The Developmental Procedure
The development of English 1103 has allowed my growth as a writer to shift focus away from writing non descriptive papers. Instead it has allowed me to spend a semester conducting a close examination of detailed writing to present my information in a clear, professional academic format. Specifically, aspects like a close examination of Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser and a close reading and essay on Tom Junod’s, “The Falling Man,” throughout the semester allowed me to extend my abilities to write and overall approach editing my writing. Through the semester paid dividends when drafting papers such as the Final Essay and Annotated Bibliography, which required my group to seek writing center help to master the editing process and create a truly condensed essay. By collaborating with my classmates on assignments that required our groups to conduct in-depth analysis of a text, I felt more prepared for the final essay. Collaboration allowed me to extend the different ways I could view sections of writing and therefore it was imperative to the success of my Final Essay. Moreover, I can draft stronger analytical essays thanks to the lessons of English 1103 to establish a professional profile for the rest of my life.
Tom Junod’s “The Falling Man,” is a first-hand account written by a photographer who witnesses a horrifying moment, photographing a man falling from the Twin Towers on September eleventh two thousand and one. Junod creates an unsettling image for readers to digest, thanks to his analytical usage of sensory details, imagery, and metaphors allowing the short work to lend itself to a greater message. I chose to write my analytical essay on “The Falling Man,” aiming to highlight the complex message Junod highlights, offering messages surrounding a freedom that only exists in resignation. By presenting the image the falling man creates between the two towers as the creation of a “New Flag,” with the mechanistic buildings behind him Junod represents the true helpless nature of the man, and therefore his freedom in jumping. This overall effect is heightened due to Junods blending the summary of the image while offering a greater examination into the horror witnessed. Therefore, when drafting my own summary I blended my evidence with textual evidence to create a cohesive theme similar to Junod’s. Instead of beginning with a boring background paragraph summarizing the excerpt, I weaved my background further throughout my essay, adding emphasis to my overall theme. This allowed my essay to be more unified, as my theme stemmed from Junod’s use of imagery to create a vivid message. This skill will continue to be necessary as my writing progresses past English 1103 and into higher levels.
The collaborative drafting process of the final essay and annotated bibliography allowed me to extend my collaborative writing skills allowing me to be a teacher for others. My group and I were able to continually help each other through the entire writing process, collectively editing and checking each other’s work so we could present a cohesive essay with a strong supporting argument for technology in the classroom. Erin, Emma, and I worked together to understand the correct formatting of our annotated bibliography, constantly checking that each of our entries offered the same summaries in each entry. Furthermore, working collaboratively helped strengthen our argument, as being critical with one another allowed any mistakes that we saw to be dealt with. By treating our essay as a professional project our group gained valuable group work experience that will continue to be useful in college. This group work was therefore imperative to gain experience on working on professional-like projects, making each member of the group better. Not only did our essay possess many of the subtle nuances required for delivering data in a professional way, it also culminated in many of my personal strategies used in my analysis of “The Falling Man.” Group writing has allowed me to extend my abilities to work towards a common goal while applying highly technical writing strategies to deliver an argument effectively. The integration of collaboration into my personal writing process has allowed me to extend my abilities to expand ideas and relate them to others.
As the semester continued, many of the strategies taught in class would continue to repeat and be useful regardless of the assignment that was asked to be completed. This is true with the usage of Writing Analytically by David Rossenwasser. Using the guide to fact check every essay I wrote throughout the semester provided a guide that helped me learn how to develop a better thesis and keep my essay error free. “One function of the thesis is to provide the connective tissue, so to speak, that holds together a paper,” (183) says Rossenwasser. Using the guide allowed my group to change how we created our thesis statement, focusing on creating a general theme that encompassed different aspects of technology in the classroom. It helped to continue my writing methodically as I consulted Writing Analytically for every essay I wrote during the semester. This practice will continue to stick with me, as I will use the lessons of Writing Analytically to continually enhance my writing.
Without the strategies used in English 1103, my professional writing abilities would have suffered and ultimately be underwhelming. Yet by collaborating in the classroom on group assignments and essays I was able to share my ideas to the class and collaborate to analyze effectively. Combining this with the challenge given throughout the semester asking me to analyze different parts of writing gave me a stronger challenge that works to benefit my overall writing skills. The ability to present any type of evidence in a professional, organized way is a universal writing skill, and is something I have continued to use in my cover letters and argumentative essays.
Work Cited
Junod, Tom. “The Falling Man.” Esquire, vol. 140, no. 3, Sept. 2003, pp. 176+. Gale Academic OneFile Select,
Rosenwasser, David and Stephen, Jill.“Finding and Evolving a Thesis.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition.
Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 183
Epstein Mark, Feeley Erin, Miller Emma. “The Screens of the Future.” 2022
. https://markepsteinblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/04/the-screens-of-the-future/
Mark Epstein 
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