In all honesty, I was not expecting this FIQWS class to be as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Although science is typically my favorite subject and class in school, this semester threw me for a loop when I realized I looked forward to this class. Not because it was easy, but because of the skills I learned for a task I usually struggle with. I don’t like English classes because I dread writing but this class made me realize it’s not all that bad. I realized the importance of gradually writing a paper and making progress on it day after day instead of leaving it for the day that it’s due. Also, the importance of outlining a paper with the ideas helps the direction of the paper incredibly and I never paid mind to that until this semester. I’m confident to say that my writing skills for paper have improved and I’m a little more confident at it.

My Language and Literacy Narrative was the start of getting used to writing because I knew there would be more papers up ahead. It might’ve been the paper I dreaded the most but even then, I still improved my writing skills. I believe this paper was the start of my integrating my voice into my writing pieces. Because I’m science-minded and am used to cultivating research papers and reading journal articles, writing to me was typically bland and I often projected that. This prompt was not science-related, however, so I took the opportunity to bring out my personal feelings and experiences to portray a part of me which was my language. I shared a personal interest in learning ASL one day to deem it more authentic with the reader, not that I lied, it’s a genuine goal of mine. I remember struggling with making my paper and what growing up learning two languages sounded like a unique piece and experience. But, it seems like almost everyone I know shares the universal experience of translating documents for their parents. That is what I tried to fix in my paper and I hope my use of pathos worked.

In one of my favorite papers, the Op-Ed, I learned that language brings about the connection between the writers and readers so it is arguably the most important aspect to establish in a paper. Therefore, I aim for my audience to be encouraged to implement Westchester Green County’s carbon emissions reduction strategy in schools. I alter my language in this Op-Ed to be inspiring and compelling for those of authority; policymakers, superintendents, and principals, to understand that this is a project that should be seriously considered. I also aim to capture the interests of other students who want to be part of change but don’t know how to contribute. I hope students realize that they can take on leadership roles in their respective schools and cultivate the same change. I believe the writing concept of ethos in this op-ed is strong as I bring about personal anecdotes of the process of accomplishing change within my local community. It was curated from the beginning of my senior year and I still plan to continue this project, even as a graduate from my high school. One of the most meaningful insights I’ve gained pursuing the carbon emissions reduction project is that sometimes you can try to change the language in which you emphasize important issues, yet they will still not see your side. Some people are incapable of being communicated to and sometimes you have to accept it. This assignment has allowed me to solidify my stance with my thesis after much editing and rewriting over days. I’ve realized that to get a paper going, my thesis has to be established and from there, it gets easier to support it.  

Onto my research essay assignment, gene editing on humans is such a debatable topic as it can bring good to people but can also be used for bad if it falls into the wrong hands. This research paper takes into account the many research sources I’ve cited to back up my stance. I’ve used both peer-reviewed research articles and websites with journals and statistics. The collection of sources I’ve gathered has helped me integrate my stance on using gene editing only to revert mutated genes and not designing the children we have. Creating the references has strengthened my skill in writing citations for future papers. As well as getting used to applying in-text citations throughout my writing. Overall, my sources have helped me solidify my thesis and elaborate my thinking. I have paid attention to my writing and how to get my many points across in this long research essay effectively. I’ve implemented rhetorical strategies such as questioning the reader and being mindful of the audience so that my research essay is understandable. I typically don’t outline my writing pieces but I tried it out for this research essay and I believe it helped guide what to write next and how to transition into new paragraphs. I was stuck on the structure for this assignment but after outlining, I could finally get a draft coming along. And after collaborating with peers, I learned that the new strategy I tried worked. So, I can see myself doing so again, especially for big writing pieces like this that don’t come with a specific body paragraph layout.