Taking ENC 2135 has given me the opportunity to expand upon my writing skills and go beyond just writing the basic essay. For the entirety of this class, the ability to choose my own topic to research and write about gave me motivation to want to complete the assignments because I knew I would get to learn about something I am passionate about.  Before taking this class, I had not done much research of my own, especially on a topic of my choosing, so I was not sure where to begin. After reflecting on my deciding major of Art History and what I wanted to explore during this class, I landed on the artworks of the ancient city of Pompeii. This topic is something that has fascinated me ever since traveling to the archaeological site and seeing it with my own eyes.

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     During both projects one and two, I learned how to effectively research a topic and collect valuable sources for my writing. The hunt for sources led me down a rabbit hole of knowledge about my topic and I ended up reading about more information that built upon my discussion points. These projects also allowed me to develop a pre-writing system that I did not use previously. I began to plan out what I was going to say instead of jumping right into a first draft. Rhetorically analyzing sources as well as my own writing became a much stronger skill after project two. Beforehand I had never analyzed an image rhetorically and I really enjoyed focusing on a visual source. I got to utilize some of what I learned in art history to dive deeper into the meaning of color and symbols found within the painting I chose. Just in doing that I was proving my claim correct that art has importance beyond just decoration.

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     Project three was my favorite because I got to lean into my creative mind and design three different artifacts. Before this class I would not have been able to tell you what a genre was let alone how to make one. However, after learning about different genres, which are just simply categories of ways to share information, I really got invested in the assignment. I decided to create three genres that were all related to the same theme which was an art event relating to Pompeii. I wanted my genres to be cohesive and connected to one another, so I designed an Instagram post, an event outline, and an exhibit description. I loved being able to execute something with no restrictions or rules as to what I could make, which is often not something you find in an English class.

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     Overall, this class has not only sharpened my overall writing and research skills, but as also deepened the background knowledge of writing essays. I believe this class has created a solid foundation for future classes to build upon. I found this class especially useful for my intended major of art history, and I will be using the skills I learned as I transition into the professional world.