Dalton Sherwood

UWRT 1103
Connie Rothwell
May 5, 2016

Looking in the Mirror One more time

Introduction
All semester long, I have been challenged to an extent that I would like to call a lot.
Whether it had to do with school or outside happenings. While in Professor Rothwells UWRT
1103 writing class, I have gotten a little taste of what college should feel like. It wasnt until
Rothwells class that college actually felt how college was supposed to. In the beginning of the
semester, I could tell how much of a good professor Rothwell would be but what I didnt expect
was the work load and expectations of the work when being turned in. I started to feel as if she
was pushing us too hard but the real problem was me. Yes, she gave us assignment after
assignment but that was because we were supposed to be finished with the previous one, which I
never was. The reason for this was because I procrastinated way too much and I paid for it each
time I did by having two assignments overlap one another. Procrastination is something that will
not be involved with my life going forward.

What do these Projects have in common with one another?

I didnt realize it until I started to write this reflection essay but all of these assignments
given to us to complete are similar and connected in many ways. They are similar through the
way I write, mistakes I made, and accomplishments I have overcome. When reading the prompt
for the final reflection, I thought to myself how could these assignments be related to each other
if they are completely different types of writing. Then I realized that the connections can only be
seen once you take it slow and re-read each and every piece of writing so that I could figure it
out for myself. This reflection essay is literally what they call a cumulative exam in math class,
except its a cumulative exam for writing to see what I have learned while doing so.
I found out that in each and every one of my writings, I procrastinated to an extent
allowing there to be room for minimal mistakes. This is something I need to work on. For
example, in the zero draft of my problem based essay, I didnt provide any source of where I got
my information from. This could have been handled differently if I had not have procrastinated
then and really tried to make my zero draft as perfect as I would want my final draft to be.
Another example of my procrastination is really apparent in the Narrative on learning
assignment. As I wrote in the story of a paper, since I procrastinated and waited until I had two
days to turn in the assignment, I had left out one of the only guidelines given. I forgot to add
dialogue. I cant tell you enough how my professor urged the phrase Show, dont just tell! Its
just one of those things I have to get through my head. Stop procrastinating!
Another connection that I see throughout many of my writings was that I was capable of
sharing very personal information to add to the essay. For example, in the narrative on learning
assignment, I shared the fact I got pulled over by the police and nothing good came out of it. To

add to that, on the My Version of Sponsors of Literacy assignment, I added a personal excerpt
of a conversation that my dad and I had about my grandfather passing away and how I didnt
have to hold my feelings in. This was really personal, as I am usually not one to cry about certain
events in my life, and I cried my eyes out because my dad taught me something new. He taught
me that it is best to let your feelings out so that you can move on and not hold any grudges or
anything of that sort. I also shared my feelings for Professor Rothwell in this reflection essay. I
explained how I thought she was going to be a relaxed and chill teacher and then everything
turned upside-down. She started to assign so many projects and I hated it. I didnt really like her
at the time but then I realized what she was doing for us. She was preparing us for even more
work-heavy classes. She soon became one of my favorite professors as explained above in the
introduction.
One of the last connections that tie all of these papers together is the fact that writing has
grown on me so much since the first assignment. I had never liked to admit how much I enjoy
writing until taking UWRT 1103. Each assignment brought new challenges that I knew I could
overcome. For example, we had to write an essay about Deborah Brandts article, Sponsors of
Literacy. It was one of the most boring papers I have ever written but now that I look back on it,
it taught me a lot about what sponsors are and what they set up for us as a foundation to our
lives. I also learned that not all people are lucky enough to have sponsors, whether they have
disabilities, live in third-world countries, or just dont care about learning. When the problem
based project was assigned to us, I thought that I wasnt going to have time to do both that and
the portfolio. I also thought that the problem based project was way too much work for the end
of the year when really that was what I needed to be prepared for the portfolio. Its amazing to
think about how all of these assignments were connected in so many different ways.

What are my goals of this semester and were they met?

Rhetorical knowledge, critical reading, composing process, knowledge of conventions,
and critical reflection were all the planned outcomes of UWRT 1103. I can say that the goals of
the year were met by every individual that completed all of the assignments. They may have not
been met to the best of ones ability, but they were definitely reached. Rhetorical knowledge was
one of the easiest goals to meet. In each and every assignment given, you had to know who your
audience was, what you were talking about, and who you were as a writer. This was fairly easy
due to the fact that in the introduction or first paragraph of each assignment you should be able to
answer the rhetorical questions to make sure that you are fulfilling that goal.
Critical reading was, to an extent, difficult for me in some ways. Since I procrastinated
often and waited last minute to start an assignment, I rushed through some of the papers not even
reviewing what I wrote. I would just type it and be done, maybe a quick review but nothing too
time-consuming. I wish that I could have worked on this more throughout the year so that I
would get As instead of Bs. I know for fact that I accomplished the composing process. I feel as
if I had good headers and sub-headers for topics. Some examples of this are located in the My
Version of Sponsors of Literacy essay and Problem Based Project. Organizing text is really
important so that you do not confuse the reader. It is important to have headers if you transition
from one sub-topic to another. This reflection essay is another good example of the composing
process. I talked about similarities under one header and meeting goals under another. I even
made an introduction to explain what and why I writing this.

I think I met the goal of knowledge of conventions s the way. I could have gone further
with this but, once again, my procrastination screwed me up. Each assignment was different than
the next. For example, the narrative on learning was a realistic fiction/real life experience while
the sponsors of literacy was more of an informational essay. The problem based project was a
persuasive essay while the story of a paper was more of a paper that consisted of the steps I took
to create an essay. These papers are all different types of genres, yet they all end with the same
result of making you a better writer than you were before. As for critical reflection, I think I did a
great job of accomplishing this goal. For each and every assignment, we were told to reflect on
what we wrote and how we have learned from it. Whether it be the mistakes or good structured
essays we wrote, it all came down to this final reflection.
This last mirroring image of what a semester in UWRT 1103 has done for us; how it has
made us better writers. This semester has taught us so many different ways of how to express
yourself, ideas, or thoughts on paper. It has shown us how to write a narrative using dialogue, rewrite our own version of an article, a step-by-step process on how we wrote a paper, and even
how to solve our own problems. Through writing all semester long, I have learned that one of my
greatest academic strengths is writing. I know I dont have to reflect back on that observation!

What are my goals for future writing?

My number one goal to work on for next year is to stop procrastinating so much. If I
accomplish this, I will be more likely to see better grades for future assignments. I will have
more time to work on them and will be able to spend time reviewing to make sure I have what I
need to receive an A. I also want to work on writing just for the fun of it, so that I can practice
and become better than I am now. I think freewriting will help me with many assignments in the

future as well as learning more language that I may not be familiar with. It would be cool to start
using words that I normally dont use in my writings. It will expand my dictionary. I hope that
one day I will accomplish these goals and be able to write solid, grade-A papers.