3/5/2015

AcademicWritingReflectionPaper

Zack De Piero didnt save my life

(But he did make me a better writer!)[a]

JustlookingatthewordsacademicwritingbeforeIstartedtheclassmademefeel
likeitisgoingtobeoneofthoseboringclasseswhereweweretaughtpropergrammar,
formatting,andwritinginanacademicstyle.[b]AndwhoisthisguyZack?Isheevenan
American?CanHEteachmeanythingaboutacademicwriting?Thoseweresomeofmy
thoughtswhensigningupfortheclass.And(fortunately[c])theclasshasexceededmy
expectationsandliveduptobeareallyenergeticclasswhereIamnottoldwhattothink,
Iamdirectedwheretothinkandfindoutmanyanswersbymyself.Astyleofteaching
thatsuitsmeperfectly.(AndIamnotsayingthattocomplimentorevenflatterZ,but
becauseIfeelthatsincewritinghasneverbeenreallyclosetomyheart,itistougherto
motivatemetolearnaboutit.)
SowhathaveIlearnedfromthisclass?IhavelearnedaLOT.ButbeforeIgointo
detailaboutwhatIhavelearned,Iwanttoprovideyouwithatheoryofmine.Ithinkthat
wehumansbuildourlearningonourcurrentbeliefsaboutthings.Forexample,Ionce
believedthatwritingperfectlywassomethingthatyoucouldonlydobyhavingperfect
grammar,BUT(!)therearesomethingscalledgenreandconventions,withcultural
aspectsanddifferentplatformsthatimpactthestyleofwritingyouneed.Perfectgrammar
isonlynecessarywhereperfectgrammarisnecessary.[d]So,replacing[e]mybeliefhas
mademelearnsomethingnewaboutwriting.Theoppositetoreplacingbeliefs
isconfirmingbeliefsbeingtaughtwhatyouhavealreadyhavebeenthinkingiscorrect.
TheoxfordcommaisanexamplewhereIhavealwaysthoughtthatyoushouldusethe
commabeforethelast____[f].Mypointis,thisclasshastaughtmethingsthatIwantedto
haveconfirmed,andthingsthatIneededtorelearn.Itislikelearningtowalkforthefirst

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AcademicWritingReflectionPaper

timewhenyoufallyouneedtoreplaceyourcurrentlearning,andwhenyoufinallywalk
youshouldholdontothatlearning.[g]
InthisclassIhaveconfirmedalotofbeliefsaboutwritingthatwillmakemea
moreconfidentwriter,andIhavealsoreplacedsomebeliefsthatmakesmeabettertype
ofwriter.WhathasmademeabettertypeofwriterbyreplacingbeliefsisthatIshould
neverseethefirstdraftasthebestdraft.InsteadIshouldjustwriteafirstshittyattempt
thatneedstobeimprovedafewtimesbeforecomplete.Preferablyafterthethirddraft.I
thinkitmakestotalsensetome,everydraftcanbesomethingthatyoucanimproveonas
youletthepapersimmer,waitingforsomeideasandimprovementstopopup[h].It
makesmefeelmoreconfidentaboutstartingapaper,knowingthatIdonthavetohitthe
bullseyeinthefirsttry.[i]Asyou,mrZ,havebeenworkingasateacherformanyyears,it
increasestheconfidenceinthesensethatyouareprovidingmewiththerightmaterial
andpaperstoread[j]andreadingthedraftpaperDIDchangemyviewonthings.
Lookingbackatthefirstpaperwedid(theExploratorySocialJusticepaper)you
canseethatthefirstsentenceofmypaperisreally,reallyboringandlacksahook:
Perdefinition,socialjusticemeans"Justiceintermsofthedistributionofwealth,
opportunities,andprivilegeswithinasociety".[k]
ComparingthatpapertotheoneImwritingrightnow,Istartedofbysharingmythoughts
ofquestioningthebothyouandtheclass,asyouaretheonlyaudienceforthispaper.A
muchbetterhookinmyopinion[l].
Asyouhavealreadyfiguredout,Iwantedtotakeadifferentapproachtowritingthis
paperaboutwhatIhavelearned.Thereisagoodruleofthumbwhenproducingafilmor
abookshow,donttell.InsteadoftellingyouwhatIhavelearnedthroughoutthisclass,
Iwantedtoshowitinmywriting.Idontthinkthatyouliketoreadaboutallthenewfancy
wordsIhavelearned,andIbetthatyouhaveafewofthosepapersinyourassignments

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AcademicWritingReflectionPaper

inboxalready.SoItookoneofyouradvicesyoudonthavetofollowthestructuresIm
givingouttheyareguidelines
Asafinalconclusion:
Iwantedtostandoutasawriterwiththistypeofrhetoric,makingitclearthatI
haveunderstoodwhatyouwantedtoteach
Ididntputmyownvoiceasidewhenwritingthispaper
UsingcommentstoreaddownbelowwasamoveImadeasawriter
Mystanceandtonehavebeenhighlydependentontheaudience
Iuseaninformalwayofwritingandstructuringthisassignment
Ihavebeenusingconventionsthatarenotcommonlyusedforthisgenre
Thisismyseconddraft
Bulletpointsvariesitupandmakesitmoreinterestingforareader
Thanksforreading,dontforgetthecommentsdownbelow,andhaveahappyThursday
/JimmyWaern
[a]Hooktheaudienceintheheader
[b]Startwithaninterestingfirstsentence
[c]Whispersalittlebittotheaudienceusingparenthesis
[d]Parallelism!
[e]Usingitalicsforwords
[f](Intentional)underline
[g]Metaphor
[h]Logos
[i]Pathos
[j]Ethos.
Andyeah,Iknowitsoundsforced
[k]Evidence/Writingartifact
[l]Hedging

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