Makala Moore

UWRT 1102-17
Mrs. Thomas
28 November 2015
Final Reflection

1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your experience with

writing and UWRT 1102. Consider including a video of the song. Explain your
choice.
Since I was in middle school I have never enjoyed writing papers. I always
procrastinated until the absolute last minute and hoped for the best. This bad habit
unfortunately carried into high school and into my freshman year of college at UNCC.
Sitting in class as a sophomore in UWRT 1102, I along with everyone else began to look
around the room with a look of terror as we heard that our grade depended on this inquiry
project. As if things couldnt get any worse, Professor Thomas stated that in total the
project would be well over 10 pages collectively when completed. It was this feeling that
helped me to chose my final reflection song: The Prayer by Kid Cudi
2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?
If I were to teach this class, I would focus more on what They say, I say actually means
as a whole. While we were required to read chapters from They say, I say and

participate in class discussion, I feel as though we did not actually apply anything until
the end of the semester in the thesis portion of the inquiry project. This made me very
confused when writing my thesis paper in that I had forgotten how to actually connect
what they say and what I say in a way that flowed. I feel like this book has a lot of very
valuable information that could have potentially helped myself as well as classmates, had
we gone more in depth. In addition, I would also focus more on the portfolio aspect of the
project. Having never created a portfolio before it would have been nice to have a more
structured class on exactly what is expected on the portfolio and how to actually make it
rather than viewing examples from other sections that had a completely different
assignment.
3. Explain how your understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed over the
course of the semester using at least three examples from your writing (ex. Did
you shift an assignment to better fit a particular genre like a proposal?).
In the beginning of the semester we were asked to get into small groups and discuss what
the five student learning outcomes meant to us. I found this to be rather repetitive due to
the fact of my teachers in grade school structuring the class around topics such as critical
reading for instance. However, as my group looked deeper into the true meaning of
rhetorical knowledge I realized that I hadnt ever put much thought into the actual
intention of papers I had written especially in regards to the genre and audience. This was
especially pointed out to me as I began my inquiry proposal. As I wrote my first draft and
submitted it for peer review I realized that my audience wasnt my professor but my
classmates as well. I then changed my writing style completely as I recognized the
importance of catching my peers attention in the proposal. This continued as I began

planning to write my annotated bibliographies as well as my final thesis. I found myself

referring back to previous writing strategies I had acquired such as certain transition
phrases. I also placed a high value again on my audience. In doing so, I realized that it
makes writing a lot more enjoyable. When writing my thesis especially, I had a hard time
understanding what our professor was asking us to do. I found myself writing exactly
what I had previously composed on the annotated bibliographies- which was causing my
confusion. It was not until I identified my audience however, that I realized I needed to
write as if the person reading my paper had absolutely zero background knowledge on
my topic of technology addiction.
4. Explain how your critical reading has improved during the semester. (Ex. In what
ways did you read across texts for connections and patterns in your inquiry?)
I feel as though my critical reading skills have improved greatly throughout the
semester. In the past I have found myself reading articles without putting much
thought into what the author was saying however, the inquiry project has helped
me to begin analyzing. I came to this conclusion especially as I conducted my
research for the annotated bibliographies. While a majority of the articles I read
all covered pretty much the same information, I was able to analyze different
points made by the different authors, ultimately leading myself to finding out
more information on my topic.
5. Discuss your composing processes. Ex. Did you conduct additional research while
revising or after consulting a colleague? Provide at least three examples to support
your assertion.

My composing process for my inquiry project was different than any other project I have
done in the past. As soon as our professor handed out the assignment sheet for each
section of the project I began to plan out what I was going to write about. I then began
composing my paper before the due date so that I would have plenty of time and not have
to rush my thoughts or be stressed out. After doing writing my first draft, I found the
small group conferences as well as peer review to be very helpful. When writing my
proposal for example, I felt as though I had covered my topic clearly enough to
understand. After having my peers look over it however, I realized that there was a lot
more research I should add to make it more understandable for readers. This trend
continued on into my annotated bibliographies as well as my thesis. Upon revising and
meeting with my small groups to discuss my annotated bibliographies as well as thesis, I
was able to conclude that I needed to include further research and go into more detail on
several of my points. My overall composing process was very thorough and I feel more
confident with my writing as a whole.
6. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions (ex. sentence
level changes, MLA citations).
Prior to analyzing chapters in They say, I say I was not familiar with what
exactly a convention consisted of. However, I learned that almost every aspect in
the way we write is a convention from grammar all the way to sentence structure.
I also learned the importance of transitions especially when you introduce a quote.
I often times find myself repeating so and so says. However, I now make
sure to switch it up with so and so insists.. or they stated. In addition, I also
came to the conclusion that I have a habit of quoting something and then ending

the thought. They say, I say helped me to ensure that I didnt do this throughout
my inquiry project while instead leading me to summarize the quote and share my
own thoughts and opinions on it.
7. Critical Reflection: a) Discuss an example of choices made during a composition.
b) Explain what you think is most important in providing commentary on others
work and receiving commentary on your own. Provide at least three examples of
your nuanced use of commentary in your writing projects.
In the past I have found peer reviewing to be extremely unhelpful. However, In UWRT I
was very impressed with the feedback I received from both my peers as well as my
professor. While I spent a good amount of time writing my proposal, annotated
bibliographies and thesis, in the end the commentary I received on my work led to the
choices I made during my compositions. I really enjoyed getting constructive feedback
especially on my thesis such as You should explain this idea more in depth rather than
getting my work back from someone with zero comments and them simply telling me it
was a good paper. When providing commentary on others paper I think the most
important thing is to remember that not everyone is going to have the same writing styles
as you are and it is crucial that you do not attack them and point out every single thing
line for line that you believe is wrong. With that being said however, it is also important
to share your thoughts because what you have to say might be very helpful to them. As
with giving commentary, in receiving it is very important to not get offended when
reading comments but to take it as constructive criticism. A great example of this is a
comment I received from a peer on one of my annotated bibliographies. At first when I
read This really doesnt make sense I was like how does that not make sense? However

as I went back and read the bibliography as a whole I realized I needed to be clearer and
assume that the reader did not have any prior knowledge on my topic.