Timblin 1

Maura Timblin

Dr. Peter Blair

WRDS 1104-030

5/2/22

More Than Words

When I signed up for this class, I was confused, wondering what WRDS meant or even

was about. I initially thought it was going to be a general education class that required writing

assignments and was going to be a little dull and too much work. But this course proved me

wrong and showed me the importance of writing and how it can impact my life in many aspects

through inquiry assignments, reflection of myself in the form of studio’s, and challenging my

mind to write in a new academic way that will improve my writing for the rest of my career.

“Today I will be assigning your first Inquiry Homework Journal.” Dr. Blair said during

one of our early classes. As he explained the assignment I thought to myself, “Oh this ought to

be boring and just busy work.” But as I read the story about Twain, I was drawn in and

fascinated. His adventures and lessons that he learned were relatable to me. Twain had to learn

things through actions and not words, and that was how I felt about the first assignment. I began

to enjoy it. Reading each passage and writing my thoughts down allowed me to tap into my

intuitive side and understand reading and analysis on a new academic level. My favorite IHWJ

was assignment 13. We watched The Wire and learned about secondary discourse through

Mr.Prezbo’s actions and growth. Watching this benefitted my Inquiry Assignment #3 because

Mr.Prezbo adapted the secondary discourse required to teach at the school, and it helped me

relate my dancing to his teaching. I was able to ask myself what lesson’s dancing has taught me
 Timblin 2

and how I can apply that to other areas of my life. I have grown as a writer in that way because

instead of writing whatever thoughts come to my mind I ask myself “What can I write to make

this paper stronger?” and “What can I add to this paper to strengthen support for my claim?” by

asking myself these questions and analyzing example papers in class I was able to write and

construct strong essays that I can say that I am proud of.

My Inquiry Homework Journals and Assignment #3 is not the only work I am proud of.

This course allowed me to tap into my creative side through studios. I was able to reflect on who

I am and connect the reading passages to that. Studio #5 and #3 were the most enjoyable for

myself and beneficial. In studio #5 I wrote about my experiences being in college and how I have

adapted to being a freshman in a new place. I had a rough time at the beginning of the year and

found myself homesick many days of the week. But as the second semester began, I felt more at

home and became more enthusiastic about my academics. WRDS allowed me to not only read

passages and gain reading comprehension skills, but learn new things about myself and who I am

as a reader and student overall. Studio #3 provided examples of distractions that can occur during

the writing process. I noticed that some examples listed were things that I had been doing ever

since the beginning of my freshman year of high school. I keep my phone in my room and I

check it about every paragraph I write not because I am bored with writing but because my

phone was more entertaining to me at the time. After reading the passage I thought “If I don’t

keep my phone in the room while I am writing then writing my essay will become more

important and entertaining to me.” So for Inquiry Assignment #2 and #3 I kept my phone away

from me, and it was easier for the words to flow onto the paper. This was another reason why I

was able to write successful papers for this course.

 Timblin 3

The Inquiry Assignments challenged me. I expected the assignments to be difficult, but

not only were they challenging, they were enjoyable and through these I grew as a writer. For the

first assignment I wrote about my worst teacher Ms. T and my negative experiences with her.

Writing about it gave me closure for that situation. The peer review for this assignment helped

me understand that even though she was a poor teacher, she still had a good aspect about her and

a rebuttal was important and needed in every argumentative essay. During the second inquiry

assignment, I learned the importance of teamwork and that a second opinion and partner on an

essay can improve it vastly. Haley and I were able to construct a great essay about the fallacies

that Reagan made during his Address to the nation about foreign relations. Even though this

topic wasn’t exciting, we were able to make it exciting by working together with both of our

academic strengths. The third inquiry assignment was my favorite because I reflected on my

whole career as a dancer and how I learned the secondary discourse of it. As I finished writing

this essay, I became very emotional because I haven’t danced in a period of time. I realized that

the great thing about writing is the emotions it evokes in the reader. Writing has always been

therapeutic for me in emotional times.

When I am feeling stressed or anxious about something, I will write. When I am sad or

angry, I will write. And the best part is that writing during these tough times gives me relief and

strength to push through and become stronger as a person. Dr. Blair gave us assignments that I

was able to use as therapy and a break from my other coursework. The inquiry homework

journals, studios, and inquiry assignments pushed me to a new writing and reading ability that I

would not have ever expected from myself. The assignments were different from other courses,

and I can apply the skills that I have learned in these assignments in my other courses through

the rest of my college career and even after I graduate. This course will always be memorable,
 Timblin 4

and I will always be thankful for it and Dr. Blair for teaching me the value of great writing and

what it truly is worth.