My journey throughout this course has been one of personal and literary growth. I have learned from engaging conversations and enlightening views from my peers. The prompts by Professor Otte were brilliant by themselves and to look at them from not only my personal analysis but, through the lens of others, helped me become a better writer.

In regards to my strategy for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and reflecting I feel I have shown a lot of growth. In the character profile assignment I shared a draft among my peers and their feedback made me reflect on how my writing was perceived by others. I learned that different perspectives show me how well I am relaying a message in my writing. This caused me to pay more attention to my word choice in writing to make my message clear to my audience. I received that critic from Professor Otte on my personal narrative assignment. I hid behind unnecessary word choice that got in the way of my objective. Thanks to all this feedback I am more direct in my writing and I send a clearer message in writing. Taking into consideration different perspectives and asking for feedback are now an addition in my writing process. This helped me enhance my strategy for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and reflecting. 

Throughout this course, I have read many amazing pieces of literature. The prompts paired with them helped me acquire skills to analyze them. Though I was able to form different interpretations of a piece, the prompts provided made me look at literature in an entirely different light. I read “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins in high school. Though I initially was able to see the symbolism shown by Perkins, I was not able to see how big the role of female oppression played. To look at the work and think about how it brings awareness to mental health, it helped me empathize with the character more. This empathy made me more attentive of the characters within a story and to analyze pieces beyond the surface.

The addition of different perspectives generously provided by my peers also increased by ability to analyze pieces differently. The topic of mental illness is a serious one and I believe everyone has had their fair share of struggle. I felt it were right to learn from those who were willing to express their connections and share their knowledge of disorders. As someone who entered the class with little knowledge, I did appreciate the conversations had. This helped me analyze the pieces not only beyond the surface but with an educated foundation.

Throughout this process I am still learning how to take into account genre conventions and audience expectations. It wasn’t until Professor Otte provided an essay about genre -Navigating Genre by Kerry Dirk – that my view of genre changed. I was able to rely on genre as a guide more than a limitation. To know how to properly structure my writing helps achieve its intended impact on my audience. The essay spoke of turning to works showing the genre and using them as reference. I did this for the Composition in II Genres assignment. I turned to the works of Shirley Jackson in the realm of horror and was able to write in this genre.

In addition to learning about genre I was able to work on meeting the expectations of my audience through feedback from my peers. I learned to look at my work through the lens of a reader and not just a writer. Reading through my work step-by-step helps me balance my work. When I do not take a moment to read through my work, I would not know if I am achieving what I sought out to. I also turn to my peers when I need an unbiased perspective on how well my message is being delivered. During most writing projects I request feedback from peers to see how well my work affects an audience.

There were many research based assignments, due to the serious topic of mental illness and the lack of knowledge surrounding it. It took me a while to learn how to use One Search provided by the City College database. The database fortunately has access to a wide range of sources. The studies available each cover a specific topic and argument. Another important factor is the reliability of the source. I was thankful to the many articles assigned by Professor Agardici because they showed me what a strong and reliable article looks like. It is a process that requires patience and close observation. I believe I have grown in those areas and faced improvement on picking my sources. Not only this but, the citation of my sources.

I had received feedback on most of my assignment this semester about my lack of proper citation. Unfortunately I was not giving the credit that was due to the sources that assisted me throughout my work. I had to learn how to to this and I feel that this was the one task I improved on the most. I know give full credit in MLA format. Thanks to this class, that shall no longer be an issue.

An important question asked for this reflection is; what is writing? Writing to me is a tool used to relay a message. It is evident that literature creates an impact on the world around us and that is because of the messages conveyed through it. In my inquiry-based essay I spoke about the works of Shirley Jackson and the influence they have on women with mental illness. Jackson advocated for women and her work remains to have that impact today. Without the works of Jackson society would have less awareness of women during that time who suffered because of societal expectations.

I write to relay a message. The passion that I felt behind each prompt was from my personal interest in understanding others. My goal in writing is to have my work one day influence people and bring them together. There are many issues that need to be addressed in the world and writing has the ability to bring awareness to all of them. This awareness can bring people comfort. The messages relayed can reach large audience and teach people. Writing has the power to change the world.

The messages can also be relayed to myself. The more I express myself in my writing is the more I figure out my values and goals. I was able to find myself in my writing. In my journal this semester I looked back and was able to reflect on what I learned from assignment given and personal experiences. How the work affected me is proof of what writing can do.

I want my work to bring awareness to important issues and bring people together. Many writers were able to achieve this goal, as I have seen throughout this course, and I want to be one of them.