Self-Assessment Essay

Throughout the course of the 2019 Spring Semester of the Writing For The Humanities, English composition course designed for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the humanities [such as literature, linguistics, foreign languages, history, classics, philosophy, art history, gender studies, music, and dramatic arts], I had to complete several assignments. The assignments I had to complete were a resume, cover letter, interview, op-ed, arts review, grant proposal, portfolio, a reflection for each assignment and this self-assessment. Upon completing each assignment and reflection, I was able to complete at least one of the eight-course learning outcomes, for each. Furthermore, my perception of what my writing is has evolved over the course of this semester.

Upon completing each assignment I was able to complete all eight of the course learning outcomes. For example, I achieved the “acknowledging my and others’ range of linguistic differences as resources, and drew on those resources to develop rhetorical sensibility” course learning outcome upon completing the arts review assignment and grant proposal assignment. In the arts review assignment, I identified the connection between the artistic goals of the architects of the Salt Cathedral to the actual Salt Cathedral itself. In the grant proposal assignment, I working with a group of people that each had different ideas and strategies but shared a common goal of completing the assignment. I achieved the “enhancing strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment” course learning outcome upon completing the resume, cover letter, op-ed, arts review, and this self-assessment. In the resume/cover letter assignment, I had to draft and revise an early version of the resume and cover letter as well as edit both after revising them. In the op-ed, I had drafted an argument in support of humanitarian aid towards Venezuela. In the arts review, I had to draft and edit the review on the Salt Cathedral that I was writing about. In self-assessment, I actually did just that, as in self-assess my own work. I achieved the “negotiating my own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation” course learning outcome upon completing the op-ed assignment and arts review assignment. In the op-ed assignment, I had used the op-ed writing style to try to convince readers of the importance of pushing humanitarian aid and support for the victims of the civil unrest in Venezuela. In the arts review assignment, I organize my review and formulate certain details in a way that would appeal to art enthusiasts and also be informative. I achieved the “developing and engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes” course learning outcome upon completing the interview assignment. In the interview assignment, I had to develop an interview transcript and engage in an interview with a graduate student which is a collaborative and social aspect of the writing assignment. I achieved the “engaging in genre analysis and multimodal composing to explore effective writing across disciplinary contexts and beyond” course learning outcome upon completing the grant proposal. In the grant proposal, my group and I had to create a multimodal slideshow presentation while engaging in the analysis of homelessness in NYC. I achieved the “formulate and articulate a stance through and in your writing” course learning outcome upon completing the cover letter and op-ed assignment. In both assignments, I had to formulate a stance in order to try to convince the audience of something, either to be in support of something or in favor of my potential employment. I achieved the “practicing using various library resources, online databases, and the Internet to locate sources appropriate to your writing projects” course learning outcome upon completing the op-ed assignment and grant proposal project. In both assignments, I had to search through online CCNY Library databases to find information pertaining to a certain topic and also analyze each source to identify whether or not the information is accurate or not. Lastly, I was able to achieve the “strengthening my source use practices (including evaluating, integrating, quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and citing sources)” course learning outcome upon completing both the op-ed assignment and grant proposal. As mentioned before, I had to develop a bibliography or works cited page in order to provide accurate information. In doing so, I was practicing my source use practice by repeating the act.

Throughout the course of the semester, my perception of what my writing is had evolved. At the start of the semester, I had seen my writing ability as rather mediocre. I was able to provide simple details and provide rather vague explanations for each. An improvement, in terms of my writing ability, was definitely made. Writing is so interesting because it is one of those things which is both a skill and a talent. The difference between those two is that a skill is a buildable, progressive thing you can practice and work on and improve on over time and a talent (at its core) is more inherent. It’s something you have. In terms of how my writing has evolved or changed over the course of the semester, my writing has evolved over time from being more personal and for me to writing FOR and TO an audience and my readers. I am much more focused on trying to give information or teach something than in just writing to myself.

Sebastian Gonzalez-Arboleda – Self-Assesment (PDF Download)