Final Reflection

Final Reflection

Composition one has helped me grow tremendously as a writer. Throughout my projects I have also gained knowledge among many other topics. In project one, I had to write about a situation that negatively affected my education. I decided to write about my journey through foster care, how it put me behind educationally, and how I overcame that obstacle. In project two, we were assigned to analyze an advertisement. I decided to analyze an advertisement, advertising to end discrimination. Project three was treated like a research paper. I had to pick one specific thing, that was new, to write about. It could have been a hairstyle, tattoos, a place, or many other things. I chose to write about the history of rap and how it affects people, both positively and negatively. Project four, being my favorite project, was a persuasive research paper. I was able to pick my own topic, something I was passionate about. I was told to persuade a specific audience and get a specific message across. I chose to write about drug addiction and why it does not qualify as a disease. In Composition review, we mostly worked on reflections of each project. However, we were also assigned to do a “Patter of Error” presentation. For my presentation, I taught the class about citations.

In project one, we worked on a cluster diagram in class to plan out the essay. Afterwards, instead of creating a rough draft and then proof reading to create a polished draft, I tried to proof read as I wrote. This was an essay completely about me, so peer review wasn’t extremely helpful. However, my classmates helped me reword a few things to make my essay more organized.  In project two, it was extremely hard to even create a rough draft. I felt like I was trying to take a few sentences and stretch them because I was simply analyzing an ad. I didn’t have much, so, proofreading and editing were a breeze. I turned in the project with it being below word count. That’s why this project was the lowest grade a received in the class. Project three was an enjoyable project. I felt freedom in having so many options to write about. The research process was easy as well, mostly because I knew exactly what I was looking for. This was a shorter essay, that made the editing process run smoothly. During peer review, I can remember a classmate telling me that the contrast within my essay really caught her attention. Along with that, a few other classmates corrected minor grammatical errors and gave me ideas on how to rearrange paragraphs. Project four was also an enjoyable project. I really appreciated getting to choose what to write about. I wrote about something I was passionate about; drug addiction not being a disease. Research was tricky, and it was stressful trying to find credible sources. I found comfort in using the UAPTC database, however, they didn’t have much for me. Proofreading wasn’t bad at all. I only had to make a few corrections. During peer review, a classmate gave me some very important information that I had completely left out. I felt good about adding that information, and I felt great about turning in this essay.

I can now identify minor and major grammatical errors. I learned to do so by proof reading all my major projects. In project one I wasn’t as good at doing this as I was in project four. In project four I noticed I wrote, “I know many people would agree with my mother, that addiction is truly a disease, I do acknowledge and understand, there is a serious change made to one's brain chemistry after just one use.” I noticed that this was an incorrect sentence. I corrected the following sentence to, “I know many people would agree with my mother, that addiction truly is a disease. I do acknowledge, and understand, there is serious change made to one’s brain chemistry after just one use.”

Through composition, I can demonstrate critical thinking skills. I showed critical thinking skills in project 3, more than any other project. I wanted to give a certain impression to my readers. To do so, I had to have a specific layout. To argue why rap is so important, I also wanted to talk about why some people do not see that importance. I did so in my second paragraph, stating, “Rap is often described as inappropriate or derogative. It surely can be; however, any genre could be.” The paragraphs after this enforced a positive outlook on rap.

I demonstrated great analytical skills in project 4. I chose to write about drug addiction not being a disease. Through research and much time spent reading on the subject, I developed a great understanding of the purpose. To connect to my audience and try to provide them with the best information, I added a lot of extra information. Such as, “I believe those with mental disorders experience drug addiction completely differently.” This first sentence, and the rest of the paragraph, showed my audience that I am aware of how drug addiction is different for every single person. I used my information in a very organized structure and style. I started with personal experience, then the opposing view point, next my argument, and research to back up my argument.

In Composition One, I demonstrated academic integrity. I did so in all my projects. However, project four was the most challenging. I had to use a lot of outside sources, making it hard to cite them all. It was also hard to use information without using the exact words of someone else. I continued to show academic integrity throughout this project, although, it was challenging. I used several parenthetical citations, such as, “(The Centers of Addiction)”. This gave me the ability to use an outside sources exact wording, without it being plagiarism. In cases where I wanted to use what someone else had said, I used their thoughts, and created my own.

In project one, I felt very successful in my drafting process. This project was about myself, making it very easy to have unorganized thoughts and a hard time shortening lengthy parts of my story. Using the cluster diagram in class really helped me bring these thoughts to an organized list. I had the people listed, their characteristics, and their purpose. I also wrote out a few individual stories. I picked the ones that were most important, as far as my topic. That also helped me shorten things and overall organize this essay.

Project two was a very hard project for me. My writing process slowed down majorly. I had a very hard time saying much about the advertisement that I was analyzing. Looking back now, I wish that I had picked a different ad. The one I picked was very straight forward and to the point. There was not much design, color, style, or really anything to this ad. This made it hard for me to say much about it, other than its direct purpose. I turned the assignment in, below the word count that was assigned. I was very upset with my grade, but I knew it was the grade I deserved for the work I had done. From now on, I will look towards advertisements that aren't exactly plain. I will look for things that make me think, things that make me question, and things that make me curious.

Going into Composition one, I thought I would just be writing simple papers and doing a few PowerPoints. I had never used works cited pages or parenthetical citations, I am so happy that I learned about these things. I learned about a lot of new things, and how to create them myself. Overall, I believe I was very successful in this class. I do feel prepared for composition two, and I also find comfort in having the same professor. I am already familiar with my professors teaching styles, making me feel like I have a good idea of how the class will go; very organized.