UWRT 1102 Reflection

Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to improve my reading and writing
ability around the theme of food production, food consumption, and food politics. Over this
course, I truly believe that I have become a better writer through the many scholarly articles and
scholarly videos. For example Marion Nestle and Chimamanda Adichie taught more about food
then I ever could imagine to obtain. I really enjoyed becoming a better writer while exploring
topics about food. In this reflection I will go over the course theme, the various genres used to
shape me as a writer, and collaborative work.
The course theme surrounded everything ranging from factory farming to food politics. I
thought this was a very interesting theme. Its something that I can really relate to because I
consider myself a food addict. I eat food all the time. I am not a picky eat so Ill try anything.
For example, I think the most exotic food that Ive tried was raw clams. I did not like it, but I
tried it. But the important part was that I tried it. I strongly suggest that everyone stretches their
limits and gives everything a shot. This was my view when I took this course. Not only was this
my first 8 am, but we deeply analyzed food which forced me to open my mind to new material
Ive never gained before. Something I really took a lot of knowledge from was the film Food,
Inc. This film was very interesting and slightly disturbing. This documentary really showed the
audience the power of food corporations. I never realized how disrespectful food corporations
were to their farmers and animals. The restrictions they put on their farms is ridiculous. For
example, they add so much hormones to chicken that they become so heavy that they can barely
walk. This deeply disturbed me. It made me wonder what I could do to solve this issue. The first
step that I can take, is to stop buying food products like Purdue and Tyson. Then I can start being
a part of the community that is fighting the food corporations. Learning about all these issues

taught me to become a more motivated writer. To dig deeper into topics instead of just scratching
the surface, resulting in a paper that is mediocre. Im thankful for this lesson because its an
important topic to learn and will significantly improve my writing ability.
Throughout this course we have explored many different genres. A genre that I have
really enjoyed are documentaries and YouTube/TED Talks. I loved watching The Danger of a
Short Story. Adichie taught me to be open to a persons multiple stories and not just their one
story. I learned to not stereotype and to not fall into bias. I also loved the Netflix documentary,
Food, Inc. This documentary informed me all about food corporations and their relationship with
farmers and their food production. I really enjoyed watching these films because it was easier to
interpret the information through watching the farmers and the emotions they expressed as they
told their stories. As I watched these farmers speak it caused me to feel their emotions. Often
times its harder to truly feel what the characters are feeling, when its a reading comprehension.
Another genre that we practiced were our journal entries. I thought this was a fantastic idea
because it enabled us to write down all of our thoughts with no particular format or judgement. I
thought this was a good way to collect all of my thoughts and in-turn easier to express my
thoughts. Other genres that I have noticed outside of class includes genres within social media.
Social media is a very important genre in todays society. Its a vital way on how we
communicate our thoughts and express ourselves. Through social media like Twitter I am able to
learn more about food products and food corporations. A lot of food corporations have social
media to inform their customers about upcoming news. Through using these various genres I was
able to learn how to express myself in many different ways. In addition, I am able to become
more literate in those genres and comprehending the disciplines within those genres. Learning
about these different types of writing enables me to use them for future writing proposals.

Learning to work collaboratively is a vital characteristic to claim in classes and in

everyday experiences. When we discussed our ideas in class with our group I really enjoyed
hearing what everyone had to say. Hearing everyone else I was able to gain different point of
views and adjust my own thoughts. As we worked on our research project I was able to hear
what others thought of the project and what we needed to execute in order to do well on the
project. Ive also learned that its important to say your opinion and not be afraid to talk to your
group about what you think would be best. However, its also important to be open to what they
have to say. Thats how our group functioned as we conducted our research project.
Overall, I have learned a lot throughout this semester. Ive learned about multiple genres
and the disciplines within those genres. I have also learned how to work more collaboratively
and speak my mind more in class. I have a lot to dedicate to that class, including being a more
confident writer. Writing with more belief in myself portrays in my product and causes my reader
to be more confident in me. Allowing me to have more freedom in my writing and Professor
Dutta was very accepting and open minded to different opinions resulted in my improvement of
confidence. I hope my writing portfolio portrays everything that I have discussed in my
reflection. I hope I have encouraged you to not jump to conclusions, experiment with different
genres, and to be more confident in your writing.