Lily Shafer: Reflection Essay

 

During this course the assignments and essays allowed me to grow my writing skills. My social epidemic topic that I chose is rape on college campuses, because it is one that I believe is growing and extremely important to address. I enjoyed taking this class, and I believe that I learned many valuable analysis and writing skills. In Composition II, I have learned better paragraph structure with point, evidence, explanation (PEE) format, and developed improved, collegiate writing skills.

I learned how to utilize point, evidence, explanation format in order to make a cohesive paragraph. Before revising my argument proposal, my paragraph structure was wrong, for example, my first body paragraph states “Educating students about what to look for and how to safely consume anything they may receive without knowing the source is an imperative step. Drugs and alcohol are often a major contributor to rape and sexual assault. There are a variety of different substances that offenders can use that can cause a loss of consciousness and memory. A study reviewed by Sage Journals (2023) states that one of the most common factors included in sexual assault is alcohol, and Science Direct (2024) names benzodiazepines, ketamine, and fentanyl as main contributors to date rape. Increasing general knowledge about the specific drugs and alcohol that are used most often in sexual assault cases is extremely important. 75% of rape victims are drugged, and most often are administered by slipping into drinks or lacing recreational drugs (Science Direct, 2024). ” After revising, my first body paragraph stated “Educational interventions for students to reduce the likelihood of rape on IHE campuses is one of the most effective techiques that can be utilized, because it makes difficult topics easy to understand. The Students can be much more receptive to information when systems such as prevention programs are “simple, flexible, easy to use, culturally competent, trauma-and-equity informed, and sustainable” (Journal of Prevention, 2024). Prevention programs include “organization-wide trainings during orientation that impart knowledge on attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that constitute sexual harassment” (Journal of Prevention, 2024). Additionally, “a public approach that incorporates action across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention can work to move beyond responses towards transformative” (Health Prevention Journal of Australia). Information becomes much more easily receptive when formatted in a way meant for college students. An example of this could be a required course at the beginning of the semester that discusses various intervention topics such as self defense, bystander intervention strategies, awareness of rape statistics, postliminary strategies, and establishing zero tolerance for sexual harassment on campus. These topics need to be shown to and discussed with students through lessons that can be properly retained, which can be through interactive lectures that will prepare students for real-world situations. Instilling this knowledge in students is incredibly important in order to ensure that they are aware of the risks of sexual harassment as well as creating a community of people that is willing to defend others. All of these things will hopefully invoke a network that discourages offenders from acting.” While my first point was true, drugs are often used in college campus rape and are something that need to be addressed, that is not the point my thesis was trying to prove. My first submission stated subjects that need to be taught through education, but not why that education is important and effective. The lessons in Comp II allowed me to properly state a form of education and how it would be effective.

This course has helped me improve my writing style into being more collegiate and stating my points more clearly. This can also be seen through my argument proposal revision. Using my introductory paragraph as an example, in my first submission I stated “A sample from the Journal of American College Health (2017) shows that the risk of sexual assault and rape is much more prevalent on college campuses, with twenty percent of people experiencing a form of broad sexual assault. Due to these statistics, it is becoming increasingly important for colleges and universities to implement policies and techniques to spread awareness and create a safe space for past and potential victims. It is an obligation of these institutions to protect their students and fight on their behalf if needed. They can implement processes such as safety courses, student organizations, protection tactics, and spread facts about sexual assault so that students are educated. Students need to be given education about subjects such as responsible use of drugs and alcohol, recognize the dangers and probability of things like acquaintance rape, and given resources that they can use to decrease the number of campus sexual assaults that happen yearly.” While my revision stated “When entering college, a women's chance of being raped increases significantly. This is shown in a study by the Journal of Prevention, which states “compared to other workplaces in the U.S., women in academia experience sexually harassing behaviors (58%) more than any other workplace except the military.” (Journal of Prevention, 2024). This statistic demonstrates that young women are placed in an extremely vulnerable position when on college campuses. It is incredibly important for “institutions of higher education (IHEs)” (Journal of Prevention, 2024), such as colleges and universities, to implement intervention strategies and prevention measures for rape. It is stated that “findings demonstrate a need for increased understanding and evidence about what constitutes effective sexual violence prevention response in university settings…” (Health Prevention Journal of Australia, 2023). The most effective primary intervention strategy would be prevention through education, which reduces rape in IHEs by making education easy and accessable for students and teaching valuable skills for risk reduction.” In my first submission, my introduction was satisfactory, but I do not think that it clearly stated or introduced my topic or my solution. I stated statistics about rape, which are still true and important, but ultimately irrelevant to my thesis. However, I believe that because of this course, I was able to revise, and my revision stated statistics that more accurately introduced what I was trying to say.

To conclude, I believe that this class has taught me many valuable writing skills that I will continue to utilize throughout college and further. I learned things such as proper paragraph structure, more professional writing, and I learned to revise every essay I wrote.