Kayla Felton

Professor Malcolm Campbell

U-WRIT 1105

December 5th, 2017

Final Reflection Letter

Dear Professor Malcolm,

University writing with you this semester has allowed me to engage in intensive writing

practices in order to strengthen my writing abilities. Ive learn techniques from outlining to

providing marginal feedback that has progressed my ability to think and write critically and

analytically. This class and the effect of its assignments have contributed to the overall growth

of my writing. As a writer and a thinker, engaging in daily writing practices such as blog

assignments, studios, and free writing this semester have also help me to become more

appreciative of writing as an essential tool of communication amongst people.

As I created my e-portfolio I realized that at the beginning of the semester when I wrote

my first studio I set a few writing goals for myself. The goals that I set forth for myself at the

begging of the semester were to procrastinate but to submit all assignments at least a day early,

to engage in some form of writing every day, and to read more often to achieve a higher level of

knowledge. Throughout the progression of the semester, referencing back to these goals set for

allowed me to reflect and track my performance as a writing student. I have also been able to

meet my student learning objectives such as critical reflection, rhetorical knowledge, and using
strategies and composing processes through creative wiring this semester. I am able to say that as

a result of the material learned in this class, I have met my short term goals as a writer in

training.

Throughout the semester, assignments such as free writing, daybook entries, maintaining

a tumblr blog, and the final inquiry essay have allowed me to achieve my goal of engaging in

active writing on a daily basis. In many of my other classes, the writing is formal from the first

day of class until the end. In opposition, i really enjoyed the opportunity to practice writing

informally. Free writing and daybook entries were extremely helpful to my progression as a

writer because it allowed me to approach my work in a new way. When I first began this class, I

had never really had consistent practice writing informally however, doing so throughout the

semester has helped me with getting my ideas out without finding myself stuck. For example, the

Shitty First Drafts assignment was one in which I particularly enjoyed because it offered an new

approach to writing a rough draft assignment in which is takes on a less formal format. This

technique of writing a really rough draft has given me a new solution to a common problem that

I once hadnot knowing how to start and where to go with my rough draft.

One of my favorite assignments was the opportunity to maintain a blog. As a

communication studies major, I enjoy providing feedback to the various controversies proposed

by different assignments. In fact, writing about my ideas towards in response to the Why I Hate

School but Love Education video helped to realize that although I am appreciative of my

scholastic environment, I prefer to attain knowledge outside of the classroom. Once I realized

this, I was able to make a transition as a writer by practicing my writing more often as a result of

placing emphasis on the topics that I am curious about.

 I have been writing essays for a very long time however, my ability to engage in written

studio work to plan out my larger written assignments made it easier for me to establish a guided

outline. Also, the studio assignments in this class such as the rough draft extended inquiry project

and revisions studio provided a great opportunity for me as a student to interact with my peers. In

this instance, I was able to get feedback from similar audiences, assist other student with there

work, and revise my work before submitting. This has been extremely helpful as it allowed me as

a student to not only reflect upon my own work but compare and contrast my work amongst my

peers to evaluate my written performance. Without the inclusion of studio work, peer editing,

and time to revise I dont believe that the written material presented in my e-portfolio would be

as precise, detailed, and accurate as it is now as a result of the written practices throughout the

semester.

When i consider assignments like the topic proposal, annotated bibliography, and first

EIP draft, I am extremely thankful for these assignments as they were precedents to essays. For

example, the topic proposal helped make a switch from a large topic on digital media to a narrow

topic specific to social media and how it influences the fashion industry. Similarly, the annotated

bibliography allowed me to get group my sources together prior to writing the first EIP draft and

EIP draft. With that being said, these were two assignments that gave me the most trouble as I

was unfamiliar how to cite MLA 8 however they produced a lot of my growth. The most helpful

portion of these assignments is that they provided helpful feedback from you and my peers

which gave me the opportunity to fix grammar and citation errors before submitting my final

essay. On both the annotated bibliography and first EIP, after I received feedback I was then able

to reorganize my ideas and create a strong final extended with little very slim difficulty.
 Although I was able to directly benefit from many of the daybook entries and studios, I

believe that the most important piece of work that I have contributed to this semester is my e-

portfolio. Creating and maintaining my e-portfolio allowed me to meet my slos of engaging in

critical refection, composing processes, and practicing the knowledge of conventions. Ive also

met my personal goal and of reading more often as it has called for intensive research. My e-

portfolio has served as a guide to keep me writing every single day which was also one of the

goals I had set for myself this semester. Also, the e-portfolio allowed me to combine my best and

worst works. I believe that analyzing and critical reflexing upon my work has helped me

understand my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. At the beginning of the semester, one of my

goals was to procrastinate but to turn all assignments in at least a day early. I set this goal

because my biggest weakness as a writer and critical thinker was waiting until the last minute

and then forcing ideas out. However, after completing the materials on my e-portfolio I have

realized that some of my best work is done when I feel as though I am pressed for time because

that is when ideas flow the best for me. My e-portfolio is my best work this semester because it

has resulted in growth as a writer and helped me to achieve my student learning objectives and

the written goals I had set for myself. Overall, my e-portfolio is a engaging visual representation

of my growth as a critical thinker, learner, and as a writer between the first and the last days of

the semester.