Katy Gentry

ENC 1102H

April 28th, 2017

Self Assessment

Walking away from ENC1102H, I feel that the strategies, analysis, and methods taught in

this class have most benefitted my approach to the writing process. While the course outcomes

focused on more than just the writing process itself, they are all interconnected and helped to

give me a greater understanding of how I might be able to approach future papers, as opposed to

my old habits, which mostly resulted in very little development within my writing. The works

that are collected within my e-Portfolio serve to exemplify the process we undertook, showing

growth that I, personally, had previously lacked in my writing. This course has also given me a

much more solid understanding of rhetoric and argumentative strategies, giving me a basis on

which I will be able to build upon and utilize in the remainder of my college career and beyond.

The number one thing that I am taking away from this course is the importance of peer

review and draft. In short, embracing the many stages that go into creating a paper, as well as the

idea that texts are ever-developing. Through the creation of the digital paper trail, and the broad

approach we were asked to take towards the initial development of the research paper, I had to

adapt to the sensation of not knowing exactly where my argument was going or what my final

product was going to look like. While this was uncomfortable and frustrating at first, Ive grown

to have an appreciation to this kind of approach, starting with just research and building from

there. The concept of the CARS model was also new to me, but incredibly helpful when it came

time to try and parse all of the research and information I had found into something like a

coherent argument. The addition of the research proposal and the research dossier to the process
added another level of deeper thinking and developing that I hadnt been previously accustomed

to. I learned to be a lot more flexible in my approach, and ultimately I think I was able to take

away a deeper understanding of what goes into an argument, and how I can best utilize different

sources to create the message I want to convey.

One of the other aspects of this course that I had previously greatly overlooked and

underestimated was the concept of peer review. Through the peer review I provided for others, I

was able to help train myself to recognize higher-order concerns that could be addressed, and

helped me to think more critically about my own writing. The development of my paper from the

first draft to the final was largely a response to the feedback that I received, and the degree of

success that I had within the peer review, and the approach we took to discussing and applying

revision strategies, help to really drive home the true importance of peer review. I have always

liked to have at least one other pair of eyes look over my work before submitting it, whether it be

for class or a professional email or even just a Facebook post, but now I really appreciate the

degree to which peer review can be taken and utilized as well.

This process, however, would not have been nearly as useful without a strong base

knowledge of rhetorical strategies, as we covered in the first few weeks of class. I really felt that

our final process grew in a way similar to Legos everything was constantly being built upon,

and everything was connected in some way. Knowing how to analyze a text will inevitably be

useful in the future, both academically and in the real world. How we interpret and associate

with texts dictates how we interpret and interact with the world around us, from news to studies

to reviews and beyond. I struggled at first to see the full value in the discussion assignments, but

as time went on they made much more sense in how they played into the bigger picture of

writing as a concept. Knowing how to analyze and search for things such as Kairos and the
influence of the audience in a piece of writing or a commercial also served not just to understand

their importance, but to exemplify ways in which I could take those factors into consideration in

my own paper, analyzing my sources and in how I approached writing it myself. It gave me more

of a focus, and in particular our discussion of discourse communities and intertextuality helped

me to be aware of my writings fit into a bigger picture.

Some additional skills that were picked up included the acquisition of sources, as

exemplified in my digital paper trail and annotated bibliography. I was able to learn strategies to

help me organize the sources I located, as well, a skill that is applicable in all aspects of life. The

format of the digital paper trail and the notations we took can help organize other research,

outside of academic settings, such as looking at apartments, jobs, choosing a car, and all other

kinds of research.

I did not think I would leave this class with as wide a variety of knowledge as I am. The

practical applications of the skills Ive learned are invaluable, and I am glad to have

accomplished them. While I still feel like I am weak in some aspects of analysis or planning, I

know now that I have the skillset and the ability to be flexible enough in my approach that I can

adapt to whatever new and interesting situations my future research endeavors might present to

me. I look forward to the ways in which I will be able to apply these skills, including in future

academic writings, and I am glad to be a better, more thorough, and more developed writer,

having had this experience. I feel as though I have understood the expected learning outcomes of

this course, and going forward will be able to apply them to my life beyond college.