Dear First Year Seminar Teachers,

 

Writing 1103 was a fantastic course for freshman English!  This course, based on creative writing was a fruitful challenge that pushed me to think in ways I have not before.  Having basically no creative writing experience before this course, I can confidently say that I have grown significantly during this course. My learning skills have further developed through the use of rhetorical knowledge, critical reading, composing processes, knowledge of conventions, and critical reflection.  

 

There are many different approaches and strategies to use when writing. Knowing how to use these skills builds rhetorical knowledge and awareness.  I put my rhetorical knowledge skills to work in my project by appealing to my audience.  The intended audience for my inquiry project are people who are interested in nature, and who have a desire to learn about how nature can improve health.  I used logos in the presentation of my argument through facts about studies that have concluded that nature improves health.  I also used ethos in attempting to get the audience to make some of their own personal connections to nature. An important context surrounding my inquiry topic has been the recent wildfires in Western North Carolina, as well as ongoing climate change.  These events provide a way the reader can think about my information in terms of current situations.

 

Given that the inquiry project was a major part of this course, one’s critical reading skills are stimulated through the research process.  When I began my research, I started with searching the web to get ideas to work with.  But, since not all sources are reliable, I had to read several articles to find common trends to research further.  Once my initial findings were corroborated, I was able to delve deeper into more academic studies since I knew what I was looking for. We also used critical reading in this course when editing our own essays each week.  This is a challenging task for me because sometimes I read to myself what I meant to write, not what is actually written on the page.  This skill was also used in our critique assignments for our fellow peers.  I enjoyed reading my classmates work and it helped me learn more about writing because other people would use writing approaches that I would not have thought of myself. Critically reading other’s work would highlight skills that I should utilize in my own writing, as well as mistakes I should pay attention to.

 

Composing thoughts, ideas, and writing in this course was a different process than I have done before.  We kept a sketchbook all semester in which we recorded ideas, planned writing, and collected research in.  By writing everything down in my sketchbook, it became a scrapbook of learning either through composition or research.  Class discussions were another important learning process in this class.  Both formal presentations and small group collaborations were ways I was able to learn and receive constructive criticism about my work.  Our creative challenges each week were also a way of finding new ways to think out our inquiry.  I tried to incorporate nature in various ways into my challenges, but the trend was that nature always set the scene of the happy parts of the story.  This lead me to focus my inquiry on the healing power of nature.  

 

When writing a story, letter, or research paper, some conventions stay the same, yet some change with the type of presentation.  Editing and revising stories was one way I used my knowledge of conventions.  Each time I revisited a paper, I was able to find mistakes I missed previously and saw areas I wanted to change.  I also used this knowledge when formatting my stories to make the story flow well for the reader.  I had not thought about that before this class, but I have noticed how much of a difference the presentation of a writing can have on the reader.  Another important part about conventions is giving proper credit to sites.  All of my sources are cited so that one looking to learn more can go read what I read.  I learned it is important to also cite all photographs, too. Most of the photos in my website were taken by me, including the background and the slideshows in the introduction.  The photos not taken by me are linked to their original source.

 

I have discovered that critical reflection is existent in nearly all of my college courses.  In this class, I have utilized critical thinking each week through journaling.  Journaling was difficult for me at first, then I learned that it was simpler than I thought.  Writing my thoughts down helps me keep track of ideas and make new realizations that I would not have noticed without reflection. Through reflection, I have been able to discover some of my writing habits that work, and those that are not effective.  I write best if I write out a plan first, and revisit my story multiple times, rather than writing the whole essay in one day. Reflection has become an integrated part of my learning now.

 

I have learned much during this semester about writing, composing and critical thinking. Though these skills were taught through the use of fun creative writing and our own inquiry interests, I know I will continue to apply these skills in my everyday studies through and beyond college.

 

 

Sincerely,

Rose Wuertz