Reflection on Open Letter Draft

I will reflect on peer reviews of my draft of Project 4. I peer reviewed Ayra and Brandon's rough drafts.

Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory "Mt. Hood reflected in Mirror Lake, Oregon" n.d. via Wikipedia. Public Domain

This draft was brutal. After reading all the comments, I started a new Word document because I needed to change it so much. They both said the same things about my level of formality, clarity, and purpose. I had to take focus off of my high school experience in English and focus more on my experience in this class more. I didn't even realize I had so much about high school in my rough draft, so it's good that they caught that. That feedback was critical to my final draft.

1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?

Yes, I gave honest feedback on how this course has affected me as a writer.

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, assignments, or concepts you have learned?

I gave several examples of how I applied my knowledge throughout the semester.

3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing?

Yes, I put hyperlinks in the letter that links to my writing.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?

Yes, I gave reason why I made the choices I did and determined whether they were effective or not.

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts related to writing and the writing process?

Yes, I have terms like "procrastinate", "genre", "revision", etc.

Draft of Open Letter

Here is the rough draft of my open letter.

Jefferson, Thomas "Declaration of Independence Draft" via Wikipedia. Public Domain.

I think I tried to tie in too many aspects of the semester into each paragraph and I didn't even try to split them up yet but let me know how you think I should split it up. Also let me know if I'm missing conventions of the genre. I looked at the conventions only briefly so I may have missed something.

I peer reviewed Ayra and Brandon's rough drafts.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

I will reflect some more on my writing experience.

Kim, Jonathan "Writing" 3/26/07 via Flickr.com. NonCommerical 2.0 Generic.

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?

My biggest challenge was finding the patience to do all the weekly work. There was usually an exhausting amount of work every week that took more patience than most classes to get done.

2. What did you learn this semester about your own time managment, writing and editorial skills?

My time management skills are okay but they could be better. I spent a lot of time on Saturday getting a lot of work done so maybe I should have made time to do work during the week. My writing skills are weak on rough drafts. I got my main idea across and my evidence written down on rough drafts but I depended heavily on peer review to make my final draft good. On project 2, I had to do the most editing. That rough draft was especially bad, not even peer review could save it. It ended up being my most successful project, so I guess my editorial skills are good.

3. What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

Genre analysis was a huge part of this class. Understanding the conventions of the genre allows the writer to mimic it the best they can and therefore make the piece as effective as possible.

4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

There are plenty of helpful skills from this course that I will use and build upon in the future including genre analysis, rhetorical situation analysis, time management, and editing skills.

5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H? 

My most effective moment was editing project 2 from the piece of garbage it was to the rhetorical analysis it should have been the whole time.

6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H? 

My least effective moment was drafting project 2 because I didn't read the prompt carefully enough, so its purpose was totally off.

Revisiting My Writing Process

I will reflect on how my writing process and time management changed throughout the semester in this post.

Gandy, Dave "Calendar font awesome" n.d. via Wikipedia, Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0  Unported

I will start by reflecting on my writing process. Before this class, I was a procrastinator and I was really good at it. To an extent, my time management skills are still in the procrastinator category but not my writing process. This class required a lot of pre-planning to our projects that I wouldn't normally do if left to my own devices. The required work was a mix of heavy planner, heavy reviser, and sequential composer. I am none of those things but there are some aspects that I will take moving forward.

I can say I'm going to make Coggles and outlines from now on, but I'd be lying. Honestly, the most important part of the planning phase for me is the annotated bibliography. My college is engineering, which will usually require evidence in writing, making the annotated bibliography the most important. I might make a quick outline if the piece I need to write is substantial just to organize evidence before writing. Revising was another huge part that worked out for me. We had peer reviews in high school but most students would go for the bare minimum, which didn't result in helpful peer reviews. This class had a much more thorough peer review process and it certainly helped make the final draft as best as it could be.

My time management skills improved from this class. My writing process and time management were one in the same before the class, meaning I had to fit schoolwork into my schedule the day before it was due rather than do what I can when I can. At the beginning of the semester, I was good at getting work done when I could but that phased out quickly. I ended up doing most if not all the weekly work on Saturday. So how did my time management skills improve? Saturday used to be a day I enjoyed, so all the fun things of the week piled up on that day. I learned that Saturday is a day to do work, so I dispensed my free time throughout the week. Homework in other classes never ended up on Saturday but took up the time during the week I had planned for English, making Saturday the perfect day for English. I prefer having free time throughout the week so I will keep this time management strategy moving forward.

Reflection on Project 3

In this post, I reflect on project 3 by answering the questions on page 520 of Writing Public Lives.

Sullivan, Matthew "Something_to_see_here_3" 8/18/07 via Flickr.com. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I added content to the conclusion and the paragraph before the conclusion, I added a title, and grammatical issues were corrected.

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?

The changes done in the last two paragraphs put a heavier emphasis on the point that both sides of this debate need to work together to make this issue better. This appeals to a wider range of readers and takes heat away from this argument to try to do something productive.

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

The purpose was always there, it was just underdeveloped. I was losing momentum toward the end of my rough draft and I just wanted to be done so it was half-hearted the first time through.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as a writer?

This ending appeals to a wider audience and makes me more moderate as a writer. It shows that my purpose is to make this problem better and I chose a side that I think can best address the issue.

5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

My audience is against animal testing so taking a moderate purpose is going to appeal to them more than simply telling them they're wrong.

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I changed some sentences to be shorter because they were run-ons. I was just hauling out a rough draft and run-ons happen quite frequently for me, especially when I try to get ideas out quickly. This change makes my paper more professional, which is a big part of my genre.

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

I don't think it helps the audience understand my purpose better but it certainly makes my paper easier to read.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

No, I stuck closely to the conventions of my genre in the rough draft so I didn't have to change anything in that regard for the final draft.

9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

Reflection lets me analyze where my weak points are as a writer and take steps toward strengthening those points.

Publishing Public Argument

Here is the final draft of my public argument. Question 2 is different for mine because of the approach I took at the end. I want people to understand that alternatives to animal testing are not ready to replace but I urge the development of alternatives in the end. So my argument doesn't aim to make people change sides of the argument but rather accept reality and do what they can to change it.

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below:

←----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------x--------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

for testing                                                                                                                    against                                                                                                                                       testing

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:

←-------------------------------------------x--------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

for testing                                                                                                                    against                                                                                                                                       testing

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         _______ My public argument etablishes an original pro position on an issue of                                   debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of                                 debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being                                     debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under                               debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         ___x___ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate                           (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

I refute the point that alternatives to animal testing should replace testing using sources. This isn't exactly a new approach but it's fresher than most arguments we see for animal testing. At the end, I propose that both sides of this argument cooperate to develop alternatives in the future using common ground.

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employedi n your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    __x__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed                                          experts, etc.)

                    _____ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you                                  are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    __x__ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or                                  alienating

                    _____ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images,                                cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    _____ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an                                              appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a                                    warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a                                                  background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    _____ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject                                        (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority                                  here)

                    __x__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    __x__ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience                                          (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is                                designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter                                    your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for                                  the debate

                    _____ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the                                  current culture

                    _____ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an                                              appropriate emotional impact

                    __x__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter                                            (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    _____ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    _____ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional                                  tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors,                                etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the                                    debate

                    ____ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish                                          precedents, trends, or patterns

                    __x__ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents,                                    trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or                                          position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    _____ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using                                    title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    __x__ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear                                          arguments

                    __x__ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to                                              strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively                                  direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    _____ Other: 

6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platformand should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:

After searching for a while, I could not find a specific website that publishes research papers like the one I wanted to make. This kind of thing would show up on a database but I struggled to find an example of this genre on multiple databases. Here are some examples that capture the general idea.

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

Here are my peer reviews for Kelly and Isabel's articles.

ekamanganese "Pond Reflection" 5/27/08 via deviantart.com. Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

1. Who reviewed your Project 3 rough draft?

Morgan is the only reviewer at the time I wrote this.

2. What did you think and/or feel about the feedback you received? Be explicit and clear. Tell me what helped or what confused you about the feedback you got.

Most of the feedback was helpful. I tend to write wordy sentences and a lot of the corrections on the draft itself helped to reduce that. From the rubric feedback, there is not much I will do to improve the Purpose and Argumentation sections. Those two sections got relatively high scores. There was concern that my audience may not know all that I write about in the text (i.e. micro-dosing) and that needs to be reevaluated.

3. What aspects of Project 3 need to most work going forward [Audience, Purpose, Argumentation, or Genre]? How do you plan on addressing these areas?

Audience and Genre did not receive acceptable scores. I will address the audience by clarifying any vocabulary word that I think my audience may not know. Genre received a lower score because I cited things in ACS. I will not change that. I do need to add a title but I decided to save that for the final draft because laziness set in toward the end of my rough draft.

4. How are you feeling overall about the direction of your project after peer review and/or instructor conferences this week?

My project is going well. My rough draft requires less revision work than previous projects needed. My genre is pretty boring compared to the ones that I peer edited but I don't really have the creativity to make my project visually appealing nor will I need those skills in an engineering career.