Reflection on Open Letter Draft

Reflection on Open Letter Draft

In this blog post, I will reflect upon my draft of my open letter using the bulleted list on Student’s Guide page 253-6 to explain what I’ve learned about my draft from the peer review process. 

I revised Joki Potkonjak's and Lia Ossanna's Draft of Open Letter.

Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?

Yes, I demonstrated an ability to think about my writing and myself as a writer. I made sure to reflect on what I did in the past including all of my struggles, lessons learned, and challenges in high school that helped me in college this course. I think that this helped me to think deeper about myself as a writer because I had great English teachers in the past that taught me a lot that I was able to apply to this course.

Did you provides analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

Yes, I provided analysis of my experiences, writing assignments, or concepts I have learned. I mostly focused on my time management and my writing process. I think that these were the most impactful on me because I finally was able to change my writing to be more planned and less of a procrastinated mess.

Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich description of your writing process)?

I provided concrete examples from my own writing because I described it thoroughly. I also provided some direct quotes from my past posts. I think that this benefitted my letter because it gives the reader a better understanding of my experience and my learning process. 

Princess Theater. "APPLAUSE." 5/13/09 via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether the choices were effective?

I explained why I made certain choices and whether the choices were effective. I did this because I knew that I needed to explain myself in order for other people to better understand me. For example, I tried to explain why I decided to schedule my time better. I thought that doing that would allow the reader to get a better insight from my experience and not only just read what I have to say.

Did you use specific terms and concepts related to writing and the writing process?

I used specific terms and concepts related to writing and the writing process. For instance, I mentioned specific writing styles or genres. I also tried to mention how I would not plan as much of my writing out prior to this course. This course taught me that my writing process has improved majorly due to my change in my writing process. Therefore, I needed to use the concepts in order to explain how my writing process had changed.

In what ways did your personal or reflective writing engage these habits of mind?

My personal and reflective writing engaged these habits of mind in the ways that revolved around procrastination. Both my personal and reflective writings used to involve procrastination which is a bad habit of mind and that I used in the habits of mind mentioned in the previous questions. I think that this allowed me to definitely understand my downfalls. Not only was I able to understand what I was doing wrong, but I learned how better manage my time. This has helped me as well.

What challenges did you face in your personal or reflective writing assignment?

I found it challenging to reflect on this post the most. I think that writing while reflecting is usually not hard. Writing about the challenges and successes that I faced allowed me to keep an interest in my writing since it was focused on me. Overall, I never had any huge challenges. I think the most challenging things that I experienced would be referring back to my old blog posts and to actually sit down and connect my new experience to my old. I think that this was the most important part about my letter. Focusing on the conventions and genre was a struggle, but it was enjoyable.

What did you learn about yourself in this assignment? What did you learn about your writing process?

I learned that my writing is continuously changing. Earlier in the year, I thought that I had no hope in this course. However, I realized that I adjusted my poor writing habits to be better through managing my time. This helped the most because I think that I genuinely do not procrastinate with my writing as much now as I did before this course. This assignment allowed me to reflect back on my experience and to see it written down. This helped me actually believe that I improved because I had evidence from my Calendar Reflection and other posts that highlighted this.

How can you use the skills and strategies you learned in this chapter in other writing assignments?

I can use the skills and strategies learned in this course in other writing assignments. I know this for a fact because we focused a lot on genre and conventions. I felt like we did this in high school as well. However, we learned more writing genres than I ever learned previously. I think that this was the most effective skill that can be applied in the future because it is important to write a genre properly that appeals to your audience.

Draft of Open Letter

Draft of Open Letter

In this blog post, I will provide the link of my Draft of Open Letter at the end. In the beginning, I will tell my peer reviewers whatever I think that they should know about my draft of my letter that they'll be reading over. I will also address any specific things that I would like my peer reviewers to focus or that I need help with.


In my letter, I have connected my high school writing experiences to my writing experiences in this course. Basically, I wrote about how the struggles and lessons learned benefitted my writing in this course. I also related it to the struggles that I faced in this course, and how my past experiences helped pull me through the struggles in this course.

Francis, Felix. "Candle in the Wind." 12/16/06 via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

I think that I need to to elaborate more on some experiences. Do I need more examples/experiences or do I need more elaboration? I tried to make it very personal. However, I was not sure how far to take it.

I also want to make sure that I properly related my experiences enough to the course. I think I might have talked more about my current experiences than I talked about the past. I don't know if this is good or bad. I think that it might be more important to focus on this course than my past, but that is where my peer reviewers will hopefully help me out. I would like to know whether I should add more about this course or take away/add some of the detail about my past courses/experiences... I think that I talked more about my past experiences in the first half of my paper but not so much in the second half.

Lastly, I am concerned about the length of my paper. I think that my letter needs more, but it is long for a letter.

Here is the link to my Draft of Open Letter.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

In this blog post, I will provide short but detailed responses to the following 6 items on pages 251 & 252 in Student's Guide. I will number my responses and look back over all the writing I have done in the course as I respond - my blogging, comments I have left for peers, drafting, notes & planning, email correspondence, major projects, etc. Additionally, I will quote directly from my own work or the course materials where appropriate and illustrative. Lastly, the picture of the cat curled up in a ball illustrates my warm attitude toward my writing experiences.

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?

Overall, the biggest challenges that I faced this semester was time management and maintaining my health. I made it a priority to do well in school but to also focus on my health. Freshman year of high school was very difficult for me because everything was different. There was more homework, more studying, more notes, and more papers. Unfortunately, I managed my time poorly, and I would not workout due to this. Since I did not workout, I gained twenty pounds. This experience made me never want to fall into this dreadful downfall of poor time management because my health suffered. I knew that freshman year of college would be different because I would have more time during the day to fit it in. After creating "Calendar Reflection", I was able to create my priorities and schedule out my time better. Therefore, this blog post was very helpful because it allowed me to see my schedule as a whole in front of me. For a few weeks, I admit I did become overwhelmed once the first set of exams rolled through. After tackling these exams, I was able to designate time to workout. Also the first few weeks were tough with making the deadlines for this course. Because I tried to workout a lot, I always pushed the blog posts last minute. Eventually, I was able to balance it all out.

2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing and editorial skills?

This semester I learned that I have very good time management. I think the blog posts helped improve my time management because they forced me to work ahead of time so that I wouldn't be trapped inside my dorm working on them all of Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, this was the case for a few dreadful weekends. However, these experiences taught me to manage my time better. Eventually, I started doing blog posts the Sunday before they were due. This felt so rewarding. The cluster maps helped encourage me to work ahead because I basically planned my paper in them In the "Cluster of my Controversy" post, I created a cluster map in order to further express my controversy. This helped me in the writing process because I did not have to think back too far since it was already there for me. In high school, I used to always wait last minute to write essays. I would stay up until four in the morning some nights. It was terrible, but I could never break that habit. I think the fact that the weekend are bustling here motivated me to get my work done so that I was not confined in my dorm on the weekends. I wish I had learned to manage my time better earlier, but I am glad that I finally am able to.

This semester I learned that I do have very good writing and editorial skills. In high school, rhetorical analysis discouraged me as a writer because it was hard for me to ever get the grade that I wanted. In this course, I also received a low grade for my rhetorical analysis. However, my other writings received better grades. This feeling was so rewarding for me. The best part was whenever the blog posts would be graded, and I would receive many 100 percents. The feeling of success is great, and I think that is what motivated me to put forth my best efforts in this course. Unfortunately, my lower grades with rhetorical analysis in high school would discourage me to the point where I would barely revise my papers. I received the same low grade every time. This course helped me see my true writing potential that I haven't seen rewarded for years.

3. What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

I think the concept of genre assisted me in improving my writing. In order to better understand genre, the blog posts "Analysing My Genre" and "Analysing My Audience" helped the most. These helped the most because the first post helped me analyze my genre and better understand it. By doing this, I was able to look more in depth about the conventions of my genre and how it functioned. In order to make sure that my genre was suitable for my audience, the second post that I mentioned helped analyze my audience and helped me get a better understanding about the genre that would be best to convey my message.

Petful. "Cat Curled Up in a Ball. So Cute." 6/6/14 via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

I think there are many skills from this course that will be applied in my future. The post that sticks out to me is "Narrowing My Focus" because I need to narrow my focus on my major as time goes on. This blog post could be applied to my actual life because I need to narrow down to a concentration in my nutrition major. This blog post taught me pick something and to expand on it. In my future studies, I know that this will be expected in writing as well.

Also, "Questions About Controversy" post allowed me to further explore my topic. In school, we are taught that students who ask questions learn the most. Therefore, I think the skill of questioning for a better understanding was a very useful skill to reinforce here. In the future, I will have to use this in order to decide the outcome of a possible essay, discussion, or even a master's thesis.

5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H? 

The most effective moment from this semester in 109H was receiving my grade for Project 3. To know that I finally was able to receive an A on a project in this class was beyond rewarding. This is my most effective moment because it was so good to know that my hard work this semester in this class has paid off. I think that I feel more motivated to do well in the final project because of the grade I received for the past project. This is good because by this time in the year students are typically burnt out. Therefore, my newfound motivation should help me to get a good grade on the final project.

6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H? 

I think the least effective moment from this semester in 109H was to practice paraphrasing and summarizing in "Practicing Paraphrase & Summary" blog post. Through all my years of schooling, teachers in elementary school and middle school loved to emphasize the importance of these two writing skills. I think that writing this blog post was ineffective for me because I had already been taught this and have practiced it meticulously.

Revisiting My Writing Process

Revisiting My Writing Process

In this blog post, I will reflect on what I wrote in Blog Posts 1.10 & 1.12 and explain how my perspective on my own writing process and time management habits have or have not shifted during my experience working in the course. I will be specific and detailed. Later, I will address how my skills have changed due to this course specifically and how this experience will help me in life and in my career. In addition, I used a picture of a ghost below in order to illustrate me revisiting my writing process. In comparison, ghosts revisit the world and represent the past. Likewise, my previous writing strategies have altered, and I am revisiting them like a ghost.

Has Anything Changed?

For “My Writing Process”, I mentioned that I use the Heavy Reviser approach because I focus on editing my work for a substantial amount of time.  That being said, I have noticed that I am not as much of a heavy reviser anymore. I think this applied a lot in the first project. As the projects have progressed, I have noticed that I use this skill less which is bad. Revision allows the writer to correct any errors. Whether the errors are small, large, grammatical, organizational, etc., it is a crucial time for the writer. I think I revise my writing now more as I go along than all at the end.

For my “Calendar Reflection”, I noticed that I dedicated a lot of my free time to homework, working out, and my boyfriend, I still use majority of my free-time for this. I have noticed that I do not get as much sleep at night. I still aim for 6-7 hours. However, I snore (according to my roommate), and she wakes me up if she can’t sleep. It disturbs my sleep so I do not feel as well-rested. In addition, I think that my wake up time at 6AM was UNREALISTIC. There is no way that I could do that because I cannot go to bed by 11PM because my dorm is LOUD. It does not get 100% quiet almost ever. Lastly, I just dropped my chemistry class because of some personal issues that I have been having. Therefore, I do not have to wake up for a 8AM 3 days a week.

Dita. "Ghost Lake." 1/12/12 via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Has anything NOT changed?

It is still hard for me to write about certain punctuation because some of the things I had already knew. It was hard for me to transfer to my judgement calls onto my writing. If anything the punctuation posts made me continue to stress.

Homework allotment strategy tended to be on the weekends so that I could focus more on this class. I noticed that I wanted to do that in my calendar.

I do not throw away all my drafts at once or even large chunks. I try my best to incorporate it unless the teacher tells me otherwise.

Moving Forward

I think this course has helped me plan out my writing better and ahead of time. I have noticed that I also procrastinate less because I know it is hard to focus on the weekends doing homework when people are loud. That being said, I try to get my work done ahead of time. This will benefit me in the long run because working ahead will give me more time to do other assignments. Therefore, I will not be overwhelmed as much as I was in the beginning of the semester. 

This course will help me in my career because I will need to write and plan things out as a dietician or as a French Teacher. Considering that I have decided to change my major, I think that me being able to plan better will be more beneficial to my career. It is important as a teacher to plan the lessons ahead of time. Also, it is important to teach planning ahead to my students in order for them to be successful in their studies as well. I know that time management is easier said than done. Especially if procrastination is a learned habit, time management is hard to adopt. However, I hope that my experience in English 109H will help me and my future clients/students as well.

Reflection on Project 3

Reflection on Project 3

In this blog post post, I will provide short but detailed answers to the nine items in the numbered list on Writing Public Lives page 520, and I will directly quote from your project where appropriate.

What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I mostly revised my visual elements between drafts. For my rough draft, I was presenting in front of a blank wall. It would be more beneficial and personal if I filmed in a more personal space. This works better for my final draft because it allows the reader to feel as if I am just like them. Additionally, I added questions to appear on the screen that were the same questions that I posed to the audience. I think this was a good addition because in case the viewer missed hearing me say that, it is provided for them. It also provides some visual variety. For this same reason, I added graphs and images related to childhood obesity in order to break up the video. I felt like the reader might get bored or distracted from my video if they only had to pay attention to me talking the entire time.

Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?

I did not need to reconsider my thesis. I think I needed to focus more on organization. Due to the limited visual elements that I provided, I think I needed more in order to improve my organization. I think my visuals help with the organization because it breaks up my video into segments instead of it being one video of me only talking.

What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

I reconsidered my audience because I pretended to be them. As I watched my video, I realized that my personal story stands out the most. However, I got bored of just staring at myself talking. The addition of my visual elements helps with my organization and helps keep my audience's attention.

How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

These changes emphasize my credibility as an author because not only do I have experience in childhood obesity, but these changes help my video look more professionally done. Due to the professionalism of my video, the audience could deem me as even more credible. I think that this helps my credibility as well because if the video is well put together then it is also easier to focus on the information that is provided.

Auregann. "OpenYourMind.png" 6/9/12 via Wikimedia Commons.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I had to reconsider the length of my video. My video was almost three minutes long, and I felt as if the video was strenuous to watch. In order to make it less strenuous, I made my wording more concise and I added the visual elements which acted like a page break. This gave my video spacing and allowed for better transitioning.

How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

These changes will assist my audience in understanding my purpose because they will be able to maintain focused on the context. The shortened video will keep their attention, and the transitions/pictures will create a variety of visual elements for the viewer which will hopefully better hold their attention.

Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

Yes, I had to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which I am writing. I had to reconsider how I needed to add the questions to appear on the video. I was unsure how to do this in my previous draft, but I made sure to add it in the final draft. Lastly, I needed to change my background to something more personal. In the first example of my genre, the woman is in a clothing store. Even though this doesn't relate to her topic, it provides the audience with a better insight on her own life. It is almost as if she is inviting us in for a sneak preview. I also wanted to convey this in my work. Therefore, I recorded myself in an everyday surrounding.

Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

The process of reflection helps me feel more confident. The fact that other writers also have to answer these questions is so reassuring to me. I feel like everyone has edit their work, but reflecting helps me grasp why I did everything that I did. Sometimes I think that people edit their work without purpose, but reflection helps you reevaluate your own editing. This helps in the long run because if you don't think that it helped your writing in any way, then there if more work to be done. Overall, reflection gives me more confidence as a writer because it helps me consolidate in myself that I do write with purpose, reason, and appeal to an audience.

Publishing Public Argument

Publishing Public Argument

In this blog post, I am going to review my own final draft of my Project 3: Public Argument.

You can access the final draft of my Project 3: Public Argument on YouTube HERE.

McCracken, Nicole. "Fight Childhood Obesity." 3/2906 via flickr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watching/hearing your argument) below:

←-------------------------------------------------x---|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:

←---------------------x-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree     

                                                                                                                    disagree

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         _______ My public argument establishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         ___x____ My public argument proposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

My public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources because I use my own personal experience of childhood obesity as the main focus of my public argument. I think that my experience connects the real world to the context and that it gives insight in the reality of childhood obesity. I hope that parents are able to take my personal experience and struggle into consideration as they view my video. I think that my experience gives me credibility as well.

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employed in your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    ___x__ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    ___x__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    __x___ Employing carefully chosen keywords or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    __x___ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    ___x__ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    ___x__ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    ___x__ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    _____ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    __x___ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    __x___ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture

                    _____ Employing the repetition of keywords or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact

                    __x___ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    __x___ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    ___x__ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    ___x__ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x___ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x__ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    __x___ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x___ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x___ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    __x___ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    __x___ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    ___x__ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    ___x__ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    _____ Other: 

6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platform and should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:

• Example 1
• Example 2
• Example 3

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

In this blog post, I am going to reflect on my Project 3 Draft. 

I peer reviewed Jovanka Potkonjak's and Carrie Belle Kent's rough drafts.

1. Who reviewed your Project 3 rough draft?

Jovanka Potkonjak and Carrie Belle Kent reviewed my Project 3 rough draft.

2. What did you think and/or feel about the feedback you received? Be explicit and clear.
Tell me what helped or what confused you about the feedback you got.

Joki's feedback helped me open up my eyes. I think that her comments were very straightforward in how she openly told me that I seemed unsure of what to say for certain things. In these places I think that I could provide some logos in order to fill in the gaps and explain my points more clearly. I could even give a picture of a graph to break it up and so I don't just pause out of nowhere. I really liked how she made little comments like that that could help me add more information to support my argument.

I really liked how Carrie Belle Kent had a lot of positivity. I think that she helped me very well with my questions that I had asked on my blog post. The things that she mentioned, I had already planned on adjusting because they seemed to lack in this category. I liked how she offered me many creative ways to approach my project. I thought this was very helpful because I tend to limit my creativity sometimes because I think that it is a school project so that it needs to be more serious.

Frost, Jim. "Flickr - jimf0390 - JimF 04-27-10-0021a reflection.jpg." 4/27/10 via Wikimedia Commons.
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

3. What aspects of Project 3 need to most work going forward [Audience, Purpose, Argumentation, or Genre]? How do you plan on addressing these areas? 

I need to work on my argumentation and genre the most. My argumentation is just missing some of the gaps. For instance, Joki said that I wasn't sure what to say for some things. In this case, I could add some logos (information) in order to fill the blank space. I also think that the visuals could help here as well that might also add some logos. For instance, I think that graphs would be suitable because I could provide information and give a change of visual from merely myself.

As for Genre, I need to totally fix my background, sounds, and visuals. Firstly, I need to YouTube "How to add words to iMovie" because I want to have the questions that I address come across the screen. Moreover, I need to change my location to something more personal than a wall. I think that my dorm room or outside on steps or sitting would be lovely because this could create a more personal connection with the viewers than just a blank wall. I also want to add pictures and graphs about childhood obesity to come across the screen. I think that this would help develop my genre because it would make it more visually appealing to the audience.

4. How are you feeling overall about the direction of your project after peer review and/or instructor conferences this week?

I am feeling very confident. I think that Carrie Belle said something along the lines of my project being almost perfect. It is on the verge of being great, and it just needs some minor adjustments. From our conference, I feel like my project has a very strong foundation. I think that I just need to add a few minor details that will make my project seem great! I hope that these adjustments will be enough. However, I think that the adjustments that I make will have a great impact on my project.