Final Reflection

What I think I have improved most from this course is organization. I think of myself as
someone who is pretty well-organized, unless it comes to writing. Before I took this course, I
struggled to organize my points in a paper and how to state what I want to say. While taking this
course, I have learned how I like to organize my papers. I prefer to organize my paper by
introduction, body, and conclusion. In the body of a paper, I have learned how to connect specific
topics in a paper and how to create smooth transitions from one topic to another. With
organization, I have noticed that I like to create outlines, because it is a useful template for any
kind of paper. I like to write my outlines as simple as possible; for example, I like to only write
out the topics for my paper instead of having a very detailed outline. In my opinion, I think that
detailed outlines are a written paper that is broken into parts. The reason why I like to have
simple outlines is that I like to do my research while I write my papers instead of having all of
my sources outlined and ready for me. I tend to become confused and forget about certain parts I
outlined in a source. Overall, I think that I have improved in my organization skills with my
writing assignments.
What I am most proud of from this semester is how I have managed to put my e-portfolio
together. I am actually very proud of myself for completing the assignments that are required in
the portfolio and how I have organized it. Organizing my e-portfolio may have been the last
thing that I have done for this class, but I am very proud of my final product. I enjoyed putting
my e-Portfolio together, although it took a few days. From creating this e-portfolio, I have
learned how I like things organized; I preferred grouping the smaller assignments and grouping
the big projects together. I gave both of the reflections their own page, because I felt that these
two assignments were important as how I have reflected myself from the beginning of the

semester until now. What I am least proud of from this semester is doing my assignments last
minute. I have struggled constantly throughout this semester to complete my required
assignments on time. For some particular reason, I have ended up completing a large amount of
my assignments, including the major assignments, the day that the assignment was due and right
before I would attend class. I am not sure why I did this for this class, because I would not do
this for any of my other classes. I struggle to organize when to do my assignments because I tend
to feel overwhelmed with the amount of assignments I should do. For my lengthy assignments, I
would complete those assignments the day before the assignments are due. For my smaller, less
serious assignments that I know would take me about an hour or less to finish, I would work on
these assignments before class began.
During this course, I have interacted with rhetorical knowledge by being able to identify
my audience. While being able to identify my audience, I can set the tone for my paper. In a blog
post, I remember writing about how I am able to identify different audiences and setting my tone
to fit a certain audience. For example, if I was speaking to a more mature audience, I would set
my tone in a professional manner and use familiar terminology that the audience would be able
to grasp. If I was speaking to a group of younger adolescents, I would use simple terminology
that they would be able to understand. I would also make sure to speak clearly and slowly. With
critical reading, I have interacted with this learning outcome while I was working on my
annotated bibliography project. Before I began working on this assignment, I was not able to
distinguish the difference between a summary and an analysis. While working on the annotated
bibliography, I struggled on writing my analyses. I was writing my analyses as if they were
summaries, without noticing a difference. From taking this course, I am now able to identify an
analysis and a summary. Another topic that I have interacted with critical reading is being able to

identify a primary research article from other resources. I had to learn how to identify what was a
primary research article for one of my other courses that I have taken this semester. I had to learn
how to analyze each article and be able to comprehend the significance of the article to have a
better understanding of the topic. A learning outcome that I have also been able to interact with is
how to use composing processes. I believe that I have achieved this learning outcome with the
process of completing my inquiry paper. For my inquiry paper, the first thing I had to do was to
figure out a question I wanted to argue. I have researched Nobel Prize related topics and
pondered about what I would enjoy writing about. My first thought involved world peace, and
from my first reflection, I have realized that one of my goals is to make a difference in this
world, even if it is a small one. I focused my question revolving world peace and Nobel Peace
Prize winners. My first draft involved discussing the social impacts of Nobel Peace Prize
winners. While I was writing my first draft, I realized that the topic I chose did not really have
much I could work with. After submitting my first draft, my peers and I began to peer review one
anothers drafts. My peer proofread my paper and stated that I should be more clear with my
question. From this comment, I decided to narrow down my question. For my second draft, it
was based on how the social changes created by past Nobel Peace Prize winners have shaped
society to how it is today. While polishing up my second draft, I began to develop a clearer idea
of what I wanted to write about. For my final draft, I revised a large portion of my paper to
discuss how the human race can achieve world peace by viewing the social changes that past
Nobel Peace Prize winners have done as guidance. I was able to discuss more with my argument
and provide more evidence for how world peace can be achieved. I have interacted with
knowledge of conventions by being able to identify what was appropriate for my presentation in
class. I began researching topics about world issues and I wanted to discuss issue that required

immediate attention other than issues that can be resolved later. Eventually, I decided to discuss
the importance of agriculture and food security. I chose this topic because being a biology major,
I believe that saving the environment should be a priority. I believe an issue like this is relevant
to everyone and is appropriate enough to discuss. Another way I have interacted with the
knowledge of conventions is by citing every source that I use in a paper or in a presentation. I
have learned what sources are more beneficial than others, and I have learned how to cite many
different types of sources correctly. With critical reflection, I have adapted the ability of being
able to explain why I want to discuss a certain issue, or why I chose a specific topic to argue
about. I have learned how to revise my own work, how to describe my process of thought while
developing a topic to discuss, and how to use reflection to register what I have learned. With this
skill, I believe that I can successfully analyze an article, annotate my papers, and be able to
correct myself in writing.