Maya Black English 1103 Prof.

Presnell 7 December 2012 Final Reflection Reading pieces of literature and writing responsive essays to these pieces of literature were two tasks I assumed English 1103 would encompass, but I soon learned literature would not be our focus within the first fifteen minutes of class. I was presently surprised, yet excited to learn that writing would be our primary focus. Over the course of these fifteen weeks, we completed two major projects, in which we learned to express ourselves in writing through detail and anecdotes in one project, while our second project included the construction of an inquiry paper of our own interest. This semester taught me that there is a time to express yourself, and a time to suppress yourself, in that writing is all about balance. When I look back on our two projects, I would have to say that writing my inquiry paper was the most challenging. Initially when we first received the project we had just returned from Fall Break and I was still mentally on break. As soon as we returned to school, I was shocked at how fast we were moving towards the preparation for this project. The first day of class, we began by doing an exercise that required a topic, but I didnt have one. In the meantime, I improvised and said my topic was cancer. I figured the exercise would help me narrow my topic, but instead it overwhelmed me with numerous directions I could take with the topic of cancer. At the conclusion of class, we were told our proposal would be due in two days TWO DAYS! I remember feeling stressed leaving class and I knew I had to do something quick before I got too behind. After wrapping up classes for the day and getting dinner, I decided to complete one of the brainstorming activities from the Curious Researcher book. I began listing possible topics by listing

trends, interests, people, places, and the whole nine yards. When I began listing trends, somehow, my mind wandered and I pulled the term procrastination. It was as if a light bulb went off right at that moment; I finally had my topic. It was interesting, researchable, and prevalent to my age group, I was too excited. Before long, weeks had gone by, and we had submitted our negative one and zero draft. I eagerly anticipated getting comments and critiques from my group members and Barbara. For the most part when I did get the comments, they were positive and receptive to my ideas, but then one of my group members didnt feel my paper conveyed my research. At this point I was a little offended and caught off guard so I wanted answers because Barbara agreed with her. This was not a critique I expected to receive; I thought an issue would be elsewhere in my paper, not the research. I later found out it wasnt that my research wasnt there, but rather my wording was conflicting with the way it is interpreted by the reader. Asking questions of the reader made my paper seem that the facts may or may not be there. It was a toss-up. Therefore, when the time came for me to edit my first draft I made huge revisions, making sure I found the balance between my personal input and facts. I was very nervous to make such changes, but I felt they were necessary and beneficial to the purpose of my paper. Although this paper was challenging for me, I learned so much about myself, and writing in the process. I learned to trust my instincts when it comes to revisions and take into account my peers critiques when given. Coming into this class, I was not use to peer work shopping, but before the completion of this class, I became comfortable receiving critiques from my peers. I always value critiques, but when peers give them, it is slightly different from a teacher or professors prospective. Within the assignments given in this class, I was able to learn the value of a peers critique compared to a professors view. I now see them as equal.

While my inquiry was my most challenging project, I still felt the finishing product was something to be proud of; however, my personal essay would have to be my stronger paper. My topic was very befitting for the techniques Barbara wished to see us execute in the personal essay. She wanted to see emotion, interest, dialogue, and an overall theme, and I feel my paper accomplished that. After writing my place essay about my grandparents house, I realized how much I could do with the essay to transform it into an even more personable essay. After reading the model essays such as Father and Son and Imelda I got a better understanding of what Barbara wanted to see in our essays. From the moment I wrote my place essay, I knew it would become something special. After writing the first draft of my personal essay, I was surprised to see how much more I could do with it based on my comments from Google Docs. I really took into account my group members feedback by adding the significance of things and dialogue to bring certain aspects of my paper to life. During this time in the semester, I was so vulnerable, and with this vulnerability, I was able to easily pour my heart out in a paper that I have such an emotional connection with. Once I made all my additions and revisions to my draft, the reader could really capture so much from my essay. My personal essay had dialogue, details, and most importantly heart. My paper expressed so much genuine emotion that I believe most readers can relate to in some way. My personal essay was definitely my strongest essay thanks to the techniques learned in this class and with the help from the group critiques. Looking back on both of these projects just proves how much I have learned about writing in just fifteen weeks. When I first entered English 1103, I had never written an essay that was as personal as the one I wrote here. I have loosened up my writing style since day one, and become more open about expressing my true feelings in my writing. I have learned that it is okay to be personal in your writing and express vulnerability, yet there is a time when facts must be our foundation. This semester

has given me an experience with a different type of writing than Im used to creating, and with this new knowledge, I can incorporate it in the future. Although I gained many new perspectives on writing, I still feel I didnt grow that much as a writer, if anything I learned a new way of writing. I grew in small ways more so than large ways, but I still found both halves of the semester to be equally valuable when looked at individually. I feel my eportfolio captures the new perspective I gained in addition to showing small growth. In many of my references on my page, I comment on how it changed my perspective on some topic. For example, my learning to write from experience and observation page demonstrates how my perspective changed on providing detail in essays. Rebecca McClanahans Ginkgo Song allowed me to realize that details about places can be given through people. I was amazed at how she accomplished this and as a result, I attempted to use this technique a little in my personal essay. As I reflect on my time writing during this semester, I believe everyone has a different perspective on life and his or her own lives, and this is what gives each of our portfolios individuality. In each essay I wrote in this class I feel I was given the privilege of making it my own because of the techniques we learned from reading essays like Ginkgo Song and Father and Son for the personal essay and Womans Brains and An Expedition to the Poles for the Inquiry Project. Because I felt I was free to exercise this privilege, I was able to deliver a unique essay that directly reflected me, even in the inquiry project. Because of the great effects it produced, I consider this technique to be one of the most valuable things learned in this class. Overall, I truly enjoyed this class and all that it encompassed. It challenged me to write personally in the first half of the semester, then, in the second half, I had to find a balance between personal writing and fact in the creation of my inquiry essay. This course was not what I expected it to be coming in, but it did not disappoint. Throughout these fifteen weeks, I polished many skills I had

learned in my previous English classes, and learned some new techniques that I can definitely benefit from in the future.