Below is a link to my e-portfolio and my introduction.
Hello and welcome to my e-portfolio! My name is Andrew Blake Tucker, and I am a student at the Pennsylvania State University. Over the past year I have taken a course here titled rhetoric and civic life. The course has opened my eyes to the many idiosyncrasies of the English language and the way that we use it. In today’s world words are the medium through which change occurs. Words are a powerful tool that, when used correctly, can affect the way a person thinks or feels about something. To me, rhetoric is the manipulation of words to achieve a desired affect. It consists of using certain words that will evoke certain emotions or employing a specific syntax that will make your argument understandable for a certain audience. The pieces in this portfolio display my understanding of rhetoric. In them I manipulate words in order to convey my messages in the most powerful way possible.
The course also taught me about civic life and engaged citizenship. It is important to be an active citizen because otherwise you are doing nothing to help your country or your peers. Being an active citizen means that you make your voice heard. Whether it be through protesting or through something as simple as voting. If we are not engaged citizens, we can lose the power to shape our future. Being an engaged citizen does not mean that you simply present your beliefs, though. It is about opening up your mind to everyone’s ideas and choosing the best one. That is why deliberative discourse is so important. In deliberative discourse, all the viewpoints are presented and the best one is chosen after they’re evaluated. Deliberation is critical to being an active citizen. In these pieces, I discuss my deliberative theories and also advocate for my beliefs.
In the future, I hope to attain bachelor’s degrees in Engineering Science and Biochemistry. I then plan to attend medical school to study neurosurgery. The communication skills that I have learned in this course will help me communicate effectively as a doctor and will help me to remain civically engaged throughout my life.
