Frances Li

Professor Haas
Writing 39B
23 Aug 2014
Final Reflection Essay
Taking a class online during the summer in the last two months has been a unique
experience for me. Reading the first blog I've wrote in the beginning, I see myself still having
some of the troubles I have pointed out back then, but a very new attitude toward this course and
writing academic papers. I predicted Writing 39B might be challenging, but I did not realize
those challenges rest in my habits more than in my composition skills. This class has gradually
taught me the correct process of building up a research paper; moreover, it has increased my
interest in self-studying and learning a topic from different aspects.
The detective theme of the course had a big influence on my motivation of learning.
When I first found out the course topic, I remember my thought was Im so lucky. I did not
know how much time I will need to put in, but I was sure that Im not going drop the class.
Spending ten weeks studying and writing about something I like helps me to truly absorb the
knowledge. If someone will like to discuss detective stories or films with me now, I will have a
list of points in mind to talk about. I learned things like: Conan Doyles reason of success in the
Victorian England background, his stories pattern and case type, the detective character was
modeled after a physician named Joseph Bell, and many other details. These are things that I will
not easily forget when the course ends because I read them not just in the purpose of finishing
assignments, but also to satisfy my own curiosity. For example, I researched about Doyle along
with his works and reread some of my childhood detective stories. I also watched all of the BBC
series of Sherlock and many more episodes of the film Elementary. Putting addition time into
related materials are no longer tasks but entertainment driven by self-interest. This class taught
me that learning can be enjoyable with a right approach. When you find a way to involve your
interest in the material youre studying, engagement and effectiveness come along.
Speaking more specifically about the contents of the class, they familiarized me with the
steps of analyzing a genre. Like for the detective genre, we first began with reading Doyles
works that represents the genre, then interpreting it with the help of scholarly texts in order to
know which aspect to focus on. It is important to have a general view of the genre and some
knowledge of its history and background so that we can better understand the authors purpose
and situation. For example, Conan Doyles target of middle class readers and absent of stress
purpose explains his stories emphasize on puzzle-solving rather than social or political matters.
After learning about the classic conventions of the genre, we went on to compare them with the
modern interpretations of Doyles work. Analyzing their similarities and differences helps me
see the change that was adapted to meet the taste of a modern audience. This process of studying
the development of detective genre showed me how it became popular since nearly two hundred
years ago and continues to thrive in the twenty-first century.
One of the most effective ways I have learned to improve my essay is through revision. I
realized during writing the longer essays such as the literary review, and the rhetorical analysis
essays that its hard to concentrate on a central idea when many thoughts come into mind.
Instead of putting off some ideas that could be very supportive, I found the best way is to edit
afterward: delete the unnecessary sentences when you see the bigger picture. Looking back at my
essay as a whole helps me to pay attention to the reasoning and transition of the body paragraphs
and see clearer which part need to be fixed.
Among the two essays, I decided to fully revise the literature review one written on the
character and plot of Conan Doyles detective genre. I chose this one because it is unified with a
central idea and developed smoothly with scholarly texts. Revising and working on this essay
feels like looking back to what Ive learned and drawing an end to the course. The greatest
strengths of my essay are being clear on the topic, and using credible sources to support my
thesis. On the contrary, my weaknesses are sentence structure and word choice. It would sound
much more like a scholar if I have a greater vocabulary and are adept in forming complex
sentences. If I had more time to work on this essay, I will work on adding sources to the essay,
synthesis more sources.
In the other rhetorical analysis essay, I wrote about the modern adaptation of the game
convention and how it was played by the detective and his opponent. I chose to revise a
paragraph written on a scene from the film A Game of Shadows directed by Guy Ritchie that
supports my essays central idea. The strength of this paragraph is being able to discuss the
function of the cinematic technique in the scene. Each element I chose to talk about is all related
to the theme the essay. Thus this paragraph reflects the a best part of me rhetorical analysis essay.
The Connect assignment along with the course calendar contributed to building my
persistence in the course. It is the easiest part among the weekly tasks, but it is also the only part
that repeats throughout the course. Doing the Connect modules little by little, I reviewed the
MLA format for academic papers, noticed more details such as singular or plural to be careful,
and avoid unnecessary words to improve the conciseness of the paper.
Peer review has also been an effective way that helps me improve my writing. The
comments I received often points out problems that I fail to see on my own, and offer suggestion
of ways I can change it. Reviewing others essays also benefit me by learning from their
mistakes and preventing them in my own. It also teaches me a different tone to use for a formal
essay.
Lastly, the wiki projects improved my sense of responsibility as a group member, and
stimulated my creativity. Studying in an online environment is very different from a classroom
environment where we will meet each other face to face. The wiki projects requires us
collaborative work where I learned to effectively communicate with emails and leaving time
ahead to plan the work among our group. On the other hand, the project is like making a
webpage where designing and formatting is very important. I tried different ways of arranging
elements and used visual aid to present the information. This makes the page more vivid and
clear to the reader.
Overall each part of the course helped me to gradually improve my writing skills and also
have an insightful understanding of the detective genres development beginning from Conan
Doyle to current adaptations. I learned to collect sources and effectively use them to support my
central idea. I also learned to use revisions to refine and unify my essay as a whole. More
importantly, the course help me established habits of mind which can benefit me in other areas as
well. Last but not least, this writing 39B class taught me the importance of interest. Finding an
approach that suits you the most can greatly encourage your motive of learning. An enjoyable
initiative can make things easier and pleasant.