Dear Reader,

This website is a combination of all my work and assignments throughout the entire semester.

Together all of these informal and formal writing assignments show the writing process we

underwent to produce a final concrete research paper. It all started in the beginning with free

writing. The free writes were a good way to get our thoughts flowing and our pencils moving. I

loved how the free writes always had a subject, whether it was writing about reading, articles,

quotes, or our assignments we always had a direction to go in. However, we always had the

freedom to explore our thoughts if they came to us during a free write and we could go off track.

This type of writing where there is a direction but not necessarily one that has to be followed is

my favorite, because it allows writers to have freedom. Along with the free writes we had weekly

blog post which mainly focused on intellectual responses and reactions to academic articles and

videos. The combination of the free writes and blog post allowed for us to get experience writing

all different types of ways from questioning, to analytical, to entertainment, to exploratory and

many others.

With the informal writing such as blogs and free writes, also came the structured formal

writing such as the topic proposal, annotated bibliography, extended inquiry project, research,

revision and peer review. These assignments taught us how to go the distance in the writing

process and follow all the steps to produce a concrete, well organized, reviewed, clear final

essay. We started with the topic proposal where we posed a question we were interested in

researching and then explored where it took us. After we had finalized a question that had the

potential to produce a full semester worth of research, we went on to our annotated bibliography.

When completing the annotated bibliography, we gained experience in looking for articles from
all types of databases. We also gained experience in producing citations in MLA format and how

to analyze a source for its credibility and potential to help progress your topic. After the

completion of our annotated bibliography, where we had gathered all our research and solidified

our topic and question, we proceeded to complete the final stage of the writing process, the

extended inquiry project. While completing the extended inquiry project I learned how to take all

of the research and previous writing I had completed and put it into one concrete and clear

exploratory essay addressing my topic. This final paper was a huge learning opportunity, having

to figure out how to produce an essay exploring an entire semester worth of research into ten

pages.

Another huge part of the writing process was revision and peer review which was completed

and the end of all three of the major assignments. As one of the Tedtalks earlier in the year stated,

no one writes alone, and I learned this quickly during the peer review and revision. The peer

review taught me how to keep an open mind not only about the structure of my paper but also

about the thoughts and ideas within my paper. Going into the revision process, my mind was

pretty set on ideas that money could buy happiness but after discussing with members of my

group they pointed out key information that led me to shift my thoughts and mindset. If it was

not for the peer review and revision my paper would have been a closed minded argument that

did not address any parts of the other side. However, after the peer review my final paper is now

an exploratory essay showing not that money can buy happiness but instead the effects wealth

can have on individuals. The final key writing section of our semester was the studio section,

which was so important they made the class worth an extra credit hour. The studios helped out

with a large variety of the writing process. They helped with understanding our goals going into

the semester by translating the student learning outcomes. The studios also helped set up the
foundation for our e-portfolio and our research annotations. Finally, the studios helped with

transitioning between paragraphs and our final revision, with the writers moves studio and the

revision studio. All of the studios allowed me to slow down and take time to complete each

section which helped me further my research, set up my website, understand my goals, transition

between paragraphs and finally revise my final essay.

For me personally the most important assignment of the semester was the final revised

extended inquiry project. This was the most important assignment because it took a whole

semester worth of knowledge, research, and acquired skills and compounded it all into one final

paper. The final paper is used to show a whole semester worth of work from questioning, to

researching, to analyzing, to organizing, to writing, to revising, and then finally back to writing,

all in one single document. This type of assignment applies to my goals because it allows me to

show what I have learned and the work I have personally put in. Just like in a sport, people go to

practice and work on their skills day in and day out and then on game day they get the chance to

showcase their skills. The final extended inquiry paper is like game day, I practiced my skills day

in and day out all semester and then got the opportunity to showcase them in my final extended

inquiry paper.

Going into this semester my greatest strength in writing has always been my analytical ability.

I have always been able to take a complex article or video and analyze it and then write an

intellectual paper on it. My greatest weakness though has always been my stubborn close

mindedness. I am normally very confident in my ideas and beliefs so I go into my writing with

the belief that I could not be wrong but in reality many times I am. Over the course of this

semester, I feel I have been able to become more open minded through the peer review. During

the peer review, when people are explaining to you what ideas and information you missed, you
have to be open minded in order to use their knowledge to make your paper better. I slowly

learned this over the semester and it allowed me to transform my one sided argumentative paper

into a multiple sided exploratory essay. My analytical skills were also chiseled throughout the

semester by being able to analyze others papers, articles, Tedtalks, and many other intellectual

articles and videos.

Throughout the semester, our goal was to increase in a certain specific areas noted at the

beginning of the semester called student learning outcomes. These outcomes include rhetorical

knowledge, critical reading, composing processes, knowledge of conventions, and finally critical

reflection. Throughout the semester all of these outcomes were addressed. Rhetorical knowledge

was mainly addressed when deciding how to write my extended inquiry project, whether I

thought it would apply better to the audience in an exploratory essay or whether I should argue.

After deciding which way to write I had to think about how my audience would accept my paper,

whether it was controversial and needed a lighter touch or was more widely accepted and I could

proceed more aggressively. Rhetorical knowledge was addressed a good bit but out of the five

outcomes for me personally it was addressed least. One of the components that was addressed

most was critical reading. All semester we were given multiple assignments, whether in our

blogs, free writes, research or other avenues, to read and analyze articles. One of the most

important things for this student learning outcome personally is that the articles were interesting

and engaging which allowed analysis to flow easier and more freely. The student learning

outcome that was addressed the most was the composing processes. Almost every single class we

worked on composing processes. Whether we were writing informally in our day book or

compiling our final paper we were always drafting, collaborating, reviewing, revising, and

editing. All of these tactics are easily visible in my e-portfolio in areas such as blog work, day
book entries, peer review, and the major assignments such as the topic proposal, annotated

bibliography and extended inquiry project. The fourth student learning outcome, knowledge of

conventions, personally was the least harped on this semester. It was still addressed a few times

in areas such as the writers moves studio and in various free writes. However, compared to the

other four this one was the least practiced. I do not see that as a bad thing though. My whole life

conventions have been harped on and drilled into my brain during English class. It was very

rejuvenating to take a writing class in which the focus was not strictly on grammar but instead on

the writing and inquiry process which is a much more creative way to expand writing ability.

Finally, one of the most important student learning outcomes, critical reflection, was addressed

many times over the semester. After every assignment, we would take time to not only revise and

peer review our work but also to sit down and write about what we thought about the process of

completing that assignment. This outcome can be seen in many areas of my e-portfolio, from

revisions on the major assignments, such as the annotated bibliography, to reflections in my

daybook. I can say personally that I have grown in every single one of these student learning

outcomes throughout the semester, and that is visible throughout my e-portfolio in every single

category.

As noted earlier in my reflection, going into this semester my greatest downfall was my

struggle with peer review due to my close-mindedness. Due to the sheer amount of revisions we

did I was bound to get over this pitfall. However, I did not expect it to affect my writing as

greatly as it did. I have never been one to take criticism lightly, but I made a point to work on

that this semester and because of that I became more open minded and also saw just how much

peer review can reshape and better your paper. Coming into this semester I was a more analytical

thinker, which was my strength. However, through many of the open ended topics we discussed
in class I became better at looking at problems not just to find an answer but to explore where

that inquiry can take me and what doors it can open. When facing these challenges this semester,

I learned that some of my best work comes right after I spent hours struggling to figure out how

to shape and or write assignments. I struggled greatly with the peer review and it was very

uncomfortable for me, but some of my best papers came the day after getting that feedback from

my peers. That just goes to show that I had to go out of my comfort zone in order to reach my

highest potential.

Throughout the semester, there are six writing sections that stick out, these include: the

studios, topic proposal, annotated bibliography, first extended inquiry draft, final extended

inquiry draft, and the e-portfolio. The studios are the section of 1104 that make it worth the extra

credit hour. Throughout the semester we completed six different studios ranging from translation,

to research, to revision. The studios were very helpful in the long run to help jump start certain

sections such as the research for the annotated bibliography and the foundation of my e-portfolio.

However, I personally did not enjoy doing the studios due the very tedious nature of them. The

research studios were easier for me because I prefer the analytical approach to research. The

hardest studio for me was the simplest one and that was creating the foundation of my website

and e-portfolio. What made it so difficult was the fact that I had never messed with creating a

website before and it took me forever to get a hang of it. The studios in general though were not

too difficult and I got a hang of them quickly they were just boring. The topic proposal for me

was pretty easy. I picked a topic I was passionate about and so posing a inquiry questions and

exploring where it took me was actually quite fun and simple. The only changes I would make to

my topic proposal if I could go back would have been to be a little more open minded sooner.

The topic proposal for me was the easiest assignment because researching and writing it just
seemed to flow since I was so interested. The annotated bibliography was the second hardest

assignment for me. The part that I found easy was the annotations because those are simply

analyzing the credentials of your source. The part that I found very difficult was the citations

even with the help of Purdue Owl. I have never been very good at citations, the meticulous

nature of citations frustrates me and I highly dislike them. If I could change something on my

annotated bibliography, I would have chosen a different website because Forbes was difficult to

find good material. The first extended inquiry project draft was one of my favorite assignments.

When I first started my draft it took me almost four hours to think of an appropriate introduction.

After I decided to use the Jordan Belfort story as my introduction though the rest of my paper

wrote itself because I had a lot of knowledge and passion for my topic. Picking a topic I was

passionate about was the best decision I made all semester, it made writing all of the essays much

more enjoyable because I was so intrigued with what I was writing. One thing that surprised me

about the first draft was how long I was able to make it. I sat down with the intention of getting

five and a half pages but by the end I looked up and had seven and a half. My final extended

inquiry project draft was difficult because I had many corrections to make that I did not realize I

had. One of my biggest struggles in writing my final draft was finding the balance between my

own writing and source material. Every time I would put a few sources and quotes in I felt like I

was just quoting and did not have enough of my own thoughts. Then I would try to do the

opposite and it would end up just being a paper about my opinions without any credibility. If I

could go back, I would of tried to get a better balance between my own words and thoughts and

the source material. Finally, the hardest and most important assignment of all was the e-portfolio.

This assignment was difficult for two reasons. The first reason being that I still struggled trying

to figure out how to work and shape my website, which led to many frustrations and angry
outbursts. The second reason this assignment was difficult was due to the amount of product that

went into the e-portfolio. It was very difficult trying to keep up with every piece and organize it

onto a template a barely understand. If I could offer one piece of advice for this project, it would

be to offer a class period in which the students could get some instruction on how to work the

website engines.

At the end of the day this semester was very chaotic. This was one of the hardest working

semesters I have ever had in my life. I failed over and over again this semester but I know that

every time I failed I got back up swinging and thats all that matter. I will take away a lot of

things from UWRT 1104. I am leaving UWRT with a greater understanding of the writing

process and how each individual part is vital to success. I am also leaving UWRT with a more

open mindset that I can take and use in all aspects of my life. Many of the skills I learned in

UWRT will be used over and over again and I cannot thank Professor Campbell enough for his

guidance.