Michael DeSantis

Professor Thomas

UWRT 1102-004

April 10, 2018

Writing Theory

Throughout this semester we were tasked to learn the five Student learning outcomes for

the University Writing center. These outcomes included rhetorical knowledge, criticial reading,

composing processes, knowledge of conventions, and critical reflection. These are all very

important skills to know for the continous of my college career and later on in my work life.

Rhetorical Knowledge is the ability to identify and apply strategies across a range of texts

and writing situations. This skill was taught every day in our class assignments. We would look

at many different conventions a day and we were able to see the different strategies writers took

to put their point across. The strategy that I found that is across all texts and writing situations

was knowledge of your audience. This helps you apply your strategy of writing to a particular

group you hope to see the writing.

Critical Reading is the ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate ideas,

information and texts. Through my education I have been taught how to critically read

documents and texts, it wasn’t until this semester that my critical reading ability was mastered. I

am now able to analyze and pick apart imformation from a whole range of writing maaterial.

Thanks to this gained skill I am now able to critically read, analyze, synthesize, interpret, and

evaluate ideas, information and texts for all of my classes.

Composing Processes is the writers use of multiple strategies, or composing processes, to

conceptualize, develop, and finalize projects. In writing I have found that different people and
different audiences react differently to a whole range of conventions. Using the composing

process gives writers the ability to write a single document that can be interpreted and read by

the masses.

Knowledge of Conventions is conventions are the formal rules and informal guidelines

that define genres, and in so doing, shape readers’ and writers’ expectations of correctness or

appropriateness. Only writing for my education I have had this false idea of writing style. The

typical college essay of MLA isn’t the only format of writing that is used. In fact this form of

writing is barely used in the workplace. Thanks to my new knowledge of conventions I can write

a letter properly and I understand the different rules that come with each document.

Critical reflection is a writer’s ability to articulate what s/he is thinking and why. Until

the proofreading stages of my writing and this eportfolio process I have never fully critically

reflected my work. I understand now that after a simply proofread or gathering insight from

peers can my writing much better.

Rhetorical Knowledge

In this section I decided to add three documents that have shown my ability to identify

and apply strategies across a range of texts and writing situations. Like I said before I performed

this task on a daily basis but I choose my three favorite assignments.

My first assignment was how to read like a writer. In this assignment I was to read the

piece “How to read like a writer” and answer questions about it. This helped with my rhetorical

knowledge ability because it showed the way writers identify and apply stategies to their own

writing.

How to read like a writer

Discussion Questions
1. I think reading in the way Bunn described can be very useful, but it’s dependant on what If
you’re just reading to gain knowledge, or to enjoy a piece of literature, this method could be
you’re reading and what you hope to gain from his method. Reading academic text will benefit
your own academic writing. Reading novels may positively influence your own creative writing.
considered unnecessary. Most of the reading we do at college is to pull information, remember it,
then express it in format that displays our knowledge. Reading like a writer might not prove
beneficial to this practice. This process is definitely useful for literature based classes.

2. My writing hasn’t yet reached the level where readers can analyse the text to see what
decisions I have made during the composing process. Being a student, I am required to do
countless different types of writing, so it’s difficult to find a specific style. Writing creatively is
much different than writing for an academic journal.

3. When reading texts such as Bunns, I enjoy the large titles especially as questions. I think it
works well as it helps guide the reader through the point being made. The use of large quotes to
analyse and bullet points proves effective in relaying the information onto the reader. This
writing style works for him in this situation but it might not be transferable.

4. To learn about the context of a text, a reader has many approaches. Knowing the author, a
little of their background, and a few of their other pieces will help you understand their
viewpoint and intent from their writing. Knowing the overall theme and time-period will allow
you to get the context of the writing.

My next assignment I added for rhetorical knowledge is my discourse community. I

choose this assignment because in our classroom discussion I was able to learn the other students

discourse community and see that everyone has their own vocabulary and way of doing things.

Kappa Sigma- Discourse Community

1. Common Goals
a. To be a better man
2. Participatory
a. Going to chapter
b. Going to brotherhood events
c. Parties
d. Trips
3. Info exchange
a. Chapter meetings
b. Text
c. Groupme
d. Facebook
e. In person
4. Specific genres
 a. Party themes
b. Fraternity history
5. Vocabulary
a. PNM
b. Pledge
c. Brother
d. Big, little
e. “Frat”
f. Cigs
6. Newbies vs old timers
a. Newbies have more energy come around a lot help the fraternity
b. Old timers complain that the chapter isn’t what it used to be

My last assignment I choose for rhetorical knowledge is the reading assignment about a

professor who wrote about the holocaust. The assignement was titled Wertz- Orbaugh. The

reason I put this assignment as one of my assignments where I learned about rhetorical

knowledge is that in the piece she talked about how writing can preserve history. I think this is

important statement because we can learn from how history. The more perspectives we have the

better we can learn from our mistakes.

Wertz-Orbaugh

Tonya Wertz-Orbaug is a professor in the UNC Charlotte writing program who earned her
undergraduate degree at Queens University of Charlotte before completing her masters at UNC
Charlotte. Tonya’s piece on the Holocaust is quite provoking and inspiring from a writer’s
perspective. She took a historic event and used that experience with her feelings it riled inside
her to turn it into a very inspiring book. A book that transforms her emotions and understanding
into writing which has been passed along to other readers. This ties in with Stephen King’s idea
of writing as a form of telepathy. Tonya wrote her book because she believes “we need more,
not fewer stories about the Holocaust”. It shows that writing has the power to keep information
relevant and important decades and even centuries after they’ve happen. I think this is
important because history is usually written in the perspective of the winners and if we have
more stories about history we can learn from our mistakes. She states “At some point, I realized
that I could research forever. I decided to start writing”. To overcome this, sometimes you need
to just start writing and everything else will follow. This is an important aspect that I can
incorporate into my own work to help me get started with longer writing assignments. The
pictures add a nice touch to the writing because it gives us a visual that we can only imagine
through her writing. This directly related to the Read Like a Writer.
 Critical Reading

Critical Reading is the ability to analyze, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate ideas,

information and texts. Since critical reading is performed in almost every task we accomplish in

a given day I choose two documents that showed my critical reading process.

My first assignment was from the They say, I say book. We had countless assignements

from this book and you’ll see how I analyzed the text to find the important information anf

interpreted then evulated the ideas I had gathered.

They say, I say Intro

Chapter 1
● In the very first paragraph the book asked to think about a skill I have mastered and how
the task is now second nature.
● Many americans assume that _____ (We are Free)
● I agree that ____ (We should be totally completely free) this is not to say ________ (we
don’t have some freedoms)
● The figure about the sopranos was interesting because it is one of my favorite shows

My next assignment was to analzed a document and circle or underline key information. This

is critical reading coming to life. Instead of reading the document and taking the underlined or

circled information away, with this assignment observers will see this process in a hard

document.
 Composing Processes

In this section you will see my composing process for our semester long project. In these

two assignments you will be able to see the me use of multiple strategies, or composing

processes, to conceptualize, develop, to finalize my projects centering around my inquiry

proposal.

This starts out with my inquiry questions. In this daybook assignment I was asked to

write about ideas I have to write my papers on.

 In my next assignment I choose the library quest. I choose this assignment because it

shows the research side of the composing process. It also shows the struggles students must

overcome to finish assignments.

Look back over the notes you took on the library’s videos. What did you find helpful?

Looking for books was helpful. I rarely need to get a book from the library but since it is so
large I can imagine how overwhelming it might be.

What advice did you use when using the library’s website?

The search system is the best tool on the website because I have used it to find countless
sources.

What were your impressions of Atkins Library before you visited?

It is very big and I can see myself studying there often.

Did those impressions change after your time there?

Yes, even though the library is very big I somehow can never find a table.

Did anything surprise you?

I was surprised by the amount of people I know at the library.

Frustrate you?

I am constantly frustrated by the amount of tables and space yet they are all taken up. I am
especially frustrated when I see one person at a large table.

What did you notice about how students were using the library?

I noticed a lot of people sleeping and the look of defeat was in alot of students eyes.

What role might the library play in creating a sense of community on campus?

It’s a great place to meet up with groups to study. Whenever I go to the library I can usually find
at least one other person I know and that’s always interesting to see.

What was your favorite place in the library and why?

I always study on the far end of the second floor. Decent view and really the only place I can
find a table.

What did you do while you were there?

Study and work on homework.

How and why might you use the library in the future?

I would use library as a great place to study, read, complete homework, and study with a
group.

I choose this picture on the stairs of the third floor because it shows me with a group of my close
friends. The reason I chose to pick this picture was because it shows all the people I see when I
go to the library and how I have found a community whenever I go to the library.
 Knowledge of Conventions

Knowledge of Conventions is conventions are the formal rules and informal guidelines

that define genres, and in so doing, shape readers’ and writers’ expectations of correctness or

appropriateness. In this section you will see four documents showing the different conventions I

learned. This was one of my more enjoyable sections because I believe I learned the most from

this section.

The first assignment I have choosen is the first daybook prompt. I choose this because it

was the first time I have written in the journal format. This format is the roughest of rough drafts.

It is never proofread or even looked over.

Day book Day 1

To be successful in life it’s not good enough to only regurgitate information. A leader must use
the information he/she has learned to solve a problem. Having this UWRT class with students
from different backgrounds allows us to understand where people are coming from and
collaborate to achieve a common goal. “It is not enough to be competent in a core discipline, if
you aspire to innovation and leadership”

My next assignment was an introduction letter. This was a letter that was to be written to

someone I didn't know. I choose this because it shows the formal rules and genres to writing an

introduction letter.

Introduction Letter

Dear Mrs. Thomas,

It is a pleasure to have you as a teacher and I am looking forward to learning more about
myself as a writer. I will be committed to helping make this a class. I am very sorry for being late
today as today is my first day on campus. I walked an extra mile to find the classroom and on
the way my phone suddenly died. I promise this won’t happen again but I am telling you to know
that I am new to all of this. I am a fast learner so hopefully we don’t have any problems.

I will be bringing a civic knowledge to this class. Just last fall I was granted the title of
“Youngest Campaign Manager,” in congressional and state history. I was able to get on a
couple TV shows and give my insight to what I saw on the campaign trail. I am looking forward
to sharing that experience with you throughout this semester.

I grew up in a small town named Apex, North Carolina. It has grown alot since I moved
there when I was two. It was even recently named the “Best Town in America,” by Forbes
magazine. I grew up fast after my father died. I started getting involved in my community and
even did a fundraiser in my father's name.

I am here now at UNCC to learn to become a better member of society. I think with you
as my professor that goal will become a little bit eaiser.

Sincerly,

Michael DeSantis

My next assignment came from the “They say, I say” book in chapter 13 where I learned

about giving your opinion. This was helpful because my opinion needs to be able to be written in

a way that can reach all different conventions I may write in.

They say, I say Chapter 13

TSIS 13

● To be able to critically think about a topic I like to read up on all past theories and
research so I can make an informed opinion.
● It is very important when I am doing that research that I use scholarly sources or at
least reliable sources. If I have “fake news” my opinion will also be discredited.
● It might be easy to show all the research you found but to bring home your point
you must summarize all the information you found. That way observers can easily
digest information.
● Once the data is compromised you can give you opinion and analysis.

“We measured 100 subjects about there voting record, and the average response was unlikely
to vote”
“To see whether these findings apply to subjects of the millennial age range, we propose to
conduct further experimentation with this age range.”

“We found that millennials are the least likely group to vote”

My last assignment for this section is my favorite assignment. We were tasked to write a

love letter to an object. I decided to write one about my car. The letter got a lot of laughs in class

during our discussion but this assignment also taught me the valuable lesson of how to write a

love letter and the different tones and vocabulary that comes with it.

Love letter

Dear Jacqueline ,
We have had a lot of adventures together. We have traveled to D.C, SC, Ohio, Florida and
countless other destinations with friends and have had plenty of mistakes on our travels. Most of
been my fault but you still stay with me.

I know at times I have been a bit reckless with you but you know it’s because I have so much
fun being with you. You are the bonnie to my clyde. We have had our fair share of run ins with
the law. I’ve pushed you a little too fast a few too many times and that’s gotten us in trouble.

Maybe it’s in my genes to love you. Considering my dads first love was also a Jacqueline. He
taught me growing up to always take care of you and to treat you with the utmost respect.

Most recently I would like to apologize for having you get hurt. We will make sure that it gets
fixed soon and I will make sure that no one will ever hurt you again.

I have almost lost you a few times and those were the toughest moments in my life. You may
not have been my first but you were my first love.

I can’t imagine a world without you. I can’t wait to see where our journeys will take us.

Love,
Michael
 Critical Reflection

Critical reflection is a writer’s ability to articulate what s/he is thinking and why. Until

the proofreading stages of my writing and this eportfolio process I have never fully critically

reflected my work. This is what I am doing now. If I could screenshot my writing theory I

would. This assignment is having me reflect on all the work I have done in the past semester.

My first screenshot is my google drive. I choose this because it shows all the work I have

done this semester and I have been reflecting on each piece of work throughout this paper and in

making my eportfolio. I had to leave assignments behind and think of which assignments would

best reflect my student learning outcomes.

My second screenshot is my eportfolio. I choose this because it is a visual represention of

all the work I have accomplished this past semester.

https://mdesantisuwrt.weebly.com
 Every class I have ever been in has student learning outcomes but it wasn’t until my

UWRT 1102 class that I knew what these outcomes were. I can say with a 100% confidence that

I have learned all five of the student learning outcomes we were tasked with learning throughout

this semester.