Reflection 3
1) What were the most effective strategies and skills for academic writing
that you used this semester? What are some areas of your writing that you
feel like you are improving in and what is something that you’re doing that is
helping you improve?
I think the most effective strategy to convince the audience with my argument
is by raising an opposition and explaining the objection to it. For instance, for
the academic paper we are writing, we are required to place an objection to
our own argument and use evidence to explain why the criticism is
notwithstanding. The objection can be a common misconception held by the
readers. Explaining why the objection is perceived wrongly make my
argument stronger. I have been improving on creating the summary of the
articles I cited. During my high school, I always had the difficulty in
paraphrasing the article. Yet, the strategies that I learned in the writing
session such as providing the central idea based on my understanding instead
of finding synonyms for words in the articles have helped me a lot in
generating a better summary paragraph.
2) What areas for improvement do you feel like you still have to work on
this semester? What can you do to improve in these areas?
The major part that I want to improve on my writing is the logic in my
explanation and I want to learn to have better choice of words and phrases to
make my argument concise. In the “They say I say” book, there are many
suggestions about the sentence structure and phrases which can make my
explanation more logical and convincing. I may also need to improve my use
of appealing to the audiences’ in pathos, ethos and logos so as to better
persuade the readers with my explanation. I may need to have improve my
vocabulary and pay more attention with the way other authors constructing
their arugument when doing the reading for my reading class.
3) How would you rate your overall participation so far, including speaking
up in class, participating in discussions and group work, and presenting? Using
the rubric on the next page, give yourself a letter grade (A, A-, B, etc.) and
briefly justify your answer. Make sure to point out both your
strengths/accomplishments and areas for improvement.
In my own opinion, I have an A- for the overall participation rate, a mixture of
leadership and contributor. I usually come to class well-prepared and I am
willing to initiate the discussion of a topic during a group discussion. I often
make eye contact with the instructors and other students when they are
talking. Yet, sometimes I will be distracted by off-topic tasks. I sometimes take
notes for the pre-assigned readings and videos. However, I did not always
remember to do it. Taking notes actually helps me to be more enege with the
class discussion. Therefore, I will try to practice it more often to let it become
one of my leaning habits.
4) How has this class shaped your thinking about our course topics:
globalization, language, and/or identity? What insights or questions has this
class raised for you as a global citizen or international student?
This class has somewhat reshaped my perspectives on globalization,
language, and identity. It suggests the connections between language,
identity and globalization, revealing how cultural diversity shapes our identity
with the significance of language participating in it. As an international
student, it made me realize about the extensive power of language in
fostering understanding among diverse cultures and identities. I now
recognize globalization is not merely as a phenomenon representing
interconnected economies with higher global economic growth, but as a
complex good and bad influences on languages and identities in various
cultures. It also raises my wonder in what is the best way to preserve culture
in the face of globalization, especially for culture in small countries.