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.