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Chadwyck Moore
De Piero
Writing 2
June 9, 2016
Writing in the Rearview: Writing 2 Reflection Essay
With a quick click, I was registered in Writing 2 for the spring quarter. I remember
feeling optimistic about the class, mostly because optimism was my only choice. I was a
second year, taking a mandatory writing class, in the last possible quarter I would be eligible.
I remember feeling optimistic about the class, mostly because I enjoyed English classes. One
of the few classes I would stay awake through in my k-12 schooling was always English
class. Learning new things about words and writing was always interesting. Then I saw that
the course was called academic writing. All I could envision was a dark almost sweat-shop
like room where we would analyze papers for days all while the teacher from the black
lagoon stared at us. I remember feeling optimistic about the class, mostly because I dont like
to start anything with a negative mindset. I decided I would go to the first day of class with
an open mind and see what happens.
And see I did. On the first day of class I remember sitting in my seat with any optimism I
had before gone. I didnt expect, I knew that the writing teacher would be some elderly
recluse of a man who would preach the religion of rhetoric for the entire quarter. Then, at
2:00pm sharp, the teacher walks in and I see the spitting image of The Dude from The Big
Lebowski with a gym membership. I was surprised to say the least that the teacher didnt

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look like they pulled him from the discount rack of Teachers R Us. I was even more
surprised that we opened the first day running with intros and the syllabus being quick work.
The learning began shortly after with us writing our first journal responses. It was a new
experience. Zach had us write our responses as quick free writes. These free writes were
supposed to be done as you thought of them, with no outlines or formal planning. This lack
of formal planning was different, I tended to write in bursts and was not used to the stream of
consciousness style responses. This made the first journal entries challenging. I felt rushed to
put my ideas down before the posting and didnt feel like I really expressed myself at first.
Especially when the first responses had me cover a topic I soon came to realize, I knew little
about.
Genre was a topic that I seldom covered before Writing 2, only being brought up in
relation to music styles. I was quick to learn that Genres arerepeating rhetorical
situations (Dirk 252). In other words, genre is a frame of conventions that are followed in
order to best respond to a rhetorical situation like a resume for a job interview or essay for a
teachers topic. It took me the whole of Writing 2 to be able to write those three sentences.
When we first covered genre I did not expect to learn much, I remember thinking that there
couldnt be that much to genre, and that we would be moving on to the next topic soon
enough. By the third week I had written that I had learned more about genre than I ever
thought about (4.3.16). Working through genre I cant help but refer to the nesting dolls
Zach would bring in. There really was always another doll, so to speak, when it came to
genre in the course; another layer to what composed genre. The readings always tied into
what makes up a genre, the project buildersespecially PB1Ahad us explore it on our

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own. Genre was the class motto and everything from the dolls to the duck tied back into it. If
anything, I can leave writing 2 knowing I have an understanding of genre.
Our first writing project covered an analysis of a genre of our own choice. At first, I was
excited about the freedom that I was afforded by being able to choose my own genre. This
analysis of the genre was new to me and something that looking back, could have been done
better. The analysis was not well defended, with Zach pointing out my lack of evidence. I
knew that I needed more proof for it even writing in my journal finding connections to the
readings has been more challenging than I expected. (5.12.16). This lack of support and
connection for the writing weakened my writing project as a whole and showed to me that I
needed more work in understanding what composed genre, so I would be able to make a
better analysis. Genre was something I clearly struggled with in the beginning with Zach
commenting on my WP1 What, exactly, are you going to be arguing here?. The focus of
the paper was lacking and something that I had to work on throughout the course.
Genre quickly moved into moves. Moves are the specific rhetorical decisions made by a
writer. Another way to put this is that moves are the personal writing decisions made by the
author. These moves can take many forms and alike to Michael Jacksons Moonwalk, are
unique to a specific person. Zach always had us refer back to the moves being used in the
class, with multiple in class discussions on moves. One such activity had us write for the
varying genres regarding a fictional murder. The activity helped me learn a lot about moves,
having us work through what made a police report what it was. This work on moves
continued into our second writing project where I learned that my grasp on moves was
weaker than I previously believed.

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WP2 had us analyze moves, or rhetorical decisions, made by the authors from different
sources on the same topic. My first analysis missed out on the on the so what, who cares,
stressing to the reader why your analysis is accurate or matters (Birkenstein & Graff 93).
This led the argument to come off as weak; the essay did not have the support it needed. This
sadly became a recurring issue in the writing project and something that I had to change for
my portfolio revision. To ensure that the revisions made sense, I had to employ one of the
many tactics we learned in Writing 2. I used a reverse outlinewriting out the important
parts of every paragraphand made note of where I needed to make changes. Studying
moves was a challenge, but like any challenge it led to growth. This growth in my writing
ability culminated into something great for the class finale.
Writing 2 concluded with our final writing project and like a carnival that has gone on too
long, the fun turned into work. I had to take what I learned over the course of the class and
revisit my old papers like a soldier returning to the battlefield of a soldier from a long
forgotten war. The final portfolio luckily did not include a revision of the third writing
project (although it was my favorite one!), but still demanded us to use the insight we learned
from class on ourselves. I feel like my arguments have become stronger, especially after
some revision for my theses. WP1 sounds more like what I envisioned for the paper and I
feel like the edits I made are reflective of what I learned since my first grade. WP2 however,
still seems lacking in some way. The paper is better than the original, but every look makes
me feel like I could make an edit somewhere. Im not sure if I will ever be satisfied with the
final product, Writing 2 may have made me more nitpicky!
I believe this nitpicking is the result of how we were taught to read in class. In Writing 2
we approached readings in new ways. I had always read for context prior to this class, I was able

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to understand what was being said well and respond/reflect on that. Entering the course I
expected that was what we would do. I imagined a class assigned reading and an essay of some
form on what was read. Instead, we focused on analyzing how the writer accomplished their
goals. This is called Reading Like a Writer (RLW) and is when you work to identify some
of the choices the author made so that you can better understand how such
choices might arise in your own writing. Simply put, RLW is when you read a
piece to find out how to use similar techniques in your own writing. Time was
spent on responding to the organization of the paper instead of what the paper was saying. This
approach changed how I approached readings. I not only studied what was being said but how it
was said as well. I even caught myself noting an authors moves in my other classes! RLW is a
new approach that I see myself using in the future.
That future will likely include writing and I am happy to say that I feel a broadening in
my writing ability. I feel like the course has taught me how to fish, I know that I will be able to
write in a new genre after this class. The course focused on the students breaking down each part
of a genre, learning the recipe so to speak. We covered it even throughout the course with WP3
being the moment I felt it click. Working through the academic article, I had to analyze it in a
way I had never done before. Instead of content, I was judging how and why the writer did what
they did. This project had me work on a skill I see myself applying soon. I see myself being able
to work through a new genre and knowing that I can create something of merit in it. For
example, I have to write a grant proposal soon for my organization. I have no experience in grant
writing whatsoever and had I not taken this course I know I would have dreaded the task. After
Writing 2, I know how to analyze grant proposals for the how, and know how to apply it for my
own purposes.

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Something about Writing 2 changes a man. You go in bright eyed with a nave hope for a
better day. Next thing you know youre neck deep in thlogs, your project builder isnt finished,
and you still havent decided what to do for your writing project. You dont come out of Writing
2 the sameit changes a man. Those bright eyes get worked, its a challenge at first, but they
learn. Those bright eyes learn how to break down a reading into its conventions. Those bright
eyes learn how to analyze the rhetorical moves made by an author. You dont come out of
Writing 2 the sameit changes a man. That nave hope is replaced with a writers wisdom. A
wisdom that has you approach each project with a clear purpose. A wisdom that has you work
through each writing project with diligence. You dont come out of Writing 2 the sameit
changes a man. Writing 2 challenged what I knew about writing before by being more than just
book reports and readings. The class encouraged experimentation and expression and provided
me the tools to realize it. The class had me reflect on my own work in ways I never did before.
Writing 2 made me a better writer who is prepared to face the writing challenges of tomorrow.