Looking back on where I was at the beginning of the quarter, I can say full heartedly that I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I write. This being my first and only college writing experience, I feel that it went pretty well. In high school, I always struggled with writing and had a hard time getting grades in the A range. In writing 39 B I was able to earn an A on a writing assignment which is something I didn’t think was going to happen. What I think that helped me reach to this A level in my writing was the private meeting I had with my professor. In this meeting I went over what I did in my last paper that I can change for my next one to obtain an A. This not only helped me with my writing abilities but it helped me become more confident in my writing. In my self assessment I mentioned the way I craft an essay. I still use these techniques and was able to use them in the paper projects. I didn’t quite follow the instructions for this assignment, and didn’t reach the word count or use MLA format. I have improved since then and have paid closer attention to the requirements in each assignment. It is amazing how much I have learned and improved in 10 weeks.

 I used a few of the strategies I learned from this course in my other courses. A strategy that I use is close reading. Before this course, I had just learned about annotating as close reading but now I learned how to really understand what I am reading. I have become aware of rhetorical strategies that the author may have used in the readings. I, for the most part, use this strategy in my PolySci 61A course because we read a lot papers that were written sometime ago and relating it back to modern issues that we are still facing.

I used many strategies from other classes to help me better understand the topics and complete assignments. For example, I learned how to effectively take notes to look back at for this class when I need to reference or remember something from class. I use the note taking strategy in my Chemistry and Biology Lectures. Being a Biology Major, I am used to taking notes.

The drafting process really helped me organize my thoughts and put them in a way that is easier to understand. I really liked the peer review process for the Genre Analysis assignment because it was a great way I could improve my writing. I was able to get a new perspective on the work that I submitted. I also liked that we had time to write a thoughtful response. I think this component was lacking in the peer review process for the Imitation Project. There would be moments in the revision process that no one had anything to say about the project. There were also issues, I feel, with understanding what people would say during their presentation which also contributed to not a lot of feedback being given. The last issue I had about this peer review was that there would be some presenters that didn’t read off what they had typed but instead paraphrased their paragraphs. This made it hard for me to add any helpful remarks about their project. With all of this being said, I really do enjoy peer reviews. When creating my drafts I was really able to take a step back and ask myself “Does this sound right?” “Are my arguments making sense and are they backed up with the evidence I used?” These are the guiding questions I ask to try and better my essay during and after writing. I formulated this strategy simply because throughout my writing history I was known to struggle with this. I would also ask “How does this relate to the suburban gothic genre?” “What gothic conventions are present and why are these conventions?” These questions helped when I was writing my essays because they allowed me to make connections to the overall theme of this course.

The multimodal component in this course allowed me to understand many components we went over better, like gothic conventions and close reading, or in this case close watching. In class when we watched video representations of suburban gothic, it really helped me understand what the genre really was. It also made me realize that many of my favorite movies and TV shows are a part of this genre. It opened my eyes to just how many different ways the suburban genre can be shown. Having this multimodal component also made the course more enjoyable. Not only would we watch scenes from my favorite movies, but after watching, we would analyze the clips and it would show me parts that were unknown to me. It made me enjoy the shows even more. It also made me want to start analyzing shows similar to this. It helped me learn in more ways than I thought I could.

For my draft writing process, I would create my own way to organize the points for the essay. For instance, I would create bullet points of areas I want to cover in each of the paragraphs to create a make-shift outline. I didn’t learn this strategy from a teacher but I realized that this was the best way for me to organize my thoughts to write an essay the best. This realization arose when I was struggling with organizing my thoughts when writing an essay. I realized that the traditional outline doesn’t work for everyone, so I created my own “outline”. This helps when there are multiple questions or points that I need to cover. I can see them very clearly, so I know what to include in each paragraph. I first started to use this strategy when I was in high school because we were assigned more complex topics and were expected to write more complex essays. I for the most part haven’t changed my draft writing process, but I have started to close read and leave annotations more. This has really helped me understand texts a lot better than I had before. In the past, I had just been reading through text not really paying close attention to detail but now I analyze rhetorical techniques, tones, and genres.

In my Imitation Project I added multimodal components strategically. The main character in a show I was doing a review for was struggling with her sexuality so I took one photo from each relationship and put another picture in between those photos. This displays how she was on two different sides of the spectrum teetering on both sides and didn’t know how to feel. At the bottom of the first page I added a clip from the scene that I referenced to make sure that readers weren’t confused at any point. 

 There were many suburban gothic elements in the show that I did my Imitation Composition on, “I Am Not Okay With This” covered, but I chose homosexuality, death, the main character and her abilities. I chose these elements because I felt that I could make a very clear argument with these elements. The in-course reading goes over many of these same elements making it easier for me to provide evidence.

The workshops help tremendously by giving outside feedback . I was able to get a new perspective on my essay, and most of the time, the feedback was something I had never thought about. I look forward to criticism because I see it as a way I can improve. When I went to office hours, it was also very helpful. I am able to know how to enhance my writing from B to A level. I now know what I need to do from now on in my writing, and because of this, I have more confidence in my writing. I received feedback from the professor saying that I should have used more formal language in my writing and that I shouldn’t use the first person in academic writing.

 By writing multiple drafts I am able to fix my writing, making sure that the points I want to make are clear and concise. There is always room for improvement and always an error that I miss in the previous draft that needs to be corrected in the next revision. I can also have fresh eyes when looking back at my draft after not seeing it for a certain amount of time. I personally, always find something that can be changed and improved. I can also get outside help that helps me realize what I need to fix as well.