Alondra Arias

Professor Brian Graves

LANG 120

18 April 2017

Final Reflection Narrative

At the start of this course, I was under the impression that any type of writing is

considered good writing. I saw writing as a collection of one persons experiences. What is

written at any given time is altered by the authors experiences, therefore, no one can teach

someone else how to write because you can not just give other people experiences to expand off

of. Part of me still feels this is somewhat true, however, I have come to believe there are

techniques that can help to strengthen your writing.

That being said, its unrealistic to expect to become a better writer out of thin air. There

has to be at least some motivation and passion there in order for you to be able really learn

everything you can from a course like Language 120. Few students rarely have that motivation. I

would argue that its very difficult to have that kind of mindset when there are so many new

experiences that first-year students have as they make their transition into college. Whether these

students come straight out of high school or decide to wait to make the transition, it could easily

have an impact on how they will become accustomed to a first-year writing course. One course

in one semester is probably not going to be the most demanding task they have to face in the

midst of other classes and their lives. Regardless of this, there are professors with degrees who

teach for a living and there is money being spent in order for this course to be provided. With

that in mind, students like myself have to decide whether or not the course is worth our time and
attention. This is where many students prioritize and decide to put their efforts elsewhere rather

than in LANG 120. As a student interested in the arts, I find myself at times slacking in other

classes. I never particularly enjoyed writing but I have a newfound appreciation for it. Becoming

a better writer has been one of my goals since starting college, so I decided to dedicate at least

some of my efforts this semester for this task. Never being able to clearly articulate my thoughts

was more than just bothersome. It really speaks to you as a person and what your strengths and

weaknesses are. I felt in order to become more comfortable speaking for trivial things like class

discussions or presentations, I had to learn how to be able to clearly express my thoughts on a

page.

Language 120 is also dedicated to teaching students the three Student Learning

Outcomes. At first glance these SLOs are intimidating to think about, however, upon further

investigation they are brought to the surface in one way or another in each assignment. The first

SLO, engaging in critical inquiry and reflection, is evident through my research in the Entering

the Conversation paper. Throughout this assignment, I had to research and ask myself as well as

others how writing plays a role in my field of study. Interviewing professor Oakley was a vital

part in this research. He detailed what types of writing is required in animation and how he saw

art as a form of writing and vice versa (Oakley, 2017). Upon receiving this information, I used it

in order to suggest a new way of teaching first year courses in light of this theory (Multimedia

Integration, 2017). After each paper we were assigned reflections to help us process what we

learned and how we used rhetoric to our advantage.

Throughout every assignment there was some sort of research we had to do beforehand

that we had to integrate into our writing. Through our multiple rhetorical summaries, I learned
how to research information not directly quoted in our readings. I utilized this background

information for understanding concepts in the readings that could help me in analyzing the main

idea or claim in the article. Most of the authors of the readings assigned at some point were

professors that were writing about the way writing is taught or specific techniques used in

writing. Knowing that the authors were some sort of faculty at universities across the country let

me know what type of audience and purpose the article was written for. Doing this type of

research developed my information literacy, which is the second Learning Outcome.

The Writers Memoir was the first assignment where I was left to my own creative

ability. This was the perfect opportunity for students to try and communicate in a rhetorically

effective way. The class was asked to write about how we became the writers we are today.

Consciously altering my language to appeal to my audience was a major factor in this paper. I

constantly added personal anecdotes as well as statements that could appeal to anyone who went

through similiar high school experiences, ...looking into universities and colleges, along with

trying to finish up all the classes youre required to take is a lot ... I tried to be relatable in

showing my unenthusiastic mood when it comes to writing, Every new assignment I have to

write I give a little groan, roll my eyes, and tell myself it will make me a better writer. (The

Ultimate Mentor, 2017).

Though LANG 120 helped me discover new techniques through articles and through my

own writing, I still long to not sit at my desk for hours upon hours having only written a couple

paragraphs. Im still looking for that structure but reading about writing and how its taught in

itself is opening my lens to greater things. For example, learning how to let myself write shit and

be okay with it was one of the hardest things that I had to force myself to do. After being taught
for years to write an introduction, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion, being able to

creatively explore my own writing through several drafts, reflections, and free writes was

refreshing.
 Works Cited

Arias, Alondra. The Ultimate Mentor. Writers Memoir, 2017.

Arias Alondra. Multimedia Integration. Entering the Conversation, 2017.

Oakley, Christopher. Personal Interview, 23 March 2017