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Tiffany Lau

Benedetti

UWP1

10 June 2021

Portfolio Reflection

Writing this research article was one of the papers I spent the most time on. Through this

process, I was able to develop new habits in my writing and reading skills. In my past writing

assignments, I would rarely reread my papers, so I would hardly take the time to revise them.

However, the idea of receiving feedback from peers and the instructor from the learning outcome

of processes encouraged me to go over my drafts before turning them in because I knew if I

wrote something that I, the writer, find confusing, the reader must be more confused, making my

paper seem unreliable. The process gave me time to reflect more on my writing and improve the

parts that were lacking. To improve, I needed to make sure the interpretations and analysis I

provided were genuine and understandable. Since my topic is based on influences that affect a

student’s future, I needed to understand my intentions for my research and how I can give

personal insights as a student as well. To provide genuine research, I had to have a clear vision of

my topic, which allowed for the practice of metacognition. Throughout my paper, I structured

everything based on the questions readers would have after reading each paragraph, so in the

end, all their questions would be answered. I wanted to be organized with my thoughts, so I

began with bullet points to have the main ideas I want to get across and build from there. As the

author, I’m in control of what I put in my paper, but I also need to be aware that I am not the only

reader of my paper, so I would need to revise according to the audience’s feedback. Since my

topic is surrounding students, I had to acknowledge that I am also a student, so I can provide my
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own perspective. Through this, I was able to practice knowledge of conventions by connecting

my research with other communities. This gave me the opportunity to interview some people and

gain new insights on how they perceive my topic as well. I wanted to have completely different

perspectives, so I took 2 interviews from people who were almost a complete contrast of each

other. One of them is Jonathan Jiang, a 26 year old man who went straight into the workforce

after high school, but recently decided to go to college, and the other is Adrian Dalisay, a 19 year

old man who dropped out of college to pursue dance. They were similar in some areas, such as

growing up in an Asian household and graduating from the same high school, but I found it

interesting how they could go in different directions with their lives through these similar

influences. Jiang is older than Dalisay, so I wanted to understand Jiang’s perspective with the

decisions he made and connect similarities and differences with Dalisay’s experience. Dalisay is

fresh out of high school, while Jiang has been living independently for 7 years, so I was able to

obtain more insight from Jiang’s experience, such as his mindset from when he was 14, 18, and

now 26; whereas in for Dalisay, I was able to gain insight from when he was 14 to 19. After

incorporating their interviews into my paper, I was encouraged to do further research on a

surrounding topic to help support my argument. I started with secondary research and was able to

gain new information, but my primary research helped further develop my argument and look for

more secondary sources as well. Throughout the process, I was able to create new ideas and add

on to my research, so I was able to develop a deeper understanding for my topic.

For the rough drafts, process notes were required, so it gave me some time to reflect on

the intention for my paper. With the process notes, it also lets my peers understand my intentions,

so they can give feedback and provide their perspectives as well. My intention never had a
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drastic change, but I would alter it as I continued to revise. Although my topic has not changed,

my drafts improved to help make my intention more apparent through addition and revision.

If I had additional time to revise my final draft, I believe it would have been interesting to

do more research on surrounding topics. Since my topic is about the factors that influence a

student’s decision for their future, I would have liked to do more research that stemmed from the

factors. For example, one of the factors I went in depth for was social media, where I gave

insight on how it can provide a false sense of reality that can affect a student’s future. I would

have liked to go more in depth with the familial influence, such as immigrant relatives.I would

have liked to interview immigrant parents, to understand their perspective of their child’s future

and their environmental influences as well. Perhaps these parents were never in the position of a

student, so their views would be different.

Taking this course definitely let me grow at my own pace without feeling pressured to

meet difficult requirements. In the beginning of this quarter, I was introduced to metacognition. I

had never used this technique in writing, but using it gave me time to stop and think before

continuing my writing. Throughout the process of writing the research article, I would take a

moment to think about the point I wanted to make and once I had a clear vision, I would put it

down. My ideas are always clear in my head, but putting them into words was difficult. In the

past, I would put down my idea and hope that the reader would make their own interpretation.

However, in this class, there were many drafts due that gave me time to revise and work on the

process of my paper. These are the two practices I have rarely done before, so applying them in

future writings definitely help develop a mature argument. Reviewing a draft with a clear mind

will help me revise with awareness. Especially with the writing process, I found it easier to start
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with bullet points, to make sure I had an idea of what I wanted. So in the future, I could go back

and add to it or delete it if I find that it does not benefit my argument.

Since I was able to choose a topic I’m interested in, I enjoyed researching it and its

surrounding topics. My reading comprehension has never been the best, so to improve, I would

need to review the research several times before truly understanding it, only then I will be able to

provide a clear analysis. From this class, I was able to practice new and old techniques, which

gave me more confidence in this paper. In future writings, I need to remember that I am the

writer, so I should not depend on the existence of a “correct” interpretation. The writing I

provide should be acceptable as long as I understand my topic and the research I choose to

support it.