Dear Prof.

Intawiwat,
In the first step of our extended inquiry we were asked to go to several websites, respond
to what we read there and to ask ourselves thought provoking questions. This was the beginning
of our brainstorming process. What I wrote in this portion of the process was more for me than
anyone. I was discovering who I was and how that related to what I wanted to do. At the time,
this portion of the extended inquiry seemed pointless but from it I found the topic of my final
project.
I found the report to be one of the easier steps of this project. This was where I directed a
lot of my passion for the topic that I chose. I think the purpose of this assignment was to get an
idea of the why behind my topic. Not just for you but for myself, as well. Discussing my
reasons for choosing this topic helped to keep me motivated as the project got harder. I think that
if I was unable to discuss my reasoning behind my choice, then it is possible that I wasnt taking
the theme of our class seriously. We were supposed to choose something that would allow us to
engage in self- discovery and exploration. That kind of requires you to care about your topic.
In the proposal is where I had to defend my choice. I had already given you my personal
reasons for choosing my topic but now I had to persuade you to let me choose it. I had never
written a proposal before this, so it was interesting to see what went into one. This portion of the
extended inquiry was not just to teach me how to write a formal proposal, but to have me think
of what I would like to include in my project and ponder the various formats that it could take.
This was also a precursor to my annotated bibliography.
The annotated bibliography was the most difficult assignment in this class for me.
Writing the paragraphs for this step was easy. The hard part was finding a good source and
studying it in depth until I could make sense of the information provided within. Because I was
trying to come at this project from a formal, scientific viewpoint, I found a good bit of
information that was hard for a person without a PhD to understand and summarize. This step is
about trying to summarize sources, determining whether or not they were good enough to be
used for my project and figuring out what information contained within them was usable. It
seems as if the annotated bibliography was written for you but as I look back I think this was
written more for myself. This played a huge role in helping me create my rough draft because I
had already written down what I did and didnt like about each source and what I thought could
be used. Even after all of the work I did on this portion of the extended inquiry, I still managed to
mess up the formatting.
The purpose of step five was to teach me to revise my own work, the work of others and
to take and use constructive criticism. The audience for this step was comprised of my peers,
myself and you. I needed to create a project that could showcase what I learned from all of my
research. This was the most step for me because I was able to use my creativity. After turning in
my rough draft for peer editing, I was very nervous. However, later, I found that the peer reviews
were very useful to my project. It helped me to refine what I had written and it made my
argument more effective. I think that learning to write an effective, well researched persuasive
argumentr was the point of the extended inquiry.

The reflection was a breeze to me after completing steps four and five. Writing the
reflection enabled me to see how far I had come in the two short months that I have been in this
class. It taught me that reflecting can be just as important for the author as the audience. It helps
you to realize what youve learned and to show others what youve learned, as well.
The hardest writing assignment in this class was the annotated bibliography. It taught me
a lot about the importance of summarizing your sources, though. The challenges this assignment
presented arose when I was attempting to find sources and determining whether or not they were
good. It taught me the importance of studying your sources to make sure you fully understand
what they are saying.
I believe my participation in this class has been decent. I have taken the initiative to read
examples that arent mentioned in our journals in order to better understand a subject. I bounced
my ideas for my project off of Anna and gave her constructive criticism when asked. I clarified
assignment requirements that she was mistaken on and I have argued a viewpoint that I did not
share in order to help a class discussion move forward. I did not exceed the three days I was
allowed to miss class. I did, however, show up late a few times. I took the initiative to ask for
sites that could help me with my grammar and never left earlier than dismissed.
I think that the way I write has changed quite a bit since the beginning of the semester. I
used to play on peoples emotions, reference false authority and/or present facts without proof.
Although utilizing these tactics can be useful in conversation to sway someone your way, you
need to have facts supported by evidence and not attempt to deceive or manipulate others when
arguing your case. Even outside of the classroom, I have been able to use the techniques that
youve taught me to explain things to others or argue my viewpoint. Overall, I think I deserve a
B for my project. I worked hard. I have a clear organizational strategy that is coherent. I have an
insightful, implied thesis statement. I utilized feedback on my project to make it more clear to
my audience what I am attempting to convey. I included properly organized MLA citations and
have very few grammatical errors. However, this assignment falls short because I did not turn my
reflection in on June 6th.

Thank you very much for being a wonderful teacher,

Samantha Green