Hannah Sharpless Professor Jan Rieman English 1101 Due October 10, 2012 Midterm Reflection Dear Jan,

Since I began college, the way I read has actually been unchanged. I have no new methods for reading and the way I view reading is no different than recent years. My writing has in the sense of it becoming more personal in the school setting. In my experience, writing in school has always been formal. In college my writing has required a lot more thought on personal preference and switching up styles. It allows me to put more thought into my writing because it is more about my perception of a piece or idea versus simply analyzing the key concepts. I think of writing more differently now because I try to approach it with more open thought and a creative mindset. I also plan a lot more before I write. A text that weve read in English that has contributed to my change of mindset is Linda Christensens Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard? her opinion that words become devalued when more attention is placed on the way something is said rather than what is said changed my view of writing because it made it seem less formal and cut and more about content. It also taught me the importance of quality over quantity.

The type of writing I enjoy the most has not changed since Ive started college, it is still social. I love to text because I love being able to communicate with people even when were not face to face through a quick source. I text very frequently throughout the day and it truly keeps me going and provides energy.

While typing my literacy memoir, I got the idea to write it out by hand and plan before jumping right into typing. Although this is no new method to writing, it is for me because Ive never planned out my writing unless I was forced to. I believe physically typing helped me come to this idea because I realized I was drawing a blank in my writing so perhaps moving my hand with the pen would help my thoughts to produce smoother and faster.

The piece of writing Ive done this semester that I am most proud of is a WTE I wrote on my most memorable reading experience. I am most proud of this piece because it took a lot out of me to write it. The topic of the paper was reading to my granddaddy as he passed away. It was the first time I had written about this as well as the first time I really reflected on it. The first two lines of the passage were My most memorable reading experience was reading to my granddad on his death bed. This was the hardest time of my life and Ill never forget it. Based off of those words, you can imagine the pain I endured while writing.

A piece of writing Ive done this semester that I am the least proud of is a paper I had to write in place of a missed lab. Although I responded thoroughly and provided accurate research, the paper took an incredibly long amount of time to get accomplished. I had zero motivation for this piece which took away from the quality of it. I simply was not proud of the lack of effort, thought, and creativity I put in for this piece.

Some specific questions I have about reading/writing/and research are: -How do I do proper research? How can I better point out need know information rather than feeling like I need to include everything? -How do I make my WTEs more creative? A lot of my WTEs I feel are best written in essay form, or that is the best way I can communicate my thoughts. I would like to know how I can make them more innovative if I feel an essay is the way to go. -Why are teachers writing preferences so incredibly varying? Although everyone has their own opinion, for the most part growing up I was taught a similar style of writing through grade school. Now the writing style is totally different and varies strongly between professors. -Did stronger academics actually hinder my reading? I used to love to read when I was very young but I avoid it at all costs today. Was it being forced to read upper level books at such a young age that pushed me away from writing? -How can I make writing more enjoyable for myself? I need to find things that work for me to make writing more bearable and natural.

Three things I would like to work on through the rest of the semester would be: -Comprehension of the text verse simply scanning the words. To do this I must start with reading texts I find more enjoyable so I can accomplish this task much quicker and efficiently. I will then move to required texts and lengthier texts and try to apply the same concepts I learned with simpler texts. -How do I make my writing better appeal to the reader? I must first be aware of my audience in every piece of writing, then think of what attracts to them most when reading and apply those things to my writing.

-I would also like to get better at doing a task earlier than under pressure. I need to learn to complete tasks with plenty of time to spare rather than waiting until the last minute. This will require me to become more organized and plan out my assignments ahead of time. I must use free time during the day to complete work rather than waiting for the clock to run down.

Thanks for reading Jan! -Hannah Sharpless