Daphne Nandino

Reflection Essay
UWP
12/05/17

Dear Sophia,

Looking back, I realize how wrong I was assuming that this class would solely be teaching me the
same things that I have been learning for years in various English and Writing classes. This class did not
simply teach me the five paragraph essay or how to form a correct essay but rather it taught me how to
view the processes of writing, how to socially peer review, how to analyze my personal literacies, how to
perform research on a discourse community, how to actually revise my writing, and most of all it taught
me the importance of being consciously aware of the changes I make and the processes I take on in order
to reach the final end product. In the past when I had to write an essay or do a project it was like I was on
autopilot and my goal was to simply get the job done and thats it. I didnt have a motivation to really
think about how I got to the product it just mattered that it was done, nothing more and nothing less.
However, this quarter has changed that for me. Inside and outside of class I was able to achieve the
learning outcomes under the categories of Rhetorical Knowledge, Processes, Knowledge of Conventions,
Research, and finally Metacognition.
I believe I achieved the learning outcome of Rhetorical Knowledge. I say this because I was able
to differentiate and apply the rhetorical concepts. For example, my literary map first started off as a
graphic narrative however I decided to change it into a presentation style mode through Prezi. I did this
because I wanted my literacy map to be crystal clear to the audience and to myself. This mode was more
efficient and much easier to revise upon. I took into account my peers advice about keeping the river
theme of my literary map, so I was able to change modes without sacrificing the essence of my unique
map. I was also able to improve the multimodal characteristic of the map by adding my own personal
pictures as well as some pictures that I found online that I thought best suited my topic of discussion. I
added personal pictures because I wanted the audience to view my map on a more personal level and
increase the chance of my audience finding my map relatable and engaging. So although I took a different
route on my path toward finishing the literary map, I believe that this turning point was definitely needed
because my map would not have turned out the way it did without that need for a change in mode. I also
would not have been able to make quick revisions to it like making my text shorter and defining what
exactly my literacy is a bit more clearly.
The learning outcome category of Processes was one that I feel I was able to achieve at a
faster rate than the other outcomes. Through the process of gathering into our peer review groups, I was
able to absorb the information and advice that my peers gave to me and apply it to my projects without
too much difficulty. An example of this occurrence was in my Discourse Community Project. Both peer
reviewers suggested I shorten some sections such as the Results section of my paper as well as the
Conclusion section. I ended up changing my Results section into a Discussion section and
combining it with my Methods instead however it was my peers advice that led me to make this
change even though I did not follow their suggestion exactly. My peers also gave positive feedback
regarding my overall organization, specifically the dichotomy between the Stories: Developing
Relationships and the Stories: Challenging Relationships sections of my paper. Because it received
this positive feedback, I decided to keep these sections
I was also able to absorb the information that came from you, Sophia. I applied the advice I
received which suggested that I directly input my interview questions as my Methods and simply
discuss the results from them. I acted upon this suggestion because I realized that it would make my paper
shorter, as it was already going over the word limit, and made my interview questions clearer to the
audience. I also applied the suggestion that my conclusion should highlight the reasons why my results
were important. After thinking about my project and what made it special from the other secondary
sources I used, I was able to answer this question and concluded that it was significant because none of
the other sources addressed how users of snapchat utilize the Story feature of snapchat in a way that
narrows down the audience they are trying to target.
I was also able to play the part of a peer reviewer for others. I was able to peer review literary
maps which were more visual and brief as well as peer review longer research papers. I learned what
questions to ask myself while reviewing and how I should balance the feedback between positive and
critical. For example, I included a point in someones research paper saying You have great ideas here! I
especially liked the fact that you included the quote. I would suggest adding more to the section in terms
of analysis and examples. I was able to be critical but also provide my honest and complimentary
feedback in a way that I believe would best help the peer I was reviewing for.
I used the same strategy for reviewing literacy maps however because these maps were not as
long and verbose, I made suggestions regarding the transparency and clear definitions of the literacies
being described. After looking at the maps, I reviewed in my head what the literacies were and if I could
not count four distinct ones then I would suggest more clarity for the missing literacy.
The Knowledge of Conventions category of learning outcomes was, in all honesty, a bit harder to
achieve. In the beginning I had a bit of a struggle figuring out what a discourse community was and which
one I could write my paper on. It was not until later in the process that I started to realize what it truly
meant and I also started to realize that I was a part of many discourse communities. I appreciate the
freedom we had with this project because I cannot think of any other circumstance where I would be able
to explore something like a social media app as an assignment in any other class. I was able to freely
discover aspects of this social platform and the research led me to find that this discourse community had
conflicts within itself. These conflicts are demonstrated as the Stories: Challenging Relationships and
the Stories: Developing Relationships sections of my paper. I included these sections in my paper
because I believe that this conflict is evidence for my claim that the user has the power to use the platform
as they like and utilize it in a way that benefits their personal intentions. I also added it to supply some
interesting dynamic to my discussion of the topic and present the good and evil ways snapchat and its
features can be used.
I was genuinely surprised that while reflecting, I realized that the Research category of outcomes
was achieved with not too much difficulty. Due to my genuine interest in this topic for my Discourse
Community Project, I searched far and wide for the sources that are included in my paper. I was able to
find a sufficient amount of secondary sources and use them to supplement my paper with either general
background information about the app or other statements that supported my thesis. I carefully applied the
sources where needed and made sure to look back at the new revisions made to the MLA format, so I
wouldnt type out the citations in the old form from habit.
I was also able to achieve this outcome through the development of my primary research
which consisted of thirteen interview questions that were directed toward four of my friends who are also
users of snapchat. I remember feeling a huge sense of relief and accomplishment when I saw that the
results from the interviews supported my thesis, even though I knew that the primary research doesnt
have to support the thesis in general. Nonetheless I was happy that I was able to conclude my thesis as
valid according to the sample of friends performed my primary research on. Through this project as a
whole, I found that my personal knowledge and experience with the app facilitated the compilation of my
paper along with the secondary sources I searched for and primary research I performed. Overall, I am
proud of the final product and what I did to finally reach that goal.
The final category of Metacognition was achieved through the class in general and
through this paper. Though I honestly believe I have achieved this goal, I did not reach it with complete
ease. The difficulties arose from the fact that most of my past courses simply want the assignment
completed and to move on to the next assignment as quickly as possible to fit in all the course material in
the given duration of the class. Because of this, I did not take time to really think of why I was doing
certain things, all I knew is that I had to do it. So performing all the reflection that we did in the class
helped me start to realize that sometimes the journey to the final product turns out to be more important
and significant than the final product itself. Sometimes on this journey there are major changes made in
order to reach the final goal like my drastic jump from a graphic narrative to a prezi mode for my literary
map in the short amount of time I had between due dates. However sometimes changes arent so extreme,
like the change I made to my interview question section in my research paper or the addition of personal
pictures into my prezi. At times I did catch myself simply making changes with the only reason being that
it seems right/correct but sometimes I dont catch myself because Im usually making the changes one
right after another.
If I had more time to work on these projects, I would definitely adjust my literary map in
the way that I would insert more slides discussing the literacies I am currently learning here at the
university as well as including some kind of concluding slide that connects my past literacies with my
newer ones. For my discourse community research project, I would want another group of peers to review
my latest revision so I could get some more input on the little or major details that could be changed.
In general, I do believe these concepts in terms of reading and composing can be applied
in my future classes. Since I am studying a science heavy major, the ability to research and strategically
search for sources and the main points of lengthy papers could definitely be used to my benefit. Another
element of the class that I will apply is that fact that I need to discipline myself to reflect more on why I
do certain things because that will undoubtedly assist me in tackling the assignments that will be coming
by way. In addition to these, I am better succumbed to the fact that my first drafts and even my later
revisions may not turn out the way I envisioned in the beginning of the process. Its all about the process
and not always about what comes out of it at the end.