Reflection on Open Letter Draft

I reviewed Rose and Chloe's drafts in this peer review. In this post, I will be reflecting on revision using some questions from Student's Guide.

O'Bryen, Rory. "Looking Back." 10/24/15 via flickr. All Rights Reserved.

1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?

I thought about these two things in terms of growth. I shared that while my basic methodology (planning) may not have changed, I have definitely become a more effective writer. I shared my growth by pointing out a goal I had made for myself and how I ended up accomplishing it through the coursework.

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

Yes, I did this for several experiences that I had throughout the course. I especially analyzed my Project 3 Final, as it was the one that I was most proud of. I talked about the skilled that I learned and practiced in it's production, and what my outcomes were. 

3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing?

Yes, I hyperlinked to many of my blog posts and summarized many of the thoughts I had shared in them. I probably could use some more direct quotation, however. It is hard to incorporate this because it sounds awkward mixed in with the rest of the language in my letter.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and why these choices were effective?

Yes, and I also described other choices I made that definitely weren't as effective. I detailed my struggle with new-found procrastination and shared why this made my time in the course more difficult than it should have been.

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts related to writing and the writing process?

Yes, I used terms like genre, time management, conventions, and peer review. These were all discussed in our last class session and all have to do with the writing process. I used these terms to pinpoint specific areas of both growth and decline in my writing process.

Well, it's been a pleasure everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful winter break :)

Tjorhom, Ann Emilie. "Victory Lap!" 12/11/15 via  Android. Public Domain.

Draft of Open Letter

In this post, I will be hyperlinking my draft of Project 4. 

Morris, Russ. "Thank You." 12/5/15 via flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

Dear peer reviewers,
HERE is my draft for your reviewing pleasure.
Please keep the following in mind as you look it over.

• Am I being too honest in some parts? I know that that is the tone we are going for with this piece, but I'm worried it comes off like overkill in some parts
• Do I need more references to previous work? I'll do some direct quotation in the future to support my hyperlinking, but do I need more references in general? If so, where?
• It's already pretty long at about 3 pgs. I think as I add more information I could easily get to 4-4 1/2 pgs. 
• Do I need a stronger send-off?

Thank you! You guys always provide such useful commentary to my work.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

In this blog post, I will reply to the following questions, referencing specific moments during the course.

Bart."Reflective." 12/5/15 via flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?

One of my biggest problems in the course initially was getting the blogwork done in a timely manner. I put too much thought and agony into the short blogs, which translated into long hours where I wasn't being very efficient. For example, the My Thoughts on Comments post took me ages, merely because I was too choosy with which comments I was picking and what exactly I wanted to say about them. I scrolled through pages of the comments section because I needed to find just the right comment that would fit the purpose. Looking back, I realize that this wasted valuable time that I could have spent on another blog post or other homework. While the time it takes me to finish a blog post has decreased significantly, that is not to say that the quality of my writing has gone down. Rather, I think that- through tons of practice- I have learned how to let loose and see where the act of writing takes me. I finished the Revisiting My Writing Process, which is by no means short, in record time just because I didn't revise as much along the way and because I wrote about exactly how I felt.

2. What did you learn this semester about your own time managment, writing and editorial skills?

As I mentioned in the previous post, my time management skills were worse than usual because I am currently unemployed. I has the luxury of too much time to get the coursework done, which lead me to put off things until "tomorrow." One time in particular, I rushed to finish a deadline because I wanted to go to the football game and I couldn't be late to meet my friend. If I had spread the deadline out over the week and planned for the game, I wouldn't have put myself through so much unnecessary stress. But, I have confidence that as I enter the workforce again, my regular diligence will return.

3. What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

The best skill that I have learned from this course is the ability to identify and write in the specific genre required. Writing the basic essay over and over in high school makes you begin to think that it is the only genre in the world that exists. Now I know that to produce a successful piece of writing, I must pay special attention to conventions and base my work off of very solid genre examples. When we produced a QRG for our first project, I relied heavily on strong genre examples to make my piece effective and compliant with the genre. Before we took a close look at the QRG, I was under the impression that most internet writing is the same. Now, I recognize QRGs everywhere (even if Bottai made up the word) and I can identify other specific types of articles that are structured that way to achieve a very specific purpose.

4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

I think that planning will always remain a big part of my writing process no matter what the contex, whether it's hobby writing, a job, or a method to communicate my opinions. I feel as though this course has given me many more tools and tips to consider when fleshing out my work. 109H has taught me that planning is much more than just making a simple outline. I think all of the planning steps that we accomplished through the blogs leading up to the projects made producing the final piece very easy and less stressful.

5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?

While it was not my highest scoring project, I feel as though my Project 3 video was really the highlight of this course. I branched out and worked in a genre/medium that I had never worked in before and turned out a great looking product. I familiarized myself with basic editing software, audio programs, public domain music, copyright law, and youtube. I feel that, if required in the future, I could easily make another video for my own purpose or at the request of a company.

6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?

I took a trip to La Jolla with my church group over Labor Day weekend. I had worked on the deadline prior to the trip but still had a few things to finish. Little did I know that those items on the deadline were big, time consuming pieces. I tried my best to carve out time to get the homework done. I stayed behind at the church where we were sleeping while the rest of the group went off to finish the deadline items, struggling as the internet cut in and out. We had an event that I could not miss so I had to leave one blog post to do when we got home. I ended up typing away until midnight and beyond because we came back really late. If I could change anything about my experience in 109H, this would definitely be it. I never want to go through that stress and miss out on things again because I have made a poor time management choice.

Revisiting My Writing Process

In this post, I will be reflecting on some of my first posts from this course. Since much has changed since I started blogging in August, I will share how I feel my writing process and time management habits have fared during this course.

Wildebeast1."Watching home movies." 12/5/15 via flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

My Time Management

While I had mentioned that I am not a procrastinator by nature, I felt as though I did just that at points during this course. Thinking through this change in myself, I feel like I can contribute it to being unemployed. When I was working hard to save up for college expenses along with participating in a musical theatre, I knew that I had to get things done in a timely manner so that I wouldn't get stressed out or have to squeeze things in at the last minute. 

Having relatively more free time made me feel as though I could put off things "until tomorrow." While I did not procrastinate extremely when I fell into the habit (often I would start working Saturday morning and finish that afternoon), I feel as though I would have felt better about myself if I had diligently spread out the deadline over the week. I think that as I enter the workforce again, my normal, dedicated approach to out of class work will return.

My Writing Process

I feel as though the heavy planning aspect of my writing did not alter due to the structure of the course. All the prep work and blog posts leading up to the production of the projects really satisfied my need for order and copious brainstorming. 

I mentioned that I wanted to work on writing spontaneously under a tighter deadline, and I feel that blogging has fit this need perfectly. I had to learn to produce a post quickly to stay on track and be efficient with the coursework. My blog writing naturally organized itself without too much stress or forethought. 

With regards to peer review, I feel I have become far more receptive to constructive criticisms and more likely to use the suggestions of my peers in my work. Being a perfectionist, I had a very hard time with criticism in the past and approached it very defensively. Through the many opportunities to have others look at my work throughout the course, I have come to see comments as a way of making things that much better instead of an attack on my work.

My Writing in the Future

I think that planning will always remain a big part of my writing process no matter what the contex, whether it's hobby writing, a job, or a method to communicate my opinions. I feel as though this course has given me many more tools and tips to consider when fleshing out my work.

Before 109H, I rarely thought about audience or my personal purpose because I didn't have to. In high school writing, you assume that you're writing to the teacher and only think about answering the prompt. This course has moved me past this basic understanding of creating a piece of writing and has made me a more effective writer, in my opinion..

Working in my Field

The best skill that I have learned from this course is the ability to identify and write in the specific genre required. Writing the basic essay over and over in high school makes you begin to think that it is the only genre in the world that exists. Now I know that to produce a successful piece of writing, I must pay special attention to conventions and base my work off of very solid genre examples.