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Sydni Burge

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1102

19 April 2023

Reading Response #3

I had to create written reflections when in both AP Literature and AP 2D Design. In AP

Literature, one of the ways our teacher would give us an avenue to improve our essay grades is

to rewrite the essay and execute a written reflection. In these reflections the main focus was

mostly on what more we could’ve done to gain more points according to the AP rubric. Said re-

flections often had a sentiment along the lines of “I could have elaborated more here,” or “I wish

I would have provided more evidence.” In AP 2D Design, I had to write reflections on the peer

critiques on my pieces. Often, it was to practice for the writing portion of our AP exam, and it

would consist of discussing what we agree and disagree with our peers about, and what we

would improve in our piece.

Generally, I feel my responses had a certain level of disingenuity to them that was just

me trying to appease my teacher and fill a word count. Oftentimes, I was trying to find away to

address any possible issue that a critic would have for me, which was definitely “hoop-jumping,”

though I didn’t have the precise terminology at the time. I also believe when doing reflections in

this way in AP 2D Design, I was inclined to say yes to anything a critic would throw my way,

even when it went against what my vision was for the piece. So, in turn, I was jumping through
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these hoops to appease my audience and compromising what would have, in the end, been a

more satisfying end product for me.

I believe the “Letter to a Reader” section provides useful insight on demonstrating inten-

tions to your audience. I think providing the reader with these insights can be integral to under-

standing the text presented to them. It is possible that if I had presented my audience for my de-

sign portfolio with an introductory letter, they would’ve better understood the messages I was

trying to convey with my portfolio overall, and the critiques then would’ve been entirely more

productive, seeing as they would not have directly gone against my intentions and through lines.

I also believe that perhaps presenting a letter to the reader in my AP Literature class, my cri-

tiques there also could’ve been made more constructive and thus improved my overall perfor-

mance in the class and on the reflection assignments. It also provides a deeper level of under-

standing before your reader even really gets into the paper, to back up your thesis and help en-

gage them in your text.

In the section “The Habit of Self-Reflective Writing” Giles asserts that “One of the most

important functions of reflective writing in the long run is to establish in you, the writer, a habit

of self-reflective thinking,” (202). I agree with Giles, as self-reflective thinking is one of the

most effective methods of growth in any medium. Additionally, I believe that, while my previ-

ous reflective works could’ve been a tad more constructive generally, they also forced me to

look inward at myself and my work and thus lead me down the road to improvement. I also think

that Giles makes an interesting point when she says, “Teachers don’t want you to say certain
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things, we want you to think in certain ways,” (202). This is an integral reminder for the writing

process that can really guide young writers away from the people-pleasing path in their writing.

It is important to remember your message throughout the text and stick to it.
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Works Cited

Giles, Sandra L. “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?”

http://writingspaces.org, Parlor Press, 2010.