As you must know from the page you viewed previously, I took English 105 this semester. It was an interesting class where I was able to learn a lot. I had a cool group of people in the class with me so I found the classroom environment very inviting and comfortable. This is my writer’s profile, a requirement for the class where I will briefly discuss each essay I had to write for the class. If it’s not something you are interested in, I suggest you just close windows explorer now. If not, thanks for watching.

I really enjoyed the discussions we got into in this class; they were stimulating, but friendly. The dynamic of the class was a big part of the discussions we had, everyone had an opinion and they weren’t afraid to share them. It made for a good pick-me-up in the morning. I learned a little bit about certain people’s religions through these discussions s well as to respect their views even if they differed strongly with mine.

I was never a strong writer and I still think I have a lot to work on but this class definitely helped me to identify some of my weaknesses and make it easier to remedy them. In the beginning I was very self-conscious of my mistakes and kind of embarrassed to have my papers subject to scrutiny. After about a week I overcome this and realized that any criticism I receive can only benefit me. I hope to continue improving my skills this way.

• The first essay we had to write was a self-exploratory essay. This one was difficult for me because it is something that is very sensitive to me. I chose to write a bout a very close friend of mine who is burdened b others peoples judgments. I wrote this and was worried I would not receive good feedback but I was pleasantly surprised.

"It was March of this year when Nicole told me she was a lesbian; I was the first one she told. At first, my reaction was surprise, but after I realized this was what had been bothering her, I was no longer baffled by her sorrow. I couldn’t imagine someone being that tortured by something that was completely out of their hands. We claim to be advancing in our society; we claim that we have acceptance for people in minorities. If that is the case why does this amazingly beautiful person have to censor herself? Why has this secrete consumed her life? Why does it have to be a secret?"

• The second essay was a case study about an anti war protest. I kind of liked this one. We had to write a letter to a city councilman supporting or opposing a decision to charge protestors for the damage their protest allegedly caused. I took the side of opposition because I'm a firm believer in the first amendment.

"It is in closing that I ask you to discontinue your attempts to hold the protestors accountable for the financial losses said to be equivalent to $7,300. It is a mockery of our rights to allow something as trivial as small groups gathering in the name of freedom get in the way of those rights. We are entitled to those rights and should not literally have to pay for them. In my opinion that is exactly what is going on here. You are charging the protestors for their freedom. If you continue to pursue this endeavor you can count on not getting my vote come next city council election. I thank you for your time and would like nothing more than to see results brought about from my time."

• Our third assignment was a group case study in which we were to evaluate the actions taken by an employer to minimize sexual harassment occurrences. I found that even when working in a group it is easy to come to a conclusion about what is the right thing to do. I thought this one was pretty obvious.

"In looking at the case from both perspectives it is a very difficult one to find a resolution to. One would first argue that the business owner is in the wrong by making his employees speak only one language. Not only does this discriminate against the heritage of the employees, it belittles their role in the business and would likely create more problems in the future. Considering these accusations are clearly speculation, since the boss has not himself heard the harassment said to e taking place, it seems as thought the business owner is taking a rather hasty approach to resolve the issue."

• Our fourth assignment was a rhetorical analysis where we were to select one piece from our text book and outline the rhetorical appeals used in their context. I chose "Let Gays Marry" which was a short argument about the legalization of same-sex marriages.

"Let Gays Marry, written by Andrew Sullivan and published in a June 3, 1996 issue of Newsweek, is a piece of work that provokes thought and emotion while addressing a very prevalent current issue that pertains to many members of society either directly or indirectly. I found that Sullivan’s argument was very well presented and brought about feelings that I was not aware I had on the issue. Before reading this piece I was aware of my standpoint on this issue but it has now been solidified and I feel very confident in my views at present."

• Our fifth and final assignment to date was a short argument where we were to select a topic with two obviously conflicting views and chose one of those two views to argue in favor of. I chose the importance of prescribed fires in maintaining a healthy forest.

"Forest fires are a natural occurrence, but when people began to realize that they could suppress fire and still have their beautiful homes in the woods it was a happy day…or was it? The fuels on the forest floor built up for years and years, nothing came to dispose of this flammable organic accumulation and it sat there, like a time bomb, waiting to go up in flames."

As far as technology goes, I’d say I'm pretty savvy. It is not to say that I didn’t learn a lot from this class but it’s English not CIS. I did learn how to look on the Cline Library web site for stuff which is good.

In closing I would like to say good luck to any student entering English 105 knowing nothing of what to expect. It is quite painless really and Paul is a nice guy. Happy Trails.