INTRODUCTION
Ryan McShane
Writing for the sake of writing has never really been my preference, however I understand its importance, it just isn’t something I connect with much. However, writing with a clear purpose, whether that is to educate or argue a point is something that holds more value for me. Writing to analyze the deeper meaning of quotes remains challenging for me and likely always will be. Throughout this course, I believe my work has reflect that sentiment in many ways.
At the beginning of the semester, I recall we were asked to describe our writing process and I noted that my first step was to “panic”. Looking back, I can say that I’ve grown since then. Throughout the semester, I’ve developed better writing habits, such as sitting down to write earlier rather than just waiting until the last minute. This shift has significantly improved my approach to and overall writing.
REFLECTIONS
Art of Summary – To me, this assignment had a clear purpose, which made it relatively easy for me to get into, even when working on the larger more challenging source document. I felt it was a great first assignment because it aligned with my strength of writing with a purpose while allowing me to focus on new habits. By focusing on summarizing effectively, a very important aspect of communication, I could concentrate on building my new writing habits without feeling overwhelmed.
Art of Analysis – This assignment was the most challenging for me. It combined a style of writing that I struggle with and the delay in feedback from the “Art of Rhetoric” project led to a situation where I skipped the optional drafts/peer reviews for this assignment and began rushing to get it done at the last minute. I initially thought my draft was correct, only to realize just before turning it in that it needed significant revisions. This experience taught me the value of those skills I started to develop in the first two assignments and I ended up relying heavily on a friend for support in completing this paper. In the end though, it helped show me an understanding of implications and applications in writing and deepened my understanding of how cultural literacy impacts real world context.
Art of Rhetoric – This assignment really allowed me to explore creative thinking. My rhetorical situation focused on coding, writing for a computer, which was an abstract and educational way to apply what we were learning. I genuinely enjoyed this project, however the abstract nature also meant that it took longer to receive feedback. This delay emphasized the importance of incorporating steps such as peer feedback and drafting into my writing process as we will see on the next assignment.
CONCLUSION
This course has given me a better understanding of my strengths, weakness, and personal writing process throughout the semester. I’ve also learned that when writing has a clearer purpose, directions, and allows me to be creative that I enjoy it and perform better. That generally aligns with my experience drafting technical papers and legal documents outside of class. Moving forward, I plan to focus on incorporating some of the good habits I learned into my future lessons in order to further improve my skills.
