My expectations coming into WRA 101 were quite high, with emotions scattered amongst the various ones to choose from. Specifically, my expectations for this class, taught by Dr. Hood, were to transform as a writer and acquire a new level of understanding regarding the different styles and aspects of writing. I believe he has done a marvelous job in providing others and I with quality feedback and resources to allow for success in becoming more-polished writers and individuals among society.
I had the notion that I would transition into a much more flexible and open-minded being than before. This course differed from my expectations because it was easier and more intriguing of a course than I anticipated it to be. Coming into this course, I expected to move along with some difficulty and receive average
...grades.
Fortunately, I was mistaken. Throughout this course, I succeeded in staying caught up with the assignments and projects given. To do so, I simply compiled the necessary will-power to get things done. Also, my focus towards writing has intensified remarkably over the course of the semester. My knowledge of the art of writing and the many aspects associated with it have also greatly benefited.
My original plans can be found in an old post on Google Classroom regarding our first project. In this proposal, I stated, “The thing that will make my project strong will be the creative aspect of it. This may be from word choice or just the topic itself. I want to stand out from the crowd and make my writing unique. I want it to strike your interest or make you feel certain emotions like you do when
listening to music.
I want it to be clear what I experienced and how the experience affected me. Some challenging things involve implementing enough detail to paint a picture for the reader and using as little filler words as possible. I don't want to bore the reader, but I also don't want the reader to be left with gaps in the story” (Project Proposal (300-500 words)). As you can tell, I was quite ambitious at the very beginning of this course, hungry to improve upon my talents. I feel as if I stood by my word to accomplish what I set out to do.
The skills I yet to develop are my abilities as a researcher to accurately and effectively relay information to an intelligent audience and communicate with a professional tone throughout my essays. This means the reader should be able to conclude, with the assistance of different elements of my writing, that I’m a student who’s apart of a well-respected institution and not just some random guy. Throughout this course, I have wrote/made a plethora of well-polished final drafts and reflections.
The steps I took to complete the tasks were simply: get up, open whatever assignment that needed to be completed, sit down, and finish it. Simple. Of course, this was not always the case. Incidents like not arriving to class on time and procrastinating on big projects I should not have were present. However, when I arrived to class, I came prepared to learn new course material. What I learned as a writer, researcher, student, or human was how to make greater sense of context, how to better focus in class, and how to communicate
with others nearby.
Skills that I acquired include the ability to greater comprehend newly-found information and communicate effectively with a more sophisticated audience. The lessons that I learned were to remain disciplined and “understanding the importance of being responsible at all times, especially on the road. You never know what may happen in the instant you are not paying attention to the road and your surroundings” (Kenneth Leon Larkins - Remix Reflection).
I believe that was a key lesson taken away from my own writing. As you would have saw from the comic, Chris and Kile were reckless in their behavior and ultimately paid a steep price for it. I credit my ability to decipher this lesson from constant analysis of some of my own work, so I present it in this reflection because I feel it’s a valuable lesson to be learned and shared. What I'd do differently next time is attempt to come to class every day and make more friends within the class. What I'll never do again is arrive to class inconsiderably late and disturb the learning of others.
Feedback I considered to be useful was provided by fellow classmates Devon and Trinitee on a peer review. Trinitee states: “Probably 14 year olds and those in that age group. Like middle school and early high school” while Devon states: “I think the intended age was 9 years old and up” . With this feedback, “I was able to achieve my goal by incorporating more emotional expression and formal language to fit the audience of a 12-year-old.
After a long analysis, I [felt] very confident in my ability to appeal the 12-13 age range” (Kenny Leon
Larkins - Remix Reflection). I found the Comic Book and the Artifact project to be the most interesting projects from the course because these were based on familiar topics that I remember researching back in previous years. Both pieces venture deeper into the topics of the lack of safe driving in our society and making good decisions in general. Things/tools I learned about in this course that changed the way I understand writing are the Pomodoro style writings and the bibliography work.
Learning about topics I was uninterested in challenged how I think about the world around myself by forcing me to reach outside my comfort zone to think deeper and broader than I am used. I learned a lot about myself as a student. The skills I gained include the ability to better articulate newly-found information and communicate effectively with others around me in class.
Changes I see in myself, in terms of my attitude, preparedness for college, confidence, etc. are my improved understanding of grammar and writing, my ability to approach touchy topics with a more broad viewpoint, and my increasing talent as a writer to convey my point effectively. I applaud myself for the fact that I did all of the assignments/projects. But, I did fail to submit all the assignments/projects due to either technological issues or lack of a certain resource.
As far as attending class goes, I attended class a majority of the time and always maintained respect for yourself, the professor, and the other people in the class when on-time. My participation in this class would be considered minimal yet I still supported learning in the classroom by asking a question every
now and then and by facilitating with peers nearby. And, when I arrived to class, I came prepared and ready to discuss the course material.
I reviewed the syllabus periodically to make sure I was up-to-date on assignments/projects and to make sure all my needs were met. I believe I did everything needed of me to succeed and I take full credit for my accomplishments. I am very aware that if you do not read the text or partake in the assignments in advance of the discussions, your lack of knowledge will be obvious to the professor and to the other students.
I am also very aware that myself - the student – is responsible for your own learning and success. So, I never once expected hand holding in this course. From the jump, I knew what was required of me by the professor, so I did things myself, for myself. The actions I took to ensure I earned the grade I wanted in the course were taken; therefore, I succeeded in making sure to stay up-to-date. To add on, I made sure to consistently check my emails and D2L. Skills I want to develop are improving comprehension of intense text provided by academic journals and improving my sense of appeal.
The habits I want to amend are my consistency to procrastinate. I do it way too often; procrastinating truly ruins my sleep schedule, health, and sanity. The information I need to learn is on how to gain awareness regarding spotting the clutter in my writing. The types of writing I want to try are poems and novels. This would call for long hours in deep thinking and
stress levels through the roof. Taken from a script on Google Classroom, “My goals as a writer is to make the reader feel what I felt when I wrote my piece.
I also like to provide some sort of connection for the reader so that they can get more in-touch with my writing. I always want my writing to be natural; organic. I want it to flow from my thoughts like a conversation, but on paper” (First Day: Writer's Reflection). I am still working on this skill of appealing to my reader’s needs and satisfaction whilst remaining unique and wholesome as an individual.
