Blog Post #53 - Reflecting on My Writing Experiences

Ter Haar, Kate. "Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when we look backeverything's different?"
1/14/2013. via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

For this blog I will be providing some short but detailed responses to questions from our textbook.

1. Your assumptions and ideas about writing before taking your first-year composition courses.
1. Having spent 24 years in the U.S. Army, most of time dealing with operations and training, had me writing a particular way. The standards for military writing are strict and precise with no room for deviation or personal flair. I knew this wasn't the only approach but after being immersed in it for so long it becomes a tendency.
2. The most important lessons you have learned as both a reader and a writer as a result of taking your first-year composition courses.
1. As a writer, I've learned how I can communicate more effectively. Instead of just putting the words down, arranging them in such a way as to increase their impact. Also, looking outside my personal bubble for other avenues and paths to follow that still bring me to the destination I desired.
2. As a reader, learning from the approaches others are taking and incorporating those ideas into my personal style. I was fortunate to have peers in the course that approached writing much differently than I do. Reading their works and gathering ideas I can use later was invaluable.
3. The ways you brainstormed, narrowed down topics, and worked on thesis statements.
1. My original style was to include as much data as possible about my topic. I've found that by narrowing my focus and keying in on the more important aspects rather than the whole picture can be just as effective. An added bonus is that it doesn't require a 50-page paper to do it.
4. The peer-review process, including what you offered and what you received.
1. The process helped me think about my topics and how I was presenting them differently. My peers were able to see things I couldn't and provide insight into how I could better help them understand.
2. Reviewing others work gives you new ideas and ways to tackle a situation. Things I wouldn't have considered before, I have now seen and can use them in the future. Also, thinking critically about someone else's work makes you look at your own stuff with a sharper eye for detail.
5. Individual or small-group conferences with your instructor.
1. The feedback provided for both the individual blogs and projects was incredible. Being given feedback on the level of detail that I was given, ensured that those errors were corrected with future works. It was gave me ideas of how to incorporate different ways of getting to the same conclusion but often times, in a better way.
6. The discussions you had about your paper with people who were not in your class.
1. The only person not involved with my class to see my work was my wife. She is an English Lit major and currently owns here own business writing for the construction industry (blogs, newsletters, white papers, social media, press releases, etc.). Her style which is completely different than my own, lent her an objective eye that gave me good insight into how to improve my works. Also, I was able to provide her with proper citation, not the business stuff that is accepted.
7. How you approached the revision process for each essay.
1. With the first project I had little revision in the normal sense. I spent an inordinate amount of time building the piece and that process incorporated the revision process enroute. The second project found me scraping my revision process and doing more freewriting and then going back to revise based on peer review and my own review. The last project, a complete fiasco, was revised the most. I rewrote it 2 or 3 times prior to a peer reviewing it. I then went back and revised it again. Even after pulling it together with pictures, I went back and revised it again. I am still unhappy with the final product.
8. Your understanding of reading and writing in different genres.
1. I still think my understanding is a little weak but I know what I need to do to improve. I've become pigeon-holed into one genre and I need to break out of that. Even a specific audience can be presented with various genre of writing and still be effective. Analyzing my audience and then choosing how to write to them was a new approach and something I intended to get better at.
9. What you would do differently if you were to take your first-year composition courses again.
1. I would attempt to deviate from the norm more. There are many styles of writing that can effective and still provide enjoyable reading for the audience. Mixing things up more and trying new things regardless of the final grade would be a pretty cool experiment.
10. How college writing fits into your life now and how it will fit into your major and future career.
1. Many of my classes are writing intensive. As I move further into my major I don't see that changing but the style will be more scientific and clinical. For my future career, writing will not be a focus; however, if I were to start my own business that would open the door to all kinds of necessary writing.
11. What did you learn (from a specific writing assignment, from a specific experience, or from the semester as a whole)?
1. In both Project 2 and 3, the importance of analyzing your audience and deciding how best to present to them. Knowing how to effective communicate to a specific group will increase your credibility and open the door to your work even being considered.
12. Did the choices you made, or writing experiences you had, reinforce something you already knew about yourself or about writing?
1. I am not a writer. I am way too black and white in my thought process. I feel that there is a need to cater to your audience and entertain them in some way for writing to be effective. At this point, I don't have that ability. I can put facts on paper, relate details, and recount events, but I still lack the ability to make it interesting.
13. If you did not gain as much from a particular project as you had hoped, what are the possible reasons for that and what might you do differently the next time?
1. Project 3 was an absolute disaster for me. I chose an argument that there is no answer for. I found it extremely difficult to argue a topic without having any proof as to a viable solution. I think it could have been an interesting and lengthy research paper, but not a public argument. I should have chosen something that had clear lines delineating the sides and clear solutions from both.
14. Think about the course objectives listed on your syllabus as you consider your success in the class. What course objectives did you meet? What objectives are you still working on?
1. I believe I was successful in the rhetorical aspects. Analyzing text, using strategies to consider the purpose, audience, and context.
2. I believe I was successful in practicing research, revising strategies, reading, and using the conventions of scholarly research and analysis.
3. I believe I was successful at providing useful analysis of my peers work.
4. The area I am still working on is creating multiple, meaningful revisions of writing. Though I understand the process I have found my revisions are often a restatement rather than a new idea or way of looking at the idea. Being more effective with revisions is a goal I still hope to achieve.