Learning Goals Now

*Please note that the screenshots may include some out-dated language from when I took ENG 105 in 2019. When I say "Pre-Course Reflection," that corresponds to what we call the First Reflection in the Fall of 2021.

Success!

Looking at my mid-course reflection, I can say that the learning goals I spoke about there - process and the collaborative element of writing - happen to be the same ones I drew on the most to make a success of Project 2. Comments in peer reviews about my proposal as a whole, additional evidence that would be helpful, and the advocacy ad I designed were essential to revision process. Especially because the proposed solution in my rough draft was a near-total shift from my initial solution. And because of this shift, I found it necessary to change the format of my paper as well.

Project 2 ended up being a proposal addressed to one person, Elaine Sanders. She’s the president of the Tucson Arthritis Support League (TASL), an organization I hoped to partner with as a means of addressing the problem of harmful perceptions about fibromyalgia (FM) in Tucson, Arizona. You'll find the beginning of the letter addressed to Elaine to the right.

The idea to address my proposal to one person in my final draft was greatly supported by a comment from Tonie Roberts and Hana Reine in their peer reviews of my rough draft. This first quote is from Tonie Roberts, which you'll find to the right.

Hana Reine echoed what Tonie had to say, and you'll find that quote if you look to the right.

I believe the reader can easily see that an immediate, direct address to Elaine Sanders does a lot to clear up who the audience is. Another comment from Tonie helped me understand that I needed to incorporate more information from Project One to frame my solution successfully. You'll find the second comment from Tonie to the right.


I acted on Tonie’s insight by including some of the remarks my interview subjects and I have heard about our value as individuals living with FM. These gems are worth quoting again because they’re so appalling and so commonly heard among those of us with FM. They also make for an effective appeal to pathos. These quotes can, again, be found just to the right of this paragraph.

The Struggle!

Process and Collaboration were the most challenging Outcomes during the Project 2 process. I’m happy to say that both were easier during Project 2 compared to Project 1. In my Second Reflection, you can still hear some cringing about process and collaboration if you put your ear up against the screen. You'll find that quote to the right.

Compared to what I’ve written above about collaborating with Tonie and Hana on Project 2, I feel like this is a lot of progress. If we go further back to my first remarks on peer review, the progress is even more notable. Here’s a quote from that: “I can’t recall feedback from a class that I found helpful.”

Habits of Mind

HoM Success!

The three most important HOM in the process of composing Project 2 were Persistence, Openness, and Engagement. As you can see from my discussion of WPA Outcomes, I put a lot of effort into letting myself be open about what my peers have to say about my work. I engaged with what they had to say by building their feedback into my final draft. Persistence was applied from my First Reflection (see that last quote in the Learning Goal discussion just above) through to this reflection.

I feel like the above quotations demonstrate that I’ve managed to open up to peer review as part of my writing process. I’d like to say a little more about openness though. Being open is a sensible approach to approach to take as a writer. Otherwise, I’d end up writing the same material over and over, and in the same way. In terms of everyday experience, being closed is like eating the same breakfast everyday and then later that day watching the exact same episode of Golden Girls. While routine is helpful, and most Golden Girls episodes reward repeated viewing, adhering too much to what was blocks out what is and what could be. If you never give up the English muffin and grapefruit, you’ll never find that delicious tofu scramble. And if you just watch the episode of Golden Girls where Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose are (mistakenly) arrested, then you’ll never discover Mad Men or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

HoM Struggle!

Flexibility and curiosity were the most problematic HoM for me. While I just wrote about how great being open to new things is, there’s still a grumpy retired factory worker who just wants his damn English muffin, grapefruit, and Golden Girls living in me somewhere. “Tofu scramble? Mad Men? Are you a communist? Get off my porch!” He makes himself known regularly, and I do my best to keep him happy in his armchair while maintaining the flexibility to make changes and indulging the curiosity essential to seeing that change could be worthwhile. Like I say in my First Reflection “This is the counterpoint, the balance I push toward in my life. One could say that I’m working toward making habits of mind into habits of life. “