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Nicholas Trebisacci
Mrs. Oliveira
College Writing 104
24 January 2017
Looking Backward on the Road Travelled
The quote I chose for my binder was write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you
have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open by Natalie Goldberg. I picked
this quote for the binder because throughout the semester I learned to write about my emotions
and struggles I was too self-conscious to discuss. I began to pour my emotions out onto my paper
as I wrote, transferring my feelings into the essays. During my high school career I was always
timid, restricting myself from sharing my thoughts and feelings with my fellow classmates.
However, as my confidence increased, I allowed myself to tell the stories of my life that I was
too afraid to share. My professor helped me open up, changing my attitude, and being
comfortable enough in myself to be split open. For example, I wrote my college application
essay on the struggles I endured, both internally and externally, while trying to find my identity.
My sexual orientation happened to be a sore subject with me for a long time, however by the
beginning of this year I was finally comfortable in myself, therefore I decided to write the essay.
After searching for hours for the perfect quote I stumbled on Goldbergs amazing words, which
truly related to my journey through this college writing course.
The first major writing assignment in this class was the senior research paper, also known
as the argumentative research paper. Before starting the research paper, my college writing class
attended a lecture at URI, which informed us about the different research tools we could utilize.

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The lecture benefited in aiding me with the resources I needed to gain sufficient and academic
information I could use in my paper. I already learned about adequate researching skills,
however the lecture strengthened them. The Universitys resources, combined with Westerly
High Schools resources, helped me to gather enough information to finish my research.
Before writing the paper I had to choose a topic. I ended up choosing to write about
hoarding, arguing that hoarding is a mental disorder which warrants the respect of all societal
members. I chose this topic because I am deeply passionate about psychology and psychological
disorders, and I believe each disorder should be treated respectfully. When the writing process
began, Professor Oliveira administered many writing workshop classes, which I used to my
advantage to work on writing the paper. Even with class time, completing the outline took longer
than I anticipated. With deadlines in mind, I worked outside of class as well, going to local
coffee shops to encourage me to finish the outline. When I, finally, finished the outline it was
over 16 pages long. At first I thought I wasted valuable time by writing such a long outline,
however, writing a lengthy outline benefited me greatly when it came to actually writing the
paper. The information I entered into the outline easily transferred to the paper, sparing me time
and energy when it came to writing the actual paper. I realized when writing a research paper, it
is essential to write a long outline, since it allows for the writer to have a plethora of resources to
choose to include within his or her paper.
As I wrote the paper, I set forth distinct deadlines for when each subtopic should be done,
corresponding to the ones my instructor gave me. With these deadlines in mind, I stayed on task
both in class and outside of class, completing each subtopic on time. While writing, I had to
comprehend that this rhetorical situation was brought about by the lack of respect society showed

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toward hoarders. Additionally, I also had to understand the paper was a argumentative research
paper, therefore I included many direct quotes from the resources I used. For example I wrote
Specifically, this manual, part of the American Psychological Association, defines and
classifies mental disorders to improve treatment and comprehend the illnesses as a whole
(Diagnostic) when discussing the legitimacy of hoarding as a mental disorder (1b). After a
long month writing a new styled paper, I had officially finished.
Once completing the essay, my instructor wrote edits on my paper to strengthen it. I fixed
the edits, however I also revised the paper as well, finally learning what a revision requested
from the writer. Editing the paper was easy, since I followed my professors clear suggestions,
but revising the essay included more than just editing. To create the best possible edition of my
paper, I decided to read through each paragraph, changing sentences that did not make sense.
Overlooking my teachers remarks, I searched deeper into the paper, making sure the
connections were clear and my grammar succinct. For example I changed one sentence from
saying the reintroduction of key organizational skills display the harmful effects hoarding has
on a persons decision making to this kinesthetic technique helps to improve the hoarders
decision making and organizational skills (2a). The drastic change in the sentences constitutes a
revision, and not an edit, because I altered the phrasing to create a clearer sentence. After
completing the revisions, I handed in my first ever argumentative research paper, a paper I was
extremely proud in.
Upon writing the profile essay, many resources were presented to our class to best
prepare us to write a powerful essay. For example, when we were first introduced into the topic
we received a large packet which contained informational text about the topic and a few

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activities we worked on. Specifically, an activity I did in class was analyzing an image and
looking at the dominant impressions, while also observing it from different angles or
perspectives. Additionally, we also looked at samples of profile essays, everything from
professionally written essays to student written ones. For each sample we had to search for any
facts, emotions or imagery used within the essays, making note of the careful balance of each of
these characteristics. The next super helpful activity, was the peer interview activity, where we
practiced doing interviews on our peers. My practice interview went very well and it taught me a
lot of lessons which translated to my real interview. For example it taught me that I had to vary
the questions I asked and also to ask specific questions that would trigger a rant. Furthermore, it
taught me that follow-up questions are extremely important to keep the conversation going.
When I was first told about the profile essay, I became a little anxious seeming as I would
have to interview a stranger within the community. I was especially nervous trying to find
someone to interview that fit the right criteria, but I thought deeply about who I could choose,
and decided that I wanted to interview a student, who I felt was misunderstood by the general
public. Reaching out to the student made me even more anxious, however after talking to her and
setting a date for the interview, I felt at ease. Since I had ample practice with the interview
process, I conducted the interview without any problems and received a lot of information.
After conducting the interview, I began to write the paper. Before writing the essay I had
to recognize that this was a different rhetorical situation and it called for a different style of
writing. This essay was a profile essay therefore the context of the essay is the single person I
interviewed. Due to this, I used many metaphors and weaved quotes from the interview to create
a positive dominant impression of the student. For example, in the essay I wrote It like affected

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me for a long time. When I see him now I still get anxiety, Dakota admitted, however, she
persevered through the obstacle, while maintaining her position as top three in the state (1a).
When I finished the first draft of the essay, I received great feedback from my instructor and
strengthened my paper through edits and revisions. In one sentence I used an idiom, which made
the sentence unclear. Originally the sentence stated she may not have become Miss Teen USA,
but the scholarship money she earned will help her greatly in the not-so-distant future and I
changed it to she may not have become Miss Teen USA but the scholarship money...earned will
help her greatly in the near future (3a). I learned that it is not correct to use an idiom, but rather
a writer should be succinct to be better understood. After the editing and revision stage of the
writing process I handed in another polished essay I was pleased with.
When receiving the collaborative investigative report assignment, I felt anxious, as it was
the first investigative report I had ever been assigned. Unknowing how to begin the essay,
resources such as Investigative Journalism: Defining the Craft and Investigative Corporations
and Campus guided the way for my essay. The chapter Investigative Corporations included a
sample essay about the advertising on college campuses, which helped me understand how to
write the paper. In the sample essay, the author produced a concise report on the increases in
advertising on college campuses, exposing the advertising companys role in the colleges funds.
The example provided sufficient detail which helped me to start writing the essay, however the
Defining the Craft worksheet set strict instructions on what a investigative report entails, and
what should not be included.
After reading these two handouts, the next task was to pick my partners for the
assignment. I carefully deliberated my options, ultimately choosing my two hardworking friends.

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I knew my partners would be a key role in the success of the essay, and these two individuals
contributed greatly to make the best version possible. Brainstorming for the topic of our essay,
we chose to write about the changes in senior privileges within our school, from the 1970s to
present day. We included the privileges our parents had, the lacking senior privileges the class of
2008 had, and then the current privileges at both Westerly High School, and Stonington, a rival
school, to compare the differences. We searched through old newspapers and interviewed
parents, siblings and friends to collect data to use in the paper. Additionally, we also conducted a
survey to the senior class, which only sixty students answered, asking if the seniors were
satisfied with the present privileges and what rewards they would like to see added. This data
helped to write a powerful report with precise research.
With this research, we then began writing the paper. Since it was a collaborative paper
my group had to split the topics between us. We each claimed responsibility for a topic, or
topics, and then wrote the paragraphs pertaining to our topic(s). For the paper, I wrote about the
legal aspects of allowing senior privileges, and also the senior protest which occurred in 2008
due to the lack of rights Westerly seniors possessed. Considering the audience was not only the
administration at Westerly High School, but also the Rhode Island Board of Education, we wrote
a concluding sentence stating But if all else fails, future senior classes could revisit the idea of
a protest, relocating from the quad of Westerly High School to the sidewalks of the States
Capitol building to incorporate both parties (1c). Once we finished writing our respective
paragraphs, we combined them into one paper, and edited it to make sure it flowed. For instance
we had to add transitions at the beginnings of each paragraph to connect to the previous
paragraph our partner wrote. An example is when my partner ended the paper with Now at

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Westerly High School, seniors wish the same philosophy, which granted such privileges,
applied and therefore I started my paragraph with Currently, Westerly High School seniors
have some privileges, but they seem minor compared to decades prior to help it flow (2b).
Before handing in the polished essay, we had a peer review session which helped
immensely. The suggestions benefited in the bettering of our paper, catching our grammar and
mechanical errors. For example the students observed that I used the word I when I wrote I
had the chance to speak with Ashley Trebisacci therefore I changed the sentence to Ashley
Trebisacci, a Westerly High School alumna... instead (2c). After fixing the errors, we handed
this version of the essay into our teacher. When we received the edits from our instructor, we
revised the paper further, editing the mistakes, and even changing the order of the essay. For
example we made a paragraph, which talked about the reason for the lack of rights at Westerly
High School, to follow the paragraph about the survey sent out to the senior class of 2017
rather than the paragraph about the 2008 walk-out (3c). These additional revisions created a
polished essay which clearly met the demands of attempting to persuade the administrators, and
Rhode Island Board of Education, that more senior privileges are needed at Westerly High
School.
When introduced to the literacy narrative, I was partially excited about the task, but also
nervous, seeming as I did not have a clear idea to write about. Professor Oliveira, however,
presented many resources to the class to set forth ideas on what the literacy narrative should be.
For instance she gave my classmates and I student examples of literacy narratives and also a
sample literacy narrative written by a professional. Additionally, Ethan Gilsdorf, author of
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, spoke to my class about how to write a literacy narrative and

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what to include. Gilsdorf read us excerpts from his book, giving us a copy of the first few
chapters. While reading, I marked up the pages, making notes on what I thought was important
to include within the literacy narrative I would be writing. Gilsdorf also explained how to
describe the scene within the story, by using sound, dialogue and carefully elaborate details. By
speaking to the class, Gilsdorf taught me how to effectively write a literacy narrative which
would capture the audiences attention.
Originally, I tried to write my literacy narrative about the journaling I participated in
when I was younger. I wrote approximately seven-hundred words about the the stories I wrote in
my journals, however I only found two journal entries in two random books, thus not having
enough evidence to truly write the rest. Furthermore, I also did not feel passionate about this
story, therefore I decided to change my topic. Brainstorming idea after idea, I eventually found a
topic which I was passionate about. The story I wrote combined both my love for music and the
struggles I faced during high school. Thinking creatively, I decided to weave the lyrics of my
favorite songs into sentences which expressed the internal struggle I endured during high school.
Since this assignment differed from the other writing assignments during the semester, I learned
to not write as rigidly for a narrative and bend the rules of writing, thus incorporating the song
lyrics into the story. For example I wrote My preconceived idea of what it all meant for those
that liked the same sex morphed into a more mature outlook; that an individual should live his
life without the pressure of labels (Macklemore) (3b). The different styled writing allowed me
to compose a powerful story about how the lyrics of my favorite songs helped me overcome my
personal hardships.

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I was extremely proud of the paper I wrote, and when I received the essay with my
teachers edits, my confidence grew even more. There were few simple grammatical errors, such
as omitting a comma, but they did not affect the grade at all. My teacher wrote encouraging and
loving words throughout the essay, reacting to the story I wrote. The edits took a short time to
do, fixing the simple mistakes to make the essay flow even better. I put a lot of effort into trying
to incorporate the lyrics and relating it to my hardships flawlessly, however the effort paid off in
the end. Additionally, I spent a lot of time on making the essay flow smoothly from one time
period to the next, trying to display the changes in my attitude during my four years at high
school. Throughout the process, I learned that in creative writing, by using my inner emotions, I
could compose a strong and beautiful story.
After completing the four major writing assignments for college writing I feel as though I
have grown tremendously as a writer. Each essay I wrote for this class strengthened my
confidence in my writing, an area where I lacked comfort for many years. I am sincerely proud at
each polished essay I handed in throughout the semester and I am pleased with the grades I
received. Upon registering for the class I knew it would not be an easy course, but I persevered
through the obstacles and I am happy with my choice. As a writer, I learned the major difference
between editing a paper, and revising it, a skill that will help me in college. Additionally, I
mastered the art of the works cited page, finally understanding how to properly cite each source,
an area which I was never exemplary in. I, also, learned the importance of time management,
however I am nowhere near close to perfecting this skill just yet. Even though this is true, I am
beginning to learn how to separate assignments into chunks, and making imaginary deadlines for
myself, that way the assignment is done on time and not all at once. I will continue to work on

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this idea of chunking assignments because I believe it will benefit me in college. The idea of
time management is something I advise incoming seniors to take seriously. Professor Oliveira is
generous enough to devote some class time to the writing of assignments, however students
should take initiative and work on the assignments at home, as well. Overall, the past semester
has taught me many lessons on how to become a better writer, and I am extremely grateful. Most
importantly, the class restored confidence within my writing abilities, inspiring me to consider
taking additional writing courses in college.

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Works Cited
Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones; Freeing the Writer Within, Shambhala Publications
Inc., 2005.