Dear Professor Zugnoni,

UWP-001Y was an interesting experience. I came into this class expecting

having to do writing assignment after writing assignment, but I soon found out that this
class is focused on revising and reflecting on lessons learned during class and during
the writing process rather than churning out essays. Doing the 3 projects of this class
has changed my attitude towards writing multiple drafts and also improved my research
and rhetorical skills.

One of the most important aspects of writing is having a mindset of constant improvement.

I choose to include the wikipedia entry because the style is fairly formal and
requires extensive research on an obscure topic. My researching skills have improved
from doing the wikipedia assignment because the wikipedia entry required juggling
many different sources and presenting information from these sources in a unbiased
and clear manner. From doing the wikipedia entry project, I have improved my skills in
researching and analyzing the information gathered from multiple sources. Over the
many drafts of the wikipedia entry, the entry has improved in clarity and organization.
My group members gave me good feedback on the wikipedia entry and they were able
to identify many of my mistakes in the entry. Overall, the Wikipedia Entry is much better
in quality than my Living Picture Narrative because I have spent more time writing and
revising it, which is why choosing the Wikipedia Entry is an easy choice.
 I came into UWP despising writing drafts and revising multiple drafts, but now I see the value in these
revisions and processes because the results are much better than what I had been doing.

The podcast project represents what I have learned about discourse

communities and tailoring my writing towards a specific audience. The podcast requires
primary as well as secondary sources. Integrating these two proved a challenge. My
first draft of the podcast was a disaster. It was rushed, didn’t identify an audience and
the podcast was basically a recitation of my observations. However, by the time of the
recording of the podcast, I have made a significant overhaul to the structure and fixed
much of the large problems such as identifying my audience and integrating some
secondary sources into the podcast.

My experience in UWP has taught me that drafts and revision is key to writing an essay
with good quality.

These two projects combined is representative of what I have accomplished

during my time in UWP and they are the product of many revisions and drafts. My
research skills have improved from this experience, and I have gained a better
understanding of paragraphs and organizing them. These projects also reflect my ability
to analyze information gathered from observations or other sources and integrate them
smoothly and clearly. I have also practiced tailoring tone language towards a specific
audience. For example, the language and tone used for the wikipedia entry and podcast
project is different as the wikipedia entry is formal and straight to the point, while the
podcast project is supposed to written like a conversation and have a casual tone.

Thinking about lessons learned in class and lessons learned from doing the assignments and reflecting
on these lessons is important. It makes you remember these lessons and how to apply them in your later
works.

Overall, UWP-001 was a different experience. It is a far cry from the typical
writing class where you would churn out essay after essay and do countless readings of
various texts. UWP-001 is probably the only writing class I have enjoyed out of the two
writing classes I’ve taken at UC Davis. The wikipedia project and the podcast project
were unique and enjoyable to do compared to more conventional assignments. I also
wanted to thank you for giving me detailed feedback on my essays and for the lessons
you taught during class. I hope won’t forget what I have learned in UWP as the
knowledge from this class would prove invaluable in the future.

Sincerely,
David Zhong

References:
https://ryver.com/the-power-of-persistence-perseverance-and-tenacity-for-the-entrepreneur/
http://www.globaloutsourcing.com.au/importance-continuous-improvement/
http://thespeculum.blogspot.com/2011/11/reflection-saturday.html
https://reverserett.org/a-rigorous-peer-review-why-you-should-care/