Attending Samford University as a freshman, I was more than sure that all my classes would be boring until I signed up for Communication Arts 101. Communication Arts is a required course for all freshmen to take and helps develop writing and speaking skills that will empower us as students. Traditionally, college professors ask their students to write an essay and move on to the next assignment. In contrast, Samford University incorporates formal discourse into the curriculum to help students vocally express their research and thoughts. Our class was recently assigned to give an informative speech, which is an important part of our grade. My speech received a fairly good grade; however, there are some aspects of my speech that can be improved. These aspects of my speech that are in desperate need of improvement will not be improved overnight; this will require a tedious process. In my informative speech I indicated two weaknesses and one strength. The weaknesses and strengths that I want to change in my review speech are as follows: my body language, my command of the material, and the quality of my voice. In my informative speech, I had a tendency to hold my tickets in my hand for long periods of time. For example, when I was giving my speech, I only held my cards at eye level throughout the speech. This weakness is unacceptable because it limits my ability to express gestures. Gesturing is key because it keeps the audience engaged in the presentation and makes the speaker seem comfortable with the material. I realized that this weakness, in particular, cost me the biggest point deduction. As a result, I repeatedly practiced holding the notecards low to eye level, which f... half of the paper... speech to receive a good grade? Is this just another assignment Samford has given to the Communication Arts department? With these questions raised, grades aren't everything, but it's what you get out of the class that matters most. Since my major is corporate communications, I will be speaking for corporate companies and this assignment, in particular, will pave the way for my future speeches to give. I've learned that going through the process of revising my speech before giving the final one can have a huge impact. Communications Arts 101 developed responsibility in my scholastic ethics and personal integrity. As I complete my last assignment of Communications Arts 101, the most important, I realize that this course was not only a part of my core curriculum, but has made me a better writer, speaker, and student at Samford..