My Course Reflection
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Throughout this course, I have thrived as a writer. I have been able to pinpoint my weakness and turn them into strengths while also grasping a deeper understanding of critical thinking and literary analysis. Working in groups that allowed me to interpret pieces of text and widen my perspective on the subject, although my initial impression of the course was that of a more of a personalized approach, rather than a collaborative one. But by applying concepts from both approaches, I was able to truly comprehend how to pinpoint the authors purpose and analyze various pieces of text along with a plethora of rhetorical device tools. So, I am satisfied to say that ENC1101 has exposed me to habits and techniques that I will take with me throughout the entirety of my education and professional career.
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The introduction of the writing process in Unit 1, through the various sources we were introduced to, was actually quite easy for me to assimilate. The idea that we were working in a teamwork environment for the assignment really eased off my tension at first. I was able to witness how my classmates all differentiated in the way they processed information from the given text. By collaborating on our marginal note taking and summarizing by paragraph, I acquired skills that allowed me to find deeper meanings when breaking up pieces of writing.
The source my team was given was the piece written by Bonnie Warne, who meticulously followed through with various perspectives on what the writing process should be based on. I enjoyed analyzing her piece because she didn’t introduce her own interpretation of the writing process as the main theme of her article, but used it as a comparison to the other viewpoints and didn’t allow her article to take a biased approach.
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I never really contemplating the idea of free writing throughout my own writing. I always looked at writing essays through a very structured lens. But after becoming comfortable with the writing process in Unit 1 and viewing it as more of a individualized interpretation, I realized we should always be showcasing originality in our writing as well as express our individual voice. Yes, structure and correctness is pertinent to writing but it should still allow us to feel empowered about our writing as this will bring out the best in us.
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Unit 2 really presented itself as a personal challenge for me. Now that I had engrained in my head how to analyze a piece of text appropriately, it was time for me to really implement the skills. Due to the amount of writing that was associated with unit 2, I was able to coherently structure a piece of writing, able to cite references, include my own perspective and at the same time follow one idea, or thesis in a writing piece. So I would consider this unit to be the one where I was able to practice the craft of writing the most.
I felt that my writing style did not have to mirror the same rubric as the writing process and therefore, didn’t feel as restricted when building up my blogs. It should always include a sense of your individuality as I had mentioned prior.
Even though the three blogs were strictly rhetoric about the sources we had read, I was able to conquer one of my main challenges in writing, and that was making sure that I didn’t sound repetitive. Including vast amounts of context in a specific topic was always a challenge for me. So by incorporating the factual evidence about the text with my personal outlook on the article it allowed me to elaborate much easier.
As we approached our final Unit, it was time to apply all of the insight we had been taught and now I had to showcase what my understanding of theory of writing would be. This assignment allowed me to reflect on how I used to view the process of writing vs how I view it now. Before I always felt restricted and didn’t feel myself when I would construct a piece of writing. But now, my understanding of writing has widened. Reading with and against the grain was a very effective way for me to develop various perspectives on a particular topic and allowed me to reflect on my own point of view as well. In addition, by surrounding myself with different complex sources, I was able to form a well rounded opinion on the issues we would be discussing about at the time, for instance the writing process. By building on the different viewpoints and absorbing the various contexts, this allowed me to elaborate further and be able to demonstrate thoughtfulness about the subject.