Jesse

Greenlee
Midterm
9-28-15
My Aspect of This Class

When I was picking my courses for my fall schedule, I almost decided to sign up for
UWRT 1101 instead of what I am currently taking; UWRT 1103. My high school experience
made it to where I didnt really like writing, so I didnt know if I wanted to push myself. Luckily, I
can already tell that college and this class are going to change my outlook on writing, and I think
Ill grow to enjoy writing again. After looking at the Key Concepts section on the Course and
Materials page of the syllabus, I can single out some concepts that I am strongly engaging with.
Though I am engaging in some concepts, there are still some concepts that are challenging for
me.
Responsibility for Learning
Out of the ten key concepts on the Course and Materials page, there are a few
concepts that I am strongly engaging with. The main concept that I believe I have been doing
well is taking responsibility for my own learning. With out constantly being given a grade due to
this being an e-portfolio based class, I have spent a lot of my personal time to improve my work
by using the feedback given to me. I have numerous hours thinking about, working on, and
writing my essays and blog posts. I thought to myself, What is the best way to complete this
assignment? and then I would do it that way. I believe that I have managed my time well to
provide the best work that I can possibly can. I want to provide the best work that I can not only
because I want a good grade, but also because I want to become the best writer that I can
possibly be.
Critical Thinking

Jesse Greenlee
Midterm
9-28-15
I also think that I have been doing well with the concept of critical reflection. After

reading the different drafts of my exploratory essay, I said to myself in my writers notebook,
You need to make your essay more personal to yourself. I also told myself that I needed to
make more connections to myself and my life. I think that critical reflection is important in
order to see what parts of my work can use some revising.
Getting Out of My Comfort Zone
There are two main Key Concepts that I can definitely work towards improving over
this semester. One of the concepts that I am struggling with is getting out of my comfort zone.
With my exploratory essay, I am struggling to break out of my comfort zone, which would make
my essay more personable. I am also used to writing with with a specific genre, the five
paragraph essay, and I will have to get out of my comfort zone which can be achieved through
writing in different genres. I can work towards breaking out of my comfort zone while working
on my research essay, writing it in the style of a different genre.
In Who Says: The Writers Research, there was a part in the introduction that says
Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet
ski. I relate to this because in the past, I have taken the easy way out when it came to
research. I have just typed the topic I needed into a search engine and chose the first, most
simplistic source. I will have to break out of my comfort zone and engulf my self in a sea of
words, maybe the library or some other source of information, and just slow down my research
process.