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Marc Orbe
Professor Haas
Writing 37
6 December 2014
Final Reflection Essay
Prior to attending the 12:30 pm Writing 37 class, I didnt know what to expect. Ive
always wondered why I was placed into Writing 37 and not Writing 39B. It made me doubt my
capabilities as a writer, and even made me think about dropping the class and postponing it till
winter or spring quarter. But after attending the first day of class, my colleagues and I were told
about how we were placed into WR 37. As students of the writing 37 class, we scored almost at
the cut off point for Writing 39B but didnt quite make it. Looking back at the class now, Ive
realized that I was placed just where I needed to be in order assist me in refining my writing
skills. The assignments given in class helped me further develop interest in writing better essays.
Throughout the class Ive been able to establish several habits of mind which include: curiosity,
openness, engagement, creativity, persistence, responsibility, flexibility, and metacognition. At
the beginning of class I t had no past experience with the detective genre, which further sparked
my curiosity to learn more about the unfamiliar genre and all that it had to offer. Reflecting
back on the class of the fall quarter, I realize that I have learned how to analyze a genre, analyze
scholarly text, and learned how to properly write a literature review and rhetorical paper. I have
also gained better knowledge of giving peer reviews, a better understanding of what it means to
be a part of a group, and received a good review of grammar through an online program called
Connect.

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Through the Writing 37 class, I have learned how to analyze the genre by looking more
closely at context. Before being able to analyze the detective genre, we were first tasked with
setting the basis for it by researching about the Victorian era. Through the work the class put in
the online class wikis, I was able to develop a foundation for why the detective genre was
popular. It was important work to get the class interested in the genre. The next step was to apply
this background knowledge, by reading various Arthur Conan Doyle novels and short stories.
Reading through the text became much more appreciable, and I was able to connect a few
themes from the Victorian era within the novels. The next important task was to identify
established conventions within the novels and short stories using scholarly text. In order to
identify the conventions, our class was introduced to various scholars. These scholars made it
easier for us to understand the conventions established by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Within the quarter, we were required to write a Literature Review and a Rhetorical
Analysis. The Literature Review focused mostly on genre, while the Rhetorical Analysis focused
on how the modern day text adapted classic conventions from the novel. I chose to fully revise
the Literature Review, because I felt the essays structure wasnt as clear as I wanted it to be. In
order to fully revise my Literature Review, I created a new outline that I chose to follow, in order
to state my thesis clearly. My first draft lacked a really strong controlling idea, which hindered
the structure of my essay. Those who read my Literature Review were confused on whether or
not I was focusing on the Detective genres structure or the Victorian era. In order to be clearer
in the final draft, I ended up finding better examples for my thesis such as the specific structure
of the detective genre. In the Rhetorical Analysis essay, I chose to revise only the thesis and
paragraph because I felt more confident about how well I was able to make a well structured
essay. There were only a few minor mistakes within the essay that peer reviewers noticed. These

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errors would range from verb tense agreement to possessive. For this particular paper, I chose to
closely study the CBS mystery crime drama, Elementary. Within Elementary, the gender and
role of Watson is altered from male to female and from sidekick to partnership. I chose to revise
my first body paragraph, because it lacked a bit of analysis as I had provided too much plot
summary, and neglected to add more of the analysis for the cinematic elements used to portray
certain conventions within the modern text that I was analyzing. In the end, the analysis was
quickly fixed by the use of Leroy Paneks statement about how the protagonist must be
accompanied by a foil character.
Peer reviewing has given me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, and has given
me the ability to spot my own mistakes. After finishing our first big assignment, as a class we
were required to give each other peer review. At first I wasnt comfortable with giving peer
review, because it felt that being harsh upfront with someones work would not be a nice
representation of who I am. But after our professor introduced a text that was used to explain our
peer review process, it made the whole process easier to understand. The type of mindset the text
helped me assimilate was to always give peer review, no matter what, especially after reading
the text called Its Better to Give Than to Just Receive. The text also expanded upon the thought
of the peer review is practice for you pick up on your own mistakes. The reviewers that I have
given in the class have always followed the questions. Ive developed a habit of persistence with
being interested on the paper Im peer reviewing. With interest, I found myself more interested
in the content and style of the paper, which ultimately enabled me to be more alert on picking up
mistakes. If I was not interested in what I was reading, the paper would probably be skimmed
through without being properly read. Lastly the reviews that Ive received have helped me revise
most of my work. The feedback they gave me, mostly pertained to the use of quotes and how I

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should find better examples to support my controlling idea. Other suggestions included the peer
review that pointed out crucial things, like lack of analysis or summary. Because of peer review,
I am able to revise it accordingly.
Being a part of a collaborative group has given me the opportunity to establish
communication between group members. A huge portion of the class was to learn how to
effectively collaborate within a group. At first, I didnt like the idea of being placed into a group
because of the fact that I felt it would take more time to get work done, especially when having
to rely on other people. But my first group mates Jacqueline and Nadia changed my mind
through the work and dedication they contributed. The meetings we had were very useful in our
process towards our presentation as we always managed to involve each other in every decision,
even when it be about the tiny aspects such as font or template. This helped me develop an
engaging habit, where I require everyone in the group to get involved. Also I developed a
flexible mindset through the group meetings as I quickly learned that not everyone would show
up to the time slot you gave them and that everyone has to agree on a compromise that is
mutually beneficial to the whole group. Through collaborating, I was able to creatively think
more because of all the suggestions my group would brain storm about. Along with those habits,
we honed a sense of responsibility for our work, always meeting the set deadlines weve set
within the group. This made me rethink about group work, and caused me to be more open
minded to the future collaborations I took part in. A very important and special collaboration
that was used to exemplify the culmination of the Writing 37 class is the RIP Seminar. Within
this group that consisted of me, Sara, Tristan, and Kenny, the efficiency and diligence we
displayed truly showed the progress that we have gone through in this class. Everyone was very
cooperative with meetings and rehearsals for the big presentation. We were all very responsible

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as we had our work finished ahead of time, due to the fact that we stayed true to the deadlines we
set for ourselves. The collaborative process has helped me become a better writer in a way where
Im open to the suggestions of others. I take every suggestion seriously because I see it as a way
for me to improve myself towards working with others efficiently and becoming a better writer.
Within the Writing 37 class, we were required to do weekly Connect modules which had
blah impact on me. These modules were used to help us expand on our grammar, through the use
of various multiple choice, matching, and highlighting questions. Each week we would be
assigned about a handful of modules that would take about an hour or two to finish. I would
show that I possessed past knowledge of the lesson, and progressed proficiently through the
module. The only problem I had, was that I always had a knack to click the unsure button when
submitting my answer. This responsibility habit shows that I lack the confidence in my
grammatical skills. Overall, Ive had much success with most of the modules, except for
independent and dependent clauses, phrases and clauses, and dangling and misplaced modules,
which proved to be quite challenging. In order to make sure that I had a grasp on these concepts,
I recharged them because they not only provide me practice before writing papers, but also they
will hopefully stick with me throughout my college careers and ultimately help me with my
writing for my other classes.
Lastly, Ive learned to develop is being able to exemplify metacognition in order to learn
and make good use of the knowledge I have gained during the quarter. Through metacognition, I
was able to reflect upon the time Ive spent in the class. Looking back at the beginning of the
quarter, Ive seen the progress from then and now, and let me tell you that the jump is pretty big.
This class has helped me kick start my writing habits as well as deal with my problems with
presenting in front of a class. Though it was only a few presentations, I see them as an ongoing

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experience that will carry on throughout my college career. Though I intend to major in
Computer Science, I still find it useful to build upon my public speaking skills because I know
that public speaking is a universal necessity. The ability to clearly communicate with anyone
through presentations is important for developing an interactive experience with the audience
that I may present to in the future. I intend to carry out the work habits that Ive developed within
this class, and use the work that Ive invested into Writing 37 to help me throughout my college
career.