Reflective Introduction
Writing 39C was one of the most special writing classes I've ever taken. Compared to other writing classes, I think this class should be called a research class. In this class, autonomous research occupies most of the course. This class gave me a preliminary understanding of advanced writing. In the writing classes I took before, the professors would provide a lot of guidelines for my articles in the class, including the articles that I need to read, the templates for writing, etc. However, in Writing 39C, most of the guidance given by the professor is related to the research topic, and there is no clear required reading list. Most of the in-course material doesn't necessarily have a clear connection to my chosen topic, but at the same time gives me some inspiration on my chosen topic. Yes, as I mentioned, the topics in this class were all chosen by me. This gave me a lot of freedom, but it also left me very at a loss. At the beginning of the course, I had absolutely no idea where to start with my first research. At that time, my mind was still completely stuck on following the teacher's guidance and completing the necessary tasks. When I dazedly decided on the topic and dazedly wrote my first draft of the CP, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and what the final product would be. I attended the professor's office hour with this question in mind. During the conversation, I gradually realized that the task I needed to complete was to use the collected data to make a point. The professor said, "I won't give you a lot of information about your topic in this class. You need to learn to do your own research, collect data, and flesh out your point of view." The CP topic gives some suggestions. During office hour, the professor helped me answer my doubts. In later drafts, I began to collect more information to enrich my content and article credibility. The process of collecting information was more difficult than I thought, I tried to index the content I needed with keywords, but most of the articles were not very useful for my articles. I had a similar problem with both my CP and AP articles, which I later solved by searching for more specific keywords and using other academic sites. In the process, I read a lot of articles, and also looked up more data and materials on the Internet. Although most of the material is not directly applicable to my article, these resources are of great help to my article. They gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the current living environment of black and brown people, and the views and attitudes of different organizations on this issue. This is a great inspiration for my article.
In this class, I also encountered many challenges, and the most impressive thing for me was the process of searching and summarizing articles and materials in the CP project. At first, I thought I just needed to identify a topic and then expand my point of view with the articles I searched. So I wrote introductory paragraphs and summary paragraphs early, then added my point of view in the main body of the article and prepared to gather data to expand my point of view. And then I got into a lot of trouble, and the subject I wanted to write about was people's attitudes toward different races, from the legislative level to the executive level. The subject is so vast that few articles can cover all relevant content. As a direct result of this, I have barely gained anything in terms of material collection. The first draft submission for the CP project was a disaster, and the professor was dissatisfied with my results, and I thought so too. I later realized that with such a large topic it was difficult to explain all the main points within the word limit, which would make my article superficial. I then narrowed my subject down to identify the link between law enforcement and racial discrimination. During my search for sources, I found that each article had its own arguments and arguments, and they taught me a lot of questions that I never thought about. The conclusions of some articles even directly overturn some of my views, which means that I have to change the subject of my article appropriately. It's a very interesting feeling, it feels like I'm constantly improving and learning more, and at the same time, my mind and point of view are changing again and again as a result of reading these articles. After finishing the working draft for the CP project, I suddenly realized how arrogant and stupid I was at the beginning. I blindly believed that my opinion was correct, and tried to find data to verify my opinion. The essence of research is to constantly explore, and gradually revise and improve one's own ideas in the process of exploration.
(See Figure 1 and Figure 2)
Figure 1 is from my first draft of the CP project, which was the subject of the first paragraph I was going to write. Now it seems to be very thin and unconvincing. The reason is that this is an opinion made entirely by me, not confirmed by any data, and I have not consulted any information. It may be right, but it is most likely wrong. Before making this point, I only read some articles in the class, which is not enough to support my point. Figure 2 is a paragraph in the final product of the CP paper I submitted. It is clear to see that in this paragraph I have added a lot of detail and evidence to support my point. I came to the conclusion that implicit bias affects different people differently. I came to this conclusion after searching through many articles, and this is not a conclusion reached by fantasy. What I mean by choosing these two pictures is that I have learned the process and method of research through the CP project. This was one of my biggest takeaways from this class in Writing 39C.
In the AP project in this class, I also encountered a lot of challenges. Because of the CP project experience, my AP project was completed very smoothly. When I created the AP project, I spent a lot of time explaining the origin of the problem and the flaws in the current policy in order to make the audience understand why I thought reform was needed. This arrangement has resulted in the reforms I want to implement being put in the second half of the article. Feedback from professors that the first half of my article reads like a CP article, rather than putting more emphasis on what specific changes need to happen, what the desired outcome looks like, which organizations are working on it, the feasibility of reform, etc. Wait. I realized the problem and added some hints to the reforms in the following paragraphs before each paragraph of my article so that the audience could understand my purpose more clearly.
(See Figure 3)
In conclusion, Writing 39C has improved me in many ways, the most important of which are research and article structure. In the CP project, through the patient guidance of the professor, I completed the first research myself. In the process, I learned what research is and what needs to be done in the process of research. I believe this is a milestone in my university's entry into a research study. In the AP program, I solidified the research method while realizing the importance of foreshadowing. This gave me a structural boost to my writing. These two projects are very representative, which made my writing class in this quarter very enriching and greatly improved. I'm very happy that I got as much out of this class as I expected from the first week.