Written Communication

       The artifact I have chosen to represent my written communication skills is a persuasive essay entitled “Why Cancel Culture?” which I gave during my Writing and Inquiry (ENG-111) course in the fall of 2021. This essay addresses the concept of cancel culture and how it benefits society. I have chosen this artifact because it reflects my ability to understand and engage in the writing process. The instructions for this paper were to construct a persuasive argument on any topic of our choosing following the MLA formatting procedure. For the assignment, I decided to address cancel culture because it was a unique subject that I knew had not been used often in these types of assignments and that was relevant to society at the time.            
        To write an effective essay, I set two goals for myself. The first goal was to develop an effective drafting technique to help me format and structure my papers. This goal helped me structure my essays in a way that allowed the information to flow smoothly and ensured that my writing was organized and not sporadic. There were two resources I used to aid me in the outlining and drafting process. The first was the course textbook titled “The Norton Field Guide to Writing” by Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Weinberg. This book was beneficial because it broke down the entire process of writing a persuasive paper, from choosing a topic to correctly citing sources. It also included an example essay that I could reference while writing. However, the resource that specifically helped me draft my outline for my essay was a blank outline that I sourced from a high school class. This outline was helpful because it broke down the information I needed to construct a persuasive paper effectively. For example, it directly told me how many warrants I needed to source, the best place to introduce definitions, when I should address a counterclaim, and so on. Ultimately, these two sources allowed me to develop a paper drafting technique that made writing more convenient.           
           My second goal was to use the resources allocated to me through the college to help me edit my drafts. Throughout this course and at SPCC, I have learned that having other people read your writing is imperative because it offers a fresh eye and mind to help correct writing errors that I may not see. That is why I wanted to ensure I took advantage of all the tools allotted for this artifact. Within the course, my instructor included assignments like peer and teacher reviews that helped me achieve a portion of this goal. However, submitting my drafts to the academic support center through ReadMe Paper Review was even more advantageous in editing my rough drafts. For example, I submitted my second rough draft and my final paper to be reviewed by an academic tutor. By doing this, they helped me correct grammatical errors and pointed out any formatting errors. In the end, having the chance to have my paper reviewed numerous times helped me reduce stress and be confident in the quality of work I was turning in.  
          Lastly, this artifact was very influential in helping me develop my writing style and process. Thanks to this artifact, I have improved my writing quality immensely by learning the benefits of outlining and the drafting process. For example, it has helped me create more ample writing with relevant and valuable information. With this knowledge, I have taken the tips I learned in this course and used them throughout all my SPCC courses. Likewise, I will be able to take this knowledge with me both in my further education and professional career.