Ruby Park

Mr. Harrison
Writing 39B
23 August 2014
Reflection Essay
At the beginning of this writing course, my ability to critically read and write was
horrendous. I was never an avid reader nor did I have any interest in English. Any time I heard
the word, essay, it gave me anxiety. In high school, I hardly wrote any essays. I was taught the
standard five-paragraph essay format that included: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a
conclusion. Coming into college, I thought that was all we needed to know in order to write any
essay; however, I was wrong. This writing course has taught me the different aspects of writing
and has also taught me a little bit about myself. My curiosity for the mystery genre and the
Sherlock Holmes series has expanded my view on writing in general and has taught me to
actually enjoy writing as well. Mr. Harrisons class does not only focus on writing, but it also
teaches us how to communicate effectively.
Two of the Habits of Mind that I have learned from analyzing the mystery genre and
context are Creativity and Engagement. Our class theme, the mystery genre, introduced us to
Sir Arthur Conan Doyles most famous series based on Sherlock Holmes. My curiosity for these
stories have captivated my attention and eased my anxiety for writing. Our class analyzed how
Doyles stories developed through different stages of time. I had always seen Sherlock Holmes
as the main character of every story, however I have learned that this is not the case. Holmess
partner, Doctor John Watson, also plays a very important role in these stories as well. This
taught me to look at a story in different perspectives and question why certain things happen.
Doyles series of stories contain classical conventions: Holmess deduction powers, Holmess
cunning intellect, Watson being his sidekick, Holmess use of drugs, etc. Using Creativity,
Doyles stories have been revised and transformed throughout the years; the novel series have
adapted into TV shows and films with the help of new technology. Both Stephen Moffat and
Robert Doherty created a modern TV series of Sherlock Holmes as well as Guy Ritchie, who has
also created a modern film of the famous detective. With the help of cinematic elements and
modern technology, the manipulation of lighting, camera angles, and sound have all played a
crucial role in adapting Doyles stories from the Victoria era to modern-day. I used the Habit of
Mind of Engagement by gathering pieces of information such as the cinematic elements for
each of my essays. Being engaged with the material helped me gain a better understanding of
the stories and scholarly texts, which made it easier for me to enjoy writing them.
After learning how to critically analyze and synthesize the text, I was easily able to
determine which essay I was going to fully revise. I could tell which paper needed more
revision; therefore, I chose to fully revise my Literature Review essay because I had a hard time
understanding some of the scholarly texts and how to make the texts converse with each other.
One of the reasons why I wanted to revise this essay was because by this time, our class wrote
both essays, which used scholarly texts as well. Using the texts in both essays gave me a good
idea for the Literature Review essay. After re-reading many of the scholarly texts, the words
were fresh in my memory and so I was able to have the writers converse with one another more
fluently than before. The other reason was to show how much I have improved as a writer. I
believe my strongest point of my Literature Review essay is how I have combined the scholarly
texts with the convention of Watson in order to convey the readers role in the mystery genre.
My greatest weakness of this essay is how I lack the ability to make clear sentences and how to
effectively analyze a text. Throughout my essay I had a few sentences that contained
unnecessary details that distracted the reader from my main point. If I had more time to revise
this essay, I would take full advantage of it; I would elaborate more on my analysis of Watson
and how he has influenced the detective genre. In my Rhetorical Analysis essay, I chose to
revise the third paragraph because I believe that I can further explain how Watsons role has
brought out Holmess emotional side. Comparing this paragraph with the other paragraphs will
show how much I lack in content and analysis. My strongest point is how Holmes is lacking an
emotional part of him. Watson fills this void by being loyal, caring, and by being his sidekick.
Throughout this writing class, we were asked to do many Wiki projects and Connect
assignments where teamwork and communication came to play. The Habit of Mind of
Openness and Flexibility were emulated through these assignments. The Wiki projects
encouraged us to communicate and collaborate within our groups. Each group was assigned
different topics, where we had to discuss our ideas and differences. Listening to everyones
ideas and being open is essential when it comes to working with a group and building an
effective team. The Habit of Mind of Responsibility is illustrated through my portion of the
work. For the Victorian England Wiki, I was in charge of the Police Authority page. I
explained who worked as the police and the types of crimes during the Victoria era. In the
Cinematic Elements Wiki page, I contributed one example for each of the three cinematic
elements (Angle of Framing, Cheat Cut, and Close-Up). At the end of our Wiki projects, I
learned that flexibility and communication are essential when it comes to collaborating with
others. In order for the assignment to be a success, every person in the group must put in an
effort instead of having one person carrying the group. With the help of the Connect
assignments, I was able to learn more about grammatical errors and specific factors of writing
that I lacked in. I wrote in my first blog on how I struggled with colons, when to use I or me
in certain situations, and verb-tense agreement. I can honestly say that I have firmly grasped
how to use all three of these factors in writing with the help of Connect. I have now learned
multiple types of papers, how to properly use dashes, and verb-tense agreement. Another
important aspect our class was to focus on the correct use of introducing a text and citing them. I
think I have drastically improved in this area. At first, I did not know how to introduce a text or
correctly cite them, but now I am confident when it comes to that.
Through the Habit of Mind of Metacognition, I am able to look back on how much I
have grown as a writer. Looking back on my progress as a writer, my Persistence grew after
each essay. No matter how many hours I spent writing; I continued to write even if I was
exhausted. This persistence has helped push me to become a better writer and to never give up.
Peer reviews have heavily influenced my writing abilities in a positive and different way. It is
nice to see comments from various perspectives and a pair of fresh eyes. This process has
highlighted the flaws and growth of my essays. With all of the constructive criticism I had
received for each of my essays, I learned that getting others opinions has helped me develop as a
writer. I will continue to progress in properly using grammar and eliminating awkward
sentences.
All in all, some of the major lessons I have learned through this writing course are
determination, confidence, and collaboration. I have always had difficulties and fears of writing
essays because I had absolutely no confidence in myself. However, now that we are near the end
of this class, I feel more confident knowing that I can write extensive essays, blog posts, and
wikis. I have gained more knowledge about the mystery genre and the correct use of grammar,
which will help me throughout my writing career. Writing 39B has not only helped me improve
as a writer, but has also taught me to never give up.