Kinga Mamulska WRD 104 Final Reflection Paper - Final My time in the WRD 103 class I took was

quite rewarding and I was able to learn a lot which can help me with my future assignments. At first I found myself struggling as a writer and was nervous about starting college but things changed. I always thought of my writing skills as weak and never really knew how to fix that problem. In my WRD class I was able to improve my writing skills and do more. I think I went beyond what I ever thought I could do. Throughout the year, with the many assignments we had, I was able to learn how to do a proper and effective analysis, how to write in different genres, and how to go about with the writing process both as a reviser and student. I was able to learn how to analyze works of literature from the Rhetorical Analysis essay I did in my WRD class the beginning of first quarter. This assignment required that we pick a political speech and analyze the rhetoric used to make an argument. When I wrote my final draft of the rhetorical analysis on Obamas speech I didnt really have a strong thesis. After some feedback I was guided along a better road and improved. For my final portfolio I chose to revise a petition that I did for the public document assignment, in this petition I was also able to improve my analyzing skills because of the rhetorical analysis I had to do on my own petition as well. Before my WRD 103 class, I would struggle with assignments that needed any kind of analysis done. In my WRD 103 class I was able to learn what I needed to know by asking many questions and using the helpful feedback I got. The learning outcome I had from this experience is of critical thinking, reading, and writing because I am able to integrate my ideas with those of

others and can interpret and explain the relationship among language, power, and rhetoric. I can apply my skill of analyzing to effectively write future research papers in the future. Throughout the quarter I was exposed to writing in many different genres. The project in particular that made me write in a different way was the public document where I chose to do a petition. To write in different genres effectively, I first had to do some research and find some examples of different types of genres. Before I did this assignment I have to admit I did not know too much about the characteristics of different genres because I would always avoid the unconventional. While looking at different examples I was able to classify the characteristics each genre should include and this helped make me ready to write my own document. In class for the public document I chose to do a petition on changing nursing homes. While preparing to write my petition I collected all the knowledge I needed to successfully write a petition and used the feedback I received to improve. Writing in several genres and applying conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation were the main learning outcomes. I can apply this to future writing because if I will ever need to write something other than an essay I will know to do it right and will know what steps I will need to take. For me the revision process was never an existence and this is mainly because I never found it helpful before my first year at DePaul University. In my WRD 103 class I learned that it is important to revise and if it done right, it can benefit the writer. In class we were often put into groups to revise one anothers work. At first I dreaded the idea of this, but after time, with the help of our instructor, everyone learned how to help one another. In class we did many activities to help us give the right feedback and I know that constructive criticism is a good thing. All this practice we had in class with revising made me more comfortable with others reading my writing. As the quarter went on, every time my classmates and I would revise each others work

we would be able to give a lot of helpful feedback and learn about other options we have when writing. The peer review we did in class was very beneficial and I believe it made me flourish as a writer. The learning outcomes from this are processes and being able to critique my own and others work. I can use this in the future to help others write their papers because of properly learning how to revise I will know what to look for to fix in my own work. Every day in my WRD 103 class I felt productive and I felt that I was able to learn something new each time I attended class. All the assignments done in class helped me become a better writer, reviser, and student. Before my WRD 103 class I would feel discouraged by teachers but this is the first class I was finally able to learn from my mistakes and improve. In my WRD class I found myself brave enough to explore other ways of writing and I think this was also important for my success. This journey is now over but the skills I learned will always be applied. I now effectively know how to analyze, write in different genres, and revise. Feel that these skills helped m improve as a writer because before I took thins class they were my weaknesses. I am now proud to say I think I have achieved something and will be able to use it later in life.