Cotton 2Table of ContentsFirst Major Writing Assignment.docx

Cotton 2
Table of Contents
First Major Writing
Assignment……………………………………………………………
………………………….2
Peer and Instructor Feedback
…………………………………………………………………………
…………….3
Father Sanchez (Revision 1)
..………………………………………………………………………
……………..4
Unit 6 Journal
…………………………………………………………………………
…………….6
Different Walks, One Purpose
…………………………………………………………………………
……………..7
Revised From the Start
……..…………………………………………………………………
……………..10
Works Cited
…………………………………………………………………………
…………....13

First Major Writing Assignment
“The relation between officers and men should in no sense be
that of superior and inferior nor that of master and servant, but
rather that of teacher and scholar. In fact, it should partake of
the nature of the relation between father and son, to the extent
that officers, especially commanding officers, are responsible
for the physical, mental, and moral welfare, as well as the
discipline and military training of the young men under their
command” (Lejeune, 1929). This very quote is the relationship
that is widely spread throughout my chain of command as well
as with my senior leaders’ involvement with the Marines who
serve under our commanding officer. I can relate to this quote
because it is the exact relationship that I shared with my former
Staff Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO). The relationship that
we shared was like the relationship of a father and son. The
reason I feel this way is because he never gave up on me, even
when I gave up on myself like the actions of a father or father
figure. That SNCO’s name was Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Sanchez.
He showed me how to lead the Marines under his charge as well
as showing me how to hold others accountable for their actions.
Some people may say “well that’s not a father figure”, well I
100% disagree. A father figure can be anyone who genuinely
cares about your safety and well-being. SSgt. Sanchez shared
that same attitude and love with all his Marines, but I felt he
added an extra boost into my life. As a young Lance Corporal of

Marines, I tried to stand out in everything that my name was
involved in. One day, SSgt Sanchez offered me the opportunity
to attend a Marine of the Quarter board and I immediately
accepted the offer without hesitation. On the day of the board, I
put on my uniform and SSgt Sanchez made a few minor
corrections to it. After attending the board and not winning,
SSgt still managed to encourage me when I was down and
instructed me to keep trying. I eventually won Marine of the
Quarter and a few other boards all with the help of SSgt.
Sanchez. His commitment, and care for the Marines under his
charge led us to winning 80% of the boards he put us on.
Without his leadership abilities and genuine care, I would not
be the Marine that I am today. SSgt Sanchez led me to believe
that a genuine concern and a father figure can come from
anywhere, even when its least expecting. His willingness to
want the best for us, is the same mindset that I try to instill in
the Marines currently under my charge. I can honestly say that I
was shaped by a Marine with high standards, love for the
Marine Corps, and a little bit of tough love.
Peer and Instructor Feedback
Trevionne Moses (Peer): The writing was straight to the point
and didn’t stray too far away from the topic. My overall
impression of this piece of writing is that it’s a decent, easy to
read paper. The writer’s goal in my opinion is to show the
readers that a father figure or mentor can come from anywhere.
This writing would fall under the narrative category because it
tells more of a story. You could also say it falls under argument
as well because he makes a claim and gives a few details, but
the paper isn’t strong enough to hold the argument. General
audience seems to be the target in this writing simply because
it’s on a topic that just about everyone could read and
understand and possibly relate to. The fact that the writer says
he's a marine instills credibility. Society views military
personnel as trustworthy people after all they are putting their
lives on the line to protect us all (US citizens). The emotional

appeal the writer uses is pathos and he does it by lightly
explaining how involved he was with his superior officer and
the encouragement he received. I think giving more in depth
examples would help appeal to the reader more effectively. Or
more facts on how military life is perceived from the outside
and show how that through his experience he found that it
differs from the outside assumptions. The examples given felt
rushed.
Professor Johnson(Instructor): You have a wonderful essay
with examples and different aspects that you cover. If you
choose to revise this essay, take another look at the organization
-- I've posted an outline in the Announcements that might be
helpful as you start the essay for Unit 2, and it could be useful
as you revise this essay later in the course. Take a look at this
link for details on using MLA style formatting for this
document: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/
Louis J. Cotton
Ms. Heather Johnson
EN 105
14 April 2019
Father Sanchez
"The relation between officers and men should in no sense
be that of superior and inferior nor that of master and servant,
but rather that of teacher and scholar. In fact, it should partake
of the nature of the relationship between father and son, to the
extent that officers, especially commanding officers, are
responsible for the physical, mental, and moral welfare, as well
as the discipline and military training of the young men under
their command" (Lejeune, 1929). This very quote is the
relationship that is widely spread throughout my chain of
command as well as with my senior leaders' involvement with
the Marines who serve under our commanding officer. I can
relate to this quote because it is the exact relationship that I
shared with my former Staff Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO).
The relationship that we shared was like the relationship of a
father and son. The reason I feel this way is because he never

gave up on me even when I gave up on myself. Like the actions
of a biological father or father figure my former SNCO showed
his love with not only words but with actions as well. That
SNCO's name was Staff Sergeant (SSgt), Sanchez. He showed
me how to lead the Marines under his charge as well as how to
hold others accountable for their actions. Some people may say
"well that's not a father figure," well I 100% disagree. A father
figure can be anyone who genuinely cares about your safety and
well-being. SSgt. Sanchez shared that same attitude and love
with all his Marines, but I felt he added an extra boost into my
life.
As a young Lance Corporal of Marines, I tried to stand out in
everything that my name was involved in regardless of how big
or small the event or task was. One day, SSgt Sanchez offered
me the opportunity to attend a Marine of the Quarter board, and
I immediately accepted the offer without hesitation. As a Lance
Corporal, I felt honored that SSgt. saw something in me that I
hadn't even figured out for myself. On the day of the board,
SSgt Sanchez looked over my uniform and made a few minor
corrections to it. The committee consisted of seven higher
ranking individuals and eight other Marines from the
surrounding squadrons. After attending the board and not
winning, SSgt. encouraged me when I was down and instructed
me to keep trying because there would be plenty more
opportunities. After several practice boards and uniform
inspections, I eventually won Marine of the Quarter and a few
other boards all with the help of SSgt. Sanchez.
Although he showed a genuine concern for the Marines under
his charge, he still managed to lay the boot down when things
got out of order. SSgt. was often known as the man that was
easily approachable and motivated until the day that I showed
up 1 hour late. SSgt was a man of no excuses, and he expected
nothing but greatness from his junior Marines. After showing up
to the shop and getting negative counseling from my Sergeants,
SSgt called me into his office. After fifteen minutes of no
yelling but a calm talk of how disappointed he was in me, I was

left in a pool of tears. The tears that flowed down my face were
not tears of anger, but tears of sorrow because I had let SSgt
down. The effect that his words had on me showed that he did
not have to scream or yell to get his point across. On that day
SSgt taught me that sometimes just talking can have a more
significant effect on a person than yelling or belittling.
Without the leadership abilities and genuine care for the
Marines that served under SSgt. Sanchez, I would not be the
Marine that I am today. His commitment and care for the
Marines under his charge led us to win 80% of the boards he put
us on and having no significant issues over a period of one year.
SSgt Sanchez led me to believe that genuine concern and a
father figure can come from anywhere, even when it is least
expecting. His willingness to want the best for us is the same
mindset that I try to instill in the Marines currently under my
charge. I can honestly say that a Marine shaped me with high
standards, a genuine love for the Marine Corps, and a little bit
of tough love.
Unit 6 Journal
Name your audience. Write a paragraph or two explaining
exactly who should care about your subject and why. My
audience in this passage would be a veteran, a civilian, or
anyone that cares about the Marine Corps or anyone interested
in the impact that a change can have on a person in the military.
Junior Marines that are new to the fleet should care about this
subject because it will give them a slight look on how the world
views them on the outside and possibly serve as a wakeup call
for them that every one doesn’t like the purpose that you serve
and the country that you represent. They should also care about
this subject because they are the future of the Corps and can
further shape the image that represents us as an organization of
Pride and Honor.
Describe why you care about your subject. Passion can be
contagious. If you can depict your enthusiasm for your subject,
then many readers will feel that enthusiasm, too. I care about

this subject because I am a Marine. Often, I hear people say,
that Marines eat crayons, Marines only drink and cause
problems, USMC means Uncle Sam’s misguided children. All
those accusations are false, at least to my knowledge. I have
never seen anyone eat a crayon to its entirety but testing them
out to see if they had the grape flavor is a whole other story.
When I thought of this as a subject to write about, it came easy
because I love the Marine Corps and I hate to hear people make
false accusations.
Louis Cotton
Professor Heather Johnson
EN105
28 April 2019
Different Walks, One Purpose
Being in the Marine Corps has allowed me to the opportunity to
see new things, meet new people and gain knowledge in places
that I never thought I would be. In the Marine Corps
community, we often find friends from different walks of life,
some are black, some are white, some or Hispanic, some are
country, some are city people, and some are urban, but we all
come together to make one big weird family. From the day we
stepped off the bus to begin our boot camp journey, we all
began to speak the Marine Corps language without even
recognizing it. Upon arrival to boot camp, the little bit of
individualism that we entered boot camp with was stripped
away and replaced with the instant willingness and obedience to
all orders, respect for proper authority, self-reliance and
teamwork which is the definition of discipline. On day one of
boot camp, we were stripped of our names and given to title
recruit. Being in boot camp sharpened my competitive nature by
inspiring me to be uninformed with the person to your left and
right. It also inspired me to be better than my fellow recruits
when it came to the performance of the tasks assigned to us.

After thirteen weeks of misery, we had worked hard enough at
the crucible to transform from filthy recruits and earn the title
of well-respected and trustworthy Marines.
Upon completion of MCT (Marine Combat Training) and being
assigned to my first real duty station my personal experiences
helped me redevelop my sense of self. There were times when
the entire company would come together for accountability and
suggest ways that we could improve the unit. It was at that point
where language allowed me to express myself on a personal
level with the Marines around me. Often when I tried to talk to
people who were not Marines, they would call me weird because
they could not understand why I said "sir" and "ma'am" after
every sentence. Elaborating on my responses became second
nature when talking to civilians as well as my friends which
allowed them to feel just a little bit more comfortable. Learning
that the context of the words you use with others and how you
use them could speak volumes; without the slightest bit of effort
allowed me to save a few friendships. Keeping long-term
relationships with fellow Marines and childhood friends shaped
my transition back to a well-rounded person, which ultimately
led to me becoming a well-rounded Marine.
Navigating from the language that I use with my Marine Corps
friends and family is a lot different from the language at home.
Often, I find myself driving around listening to the gospel for
about thirty minutes to calm down and to transfer my mind from
Sgt. Cotton to Louis. Thinking over what I am about to say
several times before I say it has helped a lot with that process.
For example, when I am home, I speak in a low, calm tone like
"Can you hand me that remote" but with my Marines, I speak in
a sort of aggressive nature like "Get the hell off your phone and
go work" which usually works 90% of the times. When making
minor corrections, I always try to demand of them nothing but
the best and 100% effort. While at home, I often find myself
getting blown off, but we understand that if a task is supposed
to be done, we must work together to get it done. In the Marine
Corps we speak to each other in a language that originated from

our naval traditions like porthole which means window, deck
which means floor, and hatch which means door, to name a few.
Some common misunderstandings of the Marine Corps
community are that we are all brainwashed and some people
even call us Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. The Marine
Corps motto is Semper Fidelis, where we pride ourselves on
honor, courage, and commitment. Every aspect of the Marine
Corps has a rich history that dates to 1775. We are the
presidents very own 911 force in readiness. "Today, the
branch's combat operations include amphibious raid and assault,
antipiracy work, reconnaissance and surveillance, and
recovering hostages or aircraft and personnel. In addition to
conducting such work when called, the Marine Corps has
ongoing projects worldwide" (Rowell 50). The Marine Corps
must always be ready to protect against all enemies both foreign
and domestic. We were born to fight and win wars which we
have done since our founding. Our esprit de corps has enabled
us to protect each other as well as this great nation that we have
grown to love. The Marine Corps is a brotherhood/ sisterhood
built to have the "6" or back of every Marine that serves. We
sometimes fall to our knees, but there is always a brother or
sister to lift us to whether it be an officer or an enlisted
member.
If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose the
Marine Corps because being a part of something bigger than
yourself could make all the difference when everything begins
to fall apart. The Marine Corps is a different branch of service
that lets your inner self glow with the help of friends and
family, provides a chance for diversity in the home life, and
unique history of battles won regardless of the negative
opinions of others. It has enabled me to give a positive example
not only for the Marines but for my family as well. Although we
were born in different cities and town of the world and come
from different walks of life, we still manage to come together to
serve one purpose which is to protect our country against its
enemies both foreign and domestic. Contrary to popular belief,

the Marine Corps is not full of crayon eaters. Instead, it
represents servicemen and women who will do whatever it takes
to provide an protect their family. Former President Ronald
Reagan once said "Some people spend an entire lifetime
wondering if they made a difference in the world. Marines don't
have that problem" (Reagan). Marines are who they are because
of the language and culture that they represent.
Louis Cotton
Professor Heather Johnson
EN105
4 May 2019
Revised from the Start
The famous words of Drake "started from the bottom now we
here," is a true testament of my writing in EN 105. My writing
pieces have gone from little to no structure and organization to
average. At the start of this class, I knew that it would be
difficult trying to balance military life, provide for my family
and go to school at the same time but I knew that I had to find a
way to manage my time and responsibilities. I had first to figure
out how I would put the thoughts in my head on paper. I still
haven't figured out how to make it all make sense, but the idea
that I'm learning is motivating. Often, I found myself struggling
to find a starting point in my writings and remain on topic when
I started. The instructor feedback and peer review helped me
advance during the duration of this course.
Once I completed my first major writing assignment on
something I knew about, I gained hope. The thought of dropping
this class and just giving up on school ran through my mind a
lot before that assignment. I am reflecting on my first major
writing assignment which turned into my first revision project
that had no title and very little MLA format organization. My
purpose in that assignment was to describe a relationship I had
with an outstanding teacher or mentor. In that piece of work, I
was trying to say that a father figure can come from anywhere,

even when you're least expecting it. After reading over my
piece of writing and getting some peer review from my fellow
students, I could see in my initial draft where it lacked personal
examples that could help me appeal to the pathos aspect in my
writing. It was at that point where I came up with the title
Father Sanchez. Feedback from peer reviews and instructor
comments, helped me utilize different tools to make my writing
better.
Utilizing the writing journals and discussions have allowed me
to learn and identify different writing styles and make
connections that weave texts together. Doing this helped me
develop a deeper understanding of writing as a college student.
I did not read at all on the outside of high school that much
before this class. Being in the Marine Corps has given me so
many opportunities to advance and gain more responsibility,
which came with reading and understanding orders. I guess you
can say that I have learned to read with a pen. Underlining
critical parts of the texts allowed me to connect my inner
thoughts and eventually put them on the paper creating policy
letters and mastering the concept of writing with a purpose.
Writing, in general, has always been one of my weaknesses; it
was challenging to take the initial step past the high school way
of writing. Being able to make that transition was essential
because it gave me the necessary tools required to sustain a
logical argument in an organized manner. My writing has
become concise, and I no longer put things in a crazy order with
very little organization. Another improvement is my ability to
point out many complexities within a text instead of sticking to
one-sided arguments in my papers. Furthermore, learning how
to use my peer review and instructor feedback has led to better
articles with credible references.
As a student in this English class, I have learned how powerful
the written word and language can be. Words tell so much more
than just a story. Stories tell about life and the human condition
that reflect on the past and present cultures. Literature teaches
about a world of changes. From this class, I have learned about

the world and how it reacts to the changes made for its people.
By writing about what we learn enables us to be able to express
ourselves on a whole other level.
There are a couple of things that I do feel I lack the confidence
and skill to perform and that is what I hope to gain from
participating in future peer reviews. At the start of this class, I
didn't know how to share my knowledge with other students
who possibly had no idea what I was talking about or the point I
was trying to make. Learning to understand and balance my life
and school enabled me to learn how to write various styles of
papers in different forms. At this point in the class, I feel
confident that I could write an article about almost anything and
know how to cite and format it correctly.
Works Cited

HQMC (Headquarters Marine Corps). 2016. Sustaining the
Transformation (MCTP 6-10A). Quantico, VA: HQMC.
Accessed March 24,2019.
https://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/MCTP%20610
A%20(Formerly%20MCRP%206-11D).pdf?ver=2016-06-27-
165407-453
“Ronald Reagan Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore,
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ronald_reagan_386887
Rowell, Rebecca. The US Marine Corps. ABDO Publishing,
2015. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&d
b=nlebk&AN=796215&site=eds-live.

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