Austin Snipes 4/30/2012 Dr.

Campbell English 1102 English 1102 Final Reflection Dear Malcolm, In the class syllabus, one of the main points emphasized on the class is thinking critically. After finally completing the class, I can say, one of the main things I took away from the class is the ability to think critically. The way this was done was by thinking, writing, and reflecting, which is also in the syllabus. If these simple instructions are not followed in the class, then there is a guarantee for failure. At the beginning of the course, I honestly did not know what my expectations were. There was a possibility it could be another English class filled with writing assignments I could care less about, or it could be a class that was fun to engage in, yet was still challenging. Now, I can say at the end, it was the fun engaging type that still pushed me to be a better student. My ability to think critically was much improved throughout the course, and the main reason for this, is all of the writing assignments; all of them, from daybook freewrites, to the final extended inquiry project. The thing that made the course so enjoyable is the way all of the writing assignments were related to one another, from the very first weeks of the class, to the final extended inquiry project. The first daybook assignments were to get my brain thinking, and to begin brainstorming what my initial inquiry question could be. For weeks, discovering my topic was a major struggle for me. How was I supposed to find something I was

interested in, while still being related to Web 2.0? I find it funny that after weeks of a struggle, my topic came to me so simply. During the middle of January, my church, Elevation Church, was having a two week revival to start off the year. Unfortunately with my busy academic schedule, I was unable to make it to the service that night. Luckily for me, the church had just launched a new website called the Elevation Network, which plays sermons from Pastor Steven Furtick, or guest speakers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I got onto the Elevation Network and watched the revival live from my dorm room. This is the moment when I realized I was viewing the service through Web 2.0! I knew my inquiry topic, and my initial inquiry question would be centered on Elevation Church, and its use of Web 2.0. Once I came to my realization about my topic, this made other piece of writing much easier. 90 percent of my daybooks and blogs from this point our focused on my inquiry question. Almost everyday, I would take a few minutes and reflect on the progress I had made on my project that day. The next key part in my writing process was my conference. There was an agreement that my topic needed to be less broad, and focus on one main idea on how Elevation uses Web 2.0. Important notes from this conference were made in my daybook. My daybook was also the place where I drafted my annotations and practiced citing my sources for my annotated bibliography. Once I had the entire annotated bibliography drafted in my daybook, I used one annotation as a blog entry, and received feedback from my peer review group members. With all of this in consideration, I was able to complete my annotated bibliography early. The annotated bibliography was the turning point, for the semester, and my writing process for me. When I turned it in, I was convinced I had a piece of work nearly worth a

perfect score. I was in for a rude awakening. When it was returned, I realized how much more effort needed to be put into the extended inquiry project if I wanted to make the grade I had in mind of an A. Almost all of my citations were done incorrectly, and there were many main points in the annotations that needed to be elaborated on for the final project. During the class where we received our annotated bibliographies back there was a daybook assignment asking to reflect on our expectations of the annotated bibliography, versus the comments and suggestions made. This was my most thought out journal entry, which really made me change the way I approached my extended inquiry project. Once I completed my research, I made a timeline of my expectations of the extended inquiry project. This helped me stay on track, and avoid procrastination. On this timeline, I said I wanted to be completely finished with the project at least two days before the due date. I kept my mind right, did not procrastinate, and finished before my goal time. After submission of the project, I waited until I got my feedback. Much of the comments and critiques I received were expected. I needed to condense some information in some areas, and elaborate on more important information in others. I also received a lot of feedback about my incorrect in text citations, and works cited. During this whole revision process, I continued using my daybook and blog to guide me along, and reflect on the projects progress as a whole. Using all suggestions left by Dr. Campbell, and my peer reviews, I used the track changes feature to make revisions to my essay, and to make a well polished piece that was worthy of being posted in my E-portfolio. Using the track changes feature on Microsoft word, really allowed me to understand the changes I was making, and to see how my paper was being improved.

This entire process got me to where I am now. Making sure I kept all of my writing related, and intertwined throughout the semester was the key to success in this course. Doing this developed me as a thinking, which allowed me to learn much more about my topic. Even though I thought I was an expert on my topic going into the project, keeping an open mind allowed me to do this critical thinking, and now I can truly say I am an expert on Elevation and its use of Web 2.0. I wouldnt have been able to do this without using my daybook, blogs, textbook, peer review, and all other parts of the writing process as a roadmap to guide me on the journey of the extended inquiry project, and English 1102. Going into 1102, I did not see myself as a good critical thinker. I never did great on any of the standardized tests of critical thinking such as the SAT and the ACT. This course completely changed my views on critical thinking, and this is the area of the course where I improved the most on. I can now say critical thinking is a strength of mine now. Ive learned the most important part about thinking critically is it is much easier to think critically on a topic you are interested in. That is why I believe I thrived in this class. Ironically one of the things I showed a large amount of improvement on in the class is still perhaps my greatest weakness. I am coming to the realization that I may never master the art of citing my sources. Even though I may not master it, that does not mean I cannot continue practicing and improving the art. In the big picture, I must say the course was a success, if in the end, my biggest weakness is not being able to cite sources 100 percent correctly. Picking my most important work in the class is a no brainer to me. The extended inquiry project is by far my most important piece of work, and it is also the piece I am most proud of. This is the piece I was working towards perfecting the whole semester, and I put

countless hours into making it as perfect as I possibly could. This piece ties together all of the writing assignments like daybooks and blogs. Because I was able to do so much writing and reflecting in my daybook, about the project, the final piece was a large compilation of these writings and reflections done in my daybook. For the amount of time and effort put into my extended inquiry project, I am very proud of it, and it is an important piece of writing to me. The extended inquiry project is also most important to me because of my connection with the topic. I thoroughly enjoyed every part that led up to the final paper, including the topic proposal, the annotated bibliography, the research, and the revision. In every part of the writing process I learned more and more information about Elevation and how it uses Web 2.0. to reach thousands of people across the globe. It was easy for me to keep an open mind and think critically about a topic that I am so passionate about. This allowed me to reach my personal goals as a writer that I had concerning the project. I wanted to become an expert on my topic, think critically about the information I researched, and turn all of this into a final project I am pleased with. For these reasons, my goals were reached as a writer. Only time will tell if I reached my goal as a student. My goal is an A in the course. I feel I have put forth the effort required to achieve this grade. Hopefully I will be please with my grade, and my goal will be reached as a student. For me, anything less than an A is just average and the last thing I want to be is average. I feel I have put in enough effort to avoid this, and get the grade that I desire. I have grown exponentially in all the areas of thinking, questioning, and reflecting during the semester. Even though these have already been touched on earlier in the letter, it

is important to emphasize again. There are two main reasons I believe I have made so much progress. The first is as simple as reading moodle, the class schedule, and the assignment sheets. These make the expectations of the course very clear. If these simple rules of what is expected are followed, you are using all of your potential as a thinker and a writer; you are not cutting yourself short. The second reason why I have made so much progress is because of reflection. Reflection forces you to think critically about your writing. The most important part of this is giving yourself praise when you have earned it and pointing out your mistakes, and giving constructive criticism. Knowing you always have room for improvement is key in maximizing your potential as a writer. Without following simple instructions on assignment sheets, and reflecting on my writing process, this semester would have been a definite failure for me. Since I followed these simple instructions and was critical of myself, I helped myself become a much better thinker and writer. I can honestly say I am overjoyed that I never have to take another English class in my life. That does not mean I did not enjoy it while it lasted. There isnt another professor I would have wanted teaching me in my last semester of English. Moving forward, you have taught me to very important lessons that can be applied to academics and life in general. The first lesson I learned is reading and following instructions will take you a long way in life. Usually the directions are much simpler than they seem, it is just up to you to find out what is expected of you. Once you know what is expected, you have a choice to make. You can just do what is expected and be average, or you can go above and beyond. The choice is mine, and you have taught me choosing to be above average pays off in the long run.

The second lesson I learned was not to take things too seriously. Most professors take their jobs much too seriously and use their intelligence and a weapon to intimidate their students. You do the opposite, with a laid back demeanor, and yet you still get your point across. Everything in life is all about the approach you take. You can be average, or you can be above average. You are an above average professor, Dr. Campbell, and you taught me to be an above average student. Think you for everything you taught me, and challenging me to think critically. I will take that with me for the rest of my life Thank you, Austin Snipes