Jason Farrand

12/1/2015
Mrs. Thomas
Final Reflection
Reflection
1. Choose a song or musical composition that communicates your experience with
writing and UWRT 1102. Consider including a video of the song. Explain your choice.
If I had to pick one song that properly communicates my experience in UWRT 1102, I
think among a long list of songs that I would pick The Distance by Cake. I took the last year
off from school and now I am back as a full time student, so I have to do some readjusting. In
addition, I consider this year of school the "Get My Life Together" year because I have had no
idea what I have wanted to major in and I needed to pull my grades up. I believe that I have been
doing exactly what I set out to do. If I had a narrator narrating my life, they may be saying
something like, "He's going the distance. He's going for speed because he's racing and pacing
and plotting a course. He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse. He's going the distance." I
have really viewed this class one that has helped me with plotting my course.

2. If you were to teach this class, what ideas would you emphasis?
I really have no idea what I would emphasis other than what was already emphasized in
the class already. I did like the "They Say, I Say" perspective that was introduced in regards to

writing. It helped me see writing more as a conversation rather than simply typing a paper. I
think the only part that I would add more is some speaking in front of groups to generate a
conversation in a larger group compared to the small group meetings. However, due to time
constraints I do not know if it would be possible.
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?).
The definition that was included in the course material for rhetorical knowledge is, the
ability to identify an apply strategies across a range of texts and writing situations. When I think
about how this can be analyzed and interpreted, my brain immediately jumps to the book They
Say, I Say. This text has done exactly what the definition states. Many different texts and works
have been analyzed and strategies that were observed were included in the form of templets. One
particular strategy that caught my attention was elaborating upon quotes. I had a relatively good
idea of how to utilize quotes in a piece; however, I had a completely new idea of how to use
quotes as an effective tool in writing after reading this area of the book. Quotes require a decent
amount of explanation for them to be used to their full potential when including them in a text. I
have also seen how you can build of what others write in a more effective manner to help prove
your point even if that voice is counter to your own point. The other opinions or the They says
should be addressed to show that every possible perspective has been taken into account and
adding a counter to those would offer opposition can even further benefit the thesis that is being
constructed.

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?)
The main way that I have seen my critical reading improve is that I now recognize how to
see and enter an ongoing conversation regarding an existing topic. Before, it was just information
that just stated what it needed to. It did not really connect to other areas. Considering how other
people view the topic at hand is a valuable skill when interpreting a piece that they have written
because it allows one to see where the author is trying to come from and see why they wrote
what they did.
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.
My composing process is relatively simple. Once I have my topic, gathering some
sources is the top priority. Without content, it is rather difficult to begin writing a paper. These
sources usually help to build up a solid base from which to work with. These sources usually
lead to other possible sources that are useful while composing the piece. I try to shoot for the
absolute best the first time around so there are very few changes during edits. I am not a fan of
multiple drafts. Writing as if I am creating a final draft is my preferred strategy then having a
peer or instructor offer possible improvements. After the second draft, I try to have very little
room for improvement, so there is little change between second and third drafts.
One thing I do while I am writing is read it as if I am presenting my work. I consider
myself much better at presenting something orally rather than through a paper. When I read

something out loud, I often make small alterations that make my paper sound much more fluid
and cohesive. Often times in an attempt to vary my vocabulary, the paper can end up sounding
more robotic like a dictionary was the one drafting rather than a person.
6. Provide at least three examples of your knowledge of conventions (ex. sentence
level changes, MLA citations).
As far as knowledge of conventions, I would almost say that I can be considered a borderline
Grammar Nazi. I like to make sure my papers follow all the grammatical rules that
compositions are expected to follow. There are three examples of these that I can cite within the
thesis paper alone. The first of them is something that I feel should be much more important than
it is, and that is the Oxford comma. This is the comma that separates the second to last article of
a list and the conjunction. This is not something that is necessary but can be included. The
second item in my brief list of conventions is the appositive. This is something that can be used
to include information about a particular topic whether it be a person, organization, or idea in a
manner that is relatively brief and can be used to add credibility without interrupting the flow of
the piece. To properly include an appositive, there should be a comma present before and after,
and the content should be directly after the idea in question. One example is, According to Mrs.
Thomas, writing professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, you should
Finally, something that I was able to refresh my memory on this semester was how to include intext citations in a piece. In MLA format, in-text citations should be used to document where
information was used from another source to properly give credit to other authors. It should be
the way to properly include these citations is to follow the information with the authors last
name and page number if applicable. If no author is available to include, a shortened version of

the title of the piece should be included instead. The citation is enclosed in parentheses at the end
of the sentence but before the period.
7. Critical Reflection: a) Discuss an example of choices made during a composition. b)
Explain what you think is most important in providing commentary on others work and
receiving commentary on your own. Provide at least three examples of your nuanced use
of commentary in your writing projects.
Much of what was applied in regards to critical reflection was more or less used in the
revision and reflection stages of composing different pieces. It became a necessary step to look
back on not only what others wrote but also on what we wrote. Being able to recognize areas in
need of improvement is a crucial step in writing in any situation. It is easier for others to look at
a work and point out different areas that need improvement, but the difficult part of reflecting
and revising is applying those suggestions that were given. Different suggestions may be offered
such as, Try to elaborate on the authors main idea in this paragraph. This is relatively simple
advice, but it is up to the composer to incorporate these opinions into the paper in a way that
improves the overall quality of the paper.
This is also a process that is involved in properly incorporating the ideas of others in the
extended inquiry project. Content from other authors cannot be simply be added into a paper. The
thoughts that are added needed to be unpacked meaning that some form of evaluation and
discussion should be included to show how they are adding to your point and the overall
conversation regarding the topic at hand. When information is placed into a paper without proper
application of critical reflection then it can end up damaging a paper rather than helping
contributing to the point that is being made.