My Synthesis and Literacy Narrative

"My Step Away From 'Perfect' Reading and Writing Overview:

In this paper, I reflect on my personal journey in developing reading and writing skills. I talk about many of the factors that contributed to me developing the "perfectionist" mentality I talked about at the beginning of this portfolio. By striving for perfectionism, I approached reading by only reading texts a single time over, and I approached writing by only forming one single, final draft. I explain that the factors that contributed to my approaches to reading and writing where due to my struggles in developing experience in these skills. Later, I discuss how after a long time of having this perfectionist mentality, I eventually realized that being loyal to it prevented me from developing other reading and writing skills. Realizing this in my senior year, I worried that my stationary skills would not allow me to be successful in college. However, during this English 5: Accelerated Academic Literacies Class, there were three assignments that aided me in not only letting go of my old viewpoints to reading and writing. Such assignments also taught me about different approaches or strategies for me to exercise. Ultimately, the three assignments I introduce and explain helped me transition from feeling 'stationary' in my reading and writing skills, to feeling confident about these skills and my a to use them in the rest of college and beyond.

Areas of Improvement and Development:

With this being the first major writing assignment I did for this ENG 5 class, it is major writing assignment with most areas of improvement and development. 

First Aspect That Can Improve - Explaining an Assignment I Did in the Past:

The first obvious area of improvement in this my paper was the way I introduced and talked about the assignment that was the "perfect embodiment of my approaches to reading and writing." The paragraph where I did this is pasted below.

"When I entered 6th grade, one of my very first assignments had me writing about a personal subject. I was told to pick out a topic and argue something about it. For example: why cats are better than dogs, why vanilla ice cream is the best ice cream flavor, etc. I decided to write about why I thought my favorite video game at the moment, Minecraft, was the best game of all time. The assignment was laid out in the five paragraph structure that I was used to. Because I had mastered the required structure of this assignment from using it for so many years, this assignment was a piece of cake for me. In my mind, I thought that every time I wrote another paper using this same formula resulted in me becoming better at reading and writing. This thought was fueled by how when I received these assignments back from teachers, I always got high grade marks, showing me what I was doing was effective." (Paragraph 3)

The main flaw of this paragraph is how I am vague in explaining the purpose of goal of the assignment I am describing. This vague description damages the effect of me saying in the previous paragraph that this assignment was the "perfect embodiment of my approaches to reading and writing". Basically, instead of simply saying how this assignment "told me to pick out a topic and argue something about it", I could have said that this assignment's purpose was for me to present a standpoint on a particular topic, and furthermore explain why that standpoint is important or meaningful to me. Being more elaborate and specific on what this assignment asked of me would've been good practice for me when I mention other works or sources in other writing assignments.

Second Aspect That Can Improve - Introducing Sources:

Another area of improvement for this literacy narrative is related to my use of sources. In this paper, I cited and quoted three assignments from this class that helped me break away from my old reading and writing habits. The assignments I used in particular where the assignments where I annotated "Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay" by Marie Foley, "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lammott, and "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts" by Donald M. Murray. The main problem with me using this sources is the way that I didn't present them in an highly descriptive manner. By saying this, I mean that I merely stated the name of the assignment, that they were annotation assignments, and gave a vague explanation of what is said or argued in the source. Evidence of how I presented the assignments this way is pasted below:

"One of the main assignments that allowed me to let go of my reading and writing style was “Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay” by Marie Foley. This was an annotation assignment which had me read about the ‘five-paragraph essay’ structure I’d been predominantly using since 3rd grade, taught in schools across all grade levels. Foley’s main argument calls for the abandonment of this writing structure in schools. She claims that it deters critical thinking, and student’s ability to grow their writing skills." (Paragraph 5)

"Another assignment that helped me break free from my old ways was “Shitty First Drafts,” by Anne Lammott. This was another annotation assignment regarding an article. The article explained that the best way to become a good writer is by letting your ‘inner child' take control of your writing. By saying this, Lamott means the writer writing whatever comes into their head, no matter how bad it may sound, that way they have an idea of what they are trying to get at." (Paragraph 6)

"Finally, the assignment “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts” by Donald M. Murray helped me break loose from my old reading methods. This is another annotation assignment, and it tackled the idea of the ‘maker’s eye’. This idea explains that writers usually need to be their own worst enemy in order to develop their skills. It also states that writing is an ever evolving process that requires consistent revision, editing, and rereading."(Paragraph 7)

As it can be seen, the way I talk about these assignments could be more descriptive and elaborate. To further prove that it isn't as effective as it could, the "Evidence" criteria box in the grade rubric for this assignment was marked as "Professing". Trying to figure out a way to improve my writing, after revising, I declared that a good way to add more context to my presentation to these assignments was by doing a number of things. Firstly, I thought that introducing the authors alongside their work would allow for a more effective explanation. From my research, I saw that Marie Foley, Anne Lamott, and Donald M. Murray are all authors. If I were to have talked about their profession and expertise, I would have made them appear a lot credible, which in turn would have made the act of me learning from their ideas more reasonable and cohesive. Moving on, something else that would make for a better explanation would be explicitly stating the main purpose or goal of each source. 

Looking back, I do a decent job in explaining the purpose of "Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay", which calls for teachers and schools to stop teaching this writing structure to students as it deters critical thinking and hinders the development of writing skills. However, I don't carry out this same explanation of the purpose of a source when introducing "Shitty First Drafts" and "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts".

In my revision, I saw that the main purpose of "Shitty First Drafts" is to teach the reader that good writing takes time, and can't be developed or thought of instantly. Furthermore, this article aims to teach the reader that the best way to develop good writing is by starting off with a bad first draft, or "shitty first draft." The purpose of starting with a poor first draft is to then use it as a reference for how you want to your writing to look like once you have developed better ideas later. 

In turn, the purpose of "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts" is to show the reader that when they are their "own worst enemy", or by being heavily critical to themselves, they are able to more effectively develop their reading and writing skills. This type of approach is due to how reading and writing are ever evolving processes that require consistent time, revision, and effort to develop. 

In short, my takeaways of improvements for this assignment are that by being incredibly descriptive when I introduce or explain written works or sources cited, I am able to provide more inside information. By doing this, my writing becomes less vague, and in turn becomes more cohesive and powerful. This is a takeaway that I made sure not not to repeat in future assignments, which will be evident in the way I introduce outside material onto my writing when going through this portfolio.

Third Aspect That Can Improve - The Use of Textual Support & Evidence:

The final aspect of this paper that could use improvement is the way I used textual support and evidence. This area of improvement is actually graded described on this literacy narrative's grade rubric. In the rubric, it is described as "progressing", indicating that while it isn't poor, it could definitely be better. As I revised the way I used used quotes in this literacy narrative, I saw that they are used in a very un-powerful way. By saying this, I mean that I use good, effective, quotes, but don't introduce or deliver them in a way that it impactful or supports my writing. This observation is first noticeable when I provide my first quote:

I came to agree with her claims and arguments about the five paragraph essay, especially how it deters thinking in students. “This formula runs counter to our most basic goals as writing instructors. Instead of generating thinking, the formula deters it. As soon as students meet their quota of three body paragraphs, they are free to stop thinking about their topic” (Foley Paragraph 4). In this quote, Foley reinforced my senior year realization perfectly. In her quote, she means that the five paragraph essay structure makes students write about what they already know about a topic, depriving them of learning new things about that topic or different ways to look at it. 

This is a quote directly from "Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay" by Marie Foley. To start off, the first problem starts with how I don't have a smooth transition leading up to the quote presented. In the highlighted text, I go from talking about how I agree with Foley's claims and arguments about the five paragraph essay, to suddenly and directly placing a quote afterwards. I could've presented a smoother transition if I had said "As stated by Foley," followed by the quote provided. 

The second problem comes from how after I provide the quote. After I do so, I don't accurately reflect what was talked about in the quote. This is because I state that what the meaning of the quote is that five paragraph essay makes students write about something they already know, discouraging them from learning new things about a topic. This is something that isn't talked about or insinuated in the quote, which instead states that the five paragraph essay structure deters thinking. If I had been more precise in the way I put the quote into my own words, as well as reflecting said quotes to my own skills, my reflection on the quote would have been way more cohesive.

Moving on, the way I present my second quote also introduces issues.

The ideas provided in ‘Shitty Final Drafts’ proved to me it actually wouldn’t make my writing worse, and instead they can be a stepping stone that leads me to write the best draft possible “The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time.” (Lamott Paragraph 2). In this quote, the author means that the best words, sentences, paragraphs, and overall written works take time to become ‘good’. It is common to go through changes in ideas and ways to explain things that ultimately shape one’s writing for the better. 

This other quote comes "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott. The problem with the way I introduce this quote is due to how I don't relate it to myself. Instead, I just put what is said in the quote in my own words. With the quote saying "The right words and sentences just do not come pouring like ticker tape most of the time", I could've related it to myself by saying how my perfectionist mentality made me want to come up with the "right words and sentences" immediately. If I were to have done this, I could've demonstrated to the reader that I am taking in what is being argued in this assignment.

Being this way, I wasn’t my ‘own worst enemy’ or thought of reading and writing as a process that grows over time. “Making something right is immensely satisfying, for writers begin to learn what they are writing about by writing.” (Murray 25-26). In this quote the author claims revision is a rewarding and fun process. Making something better makes a writer feel like they are learning and enhancing their skills. 

This last quote comes from "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts" by Donald M. Murray. The issue with how I introduced this quote is the same as how I introduced the "Shitty First Drafts" quote. All I did after presenting this quote was explain its meaning in my own words, forgetting to relate it to myself. Looking at this quote, I could've related the author's claims that revision can be satisfying to how I used to view revision as a waste of time. Just like with my Shitty First Drafts quote, if I were to have been more descriptive in my comments after stating the quote, I would've demonstrated good learning from Murray's ideas.

Conclusion:

Overall, I think that with this being my first major college writing assignment, I did not to a bad job whatsoever. Throughout this paper, I was able to maintain a decent cohesive structure. Furthermore, I did a decent job in citing sources and providing evidence to support my takeaways from a number of assignments I took in this class. Even so, there were a couple of areas in this assignment that could be improved to make the paper stronger as a whole. After looking at the exact aspects of this paper that need improvement, I made sure to not repeat them again in future writing assignments.