Hello! Ah, high school English class. It's hard to discern whether it was pure hell or something actually tolerable. Well, I guess you could say it was a conglomerate of both. Writing creatively or analytically came natural to me; it never posed a problem for me to type research papers or write short stories in creative writing. Freshman year English class was composed mostly of composition, grammar, and analyzing novels. This class served as a basis for the other English classes I took henceforth. I used grammar skills to string together more complex sentences within my work, and analyzing novels allowed me to find symbolism without a teacher's guidance. The best part of all my English classes was the reading and analyzing aspect. I loved exploring stories like the adventures of Huck and Finn or the island where the Lord of the Flies reigned, and then analyzing the composition's deeper meaning. I didn't necessarily hate anything from my English classes in high school, rather, I thought that some of the writing prompts were dry or merely simple.

Based on the title of this class, Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research, I would assume that we will be building onto the skills I learned my freshman year: analyzing and complexity. Therefore, by taking this class, we will be able to concentrate on more complex arguments and discussions. The only concern I would have about this class is being able to put together a concise and persuasive point on the topic given-- and then being able to back it up. Other than that, let the challenge begin.