Robert Guzman November 23, 2013 Ms.

Wolcott ENC 1102 My reflection for the course During this semester of English II I learned and experienced many things that have developed me as a writer. In this course I got to learn what constitutes a discourse community and what makes it different from all other types of communities, such as a linguistic community. For example, to be a member of a linguistic community one must be recruited into it rather than just being a part of it by accident. I also got to learn what types of communication discourse communities utilize and what makes their communication and way of getting things done so unique. Each single discourse community has their own way of communicating with members within each individual discourse community with a method called the lexis. I also got to learn in more detail how discourse communities carry out their plans, which is through genres, their own unique formulated ways of how to achieve goals. Another important concept I learned from ENC 1102 was that it is better to positively construct how an argument is made and carry it on forward than to reiterate it as mentioned in the Green article. I had to write four major papers during the semester, the first one being the literacy narrative. For the literacy narrative I actually did a video in which I reflected about how the past shaped the writer I am today. Before doing this project I had no clue that some of the changes that I went through in life did in fact shape who I am today not just as a person but as a writer. While doing the literacy narrative I received helped in a workshop from some peers that helped

me see what I was doing wrong in the video. One peer of mine said to be natural and be yourself if I was going to stick with the idea of doing the literacy narrative through a video recording. I was also told to work on my thesis statement, which helped me get a good grade on the project. The second major paper that I had to write was the genre analysis. In this project I had to determine what the real definition of a genre is. It is a dynamic response to a recurring situation, one that changes historically and in different social groups and that adapts and grows as the social context changes. Contrary to what I had thought, it is more than just grouping up terms with labels in the literary world. I learned that every single discourse community that exists has their own way of carrying out their plans and a different way of adapting to different scenarios and situations. This paper helped me realize how more complex discourse communities are from my previous knowledge. In the classroom workshop I did with peers I was advised to seek a clearer definition of what a genre truly is so that my paper could be more precise and elaborate. As a result from writing this paper I have learned to analyze documents in more detail. The third major paper I had to write was the annotated bibliography. This paper was very long in which I had to read and revise different articles and choose from 15-20 of the ones that would add more context to my topic which was continuing medical education. Doing so much research on my topic helped me realize the number of challenges that the medical field is experiencing when it comes to teaching medicine. It was a challenge writing this paper because aside from having to read so many articles, what was more time consuming was finding the right article that would add more meaning and context to my topic. In the workshop that I did with peers I was criticized in not stating why I chose the articles I chose and how they were relevant to my research. The constructive criticism I got from my peers helped me explain more in detail

why I chose the articles I had read for my research and how each single article individually added to my topic in a holistic manner. The fourth and final paper I had to write was the literature review along with the project proposal. In this paper I had to take the initiative and form my own argument about the topic I had chosen in my annotated bibliography. I had to use the authors ideas from the articles I chose collectively to construct my argument. While doing this paper I learned how to construct my own argument while using others ideas as an aid to add to my argument. While doing this paper I also had to find a research gap from the ideas I had to put together to form my own argument. Doing this paper has enabled me to not just accept other authors claims and ideas but to refute and add my own ideas to the bigger picture. While doing a workshop for this paper I had to find 4-5 major ideas from my annotated bibliography that I would use in my literature review and project proposal paper. The workshop I did in the classroom enabled me to get a head start and clearer idea of what I wanted to write about for this paper. I have learned and experienced many things that have aided me in becoming a better writer while being a student for this course. As a result I will strive to have higher expectations in the literacy world and will always expect to become a better writer each day. I have gained a lot of useful tools and knowledge that will not just aid me in the literacy world, but also in life and in the workplace. I have become a better person as well due to learning how to add my own ideas while still giving a positive constructive argument into anything I do. Being a part of Ms. Wolcotts ENC 1102 class has enabled me to strive to become better not just at writing but in all areas of my life because I now approach things differently than I did before.