Final Reflection:

1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your experience with

writing and UWRT 1102. If I were to choose a song that communicates my experience
with UWRT 1102 it would be Work by Rihanna. Some of the lyrics are as followed: But I
wake up and act like nothing's wrong, Just get ready for.Work, work, work, work,
work, work. There were some days this [past semester I felt as if this class was going to
crash in on me because I felt overwhelmed at the amount of work, but I managed through
it. I remember on the first day of our class how intimidated I felt as we were looking over
the syllabus. This portfolio is kind of like my trophy I guess you could say. It symbolizes
all the hard work I have put in this class throughout this semester. I couldnt think of a
better song to choose besides the one I already have. As I am sitting here typing my final
reflection, I almost feel a sign of relief. I worked my butt off during this semester. This
course was very challenging when it comes to the work load part. Im thankful I had Mrs.
Thomas as a teacher because she truly cares about me and my other classmates and it was
very obvious.
2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis? If I were the one
teaching this class I would be sure to emphasis that when picking an inquiry question,
choose something that you are seriously interested in. Something that you want to learn
more about. Something that your readers will want to read. My topic was something
personal to me, making it easier to write about but I know as for others, some had a hard
time completing the assignment and some had to change topics. If I were the teacher of the
class, I would also push my students to their full potential. I know how it feels to come to
class and not have the drive to go 100% but it is very beneficial in the end if you use all of
your class time wisely. Everything I think I would do if I were a teacher, Mrs. Thomas

does now. I have heard some of my friends in other UWRT classes complain about their
teacher. I believe Mrs. Thomas has done everything in her power in order to help us
succeed in her course. I wouldnt change much if I were the teacher.
3. Explain how your understanding of rhetorical knowledge has changed over the
course of the semester using at least three examples from your writing. Ex. Did you
shift an assignment to better fit a particular genre like a proposal? When we broke
into groups in class last week my group was assigned rhetorical knowledge. Before
coming into this semester I knew little to nothing about rhetorical knowledge. I took a
freshman English class at a different institution but like I said in my previous answer, I
was intimidated when I started UWRT. One of the very first things that we wrote about in
this class was rhetorical knowledge and what we knew about it. Over the semester I have
grown to know more and open to learn more about it.
4. Explain how your critical reading has improved during the semester. Ex. In what
ways did you read across texts for connections and patterns in your inquiry? I believe
my critical reading has excelled here lately. Coming into this class I didnt really read
critically. I now know that in order for me to do this, I have to dig deep into the text
provided to get every little detail. Being a more critical reader has caused me to be more
active and really retain the knowledge I am given. A definition I have in my daybook that I
got from google says referring to critical reading says it is a deeper and more complex
engagement with a text. Critical reading is a process of analyzing, interpreting and,
sometimes, evaluating. When we read critically, we use our critical thinking skills to
question both the text and our own reading of it. I referred back to this definition quite a
few times this semester. Whenever homework was assigned and didnt have the
motivation to complete it, I would first read that definition in order to prepare myself for

the reading. In the long run, I believe this paid off for me and my reading and writing
skills. Complex reading not only made me think more and become a better reader, it also
made me become a better writer. This is a skill that I will take away from this class for my
future classes in college and real-world experiences.
5. Discuss your composing processes. Ex. Did you conduct additional research while
revising or after consulting a colleague? Provide at least three examples to support
your assertion. As far as my composing processes go, I stuck with what Ive done since
freshman year of college. I make an outline draft which lets me put everything in order.
This process has seemed to work best for me over the year. Something new I was exposed
to in my second set of conferences with Mrs. Thomas, was when she mentioned laying out
some notecards with my ideas and topics on them. From there I arranged them and
sometimes rearranged them into a different order if one notecard seemed to fit better
somewhere else. By me doing this, I was able to make sure my papers ran together
smoothly. Sometimes I have trouble with sounding too random and the reader could get
lost and or confused. By using notecards to see which flowed better, has helped me a lot
with my composing process as a write. This is something I plan on using in order to keep
my readers full attention and make sure there is no confusion.
6. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions Ex. sentence level
changes, MLA citations. I remember very fondly being asked what all I knew about the
knowledge of conventions (mostly because I have a hardcopy of the paper from our very
first class.) This is something I can say I have honestly struggled with and know the least
about. The mechanics, spelling, usage, and citations arent what I had trouble with while
writing. It was more the formal rules and informal guidelines that define genres, and in so
doing, shape readers and writers expectations of correctness or appropriateness that I

had trouble with. I guess this is where the other 5 key categories come into play. When we
talked about genres this semester, I was able to see how my writing needed to change in
order to fit a certain genre. Whether or not to make it formal, informal, goofy, serious, the
list goes on. Writing that fits a particular genre is major key in writing success.
7. Critical Reflection: A) Explain the importance of reflection in learning processes. B)
Explain what you think is important in providing commentary on others work and
receiving commentary on your own. C) Provide at least three examples of your
nuanced use of commentary in your writing projects. While writing this final
reflection, I was able to see how much I have grown and the importance of being able to
look back at some of your old work and use it for or in some cases against you, in order to
show your growth. Something I mentioned in my Daybook entries tab in my portfolio
was, how much I enjoyed working with the others at my table. Being able to get my peers
inputs and comments on my papers has helped me a lot. Not only was I able to get my
opinions to help my assignment, I was able to provide constructive criticism for them as
well. All in all, this was probably the most beneficial thing for me throughout this
semester. My freshman year at UNC Greensboro, we did not do one single peer review.
All of our work was edited by our professor and our professor only. We were not able to
get help from our peers. Getting help from our peers is helpful because we can relate to
them better and a type of bond gets formed throughout the semester with those at your
table. I know at my table, we were the chattiest group in the room, only because of the
friendships that we have bonded over the past few months. Some examples of comments I
have received from my peers are as followed: try referring back to your original, personal
experience to grab the readers attention again, add comma here, sentence is too long.
Split it up., and etc. The comments could be small which helped me realize some silly

spelling errors, or sometimes they helped me reconstruct whole paragraphs in order to

better my paper. As we are reviewing the student learning outcomes, I believe I achieved
all of them on this list which has ultimately led me to become a better reader, writer, peer
reviewer, and so on. This semester was filled with many ups and downs, but nothing can
outweigh the amount of knowledge I am walking away with from this class. Thanks for a
great semester Mrs. Thomas!