Final Reflection

Jessica Kosco
4-26-16

1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your

experience with writing and UWRT 1102. Consider including a video of the song.
Explain your choice.
I chose What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong to represent my writing
experience in UWRT 1103. I chose this song because it represents many of my writing
assignments throughout this semester including the literacy narrative, inquiry proposal, thesis
paper and annotated bibliography. This song represents all of these assignments because of the
message it portrays which is positivity. The literacy narrative had many themes including
friendship and positivity, which is one of the themes within this song. The inquiry proposal and
thesis paper focused on how a persons state of mind affects ones experiences. This song shows
several examples of how positive thoughts can create positive experiences and can cause
someone to feel more positive in turn. The annotated bibliography was also about state of mind
but included several voices from different texts. This song represents the annotated bibliography
because it shows how there are several parts that contribute together to make a whole, similar to
how there are many things that can make the world a wonderful place. And I think to myself
what a wonderful world, shows how positive thoughts can result in positive experiences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE

1. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?

I would emphasize free writing because we base a lot of assignments on personal

experiences. Sometimes it is hard to think of how literacy has affected you and free writing could
trigger some memories and experiences that you might have otherwise forgotten about. Free
writing has been useful in a couple of my assignments like the literacy narrative, thesis paper,
and some of my daybook entries. With each of these assignments I was able to write about my
thoughts and incorporate them into my writing. The literacy narrative was based off of personal
experience and I had to keep this in mind while writing it. I used free writing to gain some
organization of how certain works of writing has impacted my writing and me as a writer. All of
our daybook entries were free writing. I felt that I was able to write down all of my thoughts and
opinions on each topic for each class. I could choose to use these thoughts in my writing if I
wanted to, which I liked. Free writing in my thesis paper was beneficial for organization
purposes. I was able to organize my thoughts and include some of my experiences within my
writing and make it more personal. This allowed my writing to have a stronger voice.
Another idea that I would emphasize is how important finding a variety of voices is to
your writing. Having a variety of voices, in any writing, is beneficial to the reader and the writer.
The reader is able to look at the work and come to their own conclusions based on the variety of
information presented. The writer can explain their ideas more thoroughly if they have a variety
of background knowledge to base their writing and opinions off of. Research is more thorough
and developed if there is a variety of voices. Writing that has multiple arguments from both
sides, is more effective because of the variety of voices. A one sided argument is simply not
enjoyable for the reader, especially if they disagree with the writers opinions. Therefore it is
better to provide all sides of the topic and provide as much information as possible for the reader.

1. Explain how your understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed

over the course of the semester using at least three examples from your writing.
Ex. Did you shift an assignment to better fit a particular genre like a proposal?
My understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed over the course of the semester
particularly in critical reading. Throughout the writing assignments, we had to read a variety of
sources and needed to use our critical reading skills in order to analyze these sources. I found this
skill most helpful when I was writing my thesis paper and especially when I had to annotate my
sources for the annotated bibliography. I also have a better understanding of the other rhetorical
knowledge topics such as composing processes and knowledge of conventions. I am able to
understand the genre, audience, purpose and context of others works as well as my own. For
example, through my research in my inquiry proposal and thesis I was able to find the writers
intention and the context of the work. This made it easier to form my own opinions and
arguments to include in my writing. This has also allowed me to form stronger arguments and
feel more confident about my writing as a whole. Rhetorical knowledge has allowed me to
change my voice and writing to fit the audience that I am writing to. When I was writing my
thesis paper, I had to keep in mind who my audience was and how my writing relates to the
audience. When writing, I had to keep in mind the formal rules and informal guidelines that
define genres. For example, when I was writing my thesis paper, I had to make sure to keep my
thoughts organized and present them in the clearest way. For example, when writing my thesis I
had to plan out where all of my ideas and thoughts were going to go within the paper.

1. Explain how your critical reading has improved during the semester. Ex.

In what ways did you read across texts for connections and patterns in your
inquiry?

My critical reading skills have improved throughout this semester. These skills have
improved by reading particular works more deeply and thoroughly. I am able to find the authors
intentions and argument more clearly now that I have developed these skills. I read across a
variety of texts for connections and patterns in my inquiry. I looked for a variety of voices such
as psychological, medical, and cultural views on my topic. I was able to read through different
sources and find the voices that I felt would be most beneficial to my topic. While reading, I kept
in mind what the writers arguments were and what they were saying about my topic. I made
sure to include these voices in my inquiry and annotated bibliographies. I am able to explain the
choices made in a composition, to contextualize a composition, and to address revisions made in
response to reader feedback. I am able to explain the choices made in a composition by choosing
my sources and finding what best fits and works with my writing. I was especially able to do this
with my inquiry when I was searching for a variety of sources. I am able to contextualize a
composition, meaning that I am able to look deeply into the reading and find out the arguments
and meaning of the author in the writing. I am able to address revisions made in response to
reader feedback by taking into consideration others criticisms of my work. I was able to make
changes to my writing based off of my readers confusion or if I was unclear about a particular
word or idea. This all allowed me to grow as a writer.

1. Discuss your composing processes. Ex. Did you conduct additional

research while revising or after consulting a colleague? Provide at least three

examples to support your assertion.
My composing process consists of brainstorming an idea or topic, for instance my inquiry
topic. I then do brief research to gain background knowledge on my topic, for instance finding
sources for my annotated bibliography, make a list of questions or ideas that I want answered in

my writing, a list of keywords that I want to include in my writing, for instance in my thesis
paper I provided this in order to stay organized, and organizing all of my research and ideas into
an essay. When I consult a colleague or participate in peer editing, I usually do more research on
my topic in order to answer any questions or criticisms that I received from my colleagues. Some
examples of additional research that I did while revising my inquiry includes writing about the
relevance of my topic, adding interesting facts about my topics to gain the readers attention, and
adding more background information about my topic to provide deeper explanation of the topic.
For example, I included a story about state of mind in my thesis paper in order to make the paper
more personal and relatable.

1. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions Ex.

sentence level changes, MLA citations.

Three example of my knowledge of conventions includes MLA citations and format,
organization, and style. I learned new skills and formats from MLA citations such as how to
properly do in text citations, when to underline or italicize my sources within my writing, and
how to properly quote an author and explain each quote in more depth. Proper MLA citations
provide the correct credibility to the original author which provides my writing with credibility
as a result. I learned how organization can have a large effect on your writing and how the reader
interprets your work. Organization is key when the writing is difficult or if you have a lot of
information to include in your writing, such as the thesis paper. I learned that style, such as
adding more personal experience, can affect your writing and create a deeper meaning to your
topic or writing overall. Personal experience allows the reader to feel better connected to you as
a writer and your work. Personal experience can help the reader to better understand where you
are coming from and why they should listen to you. Personal experience can make you more

credible as a writer. For example, I included details about my friends and family within my
literacy narrative to appeal to my audience. Each of these skills have helped to develop my
writing and in turn has provided my writing with a stronger foundation.

1. Critical Reflection: A) Explain the importance of reflection in learning

processes. B) Explain what you think is important in providing commentary on

others work and receiving commentary on your own. C) Provide at least three
examples of your nuanced use of commentary in your writing projects.
Reflection is important in learning processes because it allows someone to look back on
what they have learned and how that has impacted them. Reflecting on writing allows the writer
to look back on how their writing progressed over time and what they originally struggled with
and how they overcame those obstacles. It is important to provide commentary on others work
and peer editing because it allows that writer to see where their writing may not be as clear as
they thought. Or maybe their ideas or arguments arent as strong as they thought. It is important
to receive commentary on your own writing so you can have a sense of what the reader thinks
about your writing, what your writing lacks, and how you can make your writing stronger. Three
examples of how I used commentary towards my writing includes giving further explanations of
key words in my inquiry, adding more personal experiences to my literacy narrative, and adding
more depth to the analysis part of my annotated bibliography. Providing further explanations of
key words in my inquiry allows the readers to understand my thoughts and ideas. Adding more
personal experiences to my literacy narrative allows the reader to better connect with me as a
person and as a writer. Adding more depth to the analysis part of my annotated bibliography
allows me as a writer to reflect on how each source played a part in my thesis and if I used those
voices within my thesis paper.