Reflection on Open Letter Draft

In this post I will be explaining what I have learned from both the peer review on my draft and my reviews of my classmates' drafts of the Open Letter assignment.

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For this assignment, I peer reviewed Katherine and Thomas' drafts.

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

• I think that I was able to think about myself as a writer in both in the past and the present, as I talked about how I have improved. However, in my draft I think that I could elaborate more on how my writing itself has changed (other than simply saying that I am able to write in different genres). I could talk about how I  can more easily talk in a personal tone (because of the listicle) instead of a formal one. 

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

• Somewhat. I definitely talked about what I have learned about the concept of a "genre", but not much else. I also talked about what I have experienced in both this class and through the assignments, but I don't think I really analyzed what they taught me or how they helped me improved- and if I did, it was superficial. 

Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing?

• Not as much as I probably need. I did provide hyperlinks and referenced some of my first blog posts through quotes, but with the more important later assignments I only provided hyperlinks. I think that adding a very specific example of how my tone has changed (like within the listicle) could help my analysis to become stronger. 

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

• While this is something that I will probably end up revising later on, I think that I did explain my decisions properly, for both the effective and non-effective ones. Especially with when it comes to my time management.

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

• Yes! Especially when I was discussing what a genre means to me after this course. I discussed conventions and the concepts of said conventions pretty well. I also talked about different examples of genres that we have written in throughout the semester. However, in regards to terms I think that I could add more in my current draft. 

Draft of Open Letter

This post will serve as a link to the draft of my final project- an open letter.

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Peer reviewers,

As you read this draft, keep in mind that this prompt was very vague and I was not quite sure what to write about. So, please let me know if there is enough relevant content about this course and what I have learned. Also, please tell me if I have explained what I have already written down well enough. 

Thank you all so much!

You can find my draft here.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

In this post, I will be reflecting on not just my process- but my overall writing experience within English 109H.

Schubert, Jörg. "thinking of a masterplan" 1/25/14 via Flickr.
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1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?
• I would say the biggest challenge would be having to change the way that I wrote before college. In my very first blog post, I had said that I was a "Heavy Planner" and a "Procrastinator". In college, it's difficult to be this type of writer when there is a lot of preparatory work and other courses that need time and attention as well. Therefore, finding the right way to organize my time was a challenge- but I feel as if I have found a good balance (even though it can still be improved).
2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing and editorial skills?
• I learned that I can write in many different genres and in many different tones. Before this course, I had only written analysis on classic books and personal statement-like genres. So, my tone was usually very formal and academic. However, especially with this past project, I have been able to understand how to better write in a tone that is interesting and fun. I never thought that I would write a Buzzfeed article in a college course, even though now I can see its worth. In this type of genre, the author usually has a tone which is humorous and personal, which I think that I replicated well.  
3.  What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.
• I understand that a "genre" is simply a style of writing. However, within this style there are many guidelines and (especially) conventions that the author must follow in order for it to be considered as a piece of work within the genre. Understanding the concept of a genre is helpful for both when given an assignment about a specific genre or in the future when publishing pieces of work for a specific audience. In both instances, you should understand the conventions within a genre and, at least for the last scenario, find a genre that works best with the audience you are writing for.
4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?
• I think that I will use the planning style that this course has taught me when I am writing papers in the future. Along with this, I will be able to use the time management skills that this course has taught me. I have learned that work is better done when split up into small steps, which can be used for any sort of assignment (not just a paper). Finally, I have learned how to properly analyze another author's piece of argument and what to look for within their text. This will be especially helpful to me in the future because I will need to so some sort of research, and in this research I will need to look at scholarly articles. 
5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H? 
• I would say that my most effective moment was once I sat down and figured out a proper schedule for me to finish these deadlines in a timely manner. This was at the beginning of our second project. One day, I took a few minutes before starting on my nightly routine of homework and decided that if I could work on my blog between classes (when given the time), I would have less to do at home. From there, I found a good way to organize my time for the rest of my classes as well.
6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H? 
• I think that my least effective moment actually lasted for about a month at the beginning of the semester. One, I would put off all of the deadlines that I needed to do until Friday. However, I thought that the actual due date for the deadline was at 11:59 AM, not PM. So, I was going through my work stressing myself out and not being able to focus on the key details within my work.

Revisiting My Writing Process

In this post I will be reflecting upon my past semester in regards to my writing process. I will be referencing two blog posts (1.10 and 1.12) that I wrote in the beginning of the course.

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For my writing process, I think that it has definitely changed for the better. Mostly, I think that I procrastinate less and have been able to turn my "heavy planning" into something more productive, rather than just throwing all my thoughts onto a page as my first draft. For example, I feel that this past project (where we drafted our own piece of public argument) was the best experience I had authoring any sort of assignment. I started the deadline earlier than normal and was able to write a first draft that I was actually proud of a day ahead. From there, while I was working on the deadline I was able to slowly revise my listicle to work out all the details I needed. I actually thought my final draft was polished, which is something very different than how I normally end up feeling. Now, I think that I have the time management skills to spread out my planning and find time to revise my drafts.

For the referenced time management, it also changed for the better, even though it may have been less prominent of a change. I can still be considered a procrastinator, but to less of a degree. At the beginning of the semester, I was not following the plan that I had set out for myself. But, as the course went on, I found that actually following a set plan (revised to how my other coursework turned out to be) was really helpful in completing better assignments in a timely fashion. Now, I can usually finish the whole assigned deadline at least a day early, which leaves time to finish revising the project itself. 

Overall, I think that the way that this course was structured helped me to figure out a plan for my future classes, even if they are not on the subject of English. As I continue progressing in my college career, I think that I will end up finding the balance of the writing process that works for me and end up becoming successful in writing an assignment without being rushed and/or stressed out.