Dear Michele,
As a sophomore in your UWP 1Y class, I can truly say that I appreciate the work that you’ve put into my class as a professor. The projects you assigned to us were always very clear and you made sure we followed specific steps before we reached the end goal. Before this class, I would only do brief brainstorm sessions and go on to creating a first draft right away, which would lead to organizational problems later down the road. These steps you had us do – brainstorms, outlines, horrible first drafts, and more – helped me to focus my writing. Throughout the quarter, I grew as a writer by learning the importance of the writing process.
I was re-introduced to using a proper writing process when working on my Living Picture Narrative. The first step to a writing process is brainstorming about what you want to write about. Growing up as a runner and a dancer, I always chose to write about running for my essays. However, I decided to snap out of my old routines and write about ballet, which helped me expand my horizons as a writer. After outlining, finding pictures, and creating captions, I had trouble starting that very first draft. You emphasized that it was okay to write “shitty” first drafts and that we just had to get our words onto the page. I always found that the first draft was the hardest part of writing. I made myself listen to the entirety of the Nutcracker Suite to inspire me and get those creative juices flowing while creating that first draft. When that was complete, it was pretty horrific, but I was proud that I made some progress. With peer revisions, I gained constructive feedback that I took into careful consideration to improve my story. I made sure to add how each step of the way affected me as a dancer. After taking a break from this paper to work on other projects, I revisited it with a new perspective. Finally, I created a final draft. I really enjoyed writing about my passion for dance and reflecting on my journey. I realized I learned so much more from all those years of classical ballet training than I thought. I also feel the strongest about this piece, much like my feelings towards ballet has turned into words sprawled out on a page. Working though specific steps made writing my narrative a lot smoother.
As a sophomore in your UWP 1Y class, I can truly say that I appreciate the work that you’ve put into my class as a professor. The projects you assigned to us were always very clear and you made sure we followed specific steps before we reached the end goal. Before this class, I would only do brief brainstorm sessions and go on to creating a first draft right away, which would lead to organizational problems later down the road. These steps you had us do – brainstorms, outlines, horrible first drafts, and more – helped me to focus my writing. Throughout the quarter, I grew as a writer by learning the importance of the writing process.
I was re-introduced to using a proper writing process when working on my Living Picture Narrative. The first step to a writing process is brainstorming about what you want to write about. Growing up as a runner and a dancer, I always chose to write about running for my essays. However, I decided to snap out of my old routines and write about ballet, which helped me expand my horizons as a writer. After outlining, finding pictures, and creating captions, I had trouble starting that very first draft. You emphasized that it was okay to write “shitty” first drafts and that we just had to get our words onto the page. I always found that the first draft was the hardest part of writing. I made myself listen to the entirety of the Nutcracker Suite to inspire me and get those creative juices flowing while creating that first draft. When that was complete, it was pretty horrific, but I was proud that I made some progress. With peer revisions, I gained constructive feedback that I took into careful consideration to improve my story. I made sure to add how each step of the way affected me as a dancer. After taking a break from this paper to work on other projects, I revisited it with a new perspective. Finally, I created a final draft. I really enjoyed writing about my passion for dance and reflecting on my journey. I realized I learned so much more from all those years of classical ballet training than I thought. I also feel the strongest about this piece, much like my feelings towards ballet has turned into words sprawled out on a page. Working though specific steps made writing my narrative a lot smoother.
As for my Podcast Project, the order of steps did not work out so well for me, so I decided to rearrange the process. Initially, I took observations on a Health-Related Internship orientation meeting based off my research question. However, when revising my first draft, I realized my observations didn’t flow well with my question. I had to take a step back and change my question to connect with the rest of what I had written. I also had to choose a more specific audience so that my observations would make sense. It was not all a loss though, since working backwards was a new experience for me and I learned a new skill because of it. Having this issue reiterated the importance of focusing on and putting thought into each step of the writing process.
Two course goals that I strengthened this quarter are Processes and Rhetorical Knowledge. While working on both projects, I treated writing as a process. I completed one step before moving on to the next, but also going back to revisit each step if necessary. I discovered which methods worked for me and which didn’t. For example, when I found myself having trouble in my Podcast Project, I began to work backwards. The writing process is also a recursive process, where it is also important to go back and forth between steps to make sure everything makes sense. I also went back to revise when implementing feedback given by you and my peers. Without this outside knowledge, I don’t think my papers would be at the level they are right now. Sometimes it just takes an extra eye or two to really improve something. Both projects also taught me about rhetorical concepts like revision, purpose, audience, discourse communities, and more. My projects have two very different purposes and discourse communities. My Living Picture Narrative is meant to inform my audience – you and my peers – about my journey of becoming “literate” in ballet. The tone is much more relaxed and descriptive. On the other hand, my Podcast Project is written to inform teachers that students often use their phone during lectures, and what they can do to prevent it. These values I decided to focus on will strengthen me as a writer.
Two course goals that I strengthened this quarter are Processes and Rhetorical Knowledge. While working on both projects, I treated writing as a process. I completed one step before moving on to the next, but also going back to revisit each step if necessary. I discovered which methods worked for me and which didn’t. For example, when I found myself having trouble in my Podcast Project, I began to work backwards. The writing process is also a recursive process, where it is also important to go back and forth between steps to make sure everything makes sense. I also went back to revise when implementing feedback given by you and my peers. Without this outside knowledge, I don’t think my papers would be at the level they are right now. Sometimes it just takes an extra eye or two to really improve something. Both projects also taught me about rhetorical concepts like revision, purpose, audience, discourse communities, and more. My projects have two very different purposes and discourse communities. My Living Picture Narrative is meant to inform my audience – you and my peers – about my journey of becoming “literate” in ballet. The tone is much more relaxed and descriptive. On the other hand, my Podcast Project is written to inform teachers that students often use their phone during lectures, and what they can do to prevent it. These values I decided to focus on will strengthen me as a writer.
Working on these projects also allowed me to display my organization and communication skills as a writer. Through creating outlines, I focused on paragraph structure by dedicating each paragraph to a specific main idea. I made sure this was implemented into my writing. Each of my paragraphs are a creative mixture of a claim, evidence, and analysis, while all relating back to the main idea of the project. I also made sure the content of my projects was placed in a cohesive way so that my ideas can flow naturally without any awkward gaps. In addition, I shaped my communication skills by learning about my voice and discourse communities. In the Living Picture Narrative Project, I found my voice and translated it into emotion on the page. For the Podcast Project, I integrated secondary sources with my own feelings and observations. I made sure to keep in mind a specific discourse community or audience so that I chose the right words. These projects not only stimulated my growth as a writer, but also as a person.
Working through a writing process shows that I am a determined individual who is open to change. Driven and goal-oriented, I completed each step of the process before moving onto the next. I knew that putting a lot of effort into each assignment would help me reach my end goal. Furthermore, when completing peer reviews, I took a lot of my peers’ comments into consideration. I also made sure to incorporate your comments and suggestions into revising my projects. Anyone who takes time to read my work will be looking at it with a fresh set of eyes and no bias, which can be very useful for an author. My ePortfolio is a symbol of my personal growth this quarter.
If I were to take one major thing away from this class, it is understanding the importance of a writing process. I learned so much about myself as a writer while making my way through these projects this quarter. Once again, I’d like to thank you Michele for being such a caring and informative professor!
Best,
Chiara Miranda
If I were to take one major thing away from this class, it is understanding the importance of a writing process. I learned so much about myself as a writer while making my way through these projects this quarter. Once again, I’d like to thank you Michele for being such a caring and informative professor!
Best,
Chiara Miranda