Leah Greco
Professor Hammett
English 1302
Reflective Essay
08/03/2023
Word Count: 526
Reflective Essay
It has been over a decade since I have taken collegiate-level English and Composition related coursework. I was nervous but thrilled as I knew it would aid in sharpening and freshening up my writing skills for this course and ones to come, especially in MLA format. There was an ample selection of social epidemic topics to choose the absurd theme for our project assignments. I was delighted to emphasize on the “depression epidemic" as my thesis, having personal experience of struggling with it and being an advocate for mental health. Before this course, I was not acquainted with “absurd fiction,” but I learned about it very quickly by taking it in this summer accelerated course.
Project one consisted of an argumentative essay to present the depression epidemic as a problem, explain why it is a problem, and propose solutions to combat it. I was overwhelmed with thousands of brainstorming ideas I knew I wanted to put on paper for this topic, but I got hung up on the proper “point, evidence, and explain” (PEE) format. I also learned the appropriate writing process when using acronyms and abbreviations. Thankfully, we were encouraged to pursue “peer review” through the writing center to perfect and properly format our ideas in writing assignments and obtain critical feedback. This was an absolute godsend to catch citation, grammatical, or (PEE) errors before submitting a final project upload.
Project two was much more challenging and consisted of a rhetorical analysis paper requiring excessive critical thinking on how an absurd author would think about the depression epidemic. Yet again, my mind ran a million miles a minute on this assignment, but it took me much longer to consider and apply an author's point of view on depression in the modern sense. I began heavy scholarly research to read more about Albert Camus and his novels in this writing process. I watched videos about him that further intrigued me about this quirky yet very creative and intelligent man. Once I realized we had similar upbringings and outlooks about life, my thoughts and ideas began to flow onto the paper like water. Camus's novels were very metaphorical and exciting. I quickly realized why and how Albert Camus won a Nobel Peace Prize and was a critically acclaimed author, as I did not want to stop reading his literary works. I forced myself to, or I would never have finished my papers.
This course provided a very educational experience, though challenging at times, but in a positive way for creative thinking. I have gained more confidence in my writing and citation abilities, read fantastic literary works, enhanced my creativity, and enjoyed this course. I was very stressed and scared to use citations or attempt paraphrasing due to a negative experience in another class. However, Professor Hammett was able to relax my mind and teach me the proper elements, as any good professor should, while making us utilize helpful resources. I enjoy a good debate, so the argumentative essay was a walk in the park, but I am sure future rhetorical analysis will give me a run for my money, but at least I will be better prepared.
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