In my English 9 class, I composed a persuasive speech (see the previous post) about solving a prevalent issue in today’s society: underage drinking. After writing my speech, I feel that I did an adequate job of expressing my point. I am certain that I chose relevant sources and found good information to support my argumentative claim. However, I feel that I could have done a better job of analyzing each piece of evidence that I used and further enhanced the language I used in my writing. Regarding oral presentation, I am proud of the confidence that I showed, but I could have used more diverse presenting techniques when I gave my speech. 

Throughout this project, I utilized several skills from the Fairview Advantage wheel. For instance, when I was researching for my speech, I used the skill of investigation to find relevant and credible sources to base my essay off. Databases such as Science Online and Points of View Reference Center served as the perfect sources for investigating my topic of youth alcoholism. In the conclusion of my essay, I suggested solutions to the issue of underage drinking, which included reducing youth exposure to alcohol, regulating the sale of alcohol and targeting youth with media campaigns. This exercised the problem-solving skill. Finally, I presented my completed essay to my peers and posted it on my digital portfolio. By doing so, I communicated my product and the knowledge I gained to others, hopefully changing their way of thinking on the topic of underage drinking. 

During this unit, I completed several different checkpoints to help enhance the quality of my final product. I think that the most helpful checkpoint was checkpoint 4, Drafting with Style and Language to Communicate Accurately and Precisely. This allowed me to ensure that my essay was formatted correctly and gave me the opportunity to peer edit with one of my classmates. The checkpoint on Generating Claims and Counterclaims was also useful in making sure that the argument of my essay was strong and consistent. However, I felt that the Oral Presentation Prep checkpoint was not as valuable because I still felt nervous about presenting even after completing this activity.