Hannah Midyette

Professor Julia Intawiwat

UWRT 1102-91
23 October 2015
Midterm Reflection
If I were to give myself a midterm grade honestly I would give myself a B. I
would give myself a B because Ive done everything asked of me but I dont feel like Ive
done above and beyond. Ive missed one class but Ive kept up with all of the
assignments even with confusion.
a.) I am researching the American Dream and how it relates to perceptions of
success in our society and in our melting pot country if the definition of success varies
by culture, race, age, gender, or religion. Id then like to look at it on a smaller scale just
at UNCC and learn if students here have the same general perception as the U.S.
population.
b.) I think that I have sufficiently followed directions for everything weve done
except for our first annotated bibliography. I was confused and didnt know we were
supposed to follow a certain format online so I just did what I knew previously about
annotated bibliographies.
c.) I havent gone back to edit any journals or assignments besides when I make
different drafts of things so far. But I didnt even know you could update your
journals/discussions online. I learned last year that editing is a long process and that
youll probably never perfect your essay completely without years and years of adding to

your knowledge and editing. Most writers look back at their final drafts and still see
something wrong with it.
To be honest this is my favorite class Ive taken so far at UNCC so I think Ive
participated in it more than I usually would. Its also an evening class so Im a little more
awake. Ive missed one class, which was apparently only 20 minutes long anyways due to
being sick. I think I have a great attitude besides the occasional my work sucks dont
read it feeling. I think the class environment that has been set has really allowed me to
talk, ask questions, and get engaged.
I started out with very general questions about happiness for my inquiry project.
Everyone is different but everyone wants to know how to be happy. I think I personally
have a different view than others because I was diagnosed with depression 5 years ago.
Id say my happiness comes from medication, which sounds really gloomy so I switched
it up to general questions on success and related those to myself as well. Then a
classmate commented on my proposal and said The American Dream? and I decided to
focus more on that since everything is so broad. I think there might be a more specific
definition of what the American Dream is as opposed to what makes someone happy.
I have a really bad memory so this is a tough one.
a.) Shitty First Drafts I had read before in my UWRT 1101 class and so this
discussion just kind of re-stated that editing is really important and its okay if you dont
like your first draft.
b.) We also discussed different types of writing and different genres last year but
one thing I learned about this year is what a writers voice is. I kind of knew what it was

but I didnt know how to put it into words. So its helped me to understand what my
individual writers voice is.
c.) In 11th grade I watched Into the Wild and it completely went over my head as I
didnt pay attention in back in high school. I really enjoyed it this time: the film and the
book. I think now that my mind is able to process things and is more mature the topics
are more interesting to me. I think its awesome that so many people in our class want to
find out more about themselves or find out how to discover more about themselves. Selfdiscovery is really important but I also think self-love is equally important and not many
people discussed if this tied into Chriss journey. It was interesting to see the quotes that
different people live by on the discussion board. I think Ive learned a lot more about
human beings and my peers through the discussions surrounding Into the Wild.
I would give myself an A for participation just because Ive missed one class
doesnt mean that I just sit there quietly in the corner listening to everyone else. I think
my style is energetic and precise in class.
For discussions I would give myself a B for the inquiry project so far just because
in comparison to the Grading Expectations Chart I have developed a clear thesis and have
begun research accordingly. So far all of my assignments for the inquiry project have
been on time, but some elements of my annotated bibliography were missing. I would
give myself a C on the online discussion boards but an A if these were just discussions in
class. Parts of my online discussions were late because I forgot that we had to respond to
classmates posts. Although I think that all of my posts have been insightful and
interesting.

I gave myself an overall grade of a B at the beginning because of all of the things
I have just mentioned. I would like to achieve a grade of an A by the end of the semester
and I believe I can do that. If I show progress and go above and beyond by revising my
assignments and finding as much research as possible then I think I can get an A.
According to the Grading Expectations Chart, if I turn in everything on time and there is
evidence of careful and thoughtful editing then I can achieve an A. I have no questions
or concerns about my performance or my expectations for the rest of the semester and
Im actually excited to continue exploring my topic in this class.

Works Cited
Intawiwat, Julia. Grading Expectations Chart. Moodle2. 2015. Word Document.