Throughout Phase 2, I‘ve mainly had a recurring role in tailoring towards one specific audience. That audience being those of hispanic heritage or backgrounds, and even those who aren’t fully able to speak their cultures native language. Using a tailored word choice as well as ideals that would stand out specifically to that audience allowed my writing to appeal to them. These things include personal experiences seeing that I myself am a Hispanic American without the ability to fluently speak Spanish, and tying that into my relation towards Loazada-Olivia in her poem, as well as its significance towards the way Julia Alvarez described her English in her writing “My English”. 

I think the most important thing that I took away from phase 2 is that every single person’s language, no matter what it may be, is native to them, and them only. Although I already had a generalized view on this, I never really took it into much consideration. However, after tying this specific idea towards those speaking other languages such as spanish, It really does paint a bigger picture towards everyone’s language being their own. Lozada-Olivia even places such a huge emphasis on “My” spanish when talking about her spanish speaking abilities/language. Language is personalized and different towards every single person, whether it may be english in relation to Julia Alvarez, Spanish in relation towards Lozada-Olivia, or even any other language across the world.

I believe argument, purpose, and author definitely had the most impact on my learning and writing practice throughout this phase. One of the main targets and purpose of this assignment in general is to be able to recognize and define an author’s argument and purpose of that argument throughout their writing. This mainly being through a variety of rhetorical choices that they make, as well as the validity of the author as well. Being able to focus on things like this, which I never personally paid much attention to in the past was different for me. However, being able to see and describe the different types of strategies authors may use in order to get their argument and claim across through their writing paints such a bigger picture in the author’s overall intent for their writing. Not only this, but it allows us as readers to take a completely different view on the author themselves, and the connections they tie towards their writing. 

Throughout this course assignment, it definitely helped me to achieve the second course learning outcome the most; “Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.” Throughout the majority of the assignments in this phase, with one main assignment being a rhetorical analysis chart for our chosen story, it allows you to take a bigger view on the actual rhetorical situations and choices the author provides toward us. With this second course learning outcome, I was able to point out one of Lozada-Olivia’s main rhetorical strategies throughout her poem “My Spanish”. That being her repetition, or constant use of the word “My” in relation towards her Spanish. With the ability to do this, I was able to accurately describe her main argument and claim throughout her poem, as well as how exactly she was able to prove them with her evidence. I was always able to see the bigger picture in Julia Alvarez’s personal life stories growing up, and her major use of rhetoric throughout the entirety of her writing.

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