Throughout the semester we’ve discussed several topics with the base of it being “standard” English and the use of AI within schools. We looked at how AI could destroy writing, how “standard” English is a social construct and more topics along those lines. ask for how we learn these topics with the various assignments like a rhetorical analysis worksheet or bigger assignments like a critical analysis research essay. These assignments helped me grasp the concept of AI and “Standard” English on a deeper level as well as teaching me how to construct a proper college level essay and utilize rhetorical situations throughout all of my writing pieces.
Because of the rhetorical analysis worksheets I was able to grasp a deeper understanding of what rhetorical situations can do for your writing. Earlier in the semester after every reading we had to analyze the text audience, the text genre background info on the author and their purpose for writing the text. These assignments helped me develop a deeper understanding on how I can incorporate these concepts into my own writing to propel it forward and allow my readers to understand my purpose without me blatantly stating it.
As this semester went on I took an interest in the ideas of the Standard English and wondered about its effects because at first glance you think it’s just a basis for everyone to understand what you’re saying. After looking into it more I just realized that that’s just not true in how Standard English is just another means to spread biases and prejudice to those who cannot speak proper english. Several authors like Amy Tan or Rosalina Lippi-Green touch on these things. Whereas Tan became ashamed of the way her own mother speaks English due to the effects of correlating Standard English to being educated, and Lippi_Green touches on how Standard English is simply a construct to standardize people and even proves this by asking various people “is standard English Superior” everyone answers yes but when she asked “who said that” that’s where everyone goes silent. It was these stories that opened my eyes about the Standard English and its power to captivate and spread bias
Through my understanding and interest in Standard English I chose this topic to be the topic I wrote about in my critical analysis essay. Not only did I learn about the depth of Standard English deeper but also learned the very crucial steps to developing an MLA style research essay. going over things like annotated bibliographies and reading several articles about formatting and first drafts I will. I won’t lie when Professor Orwig introduced these topics all I can think about how much of a drag this is when I could just start my essay and just revise whatever needed revising and if those assignments weren’t graded I wouldn’t have even opened them, but since they were graded I ended up doing it. I noticed the impact they had on my actual first draft because the bibliography citing sources came so much faster than normal, the synthesis matrix helped me be able to connect my sources together. This just goes to show that preparation ends up going a long way.
Lastly, I was able to have an open mind about ai. At first I was strictly against AI(still am) but after all the articles we read about it I was able to accept that people chose AI to take strain off their own life almost like protecting your sanity and that I can respect. AI is such a double-edged sword in the way that it harms the user by taking away their thinking and learning process while providing an instant result but despite this I was able to write for both sides of AI on various occasions even outside of classes.
Throughout the semester I was truly able to expand on topics I thought I would never look into, and for that I thank Professor Orwig and Zlotnick. I was able to participate in several conversations about these topics in and outside the classroom setting and even go as far as teaching some of my peers about these gruesome topics.
