1.

Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your experience

with writing and UWRT 1102. Consider including a video of the song. Explain
your choice.
The song I chose was In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins. I choose this song based on
the importance the song has in my life. In high school before every soccer game, I would listen
to this song. For me this song is slow, but ends very powerful. It is slow and steady, until the beat
drops, it becomes empowering.
Coming into UWRT 1102, I was slightly nervous because writing wasnt my strong suit.
And introducing the e. Portfolio to the class added to the anxiety I already had. As the class
continued I used tools such as the They Say, I Say book, Knowledge of Conventions:
Punctuation Patterns and Appositive video along with the course pack. Mrs. Thomas
provided the class with these tools and writing for me became easier and easier. This is why I
chose this song, this class was like overcoming a storm or climbing a mountain. Im comparing
writing my final reflection to the beat dropping on the song. My writing has improved and I am
proud of myself!

2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?
If I were to teach the class I would emphasize the book They Say, I Say. This book was
very beneficial for my thesis. I used a lot of these templates throughout my paper. Not only were
their template very beneficial but their explanations were also helpful. I would emphasize this
book because I believe it would helps students not only in UWRT 1102 but in any class or future
activity that require them to be part of a discussion.
I also would emphasize the SLOs critical reading and composing process. Critical
reading is an important asset in life. I have heard from teachers and my parents, it is important to

read everything thoroughly. The critical reading aspect was important when it came to annotated
bibliographies and incorporating they say into my thesis. The composing process is the
strategy a writer uses to create, revise, edit and finalize a project. Being able to brainstorm, draft,
revise, edit and much more is essential in developing a paper or a presentation. I feel the hardest
part for me was developing my process. I would emphasize the development of a writing
process.

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?
I learned rhetoric is how I use language. In the beginning of UWRT 1102, I was writing
majority of my Daily Book pieces in a very formal tone. After I realized our daily books was
suppose to be like a journal, I began writing in an informal voice. I began writing freely. The
reading, Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk, helped me explore the definition of genre and
helped me assess how genres shape reading and writings.
I feel the examples provided in class for each portion of the e. Portfolio were helpful in
helping me shift my voice and tone in my papers. For example, I began my portfolio in a very
formal tone with a lot of research. I even began with a topic that was boring and bland, and only
contributed scholarly research. After reading Nature of Evil, I decided to choose a interesting
topic. A topic where I could incorporate my voice within my thesis. I realize the inquiry proposal
was to introduce my topic and capture the audience's attention. So I shifted to a style that was
persuasive to better fit my genre. Another example of using my rhetoric knowledge was shifting
from my inquiry proposal to my thesis paper was difficult. Once Professor Thomas, introduced
us to The Dark Side, it allowed me to structure my thesis in a way that was interesting and

incorporated a discussion. The genre also shifted for the thesis because I had to incorporate
MLA, They Say, I Say and I was able to add personal narratives.

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?
I am very familiar with critical reading. It was taught a lot throughout my high school
career. The goal for critical reading is recognizing the purpose, patterns and the discussion the
author is contributing. Throughout the semester I had to read several articles, scholarly journals
and even blogs. I feel my critical reading has improved based on the annotated bibliographies. I
was able to read all sorts of readings, analyze the text and summarize it in writing. I was able to
connect positive body image to certain artist and beauty to media.

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.
After receiving criticism from my fellow peers I changed my composing process to
incorporate an outline. My peers advice was to organize my proposal more, so I started my thesis
with a descriptive outline of what I wanted to say and what sources I want to use. While writing
my thesis I wanted to incorporate what others have said about my topic, so I found myself using
They Say, I Say book a lot. This helped my transition from what They Say to what I want to
say. I did conduct additional research while writing my thesis. I used a new source by Erica
Schmidt, called The Objectification of Women and Misogyny in Hip Hop Music to add more
regarding my music and body image. This was beneficial to my thesis because it added to my
idea media greatly affects the standard of beauty in society.

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

sentence level changes, MLA citations.
A variety of different sources added to my knowledge of conventions. For example,
Purdue Owl was a great source in helping me with in-text citation within my thesis. I learned
how to in text cite in multiple different ways. For example, if there are no known authors add the
page number to the end of the sentence. Another great source that added to my knowledge was
the They Say, I Say book. This book helped me structure my sentences and paragraphs. Our
Writing & Inquiry Academic Context I &II, helped me develop rules and guidelines for all
three of the pieces I wrote ( Inquiry Proposal, Annotated Bibs and the Thesis). Being able to see
what was acceptable for those peice helped me to define the genres.

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.
The definition of reflection is taking serious thought and consideration on a topic. Critical
reflection is important because it allows me to learn from my experience. I believe providing
positive and negative commentary on others work is essential for the writer to reflect on what
their initial audience was thinking while reading their work. My experience over the years with
peer editing hasnt been the best. I would say my peers werent very invested in my work and
leaving good feedback. However in our UWRT 1102 group conferences were very helpful. For
my inquiry proposal, the feedback I received was to organize my paper. I took this feedback and
not only used this to fix my inquiry proposal but made an outline for my thesis paper to be more
organized. In the second conference I received a lot more positive feedback for my thesis. One
critic I did use was ensuring my reader knew some of the larger words or abbreviations in the

thesis. I had to assume my reader didnt know; therefore, I needed to explain it. For example, in
my thesis I explained what a BMI was abbreviated for and what it meant. I enjoyed seeing
comments like good voice and I also received comments that added to my thesis. Certain peers
provided me with some articles such as Jazmine Sullivan's interview and this helped me to
incorporate a broad spectrum of voices in my paper.