Introduction

Upon starting this class, I had somewhat mixed thoughts. A certain part of me
felt very confident as I thought that I had learned everything that I needed to know
about writing from Writing 39B and prior classes taken in high school. Whereas,
another part of me was scared out of my mind because out of all essay types, I was
poor in the persuasive essay which is the type of essay that I thought we would
focus on since this class was meant to teach us about research and argument.
However, after starting the class, my worries quickly faded away. At the very
start of the class, I was surprised at the rate of which the class worked in. I was
expecting to be always stressed for deadlines and worrying about gathering enough
resources. Fortunately though, the way in which this class was structured in let me
view this class in another light. Deadlines and tasks for this class were broken up
into tiny tasks, which made them look less intimidating and easier to accomplish.
Therefore, through this, and with the help from the professor and peers, I was able
to publish two fully developed research papers.
All in all, looking back at our ten weeks of Writing 39C, I realize how my
writing style has transformed to represent the argumentative fundamentals this
class is focused on through my improvement in research. Before this class started, I
came in with simple research techniques that were deemed enough for previous
writing classes. These skills limited me as it placed limits on the sources I was able
to find Therefore, when comparing my work from the earlier stages of this class to
the pieces I am capable of producing now, you can see how by expanding on my
techniques and realizing the importance of technology, I am now able to create
better essays. I can produce works with a stronger emphasis on research, something
that would be lack lustered in previous writings due to my limited researching
skills.
Composing Process
Quickly coming into this class, we were promptly asked to choose a topic that
we would spend the whole course on. When hearing this, a lot of pressure was put
on me as I felt that I needed to choose a topic that was not only interesting but also
interesting enough to stay that way for ten whole weeks. This was a hard task to
complete but after a lot of researching, I came into terms with my topic. I choose my
topic to be about Urban Runoff namely in Santa Monica. Choosing this topic was
much easier than I thought as it came to me, without much thought. I chose this
topic because I had always been interested in the topic of water. In high school and
the summer before college, I was invested in this topic as I worked with several
organizations like Heal the Bay to help better the current water problem.

Volunteering with Heal the Bay at a weekend beach clean up
After choosing my topic, I could finally begin my researching. When starting
my research, all I could find was very broad sources, focusing only on describing
what Urban Runoff was. However, Im glad that we were able to go through an
online tutorial and a library session because those two things greatly helped me in
research. At first, I only found sources that were either too old or not reliable
enough. Also, my searches would come up with several possible sources that it made
it hard to look for a certain source. Therefore, after learning about what to type in
my search bar from both my professor and the librarian, I was able to get the results
that I needed.

Narrowing my possible searches by implementing this new search technique learned in class.
As I got better at researching, I was able to look up things that I wanted to
know more about for my topic. This greatly helped me in the production of my
essays as they helped me decide what order to organize my essays in. By looking up
various sources, I was able to see how these different sources showcased the
problem. This allowed me to develop an order in which I thought I should present
my problem in for my readers. They also helped me find my voice, as by reading
various sources, I was able to decide what voice of a researcher I wanted to take on.
I decided to let my research serve as a backdrop for my writing as I wanted it to
backup my personal opinions. This would allow me to not only be an assessable
researcher but also a reliable one.
Researching for this class soon got addicting for me as crazy as it sounds.
When looking at past suggestions from students who had previously taken this
class, I could see what they meant when they said that you would research every
day. This became an addiction for me, as I would want to further understand my
problem, I wanted to get to know as much about it as possible. My addiction was
able to thrive through Google alerts, as they would allow me to see new searches for
my topic when made available. By this, I was able to find several good sources for
my project. This was when doing source evaluations came in handy, as they would
serve as little summaries for my sources. They would help me remember what that
source was about and what I wanted to use it for. This was useful when producing
my essays as I would look back at my bibliography and immediately see which
topics would be good for it.
Ultimately, I could see how research could take a lot of time. However as this
class drew on, I saw its importance. It definitely made a difference in my writing. I
can see how as I got better in researching, it showed in my writing as I was able to
choose better sources to help voice my opinions. In composition one, which served
as a starter essay for me, you can see how my research skills have yet to be refined. I
was criticized for sounding too much like a book report and I can see that.
Therefore, as I learned to better my research, you can see how I choose sources that
help me rather than bring me down. Provided below is an example of the way that I
used a source. This source was used in both Compositions and you can see how I use
them differently.


Before, I would just use a source and put it in as a quote, as seen in my Comp 1.

Here, I let my source speak for me but I also explain it and provide analysis, as seen in Comp II.

Information Literacy
One of the fundamentals of this class was to have the ability of choosing the
right sources to showcase your information. At the beginning of this course, I had
horrible information literacy skills and am willing to admit that now. Before, I would
deem yahoo answers and Wikipedia as reliable sources. However, after being in this
class, I realize how I dont need to go those sites to find quick and easy sources.
Being born in the age of technology, many expect teenagers like myself to be able to
tell a bad source from a good one. That is very much wrong because since we rely on
technology, we go to sites that provide us with quick answers such as Google. We
just want the answer to be answered rather than it being answered correctly and
reliability. Personally, for myself, I am willing to admit that I was one of those
teenagers. However, this class changed me and the way that I looked for sources.
Now, I am proud to say that I know have to rely on Wikipedia to find quick
sources. There are many other websites that I could use to find reliable and easy
information like Google scholar. I can also use the various databases that are
provided to me as a UCI student. Therefore, after using these new databases, my
ability to distinguish reliable sources is much greater now than before. I now look at
the release date, the publisher, and even the author to determine if the source is
good to use.


Using Google scholar to find articles written on my topic.
Since this class heavily relied on sources and research, it was easy for one to
lose their voice in their writing. For me, I worried about not incorporating enough
sources in my essay, which made me lose my voice over time. However, after being
reminded in class that we are being graded upon our analysis rather than our use of
sources, this made me realize that I dont need to rely on my sources. This made me
learn how to summarize, paraphrase, or direct quote my sources. I learned the
rights times to use these listed techniques. Prior to this class, I thought the only way
to incorporate a source was to directly quote it. However, now I know that there are
various ways to. This made me able to lessen the copied percentage that is shown on
canvas and it let me find more ways to analyze my sources.
Rhetoric, Argumentation, and Multi-modal Communication
Writing 39C opened my eyes to a new form of communication and that was
multi-modal communication. Prior to this, when writing essays or any form of
writing, I never thought about the pictures that I would use. I mainly used pictures
of clip art to provide a visual aspect and to most importantly, take up space.
However, now I know that pictures serve a better meaning. They help not only let
me keep my readers interested but it also provides another viewpoint of my
opinion. It lets my readers not only read about it but also visualize it. Additionally,
through this class, I have let my pictures do my talking for me, which was very
helpful in the presentation. With the presentation we had to give, we were limited in
the amount of slides and words we can use. However, by inserting a picture, I was
able to downsize all of that.
By participating in this form of communication, it has improved my
persuasive skills as I have let my pictures present my information in a visual way.
They have let my readers see the seriousness of my issue through a graph form,
which has helped me as a writer. Before, I would have typed out all of that data but
by showing graphs in my writing, not only do I still have the ability of showing my
data but also am able to present it in an interesting way.

This graph allowed me to show the relationship of urbanization and urban runoff without the use of words.
For my chosen solution, I came through it by researching what I thought was
the right solution for this problem. I didnt just want to choose any solution; I
wanted to choose a solution that would fix a majority of the problem. This is how I
came up with my solution with updating the storm water permit because I thought
that industries played a key role in urbanization, which would tackle a huge part of
urban runoff. When choosing this as my solution, it made it easier for me to write a
thesis for composition two as I just needed to focus on what my solution was the
best. It gave me a region of which I would put my focus on which made it easier for
me to write. This gave me certain points to argue because I had to make sure that
my readers knew what I was fighting for.
Presentations and Making Connections
Out of the whole class, the presentations were my favorite part because it
gave the class the opportunity to show what they have been working on for the past
couple of weeks. I enjoyed presenting my topic because I took this as the time to
bring awareness to my problem. I thought my presenting skills could improve since
this presentation did serve as my first presentation in college. However, I thought I
survived. One of my favorite parts of my presentation was when I introduced my
icebreaker. This icebreaker not only broke the ice but it allowed me to present my
problem in an interesting way. It let the class play a little game while also learning
about the causes of my problem. I thought this was a great way to stimulate interest
on my topic.

A picture of my icebreaker that I used in my presentation.
One thing that I feel that I needed to improve on was the amount of
information that I was able to present. I thought that the given five minutes was not
enough for me to speak about my topic. I would have loved to talk more about my
problem because I wanted the class to understand every part of it. However, I feel
that I made due with the time given and hope that I was able to interest my peers to
want to look up my topic after class had ended.
Overall, the presentation aspect of this class scared me the most but also
served as a highlight for me. This was a highlight for the class because it brought this
class to an end. It let it be known to the class of what you had been working on for
the duration of this class. Additionally, I thought this project brought everything that
we learned together. It made me use everything I learned like the use of pictures,
providing reliable information, and to be an advocate for a problem that I was
passionate about. This project brought everything together which is why I thought
that after doing this presentation made writing composition two so much easier
since everything was laid out already. Additionally, by presenting my problem to the
class, I was able to find out what I was missing and include it into my essay before it
was too late.
By listening to other peoples presentations, I realized how our problems are
quite similar. Even if they are different topics, we talk about them in the same way.
We inform our readers of it by presenting similar talking points and data, which
made me realize that as a researcher, you can research anything because you are not
limited. I realized that the very same research skills that I thought worked for me
were able to work for others who had different topics. Additionally, by hearing their
presentations, I was able to gather what was needed to be added to mines to make it
better like more data points or comparisons.

Revision
For this class, I found the revision process to be much different than what I
had known. In my previous classes, most revision processes were done in writing or
in person. I would expect to get written comments or meet with a classmate to talk
about what needed to get changed. However, in this class, we relied on technology
to get most of our revisions done. I felt this to be strange at first but after a while, I
felt how convenient it was. It made it easier for peers to read my essays as they
would either be able to read it in the forum or through the emails I sent to them. I
thought this was an important part of this class as their reviews helped provide a
new light on my papers, as I was able to see how they saw my papers.

I was able to peer review with Nora through email, which was helpful at stressful times.
My process of revision revolved around the reviews that I got from my
classmates. After letting them read my papers, I was able to see what I needed to
change. This process would follow for both essays. It was made easier after we were
put into peer review groups because not only was I put with peers that had similar
topics as me but I was able to see how they handled their topic. As time grew on, I
became a better critic. Before, I would only check for grammar but as this class
progressed and with the peer review questions provided, I was able to provide
better comments. I was able to give them comments on what I thought they needed
to add and what I had forget in my own essay that was brought upon by other peers.
Additionally, by having others read my papers, they were able to serve as my
potential readers which meant that if they couldnt understand something, that
meant that I needed to add on.

A fellow peer, Theresa Nguyen pointed out here that I needed to be clearer.
Additionally, through peer reviews I was able to see what I was doing wrong.
An example of this can be drawn from the pictures I first included. Before, I thought
that we were just suppose to include pictures without having to explain them.
However, after receiving reviews, people brought to my notice that I should use my
pictures to help me. They told me that I needed to also explain my pictures because
theres no point of adding a picture without explaining it. All in all, peer reviews
helped me survive this class as it brought to my attention what I needed to fix. I
believe that my drafts after peer reviews show dramatic changes because they were
able to tell me what I needed to succeed in this class.

Comments from the professor helped tell me what I was doing wrong with my pictures.

Transfer
All in all, after finishing this class, I have learned a lot in writing. I have
learned to be a better critical thinker, writer, and reader. Just because my writing 39
series ends here, I will not let my skills go to a waste. I plan to use all the
fundamentals of research that I learned in this class for the future. As a science
major, I see myself using these skills in my upper division classes. As of right now, I
have an internship in the summer where I will focus on spreading awareness for
Hep B. I plan to use my skills as an advocate to bring light to this disease. The
presentation skills will help me greatly with this position as I am already expected
to give a presentation of the causes and effects of this disease. I plan to look back at
my composition one since that was what my essay was focused on.
Additionally, I have already found the usefulness of these skills as I have
already applied them to some of my classes. An example can be taken from my Asian
American studies class where I needed to talk about the progression to America.
Through this class, I incorporated various sources into my essays and pictures to
help me illustrate my points. I was able to use my skills as a researcher to find
several interesting points to include in my essay. I was also able to better illustrate
my message to my readers due to the writing techniques I have learned in this class
like thesis writing.


By learning how to write a thesis in this class, I have been able to write stronger ones.