Reflection Essay

I’ve taken English classes before. We all have. But I’m proud to say that taking this class has genuinely changed the way that I think about writing. From my discourse community project to the weekly discussion posts, this class has helped me step outside my comfort zone while also helping me improve upon skills I’ve already practiced. I’ve stated this in my first reflection journal, but taking ENL3 previously had already introduced me to metacognition. Continuing to write cover memos in this class gave me more opportunities to practice self reflection. I expect the other main concepts of this class will continue to stick with me in the near future.

One concept I had not encountered formally was the topic of breaking down genre. Of course I had some idea of what genre was, but I had never thought about it in the way it was presented in this class. Considering the rhetorical context of a certain piece of literature is very important because it creates a certain expectation from your audience. In reflection journal five, I was able practice these skills by writing a generic analysis on my favorite album Under Pressure. In this journal I identified certain qualities like the song topics as being very characteristic of the Hip-Hop genre. For example, I write “The almost jazz like percussion is very reminiscent of the 90s Hip-hop scene”. Another way I studied genre was by using examples of discourse community projects given to us. I was able to determine the perspective of the writer and who the piece was intended for. In my discussion post, I had considered the fact that the author added an appendix to his project so that people who were unfamiliar with his topic could learn about the specific terminology used. This led me to believe the purpose of his writing was to inform a specific audience about his community of choice.

Speaking of discourse communities, my own research had allowed me to explore a topic that I was personally interested in, while also learning about how language can shape the way a community operates. One new experience that I value is conducting my own research and using it to inform people of an issue that is personally important to me. Even though I’m a music producer myself, I rarely converse with others about their experiences with the business. By conducting my own interviews, I was able to learn firsthand about collaboration from more experienced producers. I found this experience very rewarding because I learned how my writing skills could contribute to real world situations.

Completing this project also had me react to the feedback given by my peers. While peer review isn’t new to me, I was able to again practice working with others in this isolating time. Instructor Schuhmacher’s lecture on revision reminded me that revising is mostly about the arranging of ideas, not necessarily the editing of words used to execute the ideas. I felt that this concept built on top of dismantling the five paragraph essay, a topic introduced early on in the course. Even though I had heard of this method of writing, I was still uncomfortable using it because it was different than anything I had really done before. Coming into this class, I felt that it was a safe space to try experimenting with this new way of writing by moving away from the five paragraph structure. Therefore, I thought that my reflection section in my discourse community project was a great opportunity to practice this skill. In one on one conferences, we had discussed the effectiveness of using a cause and effect structure. I took this advice and incorporated it into my paper by first talking about collaboration in music and how it then directly correlates with success in the music business.

If I had more time I would most likely do more research on my topic of choice. I had started this project with lots of background knowledge but given the opportunity, I would have liked to use my interviews and the UC Davis library to learn even more about the music industry. In the allotted time I was able to get two interviews but documenting more experiences would have been interesting to see as well. Both members had been involved in the community for quite some time. I would have liked to get another interviewee with less experience to see what they would have hoped to achieve by being involved. Even though I would have wanted a third interview, I was still surprised to hear the insight that these two members had to offer and I could only imagine how many other stories I didn’t get to hear. Additional time in this class would have also given me the chance to expand on my discourse community project. I would have liked to add a finished song that was the product of collaboration within the community. This would have proven to the audience that collaboration in the community results in a polished final product.

Overall, I’m really glad that this class has given me many opportunities. I was able to experiment with a different writing style, conduct my own research, receive and analyze genuine feedback, and finally become more confident in my own writing ability. I came into this class unsure about my writing style thinking it was more or less the same as everyone else’s. Now I see that there are numerous ways to express yourself both creatively and effectively to a target audience. In the future, I hope to build upon the way that I think about genre and the purpose of writing. In the past I was so used to writing what felt like the same essay every time. The discourse community project and lessons in genre taught me that writing with a genuine purpose produces genuine content. In fact, I hope to explore purpose in both my writing and in my academic career as a whole.