Reflection Response #1

My personal pre writing strategy is much like the free writing aspect of the
Writing process. As soon as I have set my mind on a specific topic and once I have
accumulated enough information to make my own interpretations I write all that comes to
mind, in accordance with the topic. I do this in order to clear my mind of stubborn
phrases that I believe suit the topic very well and to discover what I need to research a bit
more. The only thing I have difficulty with during my pre-writing stage would be
concentrating and identifying my main purpose, point of view, and central question.
Which are if not, the most important aspects necessary to assure balance throughout the
writing process. The pre-writing process is important, again, because it helps me clear
my mind off of any information that distracts me from my central purpose and to make
my point of view and central question clear. I can not deny that in many occasions I have
written without a purpose or intended reader in mind, and I blame it all on my lack of
effort to follow any pre-writing strategy. When the moment to revise comes, I have to
admit that my main goal is to identify grammatical errors rather than context errors. My
train of thought vanishes when I am asked to integrate more information on certain subtopics of an assignment and the finished product turns out "unstable". How lucky am I to
have the necessary tools to be able to Revise, Edit, and Proofread work that I consider
"unstable"! Editing, Proofreading, and Revising are extremely important in order to
satisfy a professors requirements, in regards to the assignment. Thanks to the provided
reading: "The Writing Process" I have picked up the brainstorming idea of Clustering or
"Webbing" that is able to help me create a ton of subtopics for my main topic! This has
helped me realize all that I can cover in my assignment.
I do agree with the five Cs and three As defined in "What Makes "Good" Writing".
The Cs and As should be present as a writer revises his/her work. The only trouble I have
as I am writing is remaining clear throughout my work, however I do a great job in
providing complete information. I have a strong feeling that I might be using "The
Writing Process" a few times throughout the semester just to re-assure myself that I am
adding the necessary information to my assignments.

Reflection Response #3
As my Genre Analysis consists of comparing and contrasting
an online news article and news report of the same source I worry that
I will hardly find any differences between the two genres. The only
challenge I have had to face has been to look for different genres that
are not news related, but it seems almost impossible since my topic
relies greatly on recent reports and updates released by the press. In
all honesty I believe the information provided by the two genres I have
chosen is insufficient.
"Fit and Trim" were my results for The Writer's Diet test. The sample I
used for this test was the Introduction to my Genre Analysis
assignment, and surprisingly my grammatical features did not reach
the "heart-attack" category as I had imagined. The Writer's Diet test is
actually very useful, especially at times where a writing assignment
feels very repetitive or bland. The rapid identification of verbs,
adjectives, nouns, prepositions, and "is, this, that, there" helps to
figure out what to integrate into or remove from a writing piece. My
introduction reached "flabbiness" due to the over-use of words like: " it,
this, that, and there". I knew that I was over-using a couple of words
throughout my writing assignments but it was not until I took this test
that I was able to pin-point them on my work.
Chapter 4 and 9 of RWS Reader were very helpful as I was working on
my Genre Analysis, but I have to give more credit to chapter 9 for
helping me understand how a proper sentence should be structured.
Thanks to Chapter 9 I now understand which ways are best when
structuring a sentence to obtain a "flow" throughout my paper.
We should care/worry about how grammar is quickly declining because
we are becoming a lethargic society that is shoving aside the
importance of grammar. It is what helps us to clearly state our opinions
on paper or electronically without misinterpretations. For example,
commas; if a comma is not placed in a statement like, " I ate grandma"
then one will assume that I ate my grandma. If a comma is place right
after "ate" then the whole sentence now has a different meaning. That
is one of the reasons why grammar is so important when typing or
writing opinions/ thoughts.

Reflection Response #4
The Genre Analysis assignment is very useful when it comes to
evaluating sources that I plan to use for my eight to ten-page research
paper. All thanks to this assignment I was able to see the strengths and
weaknesses of the sources I have chosen for my research paper. The
only area I was having difficulty with in my Genre Analysis assignment
was identifying the difference between an online news article and a
pre-recorded news report of the same subject since the information is
the same for both. The most obvious difference between the chosen
article and report has to be the way the information is delivered, but
that was the only aspect I was able to identify. On the other-hand, I feel
like I did pretty well in my introduction and in the Rhetorical Issues
section of the Genre Analysis because I was able to provide the readers
with a vast amount of information on the topic.
Since as a class we are barely preparing for a literature review
assignment I found chapter 19 far more helpful than chapter 12.
Chapter 12 covers the Revising and Editing section we will eventually
execute for many assignments, however chapter 19 contains very
useful tips and suggestions as we find sources and collect information
for our literature review assignment. This may seem a bit strange but
chapter 19 of RWS Reader has actually motivated me to go out to
Sunland Park to collect Empirical sources!
I believe editing for consistency and parallelism is important
because it gives the readers a sense that the work they are viewing is
reliable and professional. Sadly I commit common parallel errors every
now-and-then when I decide to become the lazy writer that takes over
when motivation is absent. This error is most commonly seen as I
organize items in a series and integrate a few actions with a list of
items. Believe me when I say that even though I commit these
common mistakes I still pay close attention to a document's design. It
really bothers me when fonts, indentations, headings/ subheadings,
and lists are not consistent because the writer has failed to appeal to a
readers' expectations. It is a great "let down".
Editing for Consistency mini-lecture and assessment has helped
me recognize consistency and parallelism in my own work.

Reflection Response #6
It is a drag to read four chapters about Drafting Introductions and
Conclusions, Developing Paragraphs and Sections, Quoting,
Paraphrasing, and Citing Sources, and the APA format from the RWS
Reader, however, I have to admit that those four chapters have been
the most useful compared to all the other chapters our class has been
assigned to read. The great, common, and highly ignored tips begin in
chapter 13 with the step-by-step process on how to construct the
perfect introduction. Without a doubt a great introduction needs the
help of an interesting opening sentence, or "grabber", but many
writers often forget the importance of what comes after that initial
sentence. What typically comes after a "grabber" are "leads" which are
like a "Part 2" to the "grabber". They simply continue to draw in the
audience. A very famous lead, which I consider my favorite and I plan
on using for the introduction to my research paper is the "Scene
Setter".
As chapter 13 provided great tips for a successful introduction it did
the same for its section on Drafting Conclusions. Now I know that the
safest way to reach a conclusion is by integrating a phrase that clearly
"signals" a conclusion. Those can be: "In conclusion", "Ultimately", "In
closing", etc
Chapter 20 covered Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Citing Sources,
something that a lot of students need clarity on. It was not until I read
through chapter 20 that I realized that I had been quoting a lot of my
sources incorrectly. I am so glad I now know the many ways I am able
to quote and cite my sources.
Internet plagiarism is something so tangible and easy to execute
when we let desperation and fatigue cloud our reasoning. I think that
Internet plagiarism is seen as an easy escape route when the deadline
for an assignment is in close proximity. It is the worst decision one can
make since it falls under Academic Dishonesty, something many
universities will not tolerate. The consequence is clear, the student will
be expelled, and that is why I try my best to not fall under a situation
where Internet plagiarism becomes my only solution. I believe the best
way to avoid Internet plagiarism is by completing assignments way
before the due date. When students manage their time for their
assignments effectively then there will be no need for them to cut and

paste work from other cites in order to make the word count. We
should all take this seriously since this is a major issue that will affect
those who commit Internet plagiarism in the long run.

Reflection Blog #7
As a student,I believe that in order to reduce ignorance levels when revising a cluster of
organized thoughts we need to know the four types of sentences that exist in our writing. Those
being: Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-complex. Once we are able to recognize
these four types of sentences in our writing then we will be able to decide/ understand what
information should be removed or added. The Mini-lecture on Sentence Variety helped me recall
that the structure of a sentence is something that should be appreciated and revised in order to
create well-rounded writings. Many of us simply construct sentences based on what we are
thinking and completely ignore the four types of sentences we should aim for.
Occasionally, as we are completing writing assignments and suddenly face writers block
we enter a phase of semi-desperation where coherence is out of sight and wordiness kicks in.
Wordiness is a problem that many students do not want to face or admit they commit, but they all
need to learn about it in order to avoid repetition and redundancy in their work. I have to admit
that wordiness is an issue apparent in my work. I do it to fluff up my writing or to make the word
count. The only way to solve this problem is by imagining that my work is someone elses. By
doing that I am able to remove excess words that do me no good.
Thanks to the Mini-lectures I now have a clear understanding of what it is I should aim
for in all my writings. That is to: construct simple, compound, complex, and compound complex
sentences and to avoid/ reduce wordiness in my work. This will surely help me as I am preparing
my first draft to my literature review.

Reflection Response #8

"That wasn't too bad." was the first thought that popped into my mind. I enjoyed covering
the topic of the EHV-1 outbreak at Sunland Park Racetrack because I was able to create
an informative piece of work that could answer many of the questions curious readers
might have. I feel like I did incredibly well throughout the entire Literature Review! I am
sure that the sources that I utilized throughout the assignment are reliable and capable of
providing further information to readers who wish to know more about the virus.
Citing my sources was the only problem I had to face in my Literature Review
because I was citing websites as if they were books or articles. I was able to overcome
that tiny obstacle with the help of Ms. Cruz who took the time to review my work and

correct the citations that were arranged incorrectly.

The Mini-lecture for week 9 covering capitalization and punctuation refreshed my
memory and helped me understand once again what it is that requires capitalization and
what does not. It seemed as a very simple lecture and assessment but there were a few
questions here and there that made me doubt my reworded and "corrected" sentences.
These Mini-lectures are essential and necessary for us students since they re-teach us the
basics of writing.
It is a shame to admit this but I have to come clean, I did not read the Mini-lectures
until this Tuesday. That is because I have been preoccupied with other school work that I
was not able to read and complete what was posted on Blackboard for Week 10 before the
assigned due dates.
Chapters 5, 10, and 15 helped to guide the creation of an unbiased argument.
The Mini-lecture for Week 10 surprised me. I did not know that "Discriminatory
language" was an issue many writers purposefully and unintentionally display throughout
their work. It is important to avoid discriminatory language in order to avoid stereotypes
or to exclude individuals. It is important outside of academia. It can ruin your life! Paula
Deen now has to face the consequences for something she said years ago. Nondiscriminatory is essential to show respect for others. If an individual speaks carelessly
with no consideration for other's feelings then that might just create tensions and
conflicts. The Mini-lecture has helped me recognize discriminatory language that I had
disregarded all these years and which are sometimes sexist.
Reflection Response #9
The requirements for the Online Opinion Piece were very simple and clear, but regardless
of that I found it a little tricky to accomplish the assignment. The reason for that was the word
count limit of 750 words for a topic that needs to cover various points in order to be thoroughly
understood. It was a relief last week to hear that the word count could not exceed 750 words for
out Online Opinion Piece but once I had completed it I noticed that I had almost reached a total
of 850 words! Without a doubt many sentences had to be re-written and/or eliminated.
I feel like I did very well on my opening sentence and body but not on my conclusion, I
feel like that was a bit abrupt. My conclusion might seem a bit short but that was done to avoid
exceeding the word limit.
Out of the two chapters we were required to read I found chapter 24 to be extremely
helpful as I am preparing to present my documentary by next month. Chapter 24 helped me
understand what it is that my audience expects from me and what it is that I should cover
throughout the 5-7 minutes of the clip. I am so glad this chapter mentions turning a document
into a presentation because I plan on using my Literature Review assignment as the script to
my documentary. I am eager to complete it and to present it to my fellow RWS 1302 peers; I sure
hope they enjoy it.
Speaking of short clips, the videos of covering teamwork that were uploaded on
Blackboard last week pretty much summarized my UNIV class. Both videos stated the typical
phrases meant to motivate effective teamwork and I found them very repetitive.

Reflection Blog 10
RWS 1302 has become a very pleasant course for me. I can not deny
that I enjoy it much more than my previous RWS course. The reason for this
is because of my choice of semester topic, of my RWS 1302 peers who were
very interactive and because of my instructor who was always willing to help.
The topic I chose for this semester was about the Equine Herpes virus
outbreak at Sunland Park Racetrack. I decided to cover this community
problem because it involved some of my favorite animals, an outbreak like
such is very rare around these areas, and because the location/premises that
were afflicted by it are in close distance to UTEP. I took advantage of this and
began to construct proper interview questions, record a few videos of the
barns, and snap a few pictures that would be useful for my documentary.
Out of the three or four major assignments for my community problem
I would have to say that the Literature Review assignment was my favorite to
complete. I found satisfaction in the way my information was arranged and
presented. I hope that whoever stumbles upon it obtains the necessary
information to understand my community problem.
A common obstacle that I constantly face as I am beginning to work on
an assignment or conclude is procrastination. No matter where I am placed
to get my work done I always manage to get my hands and attention on
something else.
As for my writing strategies, those pretty much remain the same. They
consist of me writing down all that is clustered in my mind no-matter if it
does or does not make sense, to read over and include or remove
information, to get it revised, nor work on it for at most a day, then read it
once again to carry on some last- minute editing. In terms of my writing
skills, I feel like I have not improved as much as I did in my last semester. I
believe it has to do with the amount of time I have spent reading nonacademia works; I feel like it is insufficient and that it has drastically
declined. Reading something that interests me or that has nothing to do with
the courses I am currently taking helps me expand my vocabulary, which in
conclusion, helps me write with much ease.
It was very challenging to complete the assigned readings in our RWS
Reader due to its focus on the assignments and aspects of the assignments
that are described with full detail. Those were some very hard to enjoy

readings! But no matter how bland each chapter seemed to be they were all
VERY helpful as I was working on each major assignment. I found chapter 24,
Presenting your work very useful as I am now preparing to present my
documentary. Without a doubt I will return to these chapters for additional
help with my writing and research skills.
I believe that this course would be lacking a lot if it werent for the
mini-lectures, videos, and assessments. They all helped me understand
topics such a s discriminatory language and team/group work far more than
if I had just read the material online or off a book. The assessments and minilectures were a bit more comprehensive but easy to tackle and extremely
helpful. I enjoyed completing the assignments.