Reflection on Open Letter Draft

I used the 5 questions on pages 253-256 to reflect on my open letter draft. How crazy is it that this is the last blog post for this class??


I edited Alyssa and Isabel's drafts.

Image by Ableman, Scott. "Midnight at the Reflecting Pool." Uploaded 6/1/07 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license. 

1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer? 

Having never been asked to reflect on my own writing before this class, I was unsure of where to start. It was incredibly helpful to have the "Revisiting My Writing Process" and "Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences" done before I began my draft; I started my draft using the ideas that I developed in those two posts and then went from there.

I personally think that this draft was the easiest of the 4 for me to write because it is entirely from a personal perspective. Not having to use outside sources (other than our own work, which I'm familiar with) made this project a lot more enjoyable for me to write.

Mostly, my draft needs some local revisions. There were no huge global issues that my peers pointed out to me, and I have yet to find any in my own editing. Overall, I think it's a good start. After some more editing, I'm sure I will be happy with the final product.

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

I analyzed how I was introduced to and used certain skills in high school and then compared them to what I have learned in 109. Mostly, I looked at how the way I approach introductions and conclusions changed after taking this course.

I also discussed how what we've done in this class will help me later in my college education and future career. The editing and writing skills that I have gained as well as my increased expertise in managing my time will benefit me greatly in the future.

3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)? 

I either linked to the blog posts that related to the topic I was discussing, or I referred to certain parts of the class. My audience will understand what I am referring to even if I don't provide a hyperlink (sometimes it's impossible, because I refer to the project as a whole).

Using quotes from my work didn't seem necessary for my particular project, so I chose to leave them out. Maybe I will decide to add some as I am editing my project if I think it would be helpful or beneficial.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?

When I discussed my time management in this class, I explained how breaking up each deadline helped me not to procrastinate. I got all of my work submitted on time, which helped my overall grade in the class. I get incredibly stressed when I'm behind or having to catchup on work that I fell behind on, so that motivated me even more to stay on top of my workload.

I also explained how, as much as I hate scrapping parts of my drafts, it's usually necessary to produce a good final project. Not everything that I write in my first draft will add something to my project once it's finished.

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts relating to writing and the writing process? 

I discussed introductions and conclusions, my personal writing process and time management style, and editing. All of these things are important in every class, but especially a class like this one that centers around composition.

Draft of Open Letter

I genuinely enjoyed writing this draft, and I think that while the ideas are there, my draft needs some help with construction. 

Image by Raymond, Nicolas. "Under Construction Grunge Sign." Uploaded 4/19/12 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic license. 

For one, the paragraphs are huge, so I need to figure out a way to cut them down to a manageable size. Also, I was a little unsure about how formal or informal to be in a semi-formal letter, so if anything seems out of place, please let me know. 

I also only hyperlinked to two past blog posts, but I referred to a lot more of my work without providing a link, because I didn't think they were necessary in the context of my letter. If anyone has a suggestion about adding a link to anything that I referenced or putting in something else entirely, that would be great. 

Otherwise, I'm sure there are some spelling, grammar, or sentence structure issues that I missed when I copy-edited. Thanks in advance!! 

Here is the link to my Open Letter Draft. 

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

I've reflected on the past semester in 109H using the questions that were posted for blog post 14.5

Image by Qrator. "Collect Experiences, Not Things." Uploaded 2/21/13 via Flickr.
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license. 

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?

Overall, I think the biggest challenge was adjusting to college life. I am incredibly close with my younger sister and my aunt, so moving away from them and my dad was tough. I am a very routine oriented person and don't do terribly well with change, so the first couple weeks of classes, I was not a happy camper. But once I started to settle in and establish a routine, and I quickly adjusted to my new home and environment.

While the workload was not entirely unexpected, it was still a lot to take on. Especially being in the honors college, there is a lot of pressure to perform at a high level and keep grades up.

I've done well in all of my classes this semester. I've stayed on top of my work and didn't let myself get lazy and start procrastinating.


2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing, and editorial skills?

Because of the sheer amount of writing that I've had to do for all of my classes this semester, I've gotten good at just sitting down and writing. I used to consider myself more of a heavy planner [blog post 1.10] who would think a lot before starting an assignment, but I've gotten to the point where I'm able to start writing without a lot of planning beforehand.

This type of writing, however, requires a lot of editing. I considered myself to be a fairly good editor in high school, but this semester has helped me become much more efficient than ever before. Knowing how to edit both my own work and my peers' work will benefit me greatly in the future with both my education and whatever jobs and careers I end up with.

I used to procrastinate quite a bit in high school, because the pressure of having a deadline would motivate me. Since I've been here though, I have gotten all of my work done before the deadline. I would structure each week around the English deadline; I planned to do a couple steps for English each day, and then I would fill in the rest of my time with work for other classes.

Planning out when I would get everything done and sticking to that schedule was incredibly helpful for me. Even though I haven't followed the plan that I originally laid out for doing homework [blog post 1.12], I still managed to get everything done, usually with time to spare.


3. What do you know about the concept of genre? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

I never really considered the genres that I was using in my high school classes, because all of the guidelines were given as part of the assignment. Most essays I wrote were 5 paragraph essays that have strict conventions, but we were never explicitly taught about how to properly use them.

In order to be the most effective writer possible, it's necessary to know how to effectively use the genre. Writing a blog post that contains long, complex, indented paragraphs with in-text citations would not be effective, because most people who read blogs are looking for scannable paragraphs that give a condensed amount of information on a certain topic.

It's essentially important to use genre as a way to reach the intended audience and either inform or persuade them on the topic.  If the audience is confused or disinterested about how you portray your topic, they will not react well.


4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

Even though I most likely won't be taking any more English or composition classes, most courses that I will take require essays or written pieces of some sort.

I know that being a proficient editor will help me a lot in the future. Knowing how to properly use genres and rhetorical situations will make any writing that I have much easier and more effective.

The time management skills that I gained both from this class and the semester as a whole will carry over into future semesters. If I keep getting my work done before it's due and not procrastinating on anything, I will be able to produce higher quality work that I am proud of.


5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?

I think that the achievement that I am most proud of from this semester is how well I planned and executed my work. I never missed a deadline, so I never had to worry about missing points for late blog posts and projects.

Along with managing my time well, I also produced the highest quality work that I could. I am happy with the quality of work that I produced, and I don't feel like I BS'ed my way through the work like I have done in past classes.


6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?

Where I was least effective in this class was with the Read, Reply, Reflect assignments. Near the beginning of the semester, I would write a good amount on each post that I commented on.

On the first blog post, 1.10, I wrote this, "I am also partially a heavy planner, but for me, the idea or topic is the hardest part. I usually come up with the idea when I'm doing things completely unrelated to writing or school work. That's when the Heavy Planner disappears and leaves the Heavy Revisor behind. 

I wish that, like you, the Planner stayed the whole way through. I often get stuck after I find my idea, because I can't come up with a good intro, or I just can't get into it. 

I agree that most people in this class will have at least a little bit of the Planner style due to of the vast amount of writing we've had to do over the years we've been in school. Not many people can just sit down and start writing without some mental or written planning ahead of time. This can be both a blessing and a curse when deadlines are upon us" on Emma's blog post.

For my most recent RRR, I wrote, Having read both your outline and your visual elements post, I think you are on the right track for your project. I'm sure it's difficult to plan both what to say and what images to use, but you have obviously given your project a lot of thought. I'm excited to see your final product" on Alyssa's blog post.

As I did more and more RRRs, I felt like I was just saying the same things over and over. While I understand that it's important to know what other people in our class are doing and what they think of our work, after a while, it just seemed like a waste of time. I know that I probably should have worked harder to find original and helpful things to say, but I don't know how doable it is.