Nick Kostick

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
3 December 2015
Final Reflection
What song or musical composition communicates best with my experience in writing over
the course of this semester? Well, to be honest, I felt like the best type of song that shows my
experience with writing had to be a destructive song because that is the best way to relate to my
writing life. But what popped into my head was the song Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus! And
right then and there I realized the name of that song, and also the iconic beginning to the song, I
came in like a wrecking ball is the perfect synonym to describe my experience. Why is this you
may wonder? It is simply because I came into this class like a wrecking ball. I did not have any
plans or thoughts on the class, I just knew I had to take it and I was hoping for the best. But when
the beginning of the year came around, I thought I would change my mindset a little and try to
connect with my writing more. But what happened through the rest of the semester could very
well be compared to the lyrics of the song. Some relatable lyrics being: We clawed, we chained
our hearts in vain and Yeah, you, you wreck me. In the lyrics I imagined myself being the one
that was getting wrecked. I tried to connect with writing, I tried to love it, but it just decided to
go ahead and wreck me. To add on to this, I was never much of a writer. I dont consider myself
a very skilled writer and it is hard for me to put words on to paper at times. Although, a challenge
in writing is not a bad thing. I believe I still benefitted from it all and that is how I interpreted the
song as being.

If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis? First off, teaching is not my
strong suit. I am a very independent person and I dont ever ask for help even when I need it. But
for the question, if I were to teach this class I would emphasize on the aspect of free writing. I do
not know how to teach a person to write effectively or how to teach a person to write a paper that
would require getting a good grade. But what I would be good at teaching is how to express
yourself through writing, or the reflective aspect of writing. Ive noticed I can write a lot, and
also enjoy the writing at the same time when it comes to free writing or writing about myself, so
like reflecting. Although, if I were to pretend a little bit and say that I knew how to teach all
aspects of writing. I would focus mainly on the rhetorical knowledge part of writing. To me, this
is the most powerful usage of writing. Being able to persuasively write gives a person the ability
to use their thoughts or ideas they have in their heads and put them on paper, but in a much more
effective way. That way, the students leaving my class could say they have a specific skill when
it comes to writing. And that being writing with persuasion.
Explain how your understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed over the course of
the semester using at least three examples from you writing. My understanding for strictly
rhetorical knowledge was never too deep. I dont think I could identify rhetorical writing if I
were asked to do so, besides examples I have already learned of. But I do think I have learned to
work with my writing more so I can help fit it to the proper writing style necessary, depending on
the assignment. For example, my proposal paper. It wasnt just about writing to inform the reader
of my topic, I had to think of ways to actually propose my topic, not inform the reader. Yet when
it came time for my thesis paper I had to do a similar tactic to help back up the assignment before
that.

Explain how your critical reading has improved during the semester. I believe this semester
is the first time I have ever had to do critical reading assignments like the ones we had in this
course. Throughout class this year, we read multiple different novels. But the books like The
Book Thief and They Say, I Say were not simply meant for our entertainment. As students,
we were meant to read these pieces of literature, and take away aspects of writing that were in
those pieces, and plug them in to our own brand new pieces of writing. For example, my inquiry
proposal was the main assignment that really focused on using those two books we read in class.
As well was the annotated bibliographies that we did for our thesis. But my critical reading
improved dramatically when I began reading They Say, I Say because while I thought I was
simply copying the style of the book and transferring it to my own work, I was actually thinking
critically on my own, and the They Say, I Say book helped my learn how to do that. For
example, using they say phrases in my writing for annotations allows another perspective for
the same idea, but it allowed me to think broadly and give the reader a wider range of ideas to
pull and think from.
Discuss your composing process. I always compose my papers the same way. I will collect as
many ideas as I can, and then sit down and write the whole thing in one sitting. I guess you could
say I am an expert with shitty first drafts. Yet, I believe that is what works for me the best
because my composing process always escalated after peer review. Revising with peers is
without a doubt a beneficial process. Two brains are more powerful than one. So when my peers
reviewed my writing, they would give me feedback I had not have even thought of. For example,
our first review session with the inquiry proposal. My peers gave me feedback on my paper that I
believe earned me a better grade. Although, not all my new ideas came straight from peers. I also
had help from my professor with thinking of new ideas to do further research on for my thesis.

Also just by talking to other students about their work, and their ideas, allowed me to branch off
of theirs and then led me to do further research for assignments such as my annotated
bibliography.
Provide 3 examples of your knowledge of conventions. I believe I have a fair knowledge of
conventions. I am very familiar with MLA format. Citations must be in alphabetical order with a
hanging indent. Font is always 12 point with Times New Roman Font. I am able to use grammar
correctly and use commas in the correct way, especially when appositives are being used.
Critical Reflection. I have always received commentary on stuff I should change on my work,
but it is always friendly at the same time. So I always try and do the same thing. I think of it as
constructively criticizing. So, the most important thing about commenting on peers work, is
being constructive but not rude about it. Because a lot of people doing the writing are selfconscience about their writing. Some things I say include: Try and do this instead or maybe
you could try this because it is meant to be helpful not actually demanding the owner of the
writing to do something. Furthermore, when I am receiving commentary on my work, I would
expect people to act the same way I do. Except that I have a hard time finding things to say about
another persons paper. Because I am not the type of person to give advice if I am unsure if the
advice makes any sense.