Dear Malcolm,

It is weird to think the semester is over. I remember day one of your class where you said

you wouldnt cuss after that day and here we are at the end and you still drop the occasional F

bomb. I dont mind it though. I find it refreshing and more fun to be around. I have learned a lot

this semester. We have done so many assignments, free writes, studios, etc. that I feel as though I

have improved as a writer. The free writes allowed me to write freely as funny as that sounds. I

am always very careful about what I write because I am a very paranoid person. However our

free writes allowed me to write whatever I wanted without the fear of someone reading it. When

looking back at my entries I did let loose a few times and it was nice to see what I really thought.

The other aspect of free writes that I liked was that they made me think. One free write that I am

thinking of in particular is the one where we were shown a piece of a photo and we had to figure

out what it was. We had to come up with all of these scenarios of what the picture could be and

even when we saw the whole picture we still didnt know the truth. For me I see that as a

reflection of writing itself. Writing is interpreted many different ways and there is no right or

wrong answer. I would say that our free writes helped me be a bolder writer and not just write

what I think other people wanted me to write. While I thought the blog posts could get annoying

I really did like the content we were blogging about. All of the Ted Talks held my interest and

most of the articles were interesting to read. In regards to what the blogs did for me as a writer,

they improved my reflection skills. I used to look at a work in a very black and white manor and

now I try to see it in different lights and more abstract perspectives. As for peer review I did not

find it as helpful as I felt it could have been. When we watched all of the videos and read the

articles about peer review I saw the potential but I was never satisfied with my experience.

However I did find your comments helpful and I did utilize them. Overall I would say that our
writing assignments helped to better me as a writer. They helped me be a bolder writer, think

outside the box, and assess all perspectives.

My most important work in the class would have to be my final EIP. It is important to me

because it is what I had to work the hardest on and it took the most time. My goal as a writer is to

produce something that I am proud of. When I turn in an assignment I dont want to sit and think

about all the things I should have done better or all of the things I want to change. When I turn in

a paper I want to be confident and say to myself that I am proud of what I turned in. I am very

proud of my final EIP. It is on a topic that is very close to my heart and something that I am

passionate about and I do believe I did it justice. I spent a substantial amount of time not only

actually writing the EIP but I spent a good amount of time planning it out. There are several

pages in my day book devoted to research, plans for research, and outlining my paper. I worked

hard on all of my other assignments but my final EIP is the one I worked the hardest on, the one

that is most important, and the one I am most proud of.

I would say my greatest strength in writing is my ability to craft a paper. I have always

believed I have a way with words. I know that in my first letter I talked about how when I read

over what I have just written I am impressed with myself. I am not sure exactly what it is but the

words I use and the way I chain them together, it just creates something beautiful. This semester

has definitely helped to strengthen that aspect by simply exercising it. We did plenty of writing

and so I had plenty of opportunities to be crafty. On the other hand, my biggest weakness is my

lack of confidence in what I write. I love what I write but I have always been afraid to share it

with others. I do believe I have improved in my confidence with the help of my day book.

Writing in it frequently and being able to compare bad writing to good writing and notice

how much good writing I do has helped with confidence. I put the quotes around bad and good
because that is my personal opinion and it is not universal to everyone. I would say that I am not

where I want to be in terms of confidence. I still have a long way to go but I do believe I will get

there eventually.

When reflecting on the SLO I believe the two aspects where I have prospered in the most

are using reading for inquiry, learning, and discovery and understanding that the writing process

is not linear. When doing my research I needed to have a substantial understanding of what I was

reading. In order to draft a successful EIP I needed to do more than just take notes on what I was

reading. I needed to take all of what I read and stitch it together into one cohesive paper. As I

stated early in my portfolio I struggled with figuring out what I was going to say and how I was

going to say it. Me progressing in how I read and interpreted information helped me sort that all

out. As for understanding that the writing process is not linear, I figured that out in my day book.

I always put dates with my entries even if they were not prompted in class because I knew they

would come in handy. My entries regarding my topic went in the order of me outlining my topic,

listing places to get information from, editing my outline, creating a brand new outline, taking

notes to accompany my new outline, and then finally creating a full outline with my papers

structure and information. Writing this EIP was a lot of back and forth and my day book showed

that. I remember in class we talked about how writing is a circle and it did make sense to me but

it wasnt until I realized it myself that it clicked. Overall I do think I met the expectations set by

the SLO.

I have always been a curious person. Often times my curiosity and questioning

personality can get me in trouble or lead me to a truth I dont want. I walked into UWRT 1104 a

solid questioner. I like to know my answers and I do get them one way or another. As for being a

thinker I can safely say I was set on that as well. In reality I tend to think too much and or over
think things. For me thinking and questioning go hand in hand. You think of a question and then

you think about an answer or multiple answers. And like writing, it is a cycle. The only real

progress that I made was in my writing. I knew that I would grow a good amount as a writer

because that is what UWRT is all about. In all of the other English courses I have taken there

was no main focus on writing. Yes, we would have to write papers but my teachers cared more

about me understanding a reading than they did being able to write about it. My biggest

challenge in writing, as stated everywhere in this letter, is my confidence. I was never a

confident person to begin with and writing is such a personal thing that it honestly scared me too

share any of it. However throughout this semester I have learned that being scared is a good

thing. It keeps one humble and honest. I am not where I need to be in terms of confidence in my

writing but I am better than where I started. I can now share my ideas and back up what I write.

One day I do believe I will be able to put it on pedestal.

I am going to be honest Malcolm, I was a fan of all of the assignments except the

annotated bibliography. I do not know where my dislike of it comes from but no matter what the

topic or how many annotations I have to do I have never remotely enjoyed an assignment like

that. For me it is always very stressful trying to summarize the information because I have a

problem with trying to condense it all. I also stress about my sources and whether or not they are

good enough. I know I have plenty of resources to help me out with that but for some reason it is

always a problem. For all of those reasons the annotated bibliography was the most challenging

assignment. In regards to the studios I did not mind them. They were easy to complete and they

all tied in very well to the stage in which I was in during the writing process. I thought they were

going to be a hassle because they count as a lab and they hold one credit hour but I was

pleasantly surprised by how much I didnt mind them. For my topic proposal I am glad I changed
it. I didnt think I would because I do know a lot about music, mental illness, and how they go

hand in hand. When the idea for my new topic proposal clicked in my head I was more excited

than I thought I would be. The most difficult part about this assignment was figuring out what

points I was going to make. I had several different directions in mind and I had to narrow it down

or else I would have written a book. I was proud of the topic that I chose and the direction I took

with it. Articulating my EIP draft was more of a challenge than I thought. I struggled to articulate

what exactly I wanted to say. I had all of my ideas outlined and ready to go but I could not figure

out how I wanted to present the information. The good part about this assignment was that once I

did figure it out I was good to go. I got a rhythm going and I thought I did a decent job. I was

pleasantly surprised when I made the grade I did. I was expecting a B and instead I received an

A. Since my EIP draft was very successful I expect my final EIP draft to do just as well. During

the revision of my final EIP I did my best to be more clear and concise. I find myself adding fluff

here and there and I know that is not a characteristic of a strong paper. I did not edit much of the

information I presented because I liked the way it was structured. It made sense to me and I

thought about adding a few new concepts but they would not have fit well anywhere in the EIP.

Just like in my EIP draft I am proud of what I have produced in my final EIP. I accomplished

what I wanted too and I believe I did my topic justice. Finally in regards to the monster that is

the ePortfolio I am shocked by how time consuming it truly is. I knew it would take a while

because it is a massive compilation of an entire semester but lord have mercy it has taken

forever. Even though it has been time consuming I find it very satisfying. It is nice to see all of

the work I have done and all the effort I put into this semester. I also really like the way I

decorated my ePortfolio with the clouds from Toy Story. I know that is super cheesy but it is

the little things in life that make us happy. Although proven to be the most time consuming this
was my favorite assignment. If I were to change one thing about the way I handled these

assignments, it would be that I would have given myself more time to tackle them all. I got them

all done and I am proud of what I did but procrastination was very real this semester.

Thank you for a great semester Malcolm. I think you are a wonderful professor not

because you know what you are talking about but because you know how to communicate with

your students. You are just as respectful to us as we are to you and I did not mind getting up at

the crack of dawn to see you. You are definitely one of the professors I will never forget. Take

care.

-Hannah Schirmer