Reflection on Open Letter Draft

In this blog post, I will reflect on the feedback provided by my peers on my final project. I reviewed Grace's letter and Aaron's letter.

"Bathmat Pugs," Olivia Wann. 

The most helpful thing about peer review on the final project, was that it helped me see what my letter was missing. My rough draft is only about a page long, and I sat around thinking of what I could add, and my peers helped me see what was needed. For example, Hunter suggested that I could add a paragraph about how I approach a writing situation.

I think that my letter does a good job of analyzing myself as a writer. I tried to be as honest as possible, which I think you can see when reading it.

One thing that I will add is "an analysis of your writing assignments." I touched on my assignments, but some specific details need to be added.

I only have one quote from my own writing right now, so I will be adding more.

I do explain my choices and their effects that they had on my work in the class. Once again, this will help me add more specifics in my writing.

Draft of Open Letter

In this blog post, I have combined two blog posts from the beginning of the year in order to construct a rough draft of the final project.

"Worried Pugs," Olivia Wann (@nakedpugs via Instagram). 

My rough draft presents a "then and now" of my writing process and time management. For the most part, things haven't changed, and this is what I will reflect on in my open letter. Please feel free to provide feedback. The draft can be found here. 

Reflecting More on My Writing Process

In this blog post, I will answer some questions about myself as a writer in English 109.

"Monday Morning Pugs," Olivia Wann (@nakedpugs via instagram).  

1. I think my biggest challenge this semester was grasping the prompts. I eventually got it, but I really wanted to understand, so that I could address all of the parts. I think my biggest challenge was project two, "You have been asked to write an analytical document by a distinguished professor in your department" (Bottai). This project took a few re-reads of the prompt.

2. I learned that I'm pretty good under pressure. Yes, I care about my grades and work, but I do not let it make me stressed out and worried. I like to have balance in my life- there is no way that I will now or ever spend hours everyday working on homework. I am able to get my writing assignments done pretty quickly.

3. Before this class, I wasn't too familiar with many genres. I now know different genres and understand that not every writing assignment is an "essay." There are many different genres to write in, and I actually love the QRG and Blog genres.

4. I will definitely be more honest and opinionated in my writing. It's refreshing to not write everything so formally, and I think that you see someone's true colors when they're able to express themselves in writing however they want.

5. I think that my most effective moment was in my 3rd project: "Artificial sweeteners are everywhere- stevia, splenda, extra...you’ve seen them. They’re pushed on diabetics especially because they contain no calories and make foods sweet. They’re FDA approved so they may seem safe, but studies show that they can have negative impacts to your body. Since they don’t raise your blood sugar, your brain doesn’t do as good of a job at telling you that you’re full. This can make you eat even more than you normally would. Also, they can cause changes in the content of microorganisms in your gut, which can also cause weight gain." I think that it it effective because it's simple but gets the point across.

6. I think that my least effective moment was in project 2: "When analyzing an act of public argument, it is important that you cover all of your bases. Doing research on the author is crucial because it can give you insight into their credibility and any biases that they may have. Looking into the target audience can show you why they use the techniques that they do to prove their points. Also, look at the strategies that they use. Are they focusing on one more than the other? Why do they use the ones that they do? In the field of nutrition, you must look at all sides of the story in order to provide the most unbiased argument as possible." I didn't really get the prompt as well as I wish I would have.

 

Revisiting My Writing Process

In this blog post, I will look back and reflect on some early blog posts in which I wrote about my writing habits.

"Unmotivated Pug," Olivia Wann (@nakedpugs via instagram).

After reading my first blog posts, I realized that I know myself pretty well. The way that I do things may change a bit from time to time, but old habits die hard! I still focus most of my energy on the drafting process as opposed to being a heavy reviser (I'm more of a planner). As for my calendar, I read about how in  the beginning of the year I hated my job, and it took up a lot of time. Big surprise- I quit! I love my new job, and have been doing a lot better at managing homework time because I work more reasonable hours. I have been putting some things before homework this semester, but I still get my homework done! I have turned in a few late assignments, but it happens. I think its more important than anything to find a balance. If you're freaking out over assignments and loosing sleep, you're just not doing it right.