Reflection Letter

Introduction

Dear Reader,

The work you will find within this portfolio was assembled through my English 458 class - "Advanced Writing Workshop." This 400-level course was attended in the fall semester of 2017 at North Dakota State University. The collection ranges from written, auditory, all the way to cinematic composition. The majority of these collections were created for Advanced Writing Workshop to meet the requirements that were bestowed to us as students by the English Department. Three other literary works have also been added to this portfolio from the course titled "Creative Writing" (ENGL 322) to further demonstrate my accomplishment of the department outcomes. The following were written for ENGL 458:

    • "Little Things Are Big" Essay
    • Literacy and Life Narrative
    • Blarg: Argumentative Blog Essay
    • Audio Essay
    • Crafting Digital Writing Project
    • Rules of Writing

I also incorporated three works from ENGL 322 in accordance with the Department Outcomes of 1, 2, & 6:

    • Creative Fiction
    • TAPP Project
    • Creative Poetry

Department Outcome One:

“English majors will be able to write and speak effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences in a variety of genres and media.”

This outcome became second nature within "Advanced Writing Workshop" through the class structure and assignment instruction. The writing assignments ranged between a variety of mediums. For example, through the use of Audacity, a free, open source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing, I was able to record a short excerpt that related to an overarching topic of "writing to change the world." While recording, I kept in mind different audiences that could be listening to my creation. Recording an audio essay was somewhat of a challenge for me since it was a form of writing that I had never composed. For this reason, I was very appreciative towards Dr. Brooks who had us begin the course with a more conventional approach. This consisted of standard essays that were typed out into a paragraph format that required a certain number of words to be written. I was very comfortable with this type of writing, so being able to complete the assignments was less of a challenge. What these assignments did for me was prepare me to write for a variety of audiences and multiple purposes. Once I had received a steady diet of written assignments to practice with, different forms of media had begun to introduce itself. This is where we met the department outcome of effectively writing in a variety of genres and media. After completing the audio essay that was previously mentioned, I began the process of crafting a digital composition. This took the form of a short film that I was able to publish to YouTube for anyone to view. This was the first time I had ever used social media to share a piece of work that I had created for school. For someone who just signed up for Facebook in the summer of 2017, I feel safe mentioning that creating an audio essay and a short film were outside of my comfort zone; however, the experience and struggle helped me to become a more well-rounded writer. I am very proud of the work I have created during this course and have learned valuable skills that I intend to carry over into the teaching world; skills such as writing and speaking in a variety of genres and media formats. Moreover, these skills not only made me a better writer, but they can also help me to prepare my own future students to be well-rounded authors in a world that moving more and more towards an electronic format.


Department Outcome 2:

English majors will be able to read (analyze, interpret, critique, evaluate) written and visual texts.

I believe that I met this outcome while enrolled in "Advanced Writing Workshop." My class was in a constant process of achieving this outcome and I didn't even realize it. While working on a draft of an assignment, we would take part in a self-evaluation of our work and share it with our classmates. In the midst of the completion process for any given assignment, I would mark certain segments of my work that I had concerns about. I would then share my composition with a classmate; we would take part in writing workshops where a handful of students would collaborate as a group, providing insight for the author's concerns. Once we were given a chance to read through one student's paper, we would switch with another and continue the process. I was unaware at the time, but this entire process called me to exhibit self-direction, cooperation, civility, reliability, and care in editing the final product. Once the editing process had been completed, I would move towards the final step in order to present the final product to the instructor. My writing group - Lillian Wiemann, Dan Kelly, Raechel Heuer, and Tylie Olson - had known each other prior to taking this course together, so we were very comfortable in providing critical feedback that was direct and to the point. It was very clear that we all cared about each other's work and were not taking part in the writing workshop to simply pass the time. The cooperation we exhibited helped provide me with a new direction that I could take my writing towards. Furthermore, on days where we were given the opportunity to share our final product to the class through an 'author's chair,' my class showed civility by providing me with positive feedback. I knew that I could rely on my teacher and classmates to help me tackle any obstacle, which had a marvelous impact on me, and pushed me to become a more skillful writer.

Another way I met this outcome was through my literary analyses. I read multiple mentor texts that provided new and interesting ways to approach writing. To fully understand an author's intention, I had to analyze the material and evaluate its purpose. Moreover, I also used fellow classmates and their completed work as a mentor text to follow. For example, I used Ben Norman's Life and Literacy essay as a guideline when I worked on creating my own. His essay was more complex than I wanted mine to be, so after analyzing his work, I found a new route I wanted to take while using similar strategies that Ben used.


Department Outcome 6:

English majors will be familiar with literature as culturally and historically embedded practices. This outcome includes goals such as familiarity with major writers, genres, and periods, and technologies of writing.

During Advanced Writing Workshop, we looked at multiple mentor texts written by major writers, some of which included Anne Lamott and Ta-Nehisi Coates. What these authors had to offer was advice that helped me to not only grow as a writer, but to gain a broader perspective of the various strategies that can be utilized within the writing process. Ta-Nehisi Coates' book "Between the World and Me" opened my eyes to a world of writing I had never experienced. Before enrolling in Advanced Writing Workshop, I had not received much experience with literature that dove deep into the cultural embodiment of the writer's story. The texts that were read during this course, specifically "Between the World and Me," gave me the opportunity to become more acquainted with texts as both cultural and historical practices. Reading about Coates' history helped me face my own fears and showed me how important it is to share the story of where you came from.

Furthermore, I met this outcome through the completion of my short film and audio essay. This class assigned an assortment of assignments that had us focus on various genres and technologies of writing. The digital writing composition required me to complete steps that are nonexistent during my usual writing process of typing words onto a word document. I completed the audio essay through the assistance of a sound studio that was located within the Technolgy Learning & Media Center (TLMC) on North Dakota State University's campus. I used Madi Novacek's digital essay as a mentor text for my own composition. Analyzing her style and using similar techniques that were incorporated into her video, I was able to reach an outcome that made me more familiar of the technologies of writing. The feeling that washed over me when I first sat down was hard to pinpoint. As I adjusted my microphone and set the sound signatures to the desirable level, the word "royalty" bounced continuously in my head. I was aware that I had only accomplished what a radio broadcaster does several times in a single day, but it was a new piece of technology that gave me a new sense of excitement towards writing. The digital writing composition followed the audio essay, yet the excitement that I felt weeks prior had never faded; in fact, it had amplified. For my digital composition I created a short film that required me to be in two placed at once. This was an obstacle that was more challenging to surpass, but it provided me with even more insight into the various technological writing mediums that are available. Without Advanced Writing Workshop, I don't believe I would have been presented with the challenge of experiencing the outcomes that were presented by the NDSU English Department.


My Process

The writing process for crafting digital writing took some getting used to. The style of media I was crafting definitely had an impact on how I approached the assignment, as well as the mode I was working with. What I found was that it was extremely difficult for me to use a script/outline of any sort before creating a draft. It was difficult for me to consistently use the outline because I always wanted to dive headfirst into the assignment with reckless abandonment, even if it meant that my first draft was a shitty one; but if there's one thing I learned from Anne Lamott, it's how a shitty first draft is something that should be embraced. If I created any sort of outline to follow, I would often times forget to even look at it when I began crafting my art. I would become so encapsulated in my writing that anything on the outside was nothing but a blur. Something I appreciated about the variety in which I wrote during Advanced Writing Workshop was how it gave me the opportunity to try an assortment of writing styles to help me find the process that best suited me. Towards the end, I adapted a style that focused on writing an essay that only centered around the key components of my story with very little detail. Earlier in the semester, I struggled with my pace and failed to implement the major insights of my work early. To solve this issue, I would often use the "paramedic method of writing" to eliminate unneeded words to help my essays become more direct and to the point. Once I had the essential information written, I would go back and start working on the fine detail.

What I learned is that crafting digital writing and crafting in a print-based style hold significant dissimilarities for me. A difference that was almost overwhelming to acclimate to was the amount of tools there were at my disposal in a digital format. Over the course of my 13 years of education, I had become accustomed to using a pen & pencil, or a laptop & Microsoft Word in order to produce any form of writing. Digital writing provided me with techniques and strategies I wasn't even aware were accessible. For instance, when I was in the process of creating my short film, I used MovieMaker on my Windows laptop to adjust the articulation of my words, as well as amplify speech to be played louder than any accompanying music. Overall, it was exciting to see how my writing process would adjust when I went from one assignment to the next. For instance, my process drastically changed when I transitioned from writing my Life and Literacy Narrative, to completing my Blarg essay. I learned that there are so many different approaches that can be taken when crafting digital writing, but each writer has their own predilection. Advanced Writing Workshop helped my find my own process and style through challenging assignments, productive collaboration with insightful peers, and excellent instruction.


My Strengths

One strength I noticed in my writing is my creativity. This became especially evident during my Crafting Digital Writing assignment. While in the process of creating my short film, new ideas kept coming to fruition; the biggest obstacle was having enough time to incorporate all of the ideas. It took several mistakes and embarrassing screw-ups to get the video the way I desired; however, rather than become frustrated, I came up with the idea to create a "bloopers" section that displayed small glimpses into the process I took to finish the final product. I used other elements, such as the setting and lighting to emphasize the message that I was attempting to portray.

Another strength I found in my writing is my ability to voice my emotions. My Life and Literacy Narrative contained trials that were difficult for me to face. For example, I write about how I coached high school basketball and had an angry parent start screaming at me in public (something that people tell me is a weekly occurrence for teachers... hooray). In order to voice the emotions that I was feeling at the time of the incident, I focused on detail that can be relatable to the audience. Not everyone has experienced an obstacle as a coach, so I worked on finding other challenges, such as the feeling you receive when you stub your toe really hard, that the audience is more likely to have experienced in their own lives.


Improvements

My writing has come a long way since the beginning of Advanced Writing Workshop. With that being said, there are improvements that can be made to benefit my writing even further. My pacing has improved throughout this course, yet I believe that it can become even better. I want to focus on getting the main point/big picture across to my audience early, rather than provide too much detail that leads up to it. In order to achieve this, I have utilized the paramedic method of writing to eliminate unneeded detail prior to the main message of the essay. Something else I can also use to improve this element of writing is to become better at revising. The paramedic method can become less than helpful if my revising skills are subpar. I plan to improve this aspect of my writing through mentor texts and PLC books.

Another improvement I plan to continue working on is my organization to keep audiences interested. Organization has always been a tough element of the writing process for me. While my writing style involves crafting an essay all at once, something that I believe will improve my struggles with organization is to create outlines. I attempted this step during this course, and I failed to properly utilize it. Not only would this help my organization, but it would also benefit my audience. It is difficult to keep track of the events that take place within an essay when they do not flow. To help my audience stay interested, as well as reach out to multiple audience types, improving my organizational skill is a strategy that I plan to deploy well after my educational career.


Revisions

Mentioned briefly in my segment of improvements, revision was something that was key in order for me to accomplish anything in Advanced Writing Workshop. All the assignments that I had created for this class contained several steps of revision. Going through the work that I crafted sparked new ideas that I could possibly add, or helped me find mistakes that needed to be fixed. Even as I create this portfolio, I have added, deleted, and modified different elements to ensure that my final product is something that I am proud of and eager to share with the world.


I hope this has given you a better understanding of how this class was structured, and the benefits that arose upon completion. Without this course, my skills as a writer would not be as finely tuned as they are now. I have grown as a writer and plan to use the skills I learned to better my future. I am proud of the work I have created, and extend a great deal of gratitude to ENGL 458 - Advanced Writing Workshop.


Thank you for reading,

Sam Olson