Reflection on Open Letter Draft

AJC ajcann.wordpress.com, "Peer Review" 05/23/08 via Flickr, CC0 Public Domain

I reviewed Cynthia and Ann Emilie's Open Letters. In this post, I will mainly reflect on my peers' comments on my own draft of an open letter, in which  I will answer questions about my overall revision plan/process/and reflection.

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

Personally, I believe I did. I talked about my writing/revising/planning, and how it has changed. I fell like I could elaborate more in this context, however, as I focused more on time management. As writing was the main focus of this class I should talk more about how my writing has transformed and include examples.

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

I did provide a brief analysis of my own experiences, but not much else in terms of analysis of concepts I learned or assignments I completed. My purpose was sort of unclear when I was writing the letter, but  these questions, as well as my peers' comments, are helping me to understand that I should focus more on how my writing has changed in this course through concepts learned and personal experiences in the course.

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

No, unfortunately, I didn't include any concrete examples in my rough draft. I was unsure of where quotes or links would be necessary, but if I elaborate more on my writing and examples of course assignments, I think this placement will become much more clear.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether or not those choices were effective?

This, I believe I did well. I definitely talked about regrettable choices that I made, why I made those choices, and why they were regrettable. I think if I add this same level of explanation to choices I made in terms of writing and assignments, instead of just deadlines and time management, my letter has great potential.

Overall, I have a long way to go in the revision process, as my letter doesn't contain much evidence or analysis on the actual writing and course lessons that affected my writing style, on top of my process. I believe if I merely add more of this, the rest of my revisions will become easier and more local.

Draft of open letter

OpenIcons, "Letter" 04/01/13 via Pixabay, CC0 Public Domain

Thanks for taking the time to read the rough draft of my letter in advance. I am aware that I didn't add any evidence from my blog posts, I will definitely do that in my final draft. Other than that, please let me know what I can add to my letter to help it to serve its purpose, and what points I need to better touch on in order to effectively complete this project and receive a good grade. Essentially, I would really appreciate any comments that directly explain what I still need to do in order to address all of the questions/guidelines in the Project 4 guide. Here is my rough draft.

Reflecting More On My Writing Experiences

Buck, "The Future Next Exit" 07/15/09 via Flickr, CC0 Public Domain

In this post I touch more on my experience in this course, as well as how I think this course has helped me find myself as a writer and as a student.

1. The biggest challenges I faced in this course were finding ways to make time for the large amount of coursework demanded in this class. I could have probably completed the actual drafts/projects without much stress or many problems, honestly. It was the deadlines with 5 blog posts, 2 read/reply/reflects, and a rough draft due that I could not keep up. Not keeping up would get me even more stressed out, which would, in turn, cause me to get further and further behind. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why the blog posts were assigned, and they did help me gain skills as a writer, I just personally couldn't always handle all that was assigned.

2. I learned that my time-management, writing, and editing skills were not as great as I thought they were before this class. Editing was something that I didn't even realize I struggled with, but when I would go to revise my pieces, I wouldn't even know where to start. Peer review definitely helped this issue, and I can now see that taking a fresh, outside perspective and analyzing my piece for my rhetorical situation can really help transform and polish a piece.

3. Each differing genre demands a writer to essentially reinvent themselves, while maintaining their own unique voice and style as a writer. In high school, there was never much chance to experiment with genres, to understand how to transform a single topic from a QRG to an explanation of a rhetorical analysis to a buzzfeed article. In fact, we really only focused on one genre at a time, if we even shifted away from rhetorical analysis all year. Learning about different genres, different settings for writing, helped to expand my variety and flexibility as a writer.

4. Even though this is the only writing/english course I need to complete in my major, the projects we did will be very helpful for my future as a student and ultimately a neuroscientist. I learned how to find relevant research in my topic, how to turn that research into a well-rounded paper for an audience to read (in many different genres), how to properly cite the piece, and how to revise a piece until it is essentially publishable in my field. All skills that will definitely come in handy as I do research in my field.

5. My most effective moment from this semester was Project 3. I completed most if not all of the blog posts, and actually understood how to work in a genre I was unfamiliar with. I started from scratch and used techniques from this class, such as analyzing my rhetorical situation, until I understood my genre, audience, context, and purpose, and wrote my piece as such. My grade for this project definitely reflected this, as I got an 87, the highest of all of my final drafts for this class.

6. My least effective moment from this semester was Project 1. I missed several blog posts, and didn't take much time to try to understand the genre of the QRG. Although, in my defense, I thought I understood it at the time. My QRG seemed fine to me, but I ended up with a D on my final draft, so the amount of effort I put in was adequately represented, I suppose.

Revisiting my writing process

Lim, Walter, "A Reminder to Slay the Procrastination Beast" 10/08/14 via Flickr, CC0 Public Domain

In this post, I plan to reflect on my writing process, or what I believed it to be at the beginning of the course, at least. In my first few blog posts I explained my technique as a writer (in terms of completing writing projects), as well as my "ideal" calendar of how I would manage my time in conjunction with this class and the homework assigned.

Needless to say, while I did have a general idea of myself as a writer, nothing went ideally, or even remotely as planned in terms of my plan for being successful in this class.

I would still call myself a sequential writer, although I have been getting better at learning to take time after finishing a piece to look it over and perform some revisions, especially after our peer review experiences as a class. I did not plan on procrastinating as much as I did, however. Usually I can start the school year/semester off strong, and gradually drift into bad habits of turning in late assignments, but right from the beginning of this class it seemed the course load was just too much on top of my other obligations to actually gradually complete assignments like I should have done. There were times that I REALLY tried to start the deadline before the day it was due, but work, other assignments, and my personal life would completely take over until suddenly it was 4:15 pm on a Saturday, and with none of my deadline completed I would have to leave to work from 5-1 am, praying I would get time on my break to complete everything. There were other weeks where nothing interfered except for my own anxiety, stressing myself out more and more with the deadline in the back of my mind, to the point where I pushed it to the last possible minute.

Still, I am, for the most part, proud of everything I turned in for this course. There wasn't a single final draft that I turned in that I thought I would do poorly on or that I didn't give my best, even though my grades don't really reflect that. If I were to continue using the same time management techniques for the next few years that I used this semester, I can not envision doing well in school or my future career, but I'm hoping I can use this semester as more of a learning experience, where I taught myself how hard things can be when you put them off. As for my writing style, I feel I'll always be someone who plans, writes, and revises as I go, all in one draft, but I feel I learned how/when other writing styles can be useful through this course.

Reflection on Project 3

Longo, Dr. Wendy, "Looking Back" 05/13/07 via Flickr, Creative Commons 2.0 License

In this post I will reflect on my revision process for my public argument, mostly through answering the 9 questions provided in Writing Public Lives pg. 520.

1. Specifically, what I revised from one draft to another was the addition of new points to my argument. From the feedback I received, I learned that the best way to improve my piece was to just add more points to make to my argument, such as the history of my argument, and the counterargument. I also used these new points to strengthen the convincing analysis of my argument, my tone, and my evidence/support.

2. I didn't really reconsider much globally. My thesis didn't change, nor did my argument or my way of organizing my argument. I simply added more depth to what I had already provided, so nothing too major was reconsidered.

3. The changes I made were mostly due to reconsidering and reflecting on both my audience and my purpose. I realized that my audience was starting on the opposite side of my argument, most likely, so it would take more to convince them (which was my purpose) of my own opinion. This is especially why I included the counterargument, to relate to my audience and restate my opinion on the argument at the end.

4. These changes definitely improve my credibility as an author. Adding evidence, historical perspective, and acknowledgement of the counterargument all can fall under the category of "ethos" in an argument, although evidence can add to logos as well. By adding these things I am showing my audience different perspectives, proving that I know what I am talking about from all angles of the argument.

5. Again, the counterargument addresses the audience's presumable opinion on my subject for argument. By doing this I not only relate to the audience better, increasing their liking of my piece and therefore making them more likely to agree with me, but I am showing my audience that I have thought of everything when developing my argument. I also add the use of the word "our" at the end of my piece, saying "Gender inequalities and injustice is a problem in our society," thus relating to the audience even more.

6. Sentence structure and style was not a big focus of mine when revising. The only local changes I made were adding variety to some of the phrases/words I seemed to repeat often, and making sure my tone was dramatically visible enough.

7. My audience will understand my purpose better now because of my last point that I added. My last point ties the entire argument together, facts with opinion, almost serving as a type of conclusion for my piece. In a way this almost restates my purpose for the audience.

8.  I definitely had to revisit the conventions of my genre when revising. My genre was surprisingly difficult to work with, because it is usually so incredibly brief. Each buzzfeed list will contain 5-25 points, with each point having a one sentence explanation. For a list of the 10 emojis your mom should have, this is perfect. For a public argument on neuroscientific sex-differences, this is impossible. I worked around this brevity as much as possible, but my argument still doesn't follow the genre completely.

9. Overall, the same thing happens to me every time I revise... I have trouble finding any flaws in my piece. It's not that my piece is godly or flawless, because there are definitely problems that others find in my piece, it is just that when I write a rough draft I usually feel pretty good about it, and so when I reread it, that doesn't change. This is why reading peer comments is helpful for me, to identify what I need to work on as a writer. This specific revision helped me realize that most of my pieces have potential, they just need more substance, which is how I revised this piece.

Publishing Public Argument

Thomaseagle, "Sharpened Pencil Next to Sheet Paper" 3/26/08 via Wikipedia Commons,  Creative Commons 3.0 license

This post contains the link to my final draft of my public argument, as well as a small analysis on my argument based off of the questions provided. NOTE: My argument has longer descriptions than a buzzfeed article, obviously. If I had only the tiny descriptions that buzzfeed articles describe, I would have no evidence at all in my argument, and it wouldn't be nearly as effective. Please take that into account when reading my piece.

1.

 ←----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------x---------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly 

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2.

←----x------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

3.

         ___x___ My public argument etablishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4.

My argument is more than just a simple restatement of the facts I've gathered on my topic. My argument introduces the topic in a uniquely casual  way, with a great amount of passion and emotion attached, therefore providing a different outlook/perspective on the information I used.

5.

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    __x__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    _____ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    __x__ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    __x__ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    _____ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    _____ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    __x__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    _____ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x__ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture 

                    __x__ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact 

                    __x__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    __x__ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    __x__ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    __x__ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x__ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

                    __x__ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    __x__ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x__ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x__ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc. 

                    __x__ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    _____ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    __x__ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    _____ Other: 

6. Here are three (1, 2, 3) examples of my genre. The third is possibly closest to my argument.

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

ClkerFreeVectorImages, "Thinker" 2012 via Pixabay, CC0 Public Domain

This post is my reflection on the process of writing and peer-reviewing for project 3. I reviewed Clay and Cynthia's project 3 drafts. Overall, upon reviewing their drafts I found some flaws, as well as strengths, in my own draft. It is hard with this project in particular to compare however, as we are all doing different genres.

1. Jessi Grossman, Tyler Gray and Rose Kowalski all reviewed my draft of a public argument.

2. I liked Rose's review the best, of course, because she gave me high scores for all of the topics that encompass my draft. However, in terms of what was the most helpful, Tyler's comments in my argumentation were good starting points for moving forward with my draft. While I have good points as-is, I could incorporate more of those points, new additions to the list, thus adding more support without straying from my genre.

3. I think argumentation needs to be my biggest focus from here on out. I feel, despite some of the scores I received, like I have a clear understanding of my purpose, audience, and genre, but I had so much fun creating my piece, I forgot to focus on making it much of an argument. Again, by adding more numbers to my list, I can open up more room for argumentation, rebuttals, more evidence, etc.

4. I did not attend any instructor meetings, as I probably should have in order to get a better sense of how I'm doing on this project, and if I'm at least headed in the right direction. Personally, I feel confident in my general idea for my argument. While my draft may not have been perfect, I feel like I am on the right track and my peers reflected my opinions, for the most part.