Harrison Underwood

UWRT-1103 (Marcum)
Midcourse Reflection
3/23/16
Part One:
Composing processes are an incredibly beneficial and efficient skillset to use when
writing large papers. They allow students to effectively show how they got from point A to point
B, as well as keep a consistent flow throughout their writing. Giving yourself time to research
and brainstorm, will give a writer the foundation that they need to start a great project. In high
school, I always spent more time worrying about the final product, instead of the processes I
used to get there. That has put a strain on the quality of writing that I am able to produce, which
ends up stressing me out even more. However, the composing processes that I learned within this
class have helped prepare me for big papers or projects that I may face in the future. As I digress
farther into my college career, I am expected to be faced with large term papers, and this UWRT
class has given me the foundation I need to write effectively and efficiently. Composing
processes such as the research maps we completed, or the blog posts, have given me a different
outlook on how to go about my writing and have left me stress free in my writing career.
Part Two:
Critical reading is a concept that I have learned for the majority of my educational career.
I have become well acquainted with critical reading after attending a college preparatory
private school in my hometown. The ten years I spent there taught me how to read effectively,
and how to cross-reference data to search for any falsified information. Critical reading is very
important because it allows readers to analyze their information and look for relationships. Its
also important for readers to read critically and compare pieces of conflicting information to look
for any bias. Critically reading is a skill that is involved in many occupations today. Politicians,
Professors, Sports Analysts, school/ education counselors, and many more jobs require the skill
of critical reading. I have a deep interest in potentially becoming a psychologist one day. In order
to become the specific Psychologist that I am interested in, I would need to obtain my Ph.D. in
psychology. Obtaining a Ph.D. entails, a variety of extensive research on my part. While I
conduct and research my own experiments, I can use critical reading to analyze the assumptions
that are being made, as well as ensuring that there is no bias in my research.
Part Three:
Throughout our class this semester, I have learned five main learning outcomes when it
comes writing. The first of these, is my ability to use critical reflection in my writing to examine
what I am thinking, and why. An example of how we practiced this learning outcome is through
our literacy memoirs. The memoirs gave me the ability to reflect on how my writing has grown
to the level its at, and how I can reshape the process to increase the quality of my writing.
The second learning outcome that we covered in UWRT, was our ability to read critically.
I implemented this strategy when we were assigned to read the scholarly articles that were
written by Rodriquez, Graff, Tan, and Alexie. As I read each narrative, I was able to evaluate the

writers rhetoric within their narratives. This ultimately gave me an idea of how I wanted to write
my own literacy memoir and showed me how to write as effectively as possible to my audience.
A third learning outcome was the use of rhetorical knowledge and our ability to apply it
in various educational situations. I used this strategy for the voice and vitality exercise when I
examined the tone in my writing and how it affected my audience, as well as the genre of my
writing. I learned that my tone, formality, and the punctuation I use have an impact on how
effectively I can write to my audience.
Composing processes are a strategy I wish I had learned before coming to college. They
have helped teach me the process of writing a paper and the most effective way to do it. We are
currently implementing composing processes through our maps and blogs for our inquiry project.
Through the peer edits, brainstorming, and continuous research, I have learned an effective
process for developing a quality piece of writing by allowing my peers to critique me in a
beneficial manner.
The final learning outcome for this semester is our knowledge of conventions. I had
decent spelling and grammar before coming to this class so I assumed I wouldnt learn much as
far as spelling and mechanics go. What I did learn, was the proper way to write an MLA citation
courtesy of Mrs. Marcum the other day in class. I asked her what the correct order to put
information for a complete MLA citation was. This information has come in handy in my
research for my inquiry project, and has assured me that I wont be in danger of copywriting.
Part Four:
-

Sharma, Delpit, and Shen Articles-Critical Reading

Swales Article- Critical Reading
Peer reviews for literacy memoirs- Composing Processes/ Knowledge of Conventions
Library visit to Atkins 124 to learn about online library resources- Knowledge of
Conventions
Writing prompts for the invention draft- Composing Processes
Excerpt from Tell it Slant--Writing a Memoir-