Reflection Three

The progress that I have made in my writing skills due to this class has been very noticeable! I have improved in many areas of my writing such as formatting, revising, and general flow of my passages. Reflecting on some of my prior writing in this class versus my more recent writing for project two has been very interesting. It is definitely apparent that I am more comfortable in the writing process, and the trial and error that comes with creating a good piece of work. Throughout this course, I have been taught many valuable skills, learned how to challenge myself, and have been provided with many great resources such as peer reviews which have all helped me gain more experience as a writer.

Let's address the elephant in the room. For the Project One revised draft, I didn’t get a great grade. The main contribution to my grade not being as good as it could have been, is me not providing enough attention to the revision aspect of my essay. Some reasons I struggle with revision are that I struggle heavily with change, and I am an extreme perfectionist. Being on the spectrum is something that I never felt altered the way that I write, or revise. After some reflection on my time in this course, I have come to realize that it does. Going through the process of changing my essay after I feel like it is already complete, and well written has been very hard for me. Moving forward, I know that I will have to combat my feelings of concreteness in my work. The role that my perfectionism plays is also something I know I will have to continue to work on. I struggle getting out of my comfort zone, and with changing the way I do or write things.

Although my first project’s final product proved to be somewhat of a struggle for me, project two was easier for me to revise. I spent less time working to make it perfect for the first submission, and waited to hear feedback from peers, and our writing mentor. That helped me know what direction I should continue writing in as I continued. I know that in the future, this is something that will be helpful to practice. Something else I did, and will continue to do during the revision aspect of my drafts is keeping all changes to my work documented. I created a separate file with my final draft of Project Two where I highlighted all revised, rewritten, and new additions to my essay! This really helped me picture just how much I was contributing to the revision of my draft. Being a visual learner, I know this is a tool that I can use that will help me in the future! Doing this also enabled me to read through my final draft thoroughly, check for mistakes, and even add more revisions. Previously, I wasn’t great about proof reading all the way through, but moving forward, I know that this process is a good way encourage me to read through my passages fully.

The feedback I have received in this course is another main contributor as to why I feel my second project’s revised draft is stronger than my first project’s. Initially, doing a peer review was something that confused, and frustrated me. After the opportunity to get used to the actual submission functions, frankly, I feel it was the most helpful and time sensitive evaluation of my work that was contributed. Additionally, being able to view the direction and paths that my classmates were going with their essays also proved to be very eye opening. I really enjoyed challenging myself, and trying to find the balance between conflicting feedback. One example of that was in project one, it was suggested to me that I change my title to something more creative by one of my peers. On the other hand, though, I was also told by our writing mentor that my title was super creative. Moving forward with my essay, I decided to make my title a reference to my subject’s business, “The Body Electric”. Being a rhetorical analysis made it easy to get creative with rhyming.

Pictured: The title of the final draft of my first project.

One of the most helpful tools I’ve learned about in this class is freewriting. I feel like freewriting is almost how I’ve gotten by in all of my English classes previously, minus the revision, and fine tuning that ensues afterwards. Honestly, it’s somewhat reassuring to know that maybe in a way I was on the right track all along. This is an invention assignment that I will without a doubt continue to practice- and not just because I utilized it unknowingly previously! Really, drafting has never been required as a submission for me in former classes, but even if it doesn’t continue to be after this class, I definitely plan on holding myself accountable to writing drafts. I have been able to identify and learn of so many interesting invention assignments, and new ways to brainstorm before I start writing! I don’t feel like I’m “going in blind” anymore when starting my writing assignments, and it is so relieving.

I have found taking notes especially helpful in this class. At the beginning of this course, it was recommended to students that they invest in a composition notebook. When I first purchased a composition notebook for English 101, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Many questions ran through my mind such as, will I actually write in this thing? Will I write in this twice, and then immediately forget it even exists? If I get the cuter notebook will I be more compelled to write in it? I’m just asking the serious questions here. Despite my initial skepticism, I have been consistently taking notes since the beginning of the class. Having all of my notes together in one place has been extremely beneficial for me. It is so helpful having all of my resources condensed into one place. I have never been a “note-taker” per say, however, I have surely evolved into one largely in part due to this English 101 course.