Lo 1

Chouathong Lo
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1102-014
28 April 2016
Course Reflection: UWRT 1102-014
Entering the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was an intimidating feat because
of the size of the campus, the array of the buildings, and the diversity of the students. Along with
just entering the campus, entering a new classroom was even more discomforting. I am confident
in my abilities as a writer because I experienced a torturing semester in AP Language and
Composition back in high school. The teacher was an amazing instructor, writer, and an
individual; but, his critiques were harsh and beneficial. With this prior experience I decided to
confront the course UWRT 1102-014 in a similar manner.
The first class of UWRT 1102-014 followed the ritual of every other class with a review
of the syllabus and introductions. However, the syllabus showcased an abundant amount of
assignments that were to be completed throughout the semester. It was a horrific sight. The
semester was filled with countless daily writing entries, ten essay writing prompts, one
individual presentation, one group research presentation, and a goliath of a portfolio. Despite the
bulk of assignments, they had to be completed in order to receive a grade within the course.
Time management was a skill that was refined through the completion of all the
assignments. Beforehand, I believed I had this skilled mastered through other experiences. This
course proved me wrong. It was a struggle to complete each of the writing prompts to the best of
my ability because other classes and activities intervened. For most of the prompts, I would only
spend approximately thirty minutes constructing an okay essay during my free time. Before this

Lo 2
became a habit, I modified my schedules from three-days to seven-days. With a week always in
mind it became easier to plan time for this course and other courses.
Professor Raymond always stressed about the Student Learning Outcomes throughout the
course: rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, composing processes, knowledge of conventions,
and critical reflection. It was difficult for me to understand the definition of these concepts.
However, applying the Student Learning Outcomes were simpler than defining them. Each
outcome is an innate writing ability that an individual has that can undergo refinement.
Each of the Student Learning Outcomes was utilized in the Semester Long Multi-Modal
Project. This project was one of the two goliaths of this semester. The multi-modal project was a
group research project involving a historical topic in North Carolina. My groups topic was the
history of Cannon Mills. Researching information about the topic was a tedious task for the
group because of the enormous timeline of Cannon Mills. The majority of the information were
recent articles discussing the closure of the mills and a brief history of the name changes and
ownerships. Nevertheless, I consider this the best work of this course. Each of the three
members, including myself, were motivated to uncover the secrets that were hidden. Each of us
had different rhetorical knowledge of Cannon Mills. Each of us had a different association with
Cannon Mills. Each of us had a different interest in Cannon Mills. All of us had the same passion
to unveil the story of Cannon Mills. Working with this group made this the best work I had a part
in creating.
I believe that every assignment and project assigned were connected. The daily writings
were motivation. The writing prompts were the aid for time management. The individual
presentation was the rough draft. The group presentation was the revision. Finally, the portfolio
was the final draft.

Lo 3
University Writing 1102 Section 014 has given me a new perspective of writing. There is
no template in writing that speaks the voice of the writer. To provide the voice of the writer, the
writer must construct their piece with their own passion. Despite the changes in the future, they
should not be an obstacle but an opening to express.