Selena Mercado Writing 37 Haas March 11, 2014 Reflection In the beginning of the course I was more nervous

than anything else, I have always had a difficult time with writing. Intensive Writing, just the name alone was enough to make me feel uneasy as the quarter approached. However, when I first got the email informing us that we would be focusing on Detective Fiction, I was suddenly excited for the course to begin. Through out the course we focused on Detective Fiction, specifically on Conan Doyles text and genre conventions displayed in his Sherlock Holmes series. We focused on the four stages of genre conventions: Primitive, Classical, Parodic, and Revisionist. During the Primitive stage the audience is just being introduced to the genre. During the Classical stage the genre is at its peak of popularity, and the audience now knows what to expect. During the Parodic stage the genre is so well-known that many humorous revisions are adopted. Lastly, the Revisionists stage creates modernized revisions of the genre through modern day text and television shows. Though the four stages were present, during the course we focused on the Classical and Revisionist stages to Conan Doyles novels into modern day detective fiction. In order for one to understand Conan Doyles novels, we first learned about the Victorian Era. The class was broken down into groups of four or five students.

My group consisted of Esteban, Francisco and John. In our groups we were to go into depth about the Victorian Era, we talked about the queen specifically. We learned that this was a time where the idea of the super natural clashed with the advancement in science and the logical explanation of mysteries. It was in Sherlock Holmes that we saw the advances in science and detective work. Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective who through his keen observation the idea of the super natural was turned down and science expanded. Through out the course we analyzed Conan Doyles The Sign of the Four, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. In each we analyzed reoccurring genre conventions that make up the mystery genre. Such conventions include the clues and evidence, the appearance of the incompetent police, the detectives sidekick, and many more. After exploring the conventions we worked in small groups again and presented to the class the importance of a specific convention. We presented on clues and evidence. We focused on explaining that evidence is critical to any mystery. We moved on to the Revisionist stage of the Conan Doyle novels where we worked with the modern day detective genre. There were a few different modern day takes on the Sherlock Holmes series my group specifically looked at the television show Psych. In which we saw the similar genre conventions, although through a more comical approach. We presented on the overview of the show and how the protagonist of the show came to be and how the similar conventions stood out in different episodes. We found that although very similar, there were some changes in the convention of the sidekick.

During the presentations, I really learned the value of group work. Up until this class I never understood what it really took to be apart of a group. There must be a strong sense of responsibility, reliability and effort. I learned that we all must stick to our roles and fully take our responsibility and do the work. If we did not all stick to what we had to, it would be evident in the presentation and would look bad upon the entire group. As a group, I feel we got to know each other and our strengths and weaknesses in presenting and that helped us through out to giving stronger presentations there after. After analyzing both Conan Doyles original work and the modern-day revisions of detective fiction we wrote two essays. The first essay was centered around either The Sign of the Four, or The Hound of the Baskervilles, specifically on the genre conventions that we originally saw. I wrote on the presence of the clues and evidence in the Sign of the Four and how they had a major impact on the entire novel and contributed to the intensity of the plot. For our second essay we had to analyze the revision of Conan Doyles text into a modern version of the detective fiction. I focused my paper on the idea of the sidekick. In Psych, the sidekick is not quite the same anymore, the sidekick now provides a stronger impact in the detective himself. He now is more active in the cases and provides the knowledge that is lacking. From the two essays I chose to revise the first one. I made this decision because I felt that it was stronger and I had more to work with. In my second essay I could not quite stay away from summarizing rather than analyzing. It was hard for

me to pick and choose what to include into the short summary. I ended up summarizing the entire episode I chose to look at instead of breaking it down analyzing it. I went back to my first essay and reread it as well as the feedback I got on it and I took those into consideration and will fully be aware of all I need to work on with it when I am finalizing it. I know my writing has come a long way and I will not be done until I am one hundred percent confident with it. Through out the quarter we worked on modules focusing on different aspects of writing. I really feel like the modules have helped me out a lot. Although at times they seem repetitive, they really have been a great help. It was the smaller issues I had that seem to be better. Looking back I feel as though my writing has improved tremendously, and in part because of the modules. I have learned how to better my sentence structure and also the important aspects of a strong, fully developed sentenced. To start my writing was always an area where I needed the most work. I was always too wordy, too repetitive and never seemed to get to the point. However, after going through the modules, I have found that my writing has improved. My writing seems to be stronger, I feel more confident in the writing that I do. The smallest help in the modules made the biggest difference for me. I really do feel like the modules were helpful. They help in the areas that many people struggle in. The modules teach and test what you have learned and they keep on going until you fully understand. The way the modules are programmed is really helpful in getting things done and actually learn and take something from them.

As our last project we had was the RIP Seminar. During the seminar we presented to another class what we had been learning. As a class we did an introductory presentation on the Victorian Era, followed by an introduction on Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes. I specifically presented on the familiar outline that all of Conan Doyles text had. After we introduced what our class learned we acted out a scene, one following the outline originally presented. We did a really great job in the introduction and the acting as well. We all kept to our responsibilities and it came out perfect.

Writing 37 has really opened my eyes to a lot. Not necessarily just writing, but also the importance of group work. In the beginning I was scared of presenting but the constant presentations have slowly taken my nerves away when I am presenting to a group, not only do I feel a lot more confident, but I have also learned the precise qualities of a great presentation that I am still working on. Throughout the quarter my writing has improved tremendously. I notice it in the essays I have had to write for other classes I stick to the topic and answer it as expected. I have taken a lot from the class that I know will come in had in my future academic years.