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Ashley Herrington
Arnold
UWRT 1101
September 23, 2014

Altered Book Reflection
I think both my literacy narrative and my altered book conveyed my ideas well. The
literacy narrative gives more detailed descriptions of my journey and the altered book gives a
more visual encounter. The altered book allowed me to think deeper about my literacy journey
and has more information than my literacy narrative. My literacy narrative shows more emotion
and inner thought. Both genres have positive and negative aspects that make them good tools of
communication. I think they best show my literate identity when put together. When separate
each genre gives the story but you cannot fully understand the journey without both the visual
and written context.
I enjoyed creating the altered book because I got to show the story instead of just typing
it out like most assignments. The altered book was frustrating to create because I kept thinking
ahead and changing my mind. I would create a page multiple times before I started to assemble it
on the paper. It was much more work, but in the end I am pleased with my books outcome.
Although I enjoyed being able to use visuals to create a story I preferred the literacy narrative. I
am used to this form and it is not as complicated to write my ideas out. I enjoy being able to
bring my ideas into a coherent paper that shows exactly what I am trying say.
When creating the two genres I found the literacy narrative to be easier than the altered
book to create. When writing the literacy narrative I could type and thoughts would flow through
my fingers. I did not have to have any type of plan because I could rearrange my words later to
make sense. I could skip around to different parts as I thought of them and go back to complete
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them later. When doing the altered book I had to plan each page before I started. Once I glued
down a picture there was no going back. If I changed my mind I was out of luck. I find being
creative difficult so coming up with ideas for each page was challenging. I found that each
page of the altered book overlapped and could be switched around to convey the same meaning
as another page.
Before this assignment I did not give much thought about the journey of becoming
literate in nursing. I learned about myself during this experience. I have learned that many people
have contributed to my accomplishments not just the ones I thought of right away. I also learned
that I am more creative than I give myself credit for. When given this assignment I thought there
was no way I would ever be able to create an altered book but surprisingly I did and I do not
completely hate it. I enjoyed creating both genres. Together they show my complete journey of
becoming literate in nursing. Each genre highlights different ideas. My literacy narrative has
some moments that could not be shown in my altered book. On the other hand my altered book
has some moments that are shown better than said. Although both tell the story I think they are
best when viewed together.