What I Have Learned

While writing both the Synthesis and Image analysis essay, I learned a lot about critical thinking, and how important it is in academic writing. I wrote my synthesis essay about generations, and before I had researched the topic, I really had no idea that people were criticizing our generation as harshly as they do. Whenever I began the essay I was very skeptical about what I was going to write about, but after learning how to effectively question the writing and actively pose a question to the author, I came up with a general idea that instead of blaming each other, both of the generations should group up to make for a brighter future. In the image analysis essay, when I started my revision I decided that I wanted to completely change my second image. I feel that my second message, stating that sex will always be present somehow in advertising, but making it appropriate is what the focus should be on, was much more effective. I felt that by changing my image I could pose a much better argument and a much more interesting paper overall. It was interesting to analyze images and see what most human's over look when analyzing images, such as the first image we looked at saying "this is not a pipe," although it was a pipe, however it was only an image of a pipe. Another theory that I enjoyed learning about was how Professor Brown doesn’t think that grades are the most important thing. I agree with him in the sense that we put way too much emphasis on a letter grade we want to get in the class, rather than the content of what the class is structured by. Focusing more on the content of my papers, rather than what grade I got on it has helped me to grow as a writer by realizing that the work I put in my assignments is more important than a single letter given by a teacher. Throughout the time of W131 I have grown immensely as a writer by learning these writing techniques which helped me to grow and prepare for the future.