Madison Johnson

Julia Intawiwat
UWRT 1101 007
20 Oct. 2015
Midterm Reflection
This semester I will be studying how isolation affects a person and tying it into the book
we have read, Into the Wild. While I do believe I have followed the direction for each thing we
have done so far, I personally feel that I could have gone higher in my attempts to be above
average. I have gone back and edited my journals and other assignments, however I did so
privately and plan on publishing them on my blog when our final portfolio is due.
While I did miss a class recently due to an illness and I do not contribute to class
discussions, within my group I am very involved in our discussions. My participation in class is
not as high as it should be. I have always struggled with speaking out in class, however I have no
trouble having in-depth conversations with my group. I would give myself an above average
grade in this aspect. Even though I do not contribute to class conversations I feel that I make up
for it within my group and with my engagement and attention to discussions.
With my extended inquiry, I have finished fine-tuning my proposal and done a little
research to get me started. I really appreciated the comments I got on my proposal; they helped
me improve it from what I had originally written. I do have a bucket list and I have it set up most
important to least. An issue I came across when doing my research is the fact that I had to find
reliable sources in sociology and psychology to help me with my topic. I have read many articles
trying to narrow down my selection. My proposal needed the comment I received and it is better
than it was when I first brought it in.

I have read Shitty First Drafts before and after reading it again I have a better
understanding of how I should operate as a writer. While I was reading Understanding Types of
Writing, I struggled to figure out what kind of writer I am. It is something I have always
struggled with. Academic writing doesnt come as naturally to me as other types of writing but it
is the majority of the writing I do. I have re-read this article a few times to help me understand
who I am as a writer. While reading Into the Wild, I didnt understand why you had us read that
particular book. Now that we have had discussions as a class and watched the movie, I
understand the motivations of Chris better and how I can apply his lessons to myself.
After this assessment, I would give myself an above average grade. Perhaps this is a bit
ambitious for me but I hope to continue to improve my grade throughout the semester. I feel that
the strategies I use when writing are organized and clear enough. I feel that this is an accurate
assessment of my skills as I feel that sometimes I struggle to keep my audiences attention,
sometime go off topic, and I have submitted a at least one assignment late.