Robbie Wagoner

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103-048
27 April 2016

1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your

experience with writing and UWRT 1103. Consider including a video of the
song. Explain your choice.
During my years as a high school student, my English teachers would
often speak of how frightening and stressful writing courses are in college. They
would implant ideas in our minds of fifty page papers, endless typing, and unfair
professors. Initially, I believed every word that they said; however, I soon came to
the conclusion that they were just attempting to make us practice more writing
techniques. They wanted us to start thinking out loud and physically write our
thoughts onto paper. When it came time to register for my first college writing
course, I was in a state of pure nervousness. I wanted to ensure that I had an
amazing teacher, so I frequently checked outside resources that would rate that
professors performance. When the time came to physically register for UWRT
1103, I knew who I wanted my professor to be.
Professor Thomas had received great and outstanding ratings on several
student-reviewed websites. She had been rumored to be best english professor
at UNC Charlotte, so I knew that she was the right professor for me. As I entered
the first day of class, I realized that everyone was afraid of the boringness of this
subject. However, we all soon came to the conclusion that Professor Thomas

refused to let this course be boring. She often spoke of interesting topics,
assigned interesting assignments, and truly gets the entire class involved.
Thanks to her, I was able to actually enjoy my first writing course in college.
While the professor of this course had a large influence on its content, the
course itself is still writing. Writing can either be a very elaborate and fun term, or
a very dull and hated one. Thankfully, this course proved that writing can be fun
and a way to release ones critical thoughts. Of those thoughts, we were asked to
think of song or musical composition that could communicate our experience with
writing and the UWRT 1103 course. After much consideration and several hours
searching music websites, I finally decided on a song that did just that.
In 2014, on his X album, Ed Sheeran released his Grammy award
winning ballad Thinking Out Loud. While this song was written in regards to that
special love of a significant other, I decided to look at it in a different perspective.
This song emphasizes that throughout life, things will ultimately change. Humans
will grow old and weak and their memory will eventually fade, but their love will
always remain strong. While Sheeran used these lyrics to convey his undying
love for another person, I decided to use the song in regards to one's love for
writing. Yes, human beings will grow old and their memory will fade, but their
loving of writing will remain the same. Some may reach a point in their life where
they can no longer physically write, but their love for the action will always be
there.
This idea of the love for writing was greatly emphasized in my UWRT
class thanks to the powerful teachings of Professor Thomas. During the entire

semester she pushed us to write about several subjects, hoping that it would
make us enjoy the action more and more. Thankfully, her idea worked and I now
receive more enjoyment from writing than I ever have before. I am now able to
implement my critical thinking skills into any writing piece that I am working on. I
know that the skills obtained throughout this course will only become stronger as
I practice my writing and thinking abilities. So, I feel that it is safe to say that I
have been Thinking Out Loud during my time in UWRT 1103.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA

2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?
While pondering over the idea of teaching a college writing course, many
thoughts ran through my mind. First off, I thought about how I would actually
enjoy working for a school, a place that I am currently trying to receive enough
credits to leave. I must admit, I am not the type of person who would enjoy
teaching, especially at a college where rigor is at an all time high. However, I do
like imaging what it would be like to teach a writing course, full of overly stressed
college students.
First off, I would make my students aware that I am completely unbiased
when grading their assignments, a statement that would ease the fear within
most students who believe that they have to write content that will please their
professors personal interests. Secondly, I would take the time the time to fully
explain what will occur throughout the semester, ensuring that there will be no
surprises. Lastly, I would make sure that my students understood that the course
would be a fun as they wanted to make it. With this, I would give my students the

option to decide on assignment topics, while also giving them the freedom to
chose their own in-class reading material.
As far as ideas go, I would enforce the idea of critical thinking. I would
want my students to use their critical thinking skills in every assignment that they
complete. I want each piece of writing that I grade to be completely individual and
unlike anything else that I have ever read. Also, I want to ensure that my students
understand their knowledge of conventions so that all of their works can be
appropriate and correct when it comes to specific mechanics. I would hope that
my college students could refrain from grammatical errors, but I would be willing
to give them a refresher course on certain rules so that their papers would be
free of several mistakes.
While grammatical errors and critical thinking are specific ideas that I
would want to reinforce within my class, I would like to mention all student
learning outcomes so that my students could be familiar with them all. I would
ensure that my students are using their critical reading and rhetorical knowledge
skills while researching a topic that they will soon write about. I would also like to
see that my students use their composing process and critical reflection skills
while actually writing the texts as they present their findings. Basically, I would
introduce the same ideas that my UWRT professor introduced to me.

3. 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?

Throughout the semester, my understanding of rhetorical knowledge has

changed greatly. While I used to believe that this term was defined as the
knowledge obtained before the actual research, I now understand its true
definition. I recognize this terms importance in that it is the ability to identify and
apply strategies across a range of texts and writing situations. I now know that by
using their own writing processes and approaches, writers compose with
intention, understanding how genre, audience, purpose, and context impact
writing choices. Thanks to my new found knowledge of this term, I have been
able to implement it within my own writings.
From the beginning, I knew that my topic of the brain and its reaction to
love would be quite boring to some of my fellow classmates. I am sure that none
of them wanted to learn about chemicals within the brain or hear a single
scientific term. Thanks to my rhetorical knowledge, I was able to make my inquiry
proposal less boring by actually relating the subject to myself and others. I was
sure to include statements like as boring as it may seem, topics of the brain
have always intrigued my interests due to the complexity of the organ and
having been with my girlfriend for almost a year. While I was able to prove my
rhetorical knowledge in my inquiry proposal, I was also able to show my
comprehension of the term within my thesis where I decided to connect with the
audience, explaining how my findings were completely different from what I had
initially planned. I stated that Originally, I had planned to look at this complex
question from a psychological standpoint only; however I soon realized that this
topic could primarily be looked at from a scientific point of view, leaving me to

wonder how a psychological approach could be taken in regards to this topic of

love and the brain.

4. 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?
Throughout the semester, my critical reading skills have increased greatly.
Thankfully, I have began to understand the importance of obtaining the ability to
analyze, synthesize, interpret, and evaluate ideas, information and texts. I can
make sense of the idea that when writers think critically about the materials they
use, they separate assertion from evidence, evaluate sources and evidence,
recognize and assess underlying assumptions, read across texts for connections
and patterns, and identify and evaluate chains of reasoning. Thanks to UWRT, i
now understand that these practices are foundational for advanced academic
writing.
During my research on the brain and how it is affected throughout the
different stages of love, I found myself researching more than I ever had before. I
became completely indulged within my topic, often reading scientific and peerreviewed articles for hours on end. Unlike previous research, I found myself
actually understanding the information given, rather than just reading it. I felt as if
my findings were easily understood and I could literally see my thesis before my
eyes. I was able to comprehend all of my findings and use them to create several
annotated bibs, as well as an impressive thesis paper.

5. 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.
Thanks to UWRT, I now have a full understanding of the term composing
process and realize that writers use multiple strategies to conceptualize, develop,
and finalize projects. I can relate with the fact that a writer may research a topic
before drafting then conduct additional research while revising or after consulting
a colleague. I understand that composing processes are also flexible and that
successful writers can adapt their composing processes to different contexts and
occasions because I have done so myself.
When asked to develop a topic that I would conduct vigorous research on,
and in turn, write several papers about, I was under an immense amount of
stress. I had several ideas run through my mind, so I spoke of the subject with
my girlfriend, an individual of whom I always seek advice from. She stated that I
should research the topic of love, to which I responded with a thought from my
years as a high school student. In high school, I felt the desire to research love
and its effect on the brain, however, my teacher felt that the topic was not going
to be easily researchable and advised me to seek other options. Thankfully, my
college writing professor agreed that the subject was indeed researchable and
interesting.
In the beginning, my research was primarily on the brains response to
initially falling in love. However, after speaking with one of my classmates, I
decided to broaden my topic and research how the brain reacts to each of the

three stages of love. My doing this, my research options widened greatly

because I now had the need to understand not only loves effect on the brain, but
love itself. I took the time to research the three stages of love and how they were
significantly different and similar. I also felt the desire to understand why the
body reacts to love in such an astonishing why, and my findings were quite
surprising.
While researching my final topic of the brains reaction to all three stages
of love, I ran into an obstacle that was quite large in stature. I had initially
planned on writing my thesis in regards to love as a physiological manner.
However, I soon realized that the study of love from a psychological standpoint
was a seemingly new topic without much research having been done. I decided
to seek the assistance of my psychology lab professor, mentioning to her my
problem. She advised me to look at love from a scientific point of view, allowing
me to find physical evidence rather than psychological theories. After following
her advice, I proceeded with my research, only this time, I decided to look at love
as a science.

6. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions

Ex. sentence level changes, MLA citations.
Before attending UWRT, I had little idea as to what the term knowledge of
conventions meant, nor did I care to know. However, that all changed once I was
introduced to the term by Professor Thomas. She explained that the terms
significance was that conventions are the formal rules and informal guidelines
that define genres, and in so doing, shape readers and writers expectations of

correctness or appropriateness. She made it obvious that conventions govern

such things as mechanics, usage, spelling, and citation practices, as well as
influence content, style, organization, graphics, and document design.
While completing the numerous assignments that go along with our
portfolios, I have found it best to familiarize myself with the several laws that
must be followed while writing. While my main intention is to make a good grade,
I also follow these rules to turn myself into a better writer. I attempt to
demonstrate my knowledge of conventions by always using correct grammar and
punctuation within my writings, as well as follow the proper format of each
assignment. While working on my annotated bibliographies, I was asked to
properly use the MLA style of citations for each bibliography. Although it took
some time to learn, I eventually could include these specific citations without any
problems.
Additionally, while working on my thesis and inquiry proposal, I was sure to
include several transitioning terms that allowed my paper to have a better flow
when reading it. I would use words such as moreover and likewise to begin
sentences and paragraphs, allowing the audience to enjoy the progress of my
paper even more so than before. A third example of how I was able to
demonstrate my knowledge of conventions was the inclusion of several in-text
citations within my thesis paper. I was sure to reference each author or
researcher before giving an example or a quote from them.

7. 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.
a. Before attending a college-level writing course, I had little
idea as to the importance of reflection. I understood that it was beneficial
to reflect on your work in order to learn from it, but I had no idea about its
significance when it came to writing. Thanks to the teachings of Professor
Thomas, I now understand that critical reflection is a writers ability to
articulate what he or she is thinking and why. In regards to learning
processes, reflection is of great significance. Reflection allows the writer to
introduce his ideas to the audience, an idea that can be considered
essential to the integrity of the paper. By reflecting his or her thoughts, the
writer is able to portray his personal beliefs onto the reader, giving them
insight into the writers philosophy about the subject at hand.
b. Commentary is essential to the creation of a perfect work.
While some writers view themselves as perfect and their works as being a
product of their greatness, there will always be mistakes. In regards to my
UWRT class, commentary was key to creating useful works of text.
Providing commentary to others works allows you to express your ideas
and thoughts with one of your peers, an action that has proven to be
highly valuable within a writing class. It allows you to ultimately help your
peer create a better paper, leading to their improved attitude about the
subject. While giving commentary is essential, receiving commentary is
just as important. It is beneficial to speak with your peer about your work

because it allows for them to express their individual ideas about it.
Usually, a peer-reviewed paper is much more successful during grading
than a paper whose creator decided to keep to themselves. Needless to
say, commentary is very important in regards to writing assignments.
c. After the completion of the first draft of my Thesis paper, I
presented my current text to a small conference group. Within that group, I
was fortunate enough to receive commentary from my fellow classmates,
as well as my professor. To begin, one of my peers suggested that I take
the time to include an in depth paragraph about the three stages of love
before actually explaining how the brain reacts to each of them. I have to
admit, I cannot believe that I forgot to include such a paragraph and was
happy to do so. Secondly, during the same conference, one of my peers
made the suggestion that I talk about how I changed my direction of
research from psychological to scientific throughout the course of the
assignment. In response to that comment, I quickly added a statement in
my concluding paragraph, explaining the change in research and my
reasoning behind it. Lastly, I received commentary from both my peers
and my professor in regards to grammar and the knowledge of
conventions for a majority of my texts. Thanks to their commentary, I was
able to fix the tiny mistakes within my paper that could have easily
affected their grade and integrity. All of the reasoning I previously stated
within this answer just goes to show the importance of commentary in
regards to writing.