SLO Reflection

Dear Mrs. Potter,

Throughout the course of this class we have been strongly advised as well as
required to read and thoroughly understand the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO).
Little did I know that my writing would improve so much by incorporating them in to
my projects. All aspects of both projects let me prove my understanding of each of these
five student learning outcomes. The SLO in this course acted as a goal in a way. When
we first wrote our understanding of each SLO in an earlier module, they began with the
student will rather than simply stating out the objectives.
The first SLO was Analyze Rhetorical Situation. I interpreted this as being Be
able to decide what kind of document we need to create based on a number of factors.
Those factor including; the subject, purpose, and the audience. It seemed relatively
straight-forward and easy to say the least but, what I sat down first began the writing
process for each of it I had to consider each factor and consistently think about my end
product. Does it fit together? Who is it that I directing this project to? Why am I writing
this to them? What am I trying to accomplish by writing this? All these factor acted
more like a giant puzzle because not only does my final draft have to be great
grammatically; I have to fit in the purpose, subject, and audience then make sure that
each are clear. I learned that its important that all three factors have to be equally
strong.
In both projects we had to utilize what we have learned from SLO 1. To analyze
Rhetorical Situation, you have to know what documents to create and how to properly
organize then in a way that your audience can understand the purpose and use these
factors to persuade then as well. For project two we had to write an analytical report in
which we conducted research about a local problem. First we had had to identify a
problem, with identifying the problem I had to also identify the audience, purpose of my
writing and the subject of it as well. For this first assignment my subject was Intelligent
Design in Curriculum, my purpose was to find out how intelligent design affected
secondary school education and inform my audience, who was the school board, of my
findings.
The second assignment was a little more personal in my opinion. We found
problem and then in turn proposed a solution which was my favorite. We practiced SLO
one more so in this assignment than in assignment one. For this project, we found the
appropriate audience and then to persuade them to use out plan we had to use a tone
that would fit the situation.
The second SLO is Find and Evaluate Information. Collect information from
different sources such as government, professional, and academic then will assess the
information for its quality as well as its validity. I found that the first assignment used
this SLO more than the second one, but the second assignment did touch on it.

A huge part of the first assignment was conducting not only primary research,
where we had to do our own interviews and surveys but also, secondary research. When
looking for our secondary research it was important that the sources were peer reviewed
sources because they are not only having creditability but they add to the overall
creditability of the proposal. I practiced this SLO by utilizing the Universitys Library. I
have never used it before but it was super easy and I found all the appropriate
information to put in my report.
The next SLO is Compose Documents. We had to ceate documents and use tactics
to make them. We will organize it in a way that is appropriate for the intended audience
and keep in mind the ethical influences for the documents. This SLO was used heavily in
both assignments. After finding the audience, purpose, and subject we had to then find a
way that translated those factors into a document that was both appropriate and clear to
present to the audience.
For the first assignment, in order to create a clear and organized Analytical report
that my audience would understand and find easy to read, I used the IMRaD format.
Using this format for my report made it more organized for my audience. For the second
assignment, the proposal, although I wasnt able to keep the same format, I was able to
organize it in a similar way. Form my proposal I split it up into different headers
including, introduction, current situation, project plan, qualifications, cost/benefits, and
references. Both my report and my proposal included a cover letter to start off with
stating that what my purpose was and an appendix at the end.
The fourth SLO is Present Documents. Edit and revise our writing to deliver
clear-cut meaning and correct structure. Incorporate visual aids and create an overall
design that boosts aesthetic pleasantness and readability as well as keeping our work
professional. This SLO in my opinion, applies to all documents. When I was in the
writing process for each of these assignments I would write the rough draft, have a
friend read over it then have two peer reviews on it and then I would rewrite. And in this
class, you emphasized that sometimes you have to leave a document alone and come
back to it later and try and revise again. After revising and getting my report/proposal
squared away, I worked on my visual aids. For project one I constructed a Prezi and did
an oral presentation. Another aspect of this class that uses SLO 4 is the portfolio. Our
website should be aesthetically pleasing and draw in the viewer and keep their attention.
The last SLO we did is Compose in Various Modes. Which is where will created
videos, podcasts, reports with graphics and charts, etc. This one in a sense goes hand in
hand with SLO four. I created a website for this class and with that I added in my
projects 1and 2 which included an oral presentation and Prezi. They also included
numerous graphs and figures that depicted my findings for each project. On my website
I added videos of my oral presentations and my reflections.
This class let me practice and utilize all aspects of the Student Learning
Outcomes. Each project posed a new challenge but helped me grow as a student as well
as a writer. I learned how to write in different genres and what it takes to write in a

professional field. One of my most useful classes this semester. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Karlie Escandon