although it stresses me immensely. This course has only strengthened my writing skills. I took Professor Hammett’s composition one class which helped me with what was expected. This course has solidified my love for argumentative essays and English in general.