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Natalie Brotto November 17, 2010 WRD 103 M/W: 11:20-12:50 Essay 4 & Portfolio Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse, referred to at DePaul as WRD 103, is much different than English classes in high school. WRD 103 reminds me of taking a run through a very bumpy terrain. Each week, we have multiple writing assignments and I feel like once I complete one hurdle, there is another right in front of me. In high school we had to read novels and then respond to them by writing essays and reflections; a paper was due probably once or twice a month. This would be an easy jog, nothing too challenging or time consuming. When we were not discussing the chapters and events occurring in the novels we would be learning about conventions and vocabulary and how to become a stronger writer through worksheets and repetitive practice. What we have completed in this WRD class at DePaul is incomparable to high school. WRD 103 is like completing a marathon in comparison to a 5k, or something similar. In WRD, I feel like it is essay after essay which is not really what I expected. I expected WRD would to be a class about improving our grammar and helping us with transitions and theses; this does not directly take place. However, I have learned a lot about writing an essay and the processes and steps that create a better writer and a stronger paper. Just like training for a marathon, everything takes practice in order to succeed. Through the textbooks we have used in this class, I have learned new tips and tricks to creating a stronger paper. Looking back to essays I wrote in high school, I never even considered having an audience other than that of my teachers. Now, I realize that often you are not writing only for a grade, yet you are writing to convey a point or prove a claim, and that taking the audience into consideration is very beneficial. From my high school papers to my papers now, I have created a

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tighter focus with more driven intent. I am sure my first WRD class at DePaul has contributed to these advancements in skill, and I am also positive that my future WRD classes at DePaul will continue to teach me more writing techniques. I think before this class, I wrote to my teacher because that was the only definition of audience I understood. Now in my papers, I realize that I am mostly writing to specific audiences, like fellow students, professors, and in one case, magazine readers. This also requires using different styles and tones. Through WRD, I also realize that I have to limit my assumptions about my audience and what they may already know, and therefore, go into more detail explaining the purpose of my essay. This has not been as challenging for me as I had thought. The St. Martins Handbook helped me with recognizing the reader, their needs, and the goals when writing an essay. The Exploring Language textbook also helped me with this. This textbook talks about the knowledge, attitudes, and needs of the reader, and how to address each. For the writing assignments we often had to do for homework, we were frequently asked to recognize style and tone. The second writing assignment, we were asked specifically to compare and contrast Lamott and Flowers style. Because this was an assignment for our professor, I directly answered the question and began by saying, Lamotts style of writing is more conversational and casual than Flowers. For the first essay of WRD 103, I had to write about myself and my personality with the audience being the readers of People magazine. For this paper, I tried to write it in a way that would be entertaining to the reader. This essay also allowed me to refer to myself often by using first person. As my thesis states, this essay was truly about [the] value of trying to define yourself. With this prompt being easier than the ones to follow, it gave us the opportunity to reflect more on our style of writing. In my second essay, I had to write a paper that was informational and persuasive, a great contrast to the first essay. The

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second essay was based on Michel Foucaults Panopticism. This essay was more prompt based. The audience for this essay became my professor, versus People readers; therefore I had to use a different style and tone. The thesis for this paper targeted the questions in the prompt stating the claims and what makes them effective, and reflecting on panopticisms impact on todays society. Although recognizing the audience may be a small improvement, it will contribute to the way I respond to my essay prompts. Another aspect of this class that is a little different from high school is peer reviews. In WRD 103, the peer reviews were more hands on. Our professor made it more of a group activity that was interactive for everyone. This made the peer reviews more interesting and I feel like I got greater feedback during these types of review sessions. Especially with my first essay, I realized that I needed to focus on improving my syntax and punctuation skills. I missed commas, had commas in wrong places, and could have benefited through eliminating small words like as, it, or so. Through these peer reviews; I now realize that getting ideas and suggestions from others is often very valuable for a writer. Sometimes my classmates pointed out errors that I missed or helped me clarify my ideas to create a stronger essay. My most challenging essay in this class was the argumentative essay. I was surprised to see my grade when I got the essay back because it was my highest grade I had received in the class. I found it challenging to create a strong enough argument and acknowledge the other side, as well as incorporate all of the required tools. For this essay, I had my peers in my class, the writing center, and friends to look over my paper. I wanted to get as much advice on the essay as I could, and to my surprise, it ended up being beneficial. Through WRD 103, I have realized that a key step in the writing process is to review your draft. I noticed in my papers that I need to clarify some key points and go into more in-depth explanation of certain topics for a better reader understanding. This also

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connects to what we have been learning, how to not make assumptions about the audience. Comparatively, even taking the time to read someone elses work has contributed to my writing style. For essay one, our professor made a student read his essay aloud. Although this student may have felt embarrassed, his essay was very detailed, well organized and set the standard for what was expected. This students example made me realize that in order for me to have a stronger essay I had to include personal examples, such as stories about my friends and family. To prove how my personality became the way it is today, I said how my mom has influenced my choices and behavior, talked about my dads large Italian family, and how having a lack of trust in people has had the greatest impact in shaping me into the person I am today. Because of these peer reviews I can better realize what fits and what does not. Regardless of the fact that this class was only a quarter long, I feel I have gained a different perspective on the writing process through these exercises. Through the feedback of peer reviews, I often found myself going back to correct things or add to my first draft. This proves that I have realized, through WRD 103, that writing is a recursive process. In order to create a well organized, effective essay, the writer has to thoroughly understand what they are talking about. When reading over a draft multiple times and constantly referring to the prompt, you become the reader of your own essay. Switching to the role of the reader allows you to see what needs to be added, excluded, or clarified. This is a way of contributing to the final draft. While drafting the Panopticism essay, I had to reread the article that the prompt was about multiple times in order to better understand what the author was talking about. By rereading his essay, I was able to pick up on the smaller details. I also gained a greater understanding of the topic that I had to eventually write about. While I was creating the first draft of my Panopticism essay, I had to create outlines and answer specific questions in

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order to answer the prompt fully. This was the first step in drafting my essay. After completing the first draft, we had a review session in class. This enabled us to recognize and discuss with others what needed to be changed or added, and I understood that this would mean a second draft of my essay. Some parts of my essay were unclear, but I knew that if I wanted to make the essay more understandable to the reader I would have to change this. I also had to mention if I found Foucaults claim effective, and give reasons to support my stance. I said I agreed with Foucaults ideas, I think there is a metaphorical structure like the Panopticon that governs the way we live our lives. After revising my first draft and coming up with a second, took my essay to the writing center. Inevitably, this lead to a third draft. Although I dreaded going to the writing center, I found it beneficial because they helped me with transitions and conventions that were needed in my essay. After this meeting, I finally completed my final draft. Because of WRD 103, I understand that writing an essay means more than just creating a final draft on the first try. This is a change from high school, because typically I turned in my first and only draft. I realize now that it is okay to go back and fix different parts of an essay to make it stronger. This open process has enabled me to come up with stronger essays for my given audience. Since there are always so many writing assignments due at around the same time, this has taught me how to better organize my time. Just like running a marathon, you have to train almost every day in order to be able to complete the twenty six miles. This class has taught me to prioritize, realizing that some papers take longer than others, some count for more points, and some need more in depth descriptions requiring more effort. In a marathon, you have to pace yourself so you do not over work yourself within the first few miles. This has forced me to allot more time for my homework so that I am able to complete each required assignment. With the assignments that are due in WRD 103, a lot of pressure is put on the student to keep up with each

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one. I also feel like the assignments eventually began to get repetitive, mostly because the same analytical questions were being asked. From time management to recognizing the audience, a lot has been learned in the WRD 103 class at DePaul.