Writing has always been a subject I struggled with in school. My writing skills are adequate with prior knowledge from high school, but there is always room for improvement. At first, the only reason I decided to take UWP1 was to satisfy my lower division english composition requirement. However, as the class progressed, I came to realize that writing is so much more enjoyable when the concepts of composing a strong essay are well developed. It is a recursive process that takes into account rhetoric, genre, audience, purpose, and revision. Through reading assignments, reading responses, and free-writing, I gained an understanding of a variety of writing concepts and learned to apply them in my own writing. Before, I doubted my writing because I believed there was a certain way of writing an essay or answering a prompt. UWP1 has helped me become more confident in my writing and recognize that writing comes in different forms based on the type of genre or audience it is intended for; there is no right or wrong answer. Although more practice is necessary to master these writing skills, I now have a better understanding of the five learning outcomes in UWP1: rhetorical concepts, processes, knowledge of conventions, research, and metacognition.
When the term “rhetorical concepts” was introduced, I had no idea how to define the term or why it was important. It turns out that rhetorical concepts are the foundation of a strong essay. According to Laura Bolin Carroll in her text “Backpacks vs. Briefcases”, rhetoric is defined as a way to persuade the audience through types of language and images (46). This concept of rhetorical analysis includes two types of systems, 1) exigence, audience, and constraints, 2) logos, pathos, and ethos (48-52). Rhetoric lays out the issue to be addressed, the intended audience, along with logic, credibility, and emotion to effectively deliver the purpose of the essay and engage readers. The Rhetorical Analysis of the Introduction and Methods of the DCP Activity allowed me to apply my understanding based on the concepts outlined in the text by identifying the sections that represented the exigence, audience, context, and genre. I was able to think critically about how each concept complemented one another in order to form a cohesive essay. In my optometry discourse community paper, I established my own credibility as well as the authors of my sources. I also made sure I clearly stated the exigence and audience in the introduction and referred to it throughout my essay to support my argument and thoughts based on my research. By asking myself questions such as, “What do I want my readers to gain from this?” and “Does my language choice agree with the rhetorical situation?”, it allows me to organize my essay so that the audience can understand my intentions based on my writing choices.
Prior to UWP1, I understood revision as a process that consisted of rewording my sentences and finding synonyms for words to avoid repetition. I believed that once I generated all my initial ideas in my first and second draft, all I needed to do was to scan my essay for grammatical errors. As Nancy Sommers explains in the reading “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”, writing requires constant revision as ideas change (386). To avoid a weak argument and structure, I practiced reading my discourse community essay as a whole and revised it in cycles by focusing on one problem at a time. I first outlined my intentions for my paper, identified sections that needed addition or deletion of ideas, and fixed grammar at the end to create a more developed piece that maintained relevance to the topic. This process of revision allowed me to deconstruct all my ideas from my drafts to determine the direction I want to proceed with my paper. In addition, peer reviews from fellow students and the instructor allowed me to address and take note of the weaknesses in my essay that I failed to notice. One of the weaknesses mentioned is the failure to conclude my paragraphs and lack of transitions. After I made revisions, I reread my DCP to make sure that my paragraphs were cohesive with relevance to my purpose, appropriate medium and language, along with smooth transitions. If not, I tried to fix them to the best of my ability. I have ultimately gained a new outlook on revision that will be essential in future college courses.
Knowledge of conventions is an important aspect while writing because it gives the audience a clear understanding of the objective of the text. In the Conventions of the Literacy Narrative Genre Assignment, I learned that different texts require different context, language, and organization according to the rhetorical situation or genre. For example, in personal narratives for college applications, I described my personal experiences using personal pronouns, opinions, anecdotes, and imagery to help admission counselors maintain interest and curiosity in my story as well as get a gist of my personality. In contrast, my discourse community essay is intended to inform students about the communication used in the optometry community, so I used formal language, visual presentations, and structured my essay in research format with an abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion, and conclusion section. With labeled sections and visuals, it gives readers a straightforward structure to easily follow and understand. In addition, I cued in my exigence by stating “This paper will explore…” for direct identification. I have become aware of conventions in different forms of writing which will be helpful in constructing an organized and well-developed essay to reach the audience without confusion.
Research is essential to support arguments and opinions presented in writing, so learning to identify credible and relevant information is critical in the writing process. Prior to being introduced to new research techniques, I relied heavily on Google to search for articles and websites that verified my ideas. I rarely verified my sources for credibility since I wanted to find sources quickly. In the reading, “Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills” by Randall McClure, the university library database was suggested for research instead of Wikipedia and Google (222). I was conditioned to believe that Google was the easiest platform to utilize to find sources, but Google Scholar and the Library database have demonstrated to yield more accurate and credible results. By typing in key terms into the search engine such as “Optometry Communication” and “Health Record in Optometry” on Google Scholar and the Library database, the results were filtered based on current dates and similar topics in the form of scholarly articles and books instead of biased blogs and websites with false information. I was able to eliminate sources that did not pass the CRAAP test (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose) to compose a strong paper with reliable integration of sources. In addition, the DCP gave me the opportunity to practice networking by asking an optometry professional for an interview. This method of primary research gave me more insight and knowledge on the optometry community to support my research and successfully inform students.
Lastly, I learned to reflect on my own writing processes through metacognition. The cover memos written for each discourse community draft was extremely helpful for both the peer reviewer and myself. By writing a cover memo, I was forced to identify areas of weaknesses and strengths throughout my entire paper. I read over my DCP multiple times to analyze how I integrated evidence, used transitions, and organized the information. I often included questions that I wanted my peer reviewer to directly address and provide suggestions for. The cover memo allowed the peer reviewer to focus on my questions and weaknesses while reading my paper. The feedback allowed me to reflect on how my rhetorical choices affect how readers perceive my paper and what I could change, add, or delete to further develop the essay to be as strong as it possibly can. Metacognition ultimately allows me to become an active learner through constant application of new writing processes and reflection on my challenges and strengths.
Considering my prior knowledge and experience in writing from highschool, UWP1 has allowed me to recognize the improvements I have made and what I still struggle with. I have learned that the only way to compose a strong paper is to consistently consider the rhetorical situation and genre conventions in addition to taking time to revise ideas and the overall structure of the paper. The five learning outcomes of rhetorical concepts, processes, knowledge of conventions, research, and metacognition UWP1 has introduced to me has positively changed my entire outlook on writing. If I had more time on my portfolio, I would focus on clearly stating my exigence and main points of my paragraphs. I mostly struggled connecting my paragraphs with the main purpose of my essay and integrating evidence with a strong analysis. In addition, I would add more transitions when introducing quotes and transitioning from one paragraph to another. I often mentioned new information at the end of my paragraphs and neglecting to address it, causing the audience to become confused. UWP1 is a critical course that has expanded my knowledge on writing techniques to successfully compose strong and clear writing for patient charts, emails, and letters in the optometry community. I will continue to implement these skills in upper division science classes, research, and when I compose narratives for optometry school admissions. Overall, UWP1 has taught me learning outcomes that can be applied in both professional and academic settings.
When the term “rhetorical concepts” was introduced, I had no idea how to define the term or why it was important. It turns out that rhetorical concepts are the foundation of a strong essay. According to Laura Bolin Carroll in her text “Backpacks vs. Briefcases”, rhetoric is defined as a way to persuade the audience through types of language and images (46). This concept of rhetorical analysis includes two types of systems, 1) exigence, audience, and constraints, 2) logos, pathos, and ethos (48-52). Rhetoric lays out the issue to be addressed, the intended audience, along with logic, credibility, and emotion to effectively deliver the purpose of the essay and engage readers. The Rhetorical Analysis of the Introduction and Methods of the DCP Activity allowed me to apply my understanding based on the concepts outlined in the text by identifying the sections that represented the exigence, audience, context, and genre. I was able to think critically about how each concept complemented one another in order to form a cohesive essay. In my optometry discourse community paper, I established my own credibility as well as the authors of my sources. I also made sure I clearly stated the exigence and audience in the introduction and referred to it throughout my essay to support my argument and thoughts based on my research. By asking myself questions such as, “What do I want my readers to gain from this?” and “Does my language choice agree with the rhetorical situation?”, it allows me to organize my essay so that the audience can understand my intentions based on my writing choices.
Prior to UWP1, I understood revision as a process that consisted of rewording my sentences and finding synonyms for words to avoid repetition. I believed that once I generated all my initial ideas in my first and second draft, all I needed to do was to scan my essay for grammatical errors. As Nancy Sommers explains in the reading “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”, writing requires constant revision as ideas change (386). To avoid a weak argument and structure, I practiced reading my discourse community essay as a whole and revised it in cycles by focusing on one problem at a time. I first outlined my intentions for my paper, identified sections that needed addition or deletion of ideas, and fixed grammar at the end to create a more developed piece that maintained relevance to the topic. This process of revision allowed me to deconstruct all my ideas from my drafts to determine the direction I want to proceed with my paper. In addition, peer reviews from fellow students and the instructor allowed me to address and take note of the weaknesses in my essay that I failed to notice. One of the weaknesses mentioned is the failure to conclude my paragraphs and lack of transitions. After I made revisions, I reread my DCP to make sure that my paragraphs were cohesive with relevance to my purpose, appropriate medium and language, along with smooth transitions. If not, I tried to fix them to the best of my ability. I have ultimately gained a new outlook on revision that will be essential in future college courses.
Knowledge of conventions is an important aspect while writing because it gives the audience a clear understanding of the objective of the text. In the Conventions of the Literacy Narrative Genre Assignment, I learned that different texts require different context, language, and organization according to the rhetorical situation or genre. For example, in personal narratives for college applications, I described my personal experiences using personal pronouns, opinions, anecdotes, and imagery to help admission counselors maintain interest and curiosity in my story as well as get a gist of my personality. In contrast, my discourse community essay is intended to inform students about the communication used in the optometry community, so I used formal language, visual presentations, and structured my essay in research format with an abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion, and conclusion section. With labeled sections and visuals, it gives readers a straightforward structure to easily follow and understand. In addition, I cued in my exigence by stating “This paper will explore…” for direct identification. I have become aware of conventions in different forms of writing which will be helpful in constructing an organized and well-developed essay to reach the audience without confusion.
Research is essential to support arguments and opinions presented in writing, so learning to identify credible and relevant information is critical in the writing process. Prior to being introduced to new research techniques, I relied heavily on Google to search for articles and websites that verified my ideas. I rarely verified my sources for credibility since I wanted to find sources quickly. In the reading, “Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills” by Randall McClure, the university library database was suggested for research instead of Wikipedia and Google (222). I was conditioned to believe that Google was the easiest platform to utilize to find sources, but Google Scholar and the Library database have demonstrated to yield more accurate and credible results. By typing in key terms into the search engine such as “Optometry Communication” and “Health Record in Optometry” on Google Scholar and the Library database, the results were filtered based on current dates and similar topics in the form of scholarly articles and books instead of biased blogs and websites with false information. I was able to eliminate sources that did not pass the CRAAP test (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose) to compose a strong paper with reliable integration of sources. In addition, the DCP gave me the opportunity to practice networking by asking an optometry professional for an interview. This method of primary research gave me more insight and knowledge on the optometry community to support my research and successfully inform students.
Lastly, I learned to reflect on my own writing processes through metacognition. The cover memos written for each discourse community draft was extremely helpful for both the peer reviewer and myself. By writing a cover memo, I was forced to identify areas of weaknesses and strengths throughout my entire paper. I read over my DCP multiple times to analyze how I integrated evidence, used transitions, and organized the information. I often included questions that I wanted my peer reviewer to directly address and provide suggestions for. The cover memo allowed the peer reviewer to focus on my questions and weaknesses while reading my paper. The feedback allowed me to reflect on how my rhetorical choices affect how readers perceive my paper and what I could change, add, or delete to further develop the essay to be as strong as it possibly can. Metacognition ultimately allows me to become an active learner through constant application of new writing processes and reflection on my challenges and strengths.
Considering my prior knowledge and experience in writing from highschool, UWP1 has allowed me to recognize the improvements I have made and what I still struggle with. I have learned that the only way to compose a strong paper is to consistently consider the rhetorical situation and genre conventions in addition to taking time to revise ideas and the overall structure of the paper. The five learning outcomes of rhetorical concepts, processes, knowledge of conventions, research, and metacognition UWP1 has introduced to me has positively changed my entire outlook on writing. If I had more time on my portfolio, I would focus on clearly stating my exigence and main points of my paragraphs. I mostly struggled connecting my paragraphs with the main purpose of my essay and integrating evidence with a strong analysis. In addition, I would add more transitions when introducing quotes and transitioning from one paragraph to another. I often mentioned new information at the end of my paragraphs and neglecting to address it, causing the audience to become confused. UWP1 is a critical course that has expanded my knowledge on writing techniques to successfully compose strong and clear writing for patient charts, emails, and letters in the optometry community. I will continue to implement these skills in upper division science classes, research, and when I compose narratives for optometry school admissions. Overall, UWP1 has taught me learning outcomes that can be applied in both professional and academic settings.